First Week of School Accomplished! (And I didn't die!)

Wow, school is hard... I have only been with my students 3 half-days so far, and I already feel exhausted! I think most of that is my fault, though, for not going to bed early enough... getting up at 6am regularly hasn't ever been required of me before, and it is definitely not my favorite.  Our students are great, though, and I already love them all! I even impressed myself because I learned all of their names after the first day. I can't believe I'm really a teacher's assistant on the rez... it's so crazy where God leads us sometimes. I'm pretty excited about the school year, although if we don't get some good routines and expectations in place next week, it could be hard to get them to settle down and focus.  There are a few of the students who are pretty behind and not up to grade level yet. It's pretty common, though, in the school district across all grades to have several students who are testing in 2 or 3 grade levels behind.  It is so sad to see, but so hard to fight or find a solution to.  The classrooms have way too many students and most of the time we can hardly get past the behavior issues to get to the real teaching and learning.  I am making it my goal to try my hardest with the students who are behind and intentionally praying for them. I'm sure that the kids who are struggling the most probably have the most issues at home or have been through the most, so they are in the most need for structure and education. Although, what they really need is Christ. I still don't know what it looks like for me to share the love of Christ with these kids in the classroom. I want them to succeed in our 1st grade class, but I feel like that is so little compared to the all the hurt, evil, and pain they will have to struggle through.  I'm still not sure what to do with that. Anyway, school has been pretty good so far, but I'm still trying to find my place and purpose in it. I would really appreciate prayer for that and for the kids who are already struggling to keep up.

I also have a huge answer to prayer to share with you! Some of you know from my emails that I thought I was coming down with a cold, but I only felt a little bit of a sore throat coming on for a couple days, then I was perfectly fine! It was definitely an answer to prayer, and, I think, a miracle. I almost never stay healthy when someone else in the house is sick or recover so quickly from feeling sick. I was so relieved and happy that I wouldn't have to deal with sickness on the first week of school. And I have to thank all of you for praying for me! If I didn't have you prayer warriors on my side, I don't know what I would do. Thank you so much and praise the Lord for His abundant blessings!

Peace