Everyone's got a story to tell

This week has been quite trying for me.  My wonderful work partner, Jose, got married last Saturday and has been on his honeymoon this week, which means I've been at the Tutoring Center on my own.  I realized how much I appreciate having someone else there to bounce ideas off of, share in the responsibilities (and discipline), and also to help me explain myself when I'm not able to find the words to use in Spanish.  I also made the mistake of allowing too many kids in during our tutoring sessions because I have a hard time turning kids away.  The truth is, I cannot manage 12 students who are all working on different homework/practices in Spanish and need to have things explained to them and work revised.  I am not Wonder Woman.  That being said, I also learned this week that the Lord supplies my needs when I breathe out those short "Help me," or "Jesus!" prayers, such as I did this week.  

In spite of a crazy week, I feel like God is teaching me more about His people and His heart through some of the stories that people shared with me or that I was a part of this week.  At church this week we were reading about Isaac and Rebekah in Genesis, but looking more intently at Abraham's servant and the emphasis he placed on a daily, ongoing relationship with the God of Abraham as demonstrated by the way he prayed to the Lord about everything.  One of the high school boys from the community where I work was sharing with me that his "normal" is that his father moved out when he was young and that his mother has had a string of boyfriends since then.  When I asked him if it is hard for him to see his mom with men that aren't his father, he responded that it is just the way it is here and he doesn't think of it as anything strange.  Wednesday night we had an evening discussing poverty and what the Bible has to say about it with our semester students.  It's challenging and also encouraging to know a bit of God's heart on this subject and as Christians we have quite a responsibility to care for the body of Christ.  And there was the conversation we had in girls' club on Friday about sexual purity, wanting to make different choices than their mothers and family members before them, and other similar topics.  Such wisdom from these young girls, and I just want to take them all home and protect them from this sinful world.  

When I think about all the conversations I have with students from age 6 all the way to age 26+, it's no wonder I feel mentally and emotionally exhausted sometimes!  Working with people is hard and always will be hard because of the investment it requires.  But it is worth it.  It is so exciting to see those "light bulbs" click on or to hear that person open up to you who hadn't done so before.  And just like being a teacher in the States, I know that my time with each "student" that I work with is limited, and at the end of the day, they go to their home and I am not there to have influence.  It broke my heart to know where some of my Malaga students were going home to in Fowler, CA, and it breaks my heart knowing what goes on or who isn't going to eat that night in Los Guido, Costa Rica.  But that is why I want to love them and show them Jesus when I can, when I have them.  That's my responsibility and I have to trust that God is bigger than me and Students International and can and will work in their hearts and lives as well.  He doesn't need us at all.  He could do it all on His own, as one of my FPU friends said on Wednesday night.  But He asks us to join in.  Thank you, Lord.  Thank you that you want us/me, even though we are broken people.

Cailah, Emily, and our favorite little guy Joab at Jose's wedding

The happy couple

The ladies of SI-Costa Rica: Cailah, Emily, Tracey, Cindy and Tara

The rooster that kept wandering around during the reception.  We said it looked like he had feather Ugs on his legs. :)

Wanna know what I've been doing with my time?!

Rather than write out a regular post, I'm gonna highlight what my past week looked like.  It was pretty packed!

Monday: Staff meeting in the morning with all of our SI-Costa Rica staff.  Prayer time, worship, discussion of the "lost" parables that Jesus speaks about, and then our business meeting.  Lunch with Cailah and intern friend Emily.  Chat with a friend in California and then prep time for the week.  Dance class at the gym, dinner, and then bedtime!

Tuesday: Met up with the semester students before work to show them how to walk to the bus stop and then rode the bus to Los Guido and the tutoring center together.  Sports site and Tutoring Center site all together for lunch.  Rode bus home with them all.  Went out to dinner with some new friends I met at church (yippee!) and had a wonderful time.

Wednesday: Normal day at the tutoring center, I taught an art lesson using heart stencils, crayons, and watercolors.  Took semester students home in my car today.  Came home, cleaned up our house a bit and made brownies.  Made some really yummy pad Thai for dinner.  :)  Semester students came over after dinner for Bible study and hang out time.  Drove two rounds of students home around 9:00 and then called it a day.

Thursday: Before work prayer time with my co-worker ladies.  A blessing to be able to do that together.  Drove semester students to work with me.  Pipe exploded during "recess" time and our intern William had to go buy glue to fix it.  Art time again in the afternoon.  I stayed at the Centro and did last minute planning for my English class.  5-6:15pm class with nine 18ish year old boys.  They joked with me a lot so I think we are making some headway in our friendships.  Watched some tv after dinner and went to bed.  EXHAUSTING day!

Friday: Girls' club at the Centro, we made muffins and talked about Esther and where true beauty comes from.  Every seat in the Centro full during lunch with Sports, Micro finance and Tutoring all together.  Small group there for library time and got to love on some sweet little boys.  Had one of my English students call me and ask if we can study next week during lunch time for an English test he is going to have at school.  Crashed for a few hours after work, dance class at the gym, watched (and sang along to) The Phantom of the Opera with Cailah.

Saturday: Planned on sleeping in but my body thought otherwise.  Pretty relaxing day including going to the Farmer's Market, writing a blog post :), catching up with some friends in the States, and maybe going to a $5 movie tonight.

Not all weeks look like that, but it's not all that abnormal.  Makes me realize my need to depend on the Lord for my strength everyday and take one day at a time.  And after walking to the bus stop and taking the bus to work on Tuesday, I was reminded again how thankful I am for the car that I have.  Pray for me as my mind sometimes is spinning in what I need to be planning for and focusing on at the moment.  I like the business but also want to take care of myself.

Here are some pictures of an excursion I went on last Saturday with the semester students to the Volcano Irazu and the beautiful Orosi Valley lookout: