Spring Break Begins

It’s March 21st and everyone is on spring break now - -Hillcrest and JETS, so the kids and I are all home. I for one am glad for the break; I always enjoy my students, but I am glad to have a reprieve from the grading!

I have felt especially tired and needy of rest lately. I was pondering why I felt so tired. After thinking about the week that is now behind me, I realized why I am feeling so tired. I thought I would share some of the things that have happened this week with you, just so you can know a little more about our daily lives and the stresses we are facing regularly. Michael has his own equally long list!

In the past week, I have:
-spent at least 20 hours grading and lesson planning.
-spent 6 hours in the classroom.
-taught trumpet lessons for a short time at Hillcrest.
-managed 4 household helpers and fed them lunch daily + our two Nigerian boys (for most of these, it will be the biggest and most nutritional meal they will eat all day.)
-managed a household of 6 and made sure they were fed daily.
-hosted a dinner for our Nigerian pastor and his family of 6.
-hosted a dinner for some new missionaries, a family of 5.
-gathered food for a widow I know who is a supporting 4 children at home and who had little to no food in her home.
-helped set up a consult for physical therapy for a student who was left crippled from a medical injection; this same student desperately needs a new pair of crutches and cannot afford them, so I am pursuing that as well.
-met with another missionary who is also teaching English; we talked about materials and lesson ideas.
-went with my workers to investigate a noise just on the other side of our compound wall. Asibe, my cleaner who has had 6 children of her own, heard the sound of a newborn baby crying all morning. Emily heard the baby the night before. We drove around to the girls’ hostel behind us and met with the principal to search the grounds for an abandoned baby. To my great relief, we found no baby and no signs of foul play in the field behind us.
-dealt with numerous requests from students. Many of them are quite upset that I will not be returning to JETS in the fall and different ones stay behind class daily pleading with me to see if they can change my mind! Others are begging me for help so that they can continue improving their English after I’m gone and are asking me to direct them to materials.
-got signed up for summer classes for my masters at Concordia University.
-got Camille’s paperwork for the International Baccalaureate (IB) program at Columbia River High School sent in. Actually, I accidently missed the deadline by 2 months, and she is now on a waiting list. That is a prayer concern!

I feel very pulled in many different directions and the stress is definitely taking its toll. The needs are almost overwhelming at times. Please continue to pray for us over the next couple of months as we begin to prepare for our return home. We have one foot on each continent now. Emotionally, it is quite difficult. We will be leaving loved ones behind, especially our workers who may or may not be able to find work after we leave.

Lisa