God is close to the brokenhearted

 

HUMOROUS HAPPENINGS:

When we make the 10 minute walk to and from home and the classroom, the children (and adults) yell “Kawaga,  (which means white person) how are you?!” They say it over and over even if we answer back, they ask again. They also say,

“How are you, I’m fine thank you” (with out ANY pause).

“How are you my phlegm?” 

“Good morning teacher” (in the afternoon)

“How are you my father”

"What is my name"

“I’m fine” (with out us asking or saying hello).

It is obvious that they have NO idea what any of the phrases mean. Yesterday, as I was walking, a boy wandered out of his hut then saw me, his face lit up and he slammed open the door and yelled INSIDE “How are you?! How are you?! How are you?! How are you?!” It was then that I realized that they have come to understand that the phrase, “How are you?” is OUR NAME or who we are. We are the “How are yous?!”

There is a slight rat infestation in our house, and their favorite place at night is my bed. Luckily, after 1 week, I have gotten a bed frame (which I am spoiled to have). I have discovered that these rats are catching cockroaches from the latrine, bringing them into my room, and chomping on them under my bed at night.   

WEEK 3- FATHER HEART OF GOD, FORGIVENESS, & INNER HEALING

God is teaching us all as staff to be very flexible with what God wants to do with us. On the Friday before week 3 began, we learned that our speaker would not make it so we quickly prepared to substitute teach for this topic. This week is always a pivotal point in every DTS so we were really praying that God would minister to the students because we could not prepare adequately in our own strength. God was faithful to minister to the students and share the love of God. Many of these students do not have a good father (or father at all) and families have been left broken because of the war. Through these three topics, God ministered to all the students. I am so proud of how far they have come. They have been hurt so badly and had such traumatic experiences, but many have chosen to forgive people in their life that have hurt them. I can’t help but be inspired my them and their ability to forgive when God touches their hearts with His love. It is true that God is near the brokenhearted and heals them. God is so good!

WEEK 4- HOLY SPIRIT & WORSHIP

This week, our students seem to really be grasping what is being taught. I would say that this week, we are noticing the most growth in the students. They were slow to open up the past few weeks, but there is so much more interaction in class and understanding. Through discussion, I can really tell that they are discovering that worship is not just singing songs, but worship is what comes out of the heart. Also, as we keep repeating and enforcing the truths taught the previous weeks, they are also beginning to really understand and take them to heart.

CLASS-ROOM CHALLENGES

A challenge that we have that we realize more and more is language. Most of the time, we teach in English and it is translated into Arabic. The problem is, there are several different dialects of Arabic. The Arabic that our translator speaks is “Classical Arabic” which is the equivalent of Shakespeare for English speakers. Now, if you think that is bad enough, Arabic is the second language of the students so they are not fully fluent in it and they speak different dialects. On top of that, the translator misses words in English and can not catch all of what we say. So, by the time the message gets to the students, they really can not understand most of what is taught. We have just realized how big a problem this is. We were thinking that the students were just very slow, but in reality, we are speaking in all foreign languages and expect them to understand and answer questions.

PRAYER REQUESTS:

• Continue to pray for unity between us as staff. The devil is really trying to tear us apart as a school and is bringing discouragement, frustration, and apathy.
• Pray for our students with the challenge of Arabic. Pray we could find another good translator so that language is no longer a barrier in their learning.
• Pray for provision. Money for food as well as materials so that we can build on our property. Also pray that we could find the right people that can give us the materials that we need at an affordable price. Also transport to get materials out to the property (as it is very very difficult).