Samuel's Adventures: God at work

These last two weeks have gone very well, and I can't thank my Heavenly Father enough for that. There's so many happenings these last two weeks to tell y'all about, but let me try...

First of all, remember that post where I asked y'all to pray that I could have more wisdom in the area of teaching my students correctly? Well someone was praying because that week went just amazing! God answered prayers above and beyond, and I believe is constantly showing me that He is still there even though I seem to forget at times.

Anyway, so I've always tried to have a disciplined classroom, right? I tried to keep my students well-behaved and respectful. Sometimes this meant watching what they're doing to make sure they're not misbehaving, or even cracking down when they misbehaved. However, sometimes I forgot that they aren't little kids like my previous students were (I still have to remind myself of that sometimes) and it seemed like my approaches were almost achieving the opposite result. Sure they obeyed, but it didn't seem like they did it out of respect, but rather out of fear (big difference). And as soon as I wasn't around or had my back turned all kinds of things happened.

At the beginning of last week I decided to let my students have a little more freedom, just to see what would happen. Of course, that didn't mean I let them do whatever I want, but I showed them that I trusted them by letting them do more on their own without me looking after them. Another thing I started doing was praying regularly for each of my students, sort of like that elderly man in Facing the Giants that prayed over each student as he went down the row of lockers. This, especially, has helped me to focus more on my students as unique creations of God in need of a Savior just like me, instead of only seeing performances on homework and tests.

It's been a real learning experience this year, but I thank God for the way he has answered many prayers, and for the way he has been teaching me through my students. I've learned so much from them already. And I can see they have been learning as well.

Two of my students especially--Paola and Eduardo--have been making great strides recently. Eduardo has been studying more on his own. Recently he had been struggling with the Bible verses we've been learning, so he buckled down and practiced in his spare time. On his last test, he was able to do much better than before. His attitude also shows much more happiness and eagerness to learn than before, probably partially because of the way the girls have started to egg him on. I told the girls the other day, that whenever they see Eduardo say "I can't", they have to immediately stop him and say that "he can!". :)

Paola has struggled to fit in with the rest of my class, through really no fault of her own. Teresa and Beatriz are best friends, so they hang out a lot, but Paola gets forgotten sometimes. I think this makes her feel inferior, so she doesn't always do her best in school. Recently, however, her amazing smile has returned and she has attacked her school work with vigor. She has been studying her vocabulary words and doing much better in general.

Beatriz and Teresa are also doing very well. Teresa does a very good job of being example to all of the girls by being respectful, kind, and doing her best in everything (well, except in Math, which she hates). I'm still working on her in that area. :) Beatriz still has her brilliant smile and light-hearted spirit which I so admire, knowing the home she comes from each weekend.

So yeah, that is some of what has been keeping me smiling these last two weeks. God has been really answering prayers and I can't thank Him enough. But, of course, we all know that Satan never stays away, so I pray that God would continue teaching me and helping me to do my best at fighting the good fight!

And speaking of Satan's attacks--please pray for Paty and Liz also. While school has been going well for me the last while, it hasn't always been so much fun for them, in fact I'm sure they would say it was very discouraging at times.

Paty teaches the class I had last year--Joel, Miguel, and Jairo. Miguel especially has been causing a lot of trouble lately for Paty. Miguel is such an adorable little youngster, but due to a lack of discipline at home, he has a lot of trouble with respecting authority, especially when he gets a new authority. For a few weeks now, he has been constantly trying to see how much he can get away with and just outright disobeying whenever he gets the chance. I know how this feels, because I dealt with the same thing when I first started teaching him last year, and it isn't fun. Day after day, it seems like nothing you do helps, and you end the day drained of all your energy.

Liz's two students--Maria and Antony--are the oldest and youngest students, respectively. Maria is very intelligent, does very well in school and always has a ready smile. She is good friends with my students and hangs out with them every chance she gets.

Antony is a bit of a different story, however. When he shows up at school which has been about 3 days per week (grrr) he has such a hard time focusing. He is all smiles, loves to tell stories, and plays with the other boys at recess time, but when it's time to listen to what teacher says he just can't. He knew the numbers 1 through 10 at the end of last year, but hasn't been able to get beyond that this year yet. He has such difficulty with doing any work on his own--Liz almost always has to help him in order for him to get anything done. The last few days have been much better, though. Here's praying and hoping that it continues!

Please pray for all of us as we do our best to teach these youngsters about academics, but also, and most importantly, how to walk the "Jesus trail". Pray for wisdom as we strive to model Jesus' teachings to all these young, pliable souls.