yahweh shalom. the Lord is peace.

The sun is shining, the sky is blue and the mountains of Franschhoek are not capped with snow....today. The weather has been changing as often as the hairstyles of the Academy girls (and that is OFTEN) and you can never tell just what to expect. One day it feels like the middle of summer, the next day thunder and lightning throw a party in the sky. I'm hoping today marks a permanent change in the weather as Spring has arrived and I am ready for the gloom to leave us alone. Thankfully, everyone at the Academy has recovered from the major flu (i don't think it was swine...) that was spreading around the school like the California fires. At one point, almost half of the whole school was in bed sick, in addition to some of the staff. People were dropping like flies. After administering medicine like we were a pharmacy, everyone is now feeling much better and back in classes. Somehow I managed to stay healthy and well, which I am very, very thankful for!

This past month has been both extremely exciting and extremely difficult...I might

even say the most exciting and the most difficult. We'll start with the difficulties so you have something to look forward to. After implementing the Bible classes and discipleship program, a lot of our students have stepped up in their relationships with God and made huge strides in their faith. However, as always, the enemy wants to do everything he can to stop that from happening. The 

spiritual battle rages on and we are feeling the effects, both amongst the students and the staff. And although it is not surprising, although we knew it would come, although the enemy hasn't had a new idea in ages, when it hits, it hits hard. So we are fighting against it using the weapons that are more than capable to defeat any pathetic schemes formed against us: the Spirit (through prayer) and the Word. Please come alongside us and be praying on our behalf. 

Now on to the excitement! The Bible classes are going great. We have been making our way through the Old Testament and I am completely in my element and loving it (SO much better than teaching math and english!). Teaching through the OT has been amazing and, for the most part, the kids are loving it. They constantly ask if I can keep going when class is over and ask amazing questions which show that they are thinking about it and not just spacing out. As we've been following the Israelites from Egypt to the desert and now into Canaan, they've really gotten involved in the story, getting annoyed when Israel turns from God over and over and being stoked for them when they finally get it right. It's been so great to be able to draw the parallels between us and the unfortunately all too similar Israelites and see them begin to understand the deeper meaning. Of course there are times when they ask questions I don't know the answers to or they doubt that certain events actually took place. And in those times, I can easily get discouraged and doubt that I am qualified for such an important undertaking. But then I remember the stories I just taught: Moses, a murderer and fugitive who was, by our standards, possibly the most unqualified man for the job was used in hugely unimaginable ways just because he was willing. He had no qualifications or characteristics that made him the perfect man for the job because it wasn't about him at all. It was all about God.  It was about God's abilities and God's plan. Moses was simply obedient to the call God placed on his life. And so I will be obedient, even when I don't have the answers and even when I feel overwhelmed, because I know that this is God's show and he is working despite my inadequacies. I'm not sure who is learning more through this class, me or the kids. 

The other half of my life here is focused on the discipleship of the girls. I have continued to disciple the 12th grade girls in addition to the 10/11th grade girls. Both of these groups have

 been going so great and I can see dramatic growth in their lives. I have been most impressed by many of the grade 12 girls and their desire to grow closer to God, throwing off the baggage and bondage that has hindered them in the past. They inspire me every single day and they are quite possibly my favorite part of my life here. God is doing BIG work in the lives of these young women and I am so humbly blessed to be a part of it. The other very exciting aspect of our new discipleship program is the discipling of the younger girls (grades 6-9). After our summer volunteer, Samantha, left, I knew that I would not be able to disciple all of the girls in the entire Academy in the way I was with the older girls. I also had a desire and a vision to see the grade 12 girls step up in leadership, knowing that 1.) leading creates accountability and 2.) you learn as you teach. So this past week we had our first night of the older girls leading the younger girls. We met in the conference room, I gave a short little talk and then the girls split up into their small groups, each being led by 2 12th graders. After we were finished, I debriefed with the new leaders and when I asked them how it went, the consensus was "Amazing!" They were so excited about it! I felt like a proud parent. Honestly, it was quite possibly the proudest moment of my life. Watching these girls get so excited about how God was going to use them as leaders and what He was going to do in the lives of "their girls" was one of the most encouraging and awesome experiences of my life. I could write so much more about this but I'll spare you my emotional ramblings and just say that God is good. 

We are now going into the last few weeks of the third term, which is unbelievable! Everyone says time flies but you never believe them. I am a little over three months away from boarding a flight back to Los Angeles and my heart, mind and soul are in constant turmoil over it. I need to decide if I will be going home for the holidays and then coming back, or if I am home for good in December. My principal has asked that I give her an answer by the end of this month so as to make plans for next year, which I understand. Unfortunately, I am 

completely torn. My friends and family want me to come home; my African friends and family want me to stay. My own heart wants me to both stay and go home. I have realized that it is a lose/lose and win/win situation. Either way, I end up both far away from people I love and with people I love. My heart is forever divided between two continents and I will never be able to reconcile that. I can not imagine leaving this place. I don't even know how it would be possible to walk away from these kids who have stolen my heart and refuse to give it back or let me go. But what I do know is that I don't want to be anywhere that is not the center of God's will. So my plea to you is that you would be earnestly praying for God to give me wisdom and direction. That he would show me exactly where he wants me and what he wants me to be doing and that there would be confirmation that would leave me beyond doubt. This is a big decision, maybe even bigger than the decision to come here in the first place. I need prayer big time, so please help me! :)

I'll leave you with something to make you smile. I asked some of the younger kids to tell me

 something new that they have learned about God since we started the Bible class. Here were a few of the answers:

-"I learned that God has power over the nature, you know like the things like water and mountains cause he opened the sea and made water come from rocks and you can't ever see water come from rocks!"

-"I learned that God forgives and he forgives and he forgives and he forgives. So many times he forgives."

-"I learned that God he is the most powerful. Yoo! He is the most powerful of everything!"

-"I didn't know that God could do his work through people. I learned that he uses us to do his plan."

-"I learned that God's name is Yahweh."

-"I learned that he provides everything and fights for us."

-"There is nothing too big for God."

Those are just a few. It is much cuter when you can hear their little voices saying it, but you get the idea. Please continue to pray for the spiritual lives of our children and the spiritual battle that they (and we) are facing. We need your prayers. 

God is good and he is working and he is continually blowing open the boxes I so foolishly try to put him in.