Greetings,
Here I am again. A whole week has gone by and in many ways I feel no farther on in anything than I was last week. It is that time in the school year where you feel like the end should be coming sooner than it is, but at the same time it is rushing up on you and you don't have enough time to do all the things you want to do. It is a hard thing to explain.
I have had several good conversations with my team teacher and some of my students about the Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe. I have realized that I really struggle to remember what it is that I talked about with them afterwards. I am so focused on what they are saying and what I should say… and praying through it all… I only end up with fragmented thoughts and memories. Today was about "the wages of sin is death" with my team teacher Sh. and the other day I was going through passages about Jesus being king with Hannah. The fifth graders are learning responsibility and teamwork as they run the jump-roping at recess each day. I hope so much for all these kids and the teachers. Please pray for them.
All those conversations have been an encouragement to me. I am happy with what is going on at the school. I miss my missing teammate terribly, though. Although my life at home has not been as lonely as I expected without Laura here. My dear family here in Iraq has been so kind. I even learned to make homemade tortillas today. There are still many things that are difficult and lonely and hard, but I am aware of God giving me special blessings and showing his love and care for me. Please pray that I would continue to see God's hand at work and that I would persevere.
One thing that I have been blessed by lately is some music that a friend gave me. One of the songs by Rich Mullins struck me particularly because the lyrics seemed especially appropriate as I miss friends and family back in the States.
Well the other side of the world
Is not so far away as I thought that it was
As I thought that it was so far away
But the other side of the world
Is not so far away
And the distance just dissolves into the love
Into the love
And the New Jerusalem won't be as easy to build
As I hoped it would be
As I hoped it would be easy to build
But the New Jerusalem won't be so easy to build
There's many bellies to fill and many hearts to free
Got to set them free
And I know that the gates of hell
Are not prone to prevail
As I thought that they were
As I once thought they were prone to prevail
But I know that the gates of Hell
They have been destined to fail
I see Satan impaled on the sword of the Word
On the sword of the Word
And I see the people who have learned to walk in faith
With mercy in their hearts
And glory on their faces
And I can see the people
And I pray it won't be long
Until Your kingdom comes
I thank you all for your prayers. It strikes me as more and more important every day. Please also remember Laura (my team member that went back to the States) and her family as they adjust to a new way of life.
In Christ,
Colleen
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Monday, April 21, 2008
another letter from Colleen
Greetings,
I have sat here for some time staring at the blank page on my computer screen, wondering how to sum up this past week. It has been ordinary and yet anything but ordinary. On the surface so many things are just what they always have been, but underneath there is something else going on. I suppose it is that way always and I just don't realize it.
I have been convinced that I need to spend more time in prayer. This began almost a week ago and I have so enjoyed it. The spiritual warfare is violent and I began to notice it in more and more places. Again, perhaps it has always been there but I just started to notice. But my teammate, Laura, decided to pray in each of our classrooms before school that God would give them attitudes of pleasantness, a desire to work hard, and hearts open and soft to the gospel.
I think it must be impossible to spend time with God without finding something that needs to be changed. Over and over this week, I have been convicted of my sins of selfishness and possessiveness. There are so many things I have considered "mine" that are not mine, and even if they were I should be most willing to give them up if God asks them of me. He has asked them of me this week. Pray that I would continue to find these areas and that God would help me get rid of them.
Another thing I have become convinced of is that I must work harder at learning Kurdish and especially to learn the spiritual vocabulary in the language. I must get further if I am to do any good to the many women that have no English. I met a woman who is a baby Christian, she knows no other Christian women. My Kurdish isn't at the point where I can explain Biblical truths and she doesn't know English. I know what I am to do, not just to communicate with her, but to be able to communicate truth to my several other Kurdish friends who don't speak any English.
I am so blessed, however, to be able to proclaim the truth of Jesus Christ in English to my students. Please be praying for S-z. I have mentioned her before (she came to a Bible Study for a few weeks last year) but she seemed to lose interest in all things spiritual. But Tuesday she came to me with several questions about Jesus and Christians. At the end of lunch she asked if she could talk to me again, next lunch break, and ask some more questions. Wednesday was a holiday and so I figured she would probably have forgotten her question. But no, yesterday she came back at lunch and asked the question that I didn't have time to answer before.
