God Provides

This week as been a week of doing things that I was not prepared for. God has been giving me opportunities to grow and expand who I am by putting me on the spot. God is showing me that the things that I normally depend on are not necessary because God provides in everything that God has called me to do.

At the school this past week the teacher in my class room did not show up at all. While this might seem really crazy to most of you and it is still crazy to think about for me, this has happened before with this teacher. Thankfully I work with two wonderful Lakota women in the class room. They are Leah and Denise and they are the full time Kindergarten assistants. They really care about the kid’s education and have a strong desire to see them learn. Well, when the teacher didn’t show up Leah asked me to teach the kids. I had done this before but this week I did it every day. I was able to read to the kids and help them write their numbers and letters. I wish I could cut myself in 17 different pieces to be able to work with each of the kids in my class individually. It is so hard because I see how much they succeed when I work with them individually but at the same time there are usually 15 other kids saying, “Teacher, teacher, teacher.” So far the kids are also respecting my authority more and I haven’t been hit or kicked in a while, which is an answer to prayer. I am now able to take command of the class and they listen to me. So keep the prayers coming.

This week I have also been really active at the Wounded Knee Church of God. There was a youth group from a Church of God in Casper, WY that brought out a bunch of clothes and mainly jackets to giveaway to people in the community. On Saturday they went around Wounded Knee village and they picked up kids. The youth in the group each picked a kids and they took them “shopping” through the donated clothes and helped them pick out a jacket and other things. It was really neat to see how the children connected with the youth group. I saw that my leadership skills came in handy when there was a child walking around aimlessly and I was able to place a youth with that child. Also Stanley and Sylvia were busy and so they were unable to be present with the group, so I filled in and helped about leading the group and working with some local people who came through. Also a member of the church passed away early Saturday morning, from a long battle with lung cancer. Her name was Verla. Her sister is the other Sunday School teacher, Julie who I have befriended. I taught Sunday School today and I didn’t know I was teaching until about 10 minutes before church started. I will most likely teach by myself for quite a while Julie mourns the loss of her sister. Today I taught about Daniel and the Lion’s Den. They made Lion paper bag puppets and acted out the story. I think that I’ll find the hardest thing with teaching Sunday School is that I’ll have ages 2 to 13. I am finding it hard to teach something that is relevant to all of the ages. Also tonight I went to a memorial service for Verla. At the end of the service Pastor Stanley called upon me to say something to the family. I was not prepared but I felt like God gave me the right words to say. One thing that I love about being at the Wounded Knee Church of God is that Stanley and Sylvia trust me to pray or to speak at any occasion. God always gives me the words to say and provides even when I haven’t prepared anything.

On Friday we had no school so we decided to do something fun. Heather and Katriina had never been to the Badlands or Wall Drug so we took a road trip. We had a great time in the badlands and we were even able to catch the sunset over the badlands at the end of the day, it was amazing! Also we ventured to Wall Drug the world’s largest drug store. We were able to get buffalo burgers and have a little break from life while we enjoyed the insanity that is Wall Drug.

I just have one prayer request for this week. Please keep the family of Verla in your prayers. She left 5 children, some grandkids, a loving husband, and a close knit family of sisters. Her wake will be Wednesday and Thursday and her funeral will be Friday.