Hey Y'all!
Through teaching English I've definitely noticed how often I use the word y'all.
I decided yesterday that I'm going to teach my classes what it means so that there will be some Panamanians walking around speaking Texan....I'm pretty excited about it.
A few things I've discovered since my last post:
1. I can actually do this teaching thing.
2. Cultural differences are a lot easier to handle with a friend.
3. The geckos have found a way into my room! I'm not okay with it.
4. The coffee here has some sort of magical power. (That one is no surprise)
Let me explain some of that.
Like I said in the last post, I've been teaching on my own since Wednesday. It is going so well, and while I miss having Shelly here I know that God is still using me as His vessel.
I am still so amazed that He chose me, of all people, to come do this job for Him. I am so humbled that He picked me to do something that He knew I could do, even though I had some serious doubts.
He has shown himself to be so faithful and hasn't left me floundering once. Not that I expect Him to, but these two weeks and a few days so far have been such a sweet (and painful at some points) time for me to feel so close to my Father.
Not trying to sound like a broken record, but I am SO far out of my comfort zone. And when I find myself in uncomfortable situations I tend to lean on my family or close friends.
Not on the One who has my back no matter what.
So, while Shelly was here, though I was absolutely still growing and stretching my faith, I had a friend to lean on a little bit.
Having another person from my culture to relate to was so nice. Sometimes it just helps to have someone to talk to.
So that's where that cultural thing I mentioned earlier comes into play.
I thought that I had gotten over the culture shock, and I am settled in. The people are so great, and I love them all, don't get me wrong.
But Satan was on the attack Saturday night and into Sunday. For some reason that I honestly couldn't put my finger on, I was just feeling irritated.
And I was mad at myself for feeling irritated. And Sunday was Father's Day, so I was feeling pretty homesick wishing I could have been home to celebrate with my dad!
I kept thinking to myself "If only Shelly was here things would be better. I wouldn't be feeling this way because I'd have her to vent to!"
But that was just me trying to make excuses for my attitude. I did message Shelly Sunday morning, and in the sweetest way she told me exactly what I needed to hear: Get over yourself.
She reminded me that I am here to be a blessing, not to be blessed. That's just a perk of being here!
She was completely right. (It's great when the Holy Spirit uses friends to get through to you. I just wish I had listened to Him myself!)
I was totally thinking of myself and allowing Satan to steal my joy. So the rest of the day, I tried my hardest to pray it out when I started feeling irritated at anything.
It's funny how during this whole trip He has been patiently waiting for me to come to Him with my problems, when I always tend to go to Him as a last resort.
I will admit, I tried to pray about my attitude Sunday morning, but my heart just wasn't in it. So when I finally stopped focusing on myself, and completely leaned on Him and no one else, things turned around almost immediately.
I decided that I couldn't let Satan take away the joy of being here and being a blessing to these people! It was just his attempt to take away my usefulness to do the job I'm here to do!
So, once I got over myself and the pity party I had been having, Sunday was a great day!
The morning service was a blessing like always, and the church had a Father's Day celebration in the evening.
There was a great message, great singing, great food (of course), and great fellowship!
At dinner, the church family was debating whether or not I was going to cry when I leave Saturday.
I totally am in case you were wondering.
I am going to miss the friends and sweet church family down here that I've had the privilege to know!
But it's not time to think about what I'll miss yet.
Okay. So about the coffee and the magical powers is has.
I was talking to my parents last night, and when I told them I hadn't had any coffee at all on Sunday, we decided that it has some sort of power to make you happy!
Of course, it's not actually the coffee. It's absolutely the Lord. But the coffee does help!
And lastly, the geckos. I was so okay with them hanging out on my window. But now that they want to come inside we're gonna have issues.
So that brings you up to today. Sorry I don't have new pictures for this post. I promise I'll get some to post in the next one.
Thank you everyone for the prayers!
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