"Why did Jesus let himself die?"
After some discussion and several other questions…(the gospel follows so logically, all you have to do is wait for the next perfect question!) she asked another one at the very end of lunch.
"So if a girl…or someone…anyone…not me, you know, believed Jesus and what he did, but was well afraid…people would say things like 'Why do you do that' and think that person is strange, would Jesus take her to heaven or leave her?"
Whoa! That's a hard question and I told her so. As I spoke, I referred to this "someone" as herself and she took it without comment. She is really struggling over this. Pray that her faith would grow and that I would have the wisdom in my words and actions. I love her and all my students so much.
Thank you for your prayers this week. My sleep has improved some, but I am still waking up once or twice in the night for no reason. I have discovered, however, that the rooster that lives across the street must be blind, for he crows all day and all night. Funny thing. But this morning I seem to have woken up with something or other rather icky; I hope it is short lived. Thank you all for your prayers and encouragement.
Many blessings on you all,
Colleen
I have sat here for some time staring at the blank page on my computer screen, wondering how to sum up this past week. It has been ordinary and yet anything but ordinary. On the surface so many things are just what they always have been, but underneath there is something else going on. I suppose it is that way always and I just don't realize it.
I have been convinced that I need to spend more time in prayer. This began almost a week ago and I have so enjoyed it. The spiritual warfare is violent and I began to notice it in more and more places. Again, perhaps it has always been there but I just started to notice. But my teammate, Laura, decided to pray in each of our classrooms before school that God would give them attitudes of pleasantness, a desire to work hard, and hearts open and soft to the gospel.
I think it must be impossible to spend time with God without finding something that needs to be changed. Over and over this week, I have been convicted of my sins of selfishness and possessiveness. There are so many things I have considered "mine" that are not mine, and even if they were I should be most willing to give them up if God asks them of me. He has asked them of me this week. Pray that I would continue to find these areas and that God would help me get rid of them.
Another thing I have become convinced of is that I must work harder at learning Kurdish and especially to learn the spiritual vocabulary in the language. I must get further if I am to do any good to the many women that have no English. I met a woman who is a baby Christian, she knows no other Christian women. My Kurdish isn't at the point where I can explain Biblical truths and she doesn't know English. I know what I am to do, not just to communicate with her, but to be able to communicate truth to my several other Kurdish friends who don't speak any English.
I am so blessed, however, to be able to proclaim the truth of Jesus Christ in English to my students. Please be praying for S-z. I have mentioned her before (she came to a Bible Study for a few weeks last year) but she seemed to lose interest in all things spiritual. But Tuesday she came to me with several questions about Jesus and Christians. At the end of lunch she asked if she could talk to me again, next lunch break, and ask some more questions. Wednesday was a holiday and so I figured she would probably have forgotten her question. But no, yesterday she came back at lunch and asked the question that I didn't have time to answer before.
"Why did Jesus let himself die?"
After some discussion and several other questions…(the gospel follows so logically, all you have to do is wait for the next perfect question!) she asked another one at the very end of lunch.
"So if a girl…or someone…anyone…not me, you know, believed Jesus and what he did, but was well afraid…people would say things like 'Why do you do that' and think that person is strange, would Jesus take her to heaven or leave her?"
Whoa! That's a hard question and I told her so. As I spoke, I referred to this "someone" as herself and she took it without comment. She is really struggling over this. Pray that her faith would grow and that I would have the wisdom in my words and actions. I love her and all my students so much.
Thank you for your prayers this week. My sleep has improved some, but I am still waking up once or twice in the night for no reason. I have discovered, however, that the rooster that lives across the street must be blind, for he crows all day and all night. Funny thing. But this morning I seem to have woken up with something or other rather icky; I hope it is short lived. Thank you all for your prayers and encouragement.
Many blessings on you all,
Colleen
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
From Colleen
Greetings,
This week was harder than I ever imagined it could be. I never approach my week and think, "Wow, this'll be easy!" But physically and emotionally I got beat up these last several days.
