Plaster and Praise

Hello to all, near and far!

I have absolutely no excuses for my protracted absence from blogging.  Somehow, I looked up and 3 months had passed without me fully realizing it.  Work continues to go well.  My students this year are not only adorable, but also very bright.  I'm loving coming up with new ways to stretch them.  I started a new curriculum this year, and it has really helped me improve on my teaching ability.  I'm bonding more with my Thai teacher, Kru Som, and we're now at the point where we can joke with each other and discuss our students more.  My Thai is still embarrassingly minimal, but I think she appreciates the effort, even if she does laugh at my pronunciation at times.

This year, I have 2 new roommates, Bekah and Sarah.  They're both very sweet, and I've appreciated getting to know them.  Bekah teaches art for grades 1-12 (no small feat!), and Sarah is a student teacher for grade 2.

We had a bit of a rocky start this year in Kindergarten regarding the health aspect.  Sarah, the K3 teacher, had surgery on her foot over the break, so she came back to school with a cast and crutches.  A few weeks after she got off the crutches, Andi, the K2 teacher, fell off a roof (long story) and bruised her heal and fractured a vertebra.  She got off the crutches several weeks ago, but is still in a back brace for a few more months.

Well, apparently my body decided that just getting sick 3 times in 3 months wasn't glamorous enough, and yesterday, I joined the league of Kinder teachers on crutches.  Basically, I managed to strain the juncture where the calf muscle meets the Achilles tendon on my right leg, and I now have a non-plaster cast.  Andi was kind enough to loan me her crutches.  I sincerely hope they will be retired when I'm finished with them in a few weeks.

So what is the point of all this?  The entire faculty have been plagued by sickness this year, much more than usual.  Fortunately, I have seen people coming together and supporting each other through meeting their needs.  I definitely feel very loved, as I've had more people checking up on me in the last 24 hrs than any other time I've been in need.  I'm happy to know that there are so many good people close by who I can call on if I need them.

So far, this year is shaping into a time for me to learn more about community, how to contribute as well as how to receive.  Being a proud and stubborn person, it's difficult to admit to need or to accept help, but God in His mercy is continuing to give me opportunities to practice.

That's really what it comes down to.  Ultimately, all circumstances are under His jurisdiction.  Nothing can happen that is outside of His will or outside of His permission.  He allows for strife, because that is the only way for us to grow.  It is through recognizing our weaknesses that we can see how He has provided His strength.  It is under flames and persecution that we become firm in the truth.  God is in His heaven, and all creation gives Him praise, if we just take the time to listen.  If our God is for us, who can be against us?  If our God goes before us, what can stand against?  Thanks be to God, we do not need to conquer the enemy.  He's already won.  Our call now is just to stand.

Stand.