Sparkle

Happy Fourth of July!  I had to remind myself of the holiday since it’s not a big deal in India apparentlyJ.

Today was our first day on campus - wow, what a day!  Last night, Lela (one of the directors of the school) asked someone to do the devotion for the teachers this morning.  Naturally, I volunteered (no one else raised their hand).  I went to pray about what to say and this is the verse God showed me:

“Train a child how to live the right way.  Then even when he is old, he will still live that way” (Proverbs 22:6)

With this verse, I told the teachers that we are helping their parents raise their children and it is our responsibility to be good examples for them.  Even when the children grow up, they will have that Biblical foundation in their hearts.  We were told 30% of the teachers are Hindu, so I was a little intimidated to speak in front of them but it went ok.   

After the teacher devotion, we toured the school and found out that some teachers were absent and the school needed substitutes.  Well, ACA (Asian Christian Academy) doesn’t have a substitute list so myself and Sherry, one of my teammates and also a teacher, filled in.  We taught two third grade math classes and one fourth grade math class.  Piece of cake?  HARDLY.  I have more respect for substitute teachers now, that’s for sure.  One of the third grade classes was very hard to manage and there were two of us!  One student asked me if he could “use the toilet” and I said, “Yes” so every other student needed to go to the bathroom as well.  Oh, I forgot to mention there are 40-50 students per class.  It was crazy, but I’m glad we were there to help.

We had our first VBS session tonight for the House of Joy orphanage and the boarding school kids.  I’m not going to lie, I was little afraid based on the class behavior but it went really well!  I lead the songs and the other team members did a bible verse, story, and craft.  It was amazing how much background knowledge the students already had on the Bible! 

Tomorrow, I am speaking at the student assembly.  I am going to talk about fear and how God is ALWAYS with us.  It something I deal with often and have to remind myself that I put my trust and hope in Him.  Please continue to pray for our team.  I hope we leave a little "sparkle" in some little lives this week!