 | "I just saw a big mini-bus!" - Caroline, age 2 Every once in a while I feel as if I'm in the middle of exactly where God wants me, and that I'm doing exactly what he created me - crazy, dorky me, to do. Once in a while summer camp makes me feel like this, and since I have had my own classroom, I've been blessed to be caught in moments like this a little more often.
and tonight? wow!
I spent some time researching a few projects for ABCCA this evening, and I've got to tell you, I'm just so excited!!
(*ABCCA - African Bible College Christian Academy in Lilongwe, Malawi. We've got about 300 students, including my 17 sixth graders who are some of the most incredible people that you'll never meet, but I get to kick it with them day in and day out!)
The first project is making a school yearbook. ABCCA hasn't had one of these yet, so Annie and I are going to try to make it happen. So much has changed in the yearbook world since I was last in it, as editor of the yearbooks in jr high and high school. You can do all the photos and layouts and copy and submitting ONLINE now (well, assuming you have electricity and an internet connection, which tend to be luxaries around here, ha!) So thats cool. I get to find out prices, pitch the idea to my boss, convince kids to be excited about doing extra work in their free time, and see what happens!
Secondly, I'm trying to bring the idea of 6TH GRADE CAMP to ABCCA! This would be brand new to our school and probably the country. The thought of planning this and being responsible for all my students and our transport and the programs and the learning and all that jazz is quite overwhelming, but I think it will be worth it for the kids!! The thing is, I can't just call up Cuyamaca and get my kids into their own pre-existing program for a week! I've got to scout out all the options for myself and work within the malawian culture to try to make things happen. I'll be visiting a crocodile farm, a few wildlife reserves, a few safari places, and hopefully a Malawian Museum in the upcoming months to determine what the calss could do for a meaningful 6th grade camp. I've got so many ideas swimming around in my brain, I just hope that whatever happens will be awesome. I already know that our guest teacher will be awesome - Jolene is flying out to visit me and be a part of our 6th grade camp too!! SO RAD!! Anyway, my ideas at this point are broad and vague, I just want something awesome for the kids! (feel free to pray that awesome things would happen in this area, if you'd like!)
So ahh... the part about how it feels cool to be doing what God made you to do? I still remember that dorky leadership class at Hope; no, not "F. Y. Die" haha, but the J-term class I took with V and Bethany and Isaiah and Chris and Albert and tons of other people... I remember that class came right when I was in the middle of "The Royal Decree" It was then that I took my first Strengthsfinder test... They say I'm a Maximizer; ha! do you think?!? they say I'm an Arranger and a Developer... Yeah, I guess so.. it's projects like a yearbook and a 6th grade camp that thrill and excite me, though sometimes they also wear me out because I know I'm just asking to be Malawied or super stressed or whatever. But, I'm diving in, so here goes nothing!!
I read recently that God is not limited by our circumstances; that our geographical location does not thwart his will or purpose. That's a rad truth to rest in - God is bigger than the fact that I live on the other side of the world from my previous life, and my current location is IN his plan, not in the WAY OF his plan.
Secondly, I was reminded through a few verses at the end of Isaiah that God won't bring bring the labor pains without bringing forth the new life that makes it all worth it... At times, life here is like "labor." (case in point: my first week back here was awesome, everything was in decent working order all the time. Weeks 2-4, our internet was out. we were told daily that someone would come and it would be fixed. Three Weeks Later, we've got internet again, whew! That very weekend, the power went out all weekend. I nearly lost all the food I had in the fridge! I had electricity randomly in the middle of the night on Saturday, enough to skype with my fam and see Brian holding his new baby,(awww!) but come Monday morning I was getting dressed in the dark! the electricity did come back on that afternoon, yahooiee, however, since then I haven't had hot water and since last night I haven't had running water at all! I took a shower from a bucket this morning! so if it's not one thing, it's another, and thats how it goes! If you think of it, pray that our generator gets fixed and that they will build a new water tank here VERY SOON! Either that, or pray that I'd have a good attitude about this! I usually do, but sometimes it's still a bit of a bother, like when the power goes out when I've decided to cook a decent meal for once! Ahh, the thrill of being Malawied...! haha!) Yes, that was a nice case-in-point! ;) Anyway, God is not going to bring us through the labor pains for nothing; there is a beautiful new life waiting at the end! and then, that new life is just another beginning!
Lately, I have really felt like I'm on the brink of something BIG, that God has got his hands moving and that I can't even imagine how it will all end up. You know, I found some notes from a church sermon from almost a year ago, do you know what I had prayed that night? "God, I want something that is NOT OF ME." and yeah, ahh, can you just see how God answers these crazy prayers??!?!?! I know that I am here in the first place, not because of me and not of me, but through Christ and Christ alone!!
Anyway, thats Lisa in a nutshell these days. I've got to hit the sack now... ShopRite is out of Mt Dew so I had to buy it at the F-dub where it is 109 kwachainstead of k89! So I'll have to curb my Dewage... (Don't worry, I only have like 2 or 3 a week! it's the simple pleasures, ok?!?) Tomorrow my kids have a Bible lesson quiz, a James memorization test, a spelling quiz, a math chapter test, a literature quiz, and one more quiz that I cna't even remember... Anyway, I have to be in a decent mood to carry them through all that mumbo jumbo- what kind of teacher does that to her kids anyway?!? On top of that, they have a "dendrologist report" (tree report) due on Monday; come on! give 'em a rest!! heheh!
Eyelids....getting...heavy...
thanks for letting me share this cool stuff with you. Thanks for doing whatever it is that you do when you feel like you're in the middle of where God wants you to be, and that you are doing exactly what you were created to do! No one said it was easy, but it's sort of fun hu?!? :)
Tionana... :)
ooh yeah, haha, this is pretty dorky, you can go here and make fun of me: http://www.africanbiblecolleges.org/dir_kowalski_lisa.asp or just see whats up with ABC, etc. cool. (Ask Kevin what ABC stands for these days - HA HA HA!!)
and I miss you... write me! :) |
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