Duet.28:2 And these blessing shall come on thee, and overtake thee...

Wow! What a week this has been. The students marched in the Independence Day parade on the 15th.  They did great. The parade started about 9, but we all had to be there at 7. We finished about 12. They marched, played their instruments,and twirled their batons the whole time. What a bunch of kids. I'm sure they were as happy as me not to have school this week.

After the parade, Becky and I headed for Tegucigalpa. After church on Sunday, we had lunch with Pastor Miguel, his wife, sons, Pastor Bill and his wife Maria Luisa. And then on Monday, the teachers came to Becky's for lunch to celebrate Teacher's Day. What a peaceful, restful time. That night we went to Pastor Bill's to celebrate his birthday. And what a surprise I got. Maria Luisa bought a small cake for me for  my birthday to take home! I wasn't expecting anything! I was there to celebrate with Pastor Bill who is only two days older than me! Surprise, surprise, surprise!

On Tuesday after a little shopping, Becky took me back to Valle. We had to stop at one of the nurseries to get her some plants for her little patio off her living room. Her green thumb is beginning to grow!!! So we had to go buy a few groceries after we reached Valle. I was looking forward to a week of no teaching, but who did we run into? One of my lady students, Elida. And of course I couldn't say no when she asked if we were having class the next day. But she is such a good student, and a friend, I might add. I have so much fun watching her read stories in English. How I wish my students were as enthused as she is. On to Thursday. My birthday!! Well my student cooked and brought me lunch!! What great food and fellowship! I received lots of b'day greetings. And my youngest son sent this little ditty. I didn't know he was a poet!!

Just a little note to say

That I hope this day went your way

Just another year behind

May the next years shine and shine.

Simply great!

And today the teachers gave me a small lamp that uses candles. I like those things a lot. And when I got home from school my former tutor brought me 2 dozen roses: red, pink, yellow, and white. They smell sooo good!  This birthday has lasted a long time. May God bless my family and friends. To be sure, they have blessed me with their messages, money from my Ladies in KM, gifts of all kinds, and most importantly, their love and friendship. Muchas gracias por todo and especialmente, gracias Jesucristo por todo!

And my scripture reference? This is my favorite chapter in Deuteronomy. Many years ago, one of my kids asked me if I ever wanted to quit or got tired of following the Lord. I replied that sometimes I felt like throwing the Bible in the closet and letting  it go especially when things were hard. BUT this chapter kept me because of verse 4. Blessed shall be the fruit of thy body... That meant my kids. I wanted them to be blessed.  God has a way of keeping us, doesn't He?  Truly I am blessed with a large family, and it keeps growing bigger!  And God has blessed me in this foreign land. What an awesome God He is. Always faithful when we fall flat on our faces due to sin, etc. He's there to forgive, pick us up, and never to remind us of our failures. Truly His blessings have overtaken me.

Rom. 11:29 For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance,

YEAH!!! I received my residency on Thursday the 6th of Sept. Wow! What a blessing this is. No more leaving every three months and living out of a suitcase for a week or so. And no more buying extra visa time. This is great news for me, not only for my wallet, but also for my frame of mind. I don't have to be concerned about my students not receiving English because I have to leave at a time that is not convenient. I am so grateful for this blessing.

Another thing happened this past week. The national director named me subdirectora (like vice principal) of the school where I teach. This is not a position that I ever sought or wanted. I remember when I went in for my interview to work for SCK-SEC in Kansas as a special education teacher, and the director of the co-op asked me what I wanted to be doing in five years, and I told him teaching. I had no desire to be a principal, administrator, superintendent, etc. I had no desire to climb up the ladder. I just wanted to teach. He looked at me a little funny, but that was ok, because he hired me. But I have learned a few things. God will do the moving, whether you feel like it or not. Our best interest and the glorifying of His name is always on His heart. And He will provide all that is needed to do what He has called us to do.

And don't argue with the Lord because we won't win. The last time I told Him that I couldn't do something, He asked what if His son had said that he couldn't go to the cross. Well, that melted me, and I did what I had to do. And I don't want Him to get angry at me like he did with Moses when Moses kept saying why he couldn't do what God said for him to do. Neither do I want to end up in a whale's belly!!  But I know for a fact that He is always with me and He will never leave me. So here it is, whatever it is! So I covet the prayers of my church family as I  remind myself that God put me here, and He knows exactly where my Spanish is. And it was interesting to see the confidence on Mario's face when he told me that I could do this. Whew! Makes me sweat!! But I know his confidence foremost is in the Lord, but I also know that he has confidence in me, too.  And if the Lord has called us to something, we can and will do all in His strength that He gives us. So, here I am. The Lord told me several weeks ago that a person can't teach what they don't know. So I know I'm here to teach others what He has taught me. The people here can quote scripture like you wouldn't believe. But many times they don't know how to apply it to their daily lives. I had to learn how to do that, and so do they. There's more to obedience than going to church, singing all the songs, memorizing scripture, etc. There's that personal walking, talking, believing, and doing every word that comes from the mouth of God, and as my former pastor said, we only do what we believe. And this is especially true at the school.  But God has a plan!!

So once again I'm reading about Moses. The Lord always opens new understanding to things we have read a hundred times.  Like when at the burning bush, Moses hid his face because he was afraid to look at God, but in chapter 33 he asked God to show him His glory! And God found a way to answer Moses' request even when Moses could not look upon God's face and live.  Our God is truly awesome, and the more we know Him, the more awesome He becomes.