The Learning Curve

CELE week one: Complete!

Who knew there'd only be three days of school this first week? It's a good thing though, because I already needed a break.

On Sunday I finally had a break-down. Now, if you know me well, you'd know I hate crying. Hate it. Usually that's because I'm crying because I'm upset, nervous, or overwhelmed.

Pretty sure I felt all three of those emotions Sunday. 

Mainly I felt nervous for the coming first week of school and all its unknowns, but couple that with a frustrating lack of language and cooking ability (the mark of a "good" woman here), and I became a wet mess.

It wasn't pretty.

Really, it came down to insecurity. I had in my mind that I could handle everything on my own. That if I just plowed through the situations, I'd make it out all right. But when I just rely on myself, everything becomes much more stressful. My value, my worth, my identity hinges on how well I perform.

And I know this. I know the consequences of these actions. I know what happens when I lose sight of my Father.

But that just made it worse. I felt faithless. I was completely tempted to freak out, to ignore God and do things my own way, to stop trusting Him.

However, as always, the Lord brought me back to Him through His word and the encouragement of His children.

1 Corinthians 10:13: No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.

Maria is such a blessing from the Lord. She patiently reminded me of our Sunday school lesson that morning on trusting in the Lord. Trusting Him in every situation, every emotion, everything. (Perfect timing, huh?) Then she called her grand-daughter so I could speak and hear English for awhile (not knowing that I had just cried to Solomon for 30 minutes). The Lord used her to remind me of His sovereignty (and all in Spanish!). 

There are so many different things here. Different food, different social customs,  different language, different school structure. Yet I am reminded that my Father knows them all already and He daily gives me the knowledge to live and work here. In response I can only praise Him and thank Him for guiding me through this learning curve.

And this learning curve just continues to mold me as I grapple with teaching elementary kids.

Praise be to God, the first week went really well.  My students are adorable. I was caught off guard a bit when a sobbing first grader entered my room pleading for her mother, but after some juice and goldfish all was well. And I may have scarred my fifth grade class when I ripped up a kid's test and sent him to the hall for talking, but they're resilient right? The class was awfully quiet after that. . .

Is there anyone out there with an elementary teaching background? Any tips you have I'll take.

Oh! And as an update: I DON'T HAVE LICE! Yay!!

Well, ok. I was never officially checked, but my head doesn't itch anymore, so I'm assuming there aren't any tiny white creatures crawling around up there.

Thank you for all your prayers. Please continue to pray that we can daily give our triumphs and struggles to the Lord and rely on Him to help us minister to the people here.

Much love to you all,

Kristin