A God of Small Details

     The last few days have been neat as God has been taking care of my silly small needs and concerns. 

      Last term break I bought a few pairs of sandals from Lusaka hoping that they'd get me through till the end of the year...what I didn't know is that shoes in Lusaka are all very poor quality, except maybe one shoe store chain "Bata" that doesn't sell shoes in my size. Anyway, I was pretty discouraged and frustrated when all of the sandals I bought broke this week. I didn't really know what I was going to do....and then the school received some boxes that had been sent a very long time ago from some churches in Canada...you'll never guess what was in one of them!!! A whole bunch of sandals and shoes...in my size! How cool is that...people that don't even know that I exist sent boxes to Sakeji before I even arrived, and they got here with some things that I needed in the very week that I needed them! That sounds an awful lot like what Jesus says in Matthew 6: 25-32 " Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on......So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. If this is how God clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven,will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?.....For Your Heavenly Father knows that need these things."

      So, why am I ever surprised by His faithfulness? Beats me.

The reason for it all...

     Yesterday was just one of those days. It started out badly because during assembly a few of the kids had a bad attitude about singing, which sort of hurt my feelings. As I walked out of assembly my shoe broke (the second shoe to break this week), and when I reached my classroom my students had forgotten what standing in a straight, quiet line looked like! 

     As I fumbled my way through the day with a grumpy attitude, I began to wonder if I really was a half-way decent teacher, and why I was a teacher anyway, since I seemed to be doing such a bad job!

     Luckily, as I ran home at tea time to change out of my broken shoes, I decided to pray and change my attitude, and apologize to those whom I had directly offended that morning. 

     During Bible class we talked about lost sheep, and how entering the sheep fold through The Door, Christ, is the only way to be saved, and how those of us who are already saved need to show those outside the sheep fold what a life with Christ really looks like. We kind of went off topic, and I doubted that anyone was really listening....that is, until yesterday afternoon, when I found out that one of the third grade girls  had gone to the dorm mom and wanted to accept Jesus in her heart! 

     It brought me to tears...I know it wasn't about me at all, and that God has been working in many ways in this little girl's life, but it is so cool to know that even in my failures and my bad days God can work, and maybe even use some things that I say or do to actually make a difference. Anyway, it has been an encouragement to all of the staff, knowing that the harvest is ready now, and what we are doing is really worth it!

Good Things

     Well, God is good, and second term has started off well. I found that I was a lot more comfortable with the beginning of this term, compared to last term. A lot more comfortable, and a lot more content.

     I realized by the kids' return how much I've missed them while they were gone, and how happy I am that they're back. This time around I know them, and they know me. I've additionally realized how much I enjoy working with second/third graders, and that I'm content with what I actually do at Sakeji. I also have some more responsibilities this term, and I feel more at home and a part of the community here. 

     I think all of these factors have helped start this term off so positively, and even though I know that there will still be moments where I want to pack up and go home, and that there will still be days where I am so tired and don't want to get out of bed, I am beginning to have a passion for what I'm doing, and a burden for the work being done here. 

     As I said, God is good, and I'm looking forward to this new term, and the good things that I know He'll do. 

   

Yolanda, my new roommate

Kids at the river this afternoon

Basketball game at tea time

For my mom...

Even though I'm far away

I still remember you today

And think of all the things you've done

For all your daughters and your sons

As I've grown up I've come to see

How much you've done each day for me

The meals you've cooked, the things you've said

Buying healthy food like whole wheat bread

For the endless jobs done every day

For all the prayers I know you pray

Waking up early and staying  up late

Yet sometimes we don't appreciate

From being a teacher myself I can see

How challenging little children can be

I know that homeschooling kids isn't always fun

Nor is being a strict disciplinarian 

And yet you did it because you care

Even though victories sometimes are rare

But you didn't give up you've kept the fight

And did what you believed was right

I know I'm not a mother yet

But there are some things I've begun to get

Running a home and raising nine kids

Doesn't sound as hard as it really is!

And not just today I hope you know

How much I really love you so

And though Zambia is really far away

I'm wishing you a Happy Mother's Day!