The illness made me feel terrible for a few days, but harder to deal with was the sudden death of my teammate Laura's father. He died probably of a heart attack, a seemingly healthy man in his prime. Please pray for her, she left last night to return to the States to be with her mother and younger brother and sister. There will be many things for her to sort through emotionally as well as ways to be a support to her family. I can't imagine the difficulty for her, but her father is rejoicing in heaven. We do not mourn like the people of this world mourn.
There is a selfish request related to that as well. I have lost a dear friend and someone with whom I have spent nearly the whole of the last 2 and a half months. We ate, prayed, worked, drove, walked, prayed, and laughed together. I mentioned prayer twice in that list because she blessed me so much during our times of prayer together. We also spent much time laughing. Please pray for me that I would be encouraged, comforted, and that I would continue to laugh. A lot of things become a lot harder here without another single girl.
I remind myself, however, that God knows what he is doing. This wasn't some random accident from his perspective. So, I have begun looking for the possibilities of new things or old things that I could invest in that I didn't do as much of these last few months. I am going to work harder on Kurdish and specifically learn the terms and vocabulary for spiritual conversations. In addition, I hope to spend some more time with our neighbors, a new Christian girl, and another family here that I know, none of whom speak English. As I studied this afternoon I realized that this will not be an easy thing to attempt, but how often do I counsel my students to push through and persevere through difficulty? Nearly every day.
My work at the school has not been abandoned, however. I am still blessed by conversations over the last few days. Ron (if you remember my astrophysics/quantum physics 6th grader) approached me again today with questions about diversity in Creation and Evolutionary theories, he was very sure and thought that he must have me pinned. God is the giver of grace and words. But I left him thinking about absolute truth and how the basis for truth according to him is a random series of chemical reactions. He said he'd have to chew on that one for a while.
The struggles I have draw me closer to Christ. The dilemmas I come across make me re-evaluate the truths and things that I have taken for granted. God has proven himself faithful. Please continue with me in prayer.
Sent to serve,
Colleen
This week was harder than I ever imagined it could be. I never approach my week and think, "Wow, this'll be easy!" But physically and emotionally I got beat up these last several days.
The illness made me feel terrible for a few days, but harder to deal with was the sudden death of my teammate Laura's father. He died probably of a heart attack, a seemingly healthy man in his prime. Please pray for her, she left last night to return to the States to be with her mother and younger brother and sister. There will be many things for her to sort through emotionally as well as ways to be a support to her family. I can't imagine the difficulty for her, but her father is rejoicing in heaven. We do not mourn like the people of this world mourn.
There is a selfish request related to that as well. I have lost a dear friend and someone with whom I have spent nearly the whole of the last 2 and a half months. We ate, prayed, worked, drove, walked, prayed, and laughed together. I mentioned prayer twice in that list because she blessed me so much during our times of prayer together. We also spent much time laughing. Please pray for me that I would be encouraged, comforted, and that I would continue to laugh. A lot of things become a lot harder here without another single girl.
I remind myself, however, that God knows what he is doing. This wasn't some random accident from his perspective. So, I have begun looking for the possibilities of new things or old things that I could invest in that I didn't do as much of these last few months. I am going to work harder on Kurdish and specifically learn the terms and vocabulary for spiritual conversations. In addition, I hope to spend some more time with our neighbors, a new Christian girl, and another family here that I know, none of whom speak English. As I studied this afternoon I realized that this will not be an easy thing to attempt, but how often do I counsel my students to push through and persevere through difficulty? Nearly every day.
My work at the school has not been abandoned, however. I am still blessed by conversations over the last few days. Ron (if you remember my astrophysics/quantum physics 6th grader) approached me again today with questions about diversity in Creation and Evolutionary theories, he was very sure and thought that he must have me pinned. God is the giver of grace and words. But I left him thinking about absolute truth and how the basis for truth according to him is a random series of chemical reactions. He said he'd have to chew on that one for a while.
