Challenges

Karla, Maria and their girls

How was everyone's thanksgiving?

So I was going to send out this email on the 13th, but it obviously didn’t get sent then. We have been waiting for the last 2 weeks for the plane to be inspected. For the last 2 weeks we have been needing supplies. We are running out. On Thursday (Thanksgiving) we had to go to the village to buy supplies to last us until James came with more food. It is such a good thing we have the farm. We can eat one meal every day completely from the farm. It is such a blessing. And then the other meals are enhanced by the farm produce.

This last week has been such a growing experience for me. It started off with a lot of discipline. A lot of saying “we have had enough of this _(behavior)___ and we have warned you about it, and now we are going to do this _(Action)___ if it happens again.” I really don’t like disciplining. I don’t like being the bad guy, but I still do it. I have a much easier time doing it to the guys because we are not as close as I am with the girls.

One of my students, Rebecca has this cycle that she goes through with Maria and me. She won’t be talking to us, and ignores us, and then next thing you know she’ll come up to me and say how she misses me. Then she tries to suck up to me. It is so frustrating. I feel like, “the devil is really trying to break my courage through her.” But I have determined in my heart that she will not have the power to do that to me. I don’t want her to behave the way that she does, but I cannot let her affect my mood.

The other day Rebecca and I were weeding together on the farm (because it is the only way to get her to weed and that barely works) and she was like "why are you giving punishment to everyone? When you give kids punishment they just want to keep doing what they did wrong." I asked her what I should do instead, and she said "talk to us." Then I replied, “I have talked to everyone, including you, and nothing changes. I have given many warnings, but nothing happens. I need something to back up my word.” She didn’t like that but then we moved on.

Tonight I really felt like the devil was using her to try and tear me down. When we got back the dorm I stood on the steps and told the devil to leave this place, to leave in the name of Jesus. I felt peace after that. It was so good to be free from that heavy atmosphere.

Please pray that Rebecca’s attitude will change. Pray that the devil will not be able to use her to get to me. That she can be filled with the Holy Spirit and that she can take the knowledge that she has of the Bible and use it to glorify God.
Ok enough on Rebecca, but she is my biggest challenge.