My first day of school... Teaching!

Well... I survived my first day of teaching!!! :)
Thank you all for praying for me. My kids arrived at my house this morning at 8am for their first day, and I admit that I was very nervous. As I mentioned in yesterday's post, I hadn't been able to plan or prepare very much for this coming week, so I was a little unsure about how it would all pan out, but it was a great morning. We set up a classroom agreement that covered our rules and expectations, and I got them each set up for the coming months. I think that it will be a great year ahead. Thank you for your continual prayer for me in this area. Although I only have three students, I still need to cover a lot of material in each of their grade levels and I hope I can maintain their enthusiasm for learning. I just keep asking the Lord to teach through me and I know He will!
Another thing I forgot to mention yesterday was about the church service. One thing that really moved me during the worship time was the way that the Haitian people passionately sang and praised the Lord. As I mentioned a lot of the songs were familiar, just sung in creole, but the words we sang took on a new meaning for me... Words like - I'm trading my sorrows, I'm trading my pain, I'm laying them down for the joy of the Lord, and - I'll fly away, Oh glory, I'll fly away, when I die hallelujah by and by, I'll fly away.
As I was singing, I really started to understand that for these people, heaven is their only hope. They are living in pain, hunger, sorrow from death and disease, and yet they believe that someday through Jesus sacrifice they will have no more tears, no more hunger, no more disease, no more disaster. It was so moving to watch these people sing and I don't think I will ever sing these songs the same way again.

Well... I should probably get back to planning my school week... Thank you all for your prayers and encouragement! Love, Diana