Jan 5

Jan 5 In Light of a New Year

Happy 2018! Wow, I can’t believe it’s 2018 already. Well with a New Year I figured it was about time for a new blog update on how things are going. With the busyness of these past few months, I haven’t had a ton of time to sit down and share all that the Lord has been doing. Christmas break has been a nice time to slow down and reflect on all the joys and challenges of these past 6 months in Kenya.

The other day I was having dinner with a friend and we started sharing what God had been teaching us this past year. As I thought back over this past year the two things that came to mind were 1. God is sufficient 2. God is sovereign. These phrases have become so much more of a heart knowledge as the Lord has walked with me through moving to Africa, adulting and teaching for the first time.

God is the one who is so lovingly in control and holding our lives in his hands. As challenges and trials came up this semester, we’d try to say “all in God’s sovereignty”. In the big things and even in the small things. As plans would change, new plans were made, things didn’t work out as we planned… we’d try to look to how God was working rather than focusing on how our way didn’t work out. What a beautiful freeing thing it is to let go of the plans and just trust that he was working something better for our growth and his glory!

Now his sufficiency is something I’m just beginning to see, but oh how beautiful it is! Within the context of moving to a new place and with a new community, it’s been hard to feel the hole that once was filled with a community of friends and family built over 16 years of living in the same place. All of a sudden, I couldn’t just call a friend when I was having a hard day, I couldn’t just go out to the kitchen and talk with my mom as she made diner, or get a hug from my dad; I was left with nothing but to seek the comfort and love found in the presence of my saviour. But could he really satisfy all I felt I needed? It feels uncomfortable, unstable and not natural. Yet as we seek him we find that he satisfies our deepest desires, that he actually calls us out into discomfort so that we can find that the thing we most desire IS the sweet satisfying fellowship with our God. When we find ourselves in a place of not having any physical support, it can be such a great opportunity to discover the sufficiency of Jesus.

School update:

School has been crazy but good. The hustle and bustle of every day keeps me on my toes. Jesus definitely has to sustain me with his spirit (and lots of coffee). I have been greatly enjoying seeing my students grow and mature as we do life together. I love their hugs every morning, their smiles as we talk about our day, I enjoy seeing their prayer journals as they learn to interact and commune with God. I enjoy sitting with them at lunch and talking about their interests, how they light up about their passions and show their little personalities as they talk about their lives. I love joking with them, praying with them, growing with them and of course teaching them!

One of the highlights from this semester is when I had them share where they felt they were at with Jesus. I had written on the board that we could be at one of four stages in our walk with Jesus. We could either be at 1. Not believing in Jesus 2. Asking questions about Jesus 3. Ready to accept Jesus or 4. Accepted Jesus. After our discussion I had each student write in their journals which stage they felt they were at. As I collected their journals after, many of them had written that they were at the stage of having accepted Jesus but wanting to grow in him. Two boys however had written that they felt they were ready but had not yet accepted Jesus as their Lord and Saviour. So in the afternoon as the students were doing their individual work at their desks, I called each of the boys out side. I shared that I had read their journals and was wondering if they understood what it meant to accept Jesus as their Lord and saviour. They both were SO SWEET. They each share in their own words what it meant to accept Jesus’s sacrifice and live for him. I then offered that we could pray together and they could ask Jesus into their lives. Wow what a deeply meaningful moment to be a part of. They each prayed and told Jesus that they believed in him, that they wanted to live for him and asked him to forgive their sins. Praise God for working in each of their hearts! Please be praying that he continues to move their hearts closer to his.

Prayer Requests:

-That I may continue to have strength and energy to finish this school year well.

-For patience and love for those particular students that may need it a bit more.

-For my each individual in my class, that God may work in their hearts to grow them closer to him.

-For the new teachers that are going to be hired at our school. For wisdom for our leadership as the hiring process happens as well as for God to direct the right individuals to our school.

-For my heart and mind to be deeply desiring and dependant upon Christ. That he may continue to be my strength and source of joy.

And of course, what would a blog post be without a few photos. Here are a few gems from the past month, including our safari this Christmas...

Have a blessed New Year friends!