Tuesday, August 31, 2010

God is Easy

Sometimes it's easy.
Sometimes it's not.
Being a missionary means work...excitement!
Being a missionary means work...tiredness.
Joyfulness.
Loneliness.
Lives changed.
Frustration.
GROWTH!
Distance.
Being part of the body of Christ.
Being a foreigner.
Laughter.
Tears.
Seeing God work.
Seeing sin work.

Easy doesn’t mean a piece of cake.
And Not doesn’t mean something we strain over.
But Easy makes everything lighter.
Easy makes the Not less of the focus.
Easy gives purpose.
Easy is God-given.
Praise God for being Easy.

For my yoke is easy and my burden is light. Matthew 11:30

Sunday, August 22, 2010

Helpful Hints

Living in a foreign country means that often times you have to learn to get things done in a different way.  It seems that improvizing is the norm around here.  The problem is that now, sometimes in the midst of doing something, I improvize a little too much.  I find "solutions" in things that should never be looked to for a solution.  Which, often means that I create new problems.  So, I put together a little list to help you if you're in a situation which calls for problem-solving.

Helpful Hints on Changing a Friend's Faucet
1.  If a friend's faucet is broken and they ask a super-handyman friend to fix it while they are on vacation, you may just want to let the super-handyman friend fix it, instead of doing it yourself.
2.  If you decide to go ahead and "help out" because you find a faucet for a great price at the store, you may want to turn off the water to the apartment before taking the faucet off the wall.
3.  If you have seen someone else take a faucet off and put it right back on real quick-like and everything was just fine, you still shouldn't take that as a cue to take the faucet off without turning the water off. (Especially if that faucet happened to be outside.)
4.  If you decide "What the heck, so the laundry room'll get a little wet...no biggie", check to make sure that the new faucet is the right size, before taking the old faucet off the wall.
5.  (Special step for those of you who wear glasses.)  If you neglect to check the size of the new faucet and go ahead and take the old faucet off the wall, and water is spraying everywhere, and you can't see out of your glasses, try not to take them off your face and throw them in the washing machine, as you won't be able to find them and will be able to see nothing.
6.  If you have lost your glasses, the water is spraying at high volumes and you cannot get the new faucet (which happens to be too big) into the hole on the wall, now may be a good time to call your super-handyman friend.
7.  If he can't hear you because the water is spraying too loudly, you may have to run to the other room to talk to him and then run back into the laundry room to see if you can carry out what he is saying.
8.  If he asks you if you know where the water turn off valve-y thing is, simply say "no".  It's faster. 
9.  If he says he's going to call another friend to come and the other guy is about 5 minutes away, calmly try to explain that the water will be chest deep by the time the other guy gets there.
10.  If you haven't tried to put the old faucet back on yet, by all means, try it now.
11.  It's always good to thank your super-handyman friend before hanging up...especially because he will have to come and put the new faucet on the wall inspite of your pitiful attempt.  (He will most likely turn the water off before putting the new faucet on...just sayin')
12.  If you don't have a wet/dry vac, absorbant travelers' towels are great for cleaning up 4 inches of water in a kitchen, laundry room, or any other room, although do not expect this to be a quick task.
13.  Fans are great for drying out sopping wet items that were being stored in the laundry room.

Thursday, August 12, 2010

Going Bald

Sigh.
I've got this class.
Each student has become a special person to me.   Spending time with them individually or in small groups is a highlight of my day.
But put them all together and I have the urge to pull out each of the strands of hair on my head, one-by-one.
Like today.
I gave the students an assignment and asked them to use pencil.
About ten minutes in, I saw that one of the students was using pen.
"Oh, sorry Teacher. I didn't hear you."
"Please come get a pencil."
"I need a sharpener."
"Ok. You may use mine."
Should I need to have this conversation with a middleschooler? Nope.
Should he be prepared for class? Yep.
But we did and he wasn't.
Class continued.
The bell rang.
The assignments were returned to me.
Including one done entirely in pen, from my buddy.
I mean...I know. It's pen. Who cares?
But. Seriously now.
It's simple disobedience.
There was a thought process.
And he made a decision.
What's the answer?
I made him stay after class but did he acually learn anything other than not to use a pen on assignments in Teacher Emily's class?
Cause, in truth, I couldn't care less about the pen.
I want him to learn to respect people.
But, how can I really teach that?

Please pray that God would give me and the other teachers at the International School wisdom in dealing with the students in this class.