guess who got her ring back?!

I did!

I am one happy girl to have her ring back.  I was on the phone with mom (slightly panicking) asking "what do I do if they don't have it ready? That is simply not acceptable." when I got the beep in my ear of an incoming call.  After a squeal, I politely picked up the phone and was delighted to hear my ring was ready. In my defense, I did mention to her "I am working on keeping in mind that the day is not done yet, so they have not failed quite yet".  Unfortunetly, I was still freaking out a bit.  It was definitely a very long 2 and a half weeks.

For Friday night, my evening has been a bit dry.  I got on an academic kick and got a bunch done.  I have all my homework done for Monday through Friday with the exception of one assignment that is due on Friday.  I am feeling very good about that!  Hooray for a productive evening.  This will allow me to enjoy my time in VA all the more, wedding planning with my fiance and simply enjoying his presence.

One of my recent assignments has been to create a schedule.  It sounded fun and easy until she gave us the requirements and what has to be involved in our schedule. Such as: you have two students taking music lessons that will be out at such and such a time, you like to read aloud to your students every day, school ends one hour early on Fridays, you have lunch duty on Tuesday and Thursday and dismissal duty on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday and so you will need to leave your class fifteen minutes early, this age group is required to have two recesses, and the list went on and on (a solid page).  I loved the thought of thinking practically, but quickly found myself severely intimidated.  This is really how it is.  Teaching is HARD work.  My heart goes out to the students with music lessons not wanting them to miss any important time, but that is simply not possible.  Reading and Math should be for longer then forty-five minutes, but that isn't possible when you are required to get everything else in.

if you have not yet noticed, if you click on the image, it will enlarge

I respect teachers, I respect them a lot.  Classroom  management is intense.  It is far more then your philosophy on discipline.  You have 5-30 little lives in your hands that parents have entrusted to you.  You are to teach them academics, while nurturing them spiritually, emotionally, socially, and all of the other -allys. It is such a huge role, and truly and honor.  I find myself feeling very inadequate and incapable, but I have to catch myself.  God has given me such a desire in my heart to love and teach children.  I wouldn't be able to settle for doing anything else.  This is God's call on my life, and I am to fulfill it.  Am I inadequate? yeah.  But God has called me to do this and therefore, He will carry me through it and help me every step of the way.  I am humbled to have been given such an awesome responsibility.

I ask two things of you...Number One: Think of the people you know in your lives that are teachers.  Think of your children's teachers.  Tell them thank you. Number Two: Pray for those teachers, and lift them up to the Lord because they have a huge (and awesome) task.

I made it!

I am now currently living in West Virginia.  Daniel flew up to Vermont to spend the weekend with Tim, Beth, and Annette and then helped me drive down.  I am so thankful for his being able to do that.  I had not been looking forward to the long drive alone, especially when I am usually the one that tries my best to avoid driving on long trips.  Driving twelve hours by myself was something that was really stressing me.  But Daniel was able to help me, which put me at a lot of ease.  Dad worked hard on getting the vehicle all ready to travel.  Have I ever mentioned before how thankful I am to have men in my life that are handy with cars?  It is a huge expense saver and I feel I would be ripped off at a mechanics because I am a single female and they could tell me anything to believe and charge me whatever.  Instead, I have awesome men in my life who can usually fix it themselves, and if they can't, they know who best to have do it, and if the price is right.  So, back to the drive down...Daniel and I had a very 'easy' trip down.  I hit some stop-and-go traffic due to construction while I was driving, and he hit some rain, but other then that the trip was great.  The car went well as well (thanks, Dad!).  We drove to his grandparents where I was able to get a good night's rest before the three and half hour drive on Wednesday.

