I am still speechless and struggle for words to describe my absolute awe of being here. I still look back and ponder just how this all happened and how I came to this place, emotionally, physically, spiritually. Last Christmas, Christine had a baby boy and I spent the 21st in Athens, GA admiring him. I went to Kansas and baked cookies with Laura and her little family while John was in Iraq. We exchanged gifts at Carla’s and I got all that I wanted and them some. We had elaborate parties at the club and I worked my last days there, even ringing in the new year serving old-fashions to the old-fashioned. Buckhead is a far cry from Pemba. There is no comparison. I am in another world.
I am astounded by God’s patience and mercy with me in bringing me here and providing all that I need. It remains my pleasure and honor to live and serve here.
The school has already begun and we have taken a break for the holidays. We will resume January 16th. I will serve as director of the school and will be teaching English twice a day, five days a week and Community Health courses four times a week. We will also be teaching businesses courses to teach the students personal finance, computer skills, and training in mechanics, carpentry and brick making. I will also be doing 2-3 hours of counseling with our kids each day. We really don’t know exactly what that will look like, other than listening to the students, their hopes and dreams and fears. We want to find out their strengths and encourage them. I plan to use a variety of resources from Strengthfinders and Life Coaching materials and fun personality tests to more in depth materials on inner healing. “You know how to do this?”, you say. “No”. But God does and I know that He will equip me with what I need for each child. Essentially I have seen that most of the kids here have no clue how to dream. How can they when they live in a culture when you simply struggle to survive? There is also the stark reality that these children are orphans. They have been blessed to be here and are well fed and loved and cared for, but they can live in fear and doubt and distrust. Many have deep inner wounds of rejection. Some children are brought to us later in life and have been physically, emotionally and sexually abused. Each child needs extra love, support, attention, prayer. I want to see them know in their heads and in their heart that they are loved and that God claims them as His own and He has everything they can ever need to do this life. I see great leaders inside each and every one of them. I see passionate, creative, brilliant young men and women. I am simply here to encourage them and speak the truth. They are not orphaned, they are not poor, they are “fearfully and wonderfully made”. All day long I think about what hope looks like to a world full of poverty and I rarely come up with even a glimmer of an answer, other than Christ in me and Christ in them. This has to be the answer. He is hope. And yes, I say it often, to remind myself. Some days my faith is HUGE and some days it is small. But every day I see them, I contend for them, for poverty to end and not touch another generation.
I am thankful for your support and your prayers. Because of you, I can be here to teach and create something that will make a difference here. We have huge plans to start businesses within the next six months. Through education that you are helping to provide we can help these young people create business or work within a social business and give them a huge start on life. Through your giving we were able to start the little garden for our outdoor classroom and will soon have a Community Health Curriculum in Portuguese on DVD and a filing cabinet to start files on each student. I can’t wait to share their stories with you. You are going to fall in love with them.
I love living here in community among such incredible people. Everyone has been welcoming and I am making friends. Many of the missionaries here are so young and I am just blown away by how brave they are. Our life here is simple and often centered around cooking together and having a meal. We bring our Western entertainment too, in the form of movies on the laptop. I have been invited into the Thursday Ladies Group and we play cards. Good coffee remains a delicacy and thankfully I live among those who share generously. We often take advantage of the Indian Ocean in our front yard. It is grand here. Come see me!
I am daily lifted up by all of you who write and send video messages and photos from home. I play them over and over and look at your pictures all the time and show you to the kids. I Skyped home for the first time just this week. It took my breath away and put a huge lump in my throat. Ok, I cried. All of a sudden there they all were, even Uncle John and Aunt Phylis. They all follow me in my thoughts every day but seeing their faces made me sob. But not really for missing them, as much as just for knowing how much I love them. It was too much for my heart to hold.
Thank you for giving and allowing me to live out this dream. The children of the Iris Vocational School and Iris Children’s Center thank you too. My Visa expires in April and I will be coming home to renew it. I have a lot to do between now and then and I know the time will fly by. I am already making lists of all the things I want to see, do and taste when I get home. I look forward to our time together.
Much love,
Grace
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