Keeping Busy

I  am sitting at my desk with my head pounding a little.  I am tired.  I have taught hard all week and even got some lesson planning done.  I am a little bit ahead for now.  And I want rest.

I am ready to go back to Thailand.  I want to see my girls at the Girls Home so bad!  I want to be back to the point where God is teaching me to rest and to be still.  I want to be in a place where I don't have to fear being alone, panic attacks, depression, and the other myriad of lies and pains that are besieging my being right now.

But, read Psalms 42.

David longs for the past.  He feels impatient, empty, depressed, rejected, deeply discouraged, heart broken, lost, forsaken, and even dying ("pierce me like a fatal wound").  But despite it all, he crys out to God, returns his focus to Him, listens for Him, and puts his hope in Him.

I am longing for Thailand.  I am longing for a time in my life that is past.  I am longing for the lessons I learned there.  But I passed those lessons.  I am passed that point in my life.  God wants to teach me new lessons.  These lessons are much harder to learn...less comfy.  But I am right where God wants me.  THANK YOU FATHER!!!! (yes...I teared as I typed that.  It is really hard to praise Him when we are hurting. But I praise Him none-the-less.)

As for my life right now.
I have been keeping busy so that I don't have too long to think.  This is no way to live...but it is how I am surviving right now.

So busy stuff....I have met a new couple at the church, Alex and Annie.  They are super sweet South Africans who took me to the Kite Festival last Sunday after church. Also, we had very delicious Shabu Shabu which is a 3 course Vietnamese meal.  SOOOO DELICIOUS!

Also, I have started hosting bible study in my apartment.  I am glad for this...because I can be helpful and make happy memories in my home.

And tonight as soon as I am out of school, I will run off to meet my friend Elaine to go see the Lotte Giants play.  This will be my first baseball game in Korea and I am rather excited to pass the time in this way.

As for school...I have been teaching afterschool classes everyday now.  It's not as bad as I thought it would be.  I have 20 students less than last year's class, and that makes it much more manageable.  I can focus more on each student and actually do fun activities.  My normal classes are alright.  This week's lesson is a little boring but it is something they need to learn.  Next week, I am giving them a review game with candy as the prize, so they best be good.

I am working more on my one on one relationships with my students.  It's hard to have many since I see approx 780 students combined.  I have become facebook friends with a few and they chat with me there to practice thier English. Also, many come to my desk for chat time...and I try to put aside whatever I am working on and give the girls the time that they need.   I just remember that what made my favorite teachers the best when I was growing up didn't have anything to do with lessons or classrooms.  And I am just really trying to be a good teacher.

I am reading Daniel right now...and we have a lot in common.  We are both in a foreign land, trying to do the best we can do so that we may bring glory to God.