I woke up with knots in my stomach, the time had come when I did have to drive alone.  I had taken Tuesday for granted in having Daniel with me to help navigate and as someone to talk to, a second set of eyes, someone to help drive, a guy if anything were to go wrong with the car, and so on.  Daniel sat down with me and talking through the directions and answered my million questions.  He was very patient with me in making sure I felt confident about the trip.  He checked my oil and got that back to where it was supposed to.  I hit the road.  He helped me out so much with the directions he gave and I had no problem making it to school.  I did hit some hard rain which tensed me up a bit, but I was able to see an answer to prayer through that.  May sounds funny, but it was raining hard and became very blinding, but traffic was busy and I had semis all around me going 70+ mph, I couldn't drive slow because of the conditions.  I simply shot a prayer up asking the Lord to please stop the rain, and within the minute, I drove out of the rain.  So thankful!!

So all that to say, I made it safely to school and started moving into the apartment.  For those of you who do not know, I am staying in an apartment this summer located on the college campus.  The family who lives here is away for the summer on a missions internship.  I am still in awe at how God provided above and beyond what I had asked for housing this summer.  I was able to catch up with my dear friend Kari and then get ready for our opening night of VBS at my church down here. It was so good to be back and to see my kiddos.  It was also wonderful to see my adopted family again.  Thursday started work for me.

As you probably already know, I will be working for Energy Express this summer.  It is an extension (or branch) of the AmeriCorps.  It is a program only offered in West Virginia.  I have had several friends do it before, and all have loved it.  Many have gone back to do it year after year (to me that is a great sign that it is a great program).

Energy Express is a reading program to help the under educated and under privileged children of West Virginia (though from my experience in talking with people, it reaches beyond that.  My official title is AmeriCorps Mentor.  Now to explain what I do with that title...I will be the teacher of around eight students.  I will have those same students all summer (for which I am so thankful).  Each week will have a theme (family, community, patriotism, etc.) and every morning I will read my students a book on that theme. For the remainder of the morning I will have activities for my students to do related to the book read that morning and the theme of the week.  These activities might be games, crafts, writing, etc.  Also in the morning, it is the goal of Energy Express to have a volunteer come in and read one-on-one with each students.  This allows the students to have the one-on-one time with an adult to work on their reading.  I believe this will be a great experience for me as I prepare for teaching full time after college.

Another aspect of this program is making sure that the children still eat during the summer.  We feed the children breakfast and lunch each day.  This means I also have breakfast and lunch provided for me during the week.  Another sighting of how God is providing for me.

Yesterday was the first day of training.  Many have asked "how did it go?" and that is a hard question to answer.  Really, the only thing we did was talk about what the AmeriCorps is for about ten minutes, and then filled out paperwork the rest of the time.  I was done by 9:30am.  We go to the actual site we will be teaching at (which I have heard is REALLY nice) this afternoon and work on some more stuff.  Next week we go to a college a ways away and do more specific training for the summer. So anyways, I hope that fills you in a little more about what my summer entails.

All prayers are needed and appreciated.  A few specific prayer requests would be....

• my testimony with those I am working with
• that I would not only be a witness of the gospel through my actions, but also my words
• strength and courage as living alone has brought more challenges then anticipated
• that I would trust the Lord to provide for my every need
• that I would be content with his timing
• my health
• the summer staff at TER this summer, they are in their first week of training

One thing I have really been enjoying is cooking for myself.  I have not necessarily been cooking as I would choose to this week, but that is just because I am trying to only buy the bare minimum this week...well because I am being stingy, haha.  Next week I will still be careful, but will be okay with buying more of what I need.  My first meal alone was pretty rough, it was a nasty packaged soup with as I refer to it as "pasta shavings", it wasn't even like real pasta.  Needless to say, I was very hungry after church that night. I have been doing better though.     Here are some pictures of two of my first meals...

 

Last night I had some chicken and rice.  The color is about as boring as can be, but that is the nice thing about only cooking for myself, I don't have to worry about that.  The food had good flavor though.

