Silently now I wait for Thee, ready my God thy will to see. Open my eyes, illumine me, Spirit Divine. This is the refrain of a Soundforth song. And this is really what I’m experiencing right now.

Since my last email about four weeks have passed. This is already week ten. We have had a lot going on at school as well as finishing my required ten full days of teaching, a project in assessing student progress, attended evening services during Bible Conference, called several schools about openings, and just got back from the Greenville County Schools Spring Break.

For those who have asked, the certification test (Praxis 2) went okay. It was really hard to know how to study for it- so I didn’t. There was about 18 multiple choice questions that could be from psychology, curriculum, child development, government standards or many other possible aspects in education. The other part was in four sections. We were given a case study- teacher and class situation. Then we were to write short answer essays in response to the case study. That was interesting!

I got to go to the opera of Samson et Delila with a good friend. It was very convicting that sin is easy fall into in our present world. It was a rather sad performance, but I enjoyed the company.

Back to school my troubled kid (N.) has been through a lot these last few weeks. He got suspended for two days after all his behavior choices came to a breaking point one day- the day after my last update. He has since gotten worse, then better. Our Principal explained to him that he was hurting those that care about him. We bend over backwards for him, and that he is ungrateful with these hateful responses he’s giving us. The week before Spring break was awful with the entire class because of the excitement of getting a week off, but since we’ve been back- yesterday and today, N. has been very good for us. We actually got a lot done in class today, I had trouble with others, but not him. Once he has a task- he can work on it. Whenever he has down time, or had to make a transition-he struggles.

Another incident occurred a few weeks ago when I took a folded paper away from a girl after I asked for it three times. She got mad, so she slapped me. (It didn’t hurt) I wanted to laugh because she was suddenly ashamed and shocked at herself. The entire class was shocked as well, and several students asked if I was okay. (I was a bit shocked myself, but okay.) She got a referral (incident report put on her school record) and was punished with silent lunch/no recess for a few days. But I have had a lot less trouble from her, and she’s been very helpful. She has hit several teachers in the past so I guess that is what it took to initiate me into being a teacher perhaps?

I’ve contacted several schools, heard back from a few. The two openings I know of so far are for K-4 positions. I’ll tell you frankly that even though I teach a toddler Sunday School class, kindergarten is not my comfort zone- or at least my field of training. Please pray with me as I seek wisdom in regards to searching for a position.

We haven’t had any more fire drills or such craziness. The day before our Spring Break (March 26) we had a Fine Arts Day. That was fun. I entered the food art competition my own version of the cover from the children’s book Madeline. I had pineapple rings as hats with an Eiffel Tower over green icing. I got “Best International Entry.” The kids were pretty good considering moving around the school from event to event. That was a nice day to begin the break.

Bible Conference was a blessing, but also draining with several late nights working on a project between evening services and lesson prep. I got to sit with my sister and brother-in-law, and several friends.

I went home for Spring Break tired and a bit discouraged because of I was struggling completing a project. I did get it turned in. Rest, and some soul searching and a chance to get away for a bit were really a blessing. I got to visit with friends from New York came through while I was home, helped move a freezer, do housework with mom, go on a youth activity, get our church cleaned and decorated for Easter, filed patient files in a Doctor’s Office, cleaned a Dentist Office, and worked a day in the Scottish Store. It was really warm last week so it was nice for the mountains to finally be free of snow. Even though I had a lot going on, I did get rest! J

I’m looking forward to observing other teachers around the school, and teaching my kids a lot more. We have a field trip, and Mustang Madness- (school festival) in a few weeks. I’m also going to be calling a lot more schools as I look for possibilities for ministry in teaching.

It is crazy that five years of the Lord's leading is coming to a close, with graduating from college in a few weeks. I was told that the days go fast, and I can now say that they do.

Beth