The struggles I have draw me closer to Christ. The dilemmas I come across make me re-evaluate the truths and things that I have taken for granted. God has proven himself faithful. Please continue with me in prayer.
Sent to serve,
Colleen
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Update From Bekah Rust in Romania
An update from Bekah follows:
I am standing outside of Rehab. Across the street, down a driveway and behind a small white
building is an empty playground. At the far end of the playground is a yellow bench being
showered in sunlight. In the middle of this bench is a small child, he is too far away to see
clearly, and wearing a large yellow winter coat which causes him to nearly blend in with the
bench. This little boy is steadily rocking back and forth, which is the only reason I saw him in
the first place. They rock to comfort themselves. This child belongs to the small white building
next to Rehab, a place for children who are disabled and have AIDS. I want to walk over
there and sit down next to him. I want to put my hand on his back and comfort him so he will
stop rocking, but I don't. I am afraid. I wish I had the courage Jesus had when He
approached the lepers, those stories take on a whole new meaning to me when I am faced
with similar situations. I am a long way from being like my Savior, and I have become even
more amazed by His actions while on this earth.
I started painting at Rehab this week, and I have a lot of work to do. This is my last week in
Bucharest. I plan do most of the downstairs painting in the afternoon when the kids have
naps. I was reassured this was the best plan today. I was just finishing up for the day when
the boys were waking up. One of the boys was hiding behind the doorway, and peeking out at
me every few minutes, while another was sitting precariously close to the power chord to my
computer, (which I used with a projector before starting to paint) and a third was watching my
every move and every so often would jump up and try to touch something that I was carrying.
Luminiþa (a young girl I have been working with) was fitted for braces for her feet today. Her
feet are turned out, and hopefully this will help her be able to walk straight in the future. It is
encouraging to see progress in the orphanages because it seems that things change so
slowly here. Thank you all so much for your prayers. Please continue to pray for change in
the orphanages in Romania, as well as for strength for the missionaries here who are
reaching out to these lost children. The children often suffer from many psychological
problems because of the way they grow up, making it very difficult for them to succeed in life.
Their is so much work to be done here. Pray especially for the children, for God's blessing
upon them, that their hearts will be turned to Him, and that many would be saved.
~Bekah
I am standing outside of Rehab. Across the street, down a driveway and behind a small white
building is an empty playground. At the far end of the playground is a yellow bench being
showered in sunlight. In the middle of this bench is a small child, he is too far away to see
clearly, and wearing a large yellow winter coat which causes him to nearly blend in with the
bench. This little boy is steadily rocking back and forth, which is the only reason I saw him in
the first place. They rock to comfort themselves. This child belongs to the small white building
next to Rehab, a place for children who are disabled and have AIDS. I want to walk over
there and sit down next to him. I want to put my hand on his back and comfort him so he will
stop rocking, but I don't. I am afraid. I wish I had the courage Jesus had when He
approached the lepers, those stories take on a whole new meaning to me when I am faced
with similar situations. I am a long way from being like my Savior, and I have become even
more amazed by His actions while on this earth.
I started painting at Rehab this week, and I have a lot of work to do. This is my last week in
Bucharest. I plan do most of the downstairs painting in the afternoon when the kids have
naps. I was reassured this was the best plan today. I was just finishing up for the day when
the boys were waking up. One of the boys was hiding behind the doorway, and peeking out at
me every few minutes, while another was sitting precariously close to the power chord to my
computer, (which I used with a projector before starting to paint) and a third was watching my
every move and every so often would jump up and try to touch something that I was carrying.
Luminiþa (a young girl I have been working with) was fitted for braces for her feet today. Her
feet are turned out, and hopefully this will help her be able to walk straight in the future. It is
encouraging to see progress in the orphanages because it seems that things change so
slowly here. Thank you all so much for your prayers. Please continue to pray for change in
the orphanages in Romania, as well as for strength for the missionaries here who are
reaching out to these lost children. The children often suffer from many psychological
problems because of the way they grow up, making it very difficult for them to succeed in life.
Their is so much work to be done here. Pray especially for the children, for God's blessing
upon them, that their hearts will be turned to Him, and that many would be saved.
~Bekah
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