May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Romans 15:13
...the thing with feathers, that perches in the soul," so wrote Emily Dickinson. How is Emily's idea of hope similar or different to the idea of hope represented in the Bible? This was the prompt for the essay that the juniors recently wrote for their American Literature class. My student argued that the ideas were similar because both look forward to a better future. Perhaps he missed that the hope Emily writes about in her poem does not go beyond this present world and life, whereas the Bible's hope is eternal. There is assurance in the Biblical idea of hope that goes beyond wishful thinking for a better future. Where are you placing your hope? Where am I placing mine? As Easter approaches, may we remember that Christ's first coming has secured our hope in his second coming and in our eternal dwelling with him.
Happenings Here...
The first semester came to a smooth close at the end of January; however, the workload has picked up significantly in the middle of the third quarter and several of my students are struggling to stay on top of it all. A few weeks ago, we enjoyed spirit week and many students and a few staff came in fun and creative costumes each day. I enjoyed dressing up for Throw-Back-Thursday, dress from the past. I threw back to 1804, or 2004 when I was in a production of Pride and Prejudice. February also brought the high school's performance of Into the Woods, which I had the pleasure of choreographing for the dance at the end of each act. I have recently started mentoring a junior girl. We are meeting once a week to talk. She would like to have a woman in her life to encourage her and be a safe place for asking questions.
And There...
Missionaries supported by my local church here in Germany were on a soft evacuation from a middle eastern country due to military action, but were able to return at the end of February.
Missionary friends who run aid work on the island of Lesvos, Greece have had to evacuate to Athens this week due to the strife on the island caused by an influx of refugees and demonstrations from upset locals.
TeachBeyond has canceled our mission-wide global conference that was to happen over Spring Break due to the spread of the Coronavirus in Europe. Missionaries around the world are being impacted by the restrictions on travel and are working to determine the best course of action in each of their unique situations.
Please Pray...
Praise God for his sovereignty and goodness, amidst all of our current circumstances.
Praise God for the extra gifts which will cover the cost of my classes in the autism program and German language learning through the B.1.2 level!
Praise God for how things are coming together for the wedding and summer travel.
For the deepening of the relationship between me and the girls that I have started mentoring.
For my students, especially the juniors, to be able to continue to persevere through their current workload.
For my students who are struggling with anxiety about school.
Blessings,
Becky
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