Hello everyone!

I hope you all had a good week. Mine was tiring and long, but it was quite good. I'm getting to the point in my classroom where I can start doing more creative things, more projects, and I can set my standards higher now. That's nice. We have had 6 weeks of school now. There are times when I get overwhelmed with all the extra work I have to do since our school is in the accreditation process. I also have 5 ESL kids in my class, and it's hard to know what to do with them at times. I hit a low point on Thursday when everything felt like too much for me to handle, but that was the time the Lord shifted my perspective. I have a girl in my class who is not a Christian and whose mother is not either. Her grandmother was just diagnosed with cancer, which has been really hard for her family. When I heard this news, I realized that there is a very good reason she is at our school this year. My classroom of 6th graders can use this time to be an encouragment to that family and show them the love of Christ. I went in and told my principal what was going on, and he is encouraging our class to take a field trip to visit this student's grandmother, write her letters, and do everything we can to encourage her. So now I am realizing that my purpose here is much bigger than simply helping my students succeed academically. Be praying for this family, that they may come to Christ. I don't have time to write anymore, but I wanted to let you know about that. We have had no water in our house for the past couple days, which is a bit of a challenge. But luckily we were able to shower at a friend's house today. That will get us through for another 3 days... Love you all. Have a great week!