Sunday,
November 4th:
Last
night I didn’t fall asleep until sometime after 1am. At 5:30 I was startled out
of my sleep by a mosquito buzzing in my ear. Not the most promising start to my
day! Despite the unpleasant awakening, it felt good to get back into the school
routine. The kids were understandably excited to be back to school and see all
their friends. Most of my students had new clothes (part of the feast
celebration). We jumped right in to our textbook. Even though I “shushed” them
quite a bit, they eventually settled down and followed the lesson.
After
school, I took a nap to catch up on sleep, graded papers, and went to John and
Mary’s for dinner. At 6pm, I Skyped with the family (they’ve “fallen back” so
now there is an eleven hour difference!) In anticipation of her trip here, Mom
bought some new shirts earlier this week, and she modeled them for me during
our call. Caleb won his championship football game. I was really disappointed
to have missed it. His team went undefeated all season!
With
football on my mind, Sarah and I headed over to Andy and Lisa’s to watch the
Bears/Titans game. The game started at 9pm our time and I was only able to make
it through the first quarter before sleep started to take over. Lisa, in an
amazing act of love, drove us home in the dark in their new vehicle.
Monday,
November 5th:
The past
few days have been hard on many levels and this morning wasn’t any easier.
Despite the heaviness of my heart, I couldn’t help smiling as soon as I saw my
students today. My job would be so much harder if God hadn’t given me a love
for these kids! The especial joy is in seeing their love in return. I’ve been
showered with candy, gifts, and hugs. Sometimes their love comes through
laughter and silliness, other times through notes on their homework
assignments. And I love when they tell me, “Miss, I am excited about Math
today!”
After
school, I walked to some of the local shops, mostly to get out of the house and
enjoy the nice weather, but also to pick up some groceries. When I got home, I
started transcribing the shame lecture for family back home. The speaker’s
accent makes it difficult to hear parts of the lecture. Hopefully in written
form, it will be more understandable. It’s also a good exercise for me since I
get to listen to the material again.
Graded
quizzes until team time at 4pm. John took us through a word study on mercy. I
was impressed by the way our study flowed with my recent thoughts. It seems to
happen every week, and I am always amazed … realizing that God orchestrates our
thoughts to perform in unison for His glory. As we dwelt on His mercy, I couldn’t
help but become overwhelmed with the great magnitude of God’s attributes. On
the one hand He is incredibly powerful and mighty in His ability to exact
justice. (Hosea directs us to God’s determination against Israel – “No Mercy”
and “Not My People”). On the other hand, He is incredibly powerful and mighty in
His ability to extend mercy. (“I will say to them which were not my people,
Thou art my people; and they shall say, Thou art my God.”) His mercy extends to
the degree that He “heals (our) backsliding” and “loves (us) freely” (Hosea
14:4). As I was reminded by the lecture yesterday, His mercy is so great that
He can accept us in our shame.
After our
time together, I was reminded that the trials I now face are part of God’s
mercy to me. As Oxford defines mercy, these struggles are something I can “be
grateful for, especially because (their) occurrence prevents something
unpleasant or provides relief from [future] suffering.” Like the hymn writer expressed,
“These inward trials [God] employs from sin and self to set [me] free, Might
more of His salvation know and seek more earnestly His face.” I don’t
necessarily appreciate this mercy to the fullest extent, which makes me realize
that God’s mercy is all the more wondrous because He extends it to difficult,
unlovable people. May He teach me to know more of His love and to love others
as He has loved me.
For our
team meal, we went out to Athena restaurant, featuring Greek cuisine. Andy
drove, which was a lot of fun, especially since the location is rather remote
and it is difficult to get a taxi from there. The meal was really good and
something different from the usual Kurdish fare.
Ended the
night grading papers.