This morning's breakfast was vanilla yogurt with strawberries and granola, and with my cup of coffee (I am learning to make coffee too and I made it quite strong this summer, haha).  The computer is there because eating is when I am most lonely, so I either skype with someone as I eat (thanks to those of you who have been willing to do that with me), watch some youtube, or as today...I blog!

I have a friend staying with me tonight for while I am so excited.  It will be fun to not be alone tonight.  We have a mutual friend who is getting married this evening, and then we have a baby shower to go to tomorrow.  Her company is welcomed!

Daniel starts his job today!  He graduated just about five weeks ago and within the week after graduation he was hired essentially as a full time airplane mechanic.  I am so excited for him with this opportunity, and ask that you pray for him with adjusting to this new job.  Also pray for safety, both as he works on the planes, but also in his long commute to work and back.

So there you have it...my life not in a nut shell!  Let me know what your plans are for the summer, and how I can most specifically be praying for you.  Prayer is what gets me through the night.  So please, give me lots to pray for!  I am going to go wash up my breakfast dishes (I love the challenge of keeping up with the dishes), and then pick up a bit before I head to work this afternoon.

Happy Weekend!

eventful past few days

Thursday was my last day of observations for this summer.  It had mixed emotions.  I was thankful to in a sense have time back to myself, but since being there, I have grown to love those kids, and the teacher.  The teacher was a huge boost to my self esteem and continually reminded me that I really am cut out to be an elementary teacher.  Thursday, she had me doing a lot with the students, and I kept busy all three hours!  One of the little boys came over to me *all smiles*, "Miss Hewitt, today is my birthday, would you like one of my cupcakes".  He and his mom had made the  most adorable frog cupcakes, that were very tasty.

After picking Sarah up from school, we stopped at my grandparents, where we were able to talk to Mr. Anderson.  Mr. Anderson is the executive director of Trail's End Ranch, and it was good to meet him.  Grandma told him that she had told me any time I was homesick that his wife would be more then willing to give me a hug.  He quickly agreed and told me he would make sure to give me a whack each week, whether I deserved it or not.  Their sense of humor is fun!  Looking forward to a summer with them.

Yesterday brought lots of things.  It has recently hit me that by this Wednesday, I must be completely packed for camp and college!  I can go to Wal-Mart for the little necessities when I get down there, but for camp, I don't have that same luxury.  When I get to camp, someone associated with the camp will pick me up at the airport and once at camp, I am two hours away from a Wal-Mart (so thankful that the camp provides laundry detergent).  With this thought in the forefront of my mind, mom and I needed to go shopping, and soon!  We gathered all of our coupons, and made a long shopping list!

The day had to start early though because my sister had an exciting appointment (at 7:45am) at the DMV, *insert drum roll* to get her license!  I got my license renewed while there, and we were out of the DMV within 15 minutes, how often does that happen?  Mom and I brought Sarah to school, and then much to our dismay, K-Mart was the only store open at that hour.  Mom and I shopped there until the rest of the mall opened at 10am.  Mom and I went through many stores, doing a bit of needed shopping.  We found several awesome deals, and it was indeed a productive time.

Anyone who knows me, knows that I am not a shopper.  I complained a little in K-Mart (because who wants to be in K-Mart longer then 15 minutes?), but other then that I was a very good little girl.  I was thankful though for the time Mom and I had together, all day!  We had some fun laughs, and many good conversations.  We covered the small town of Rutland.

At 2, we had to be back to the Christian School because Mom was playing for their Memorial Day service.  It was fun watching the little ones on stage singing to the Patriotic Songs.  Kylie was there to watch her sister play the hand chimes, so it was good to catch up with her a little bit.

Later on in the evening, we called my grandparents to ask if they needed help getting to bed.  Good thing we called, because Grandpa has just fallen.  Mom and I rushed down, helped him get up, and Mom put him to bed while I cleaned the house a little.  We got home from that, were home for not even five minutes when we got the call that Mom needed to take Sarah to the ER.  Sarah had been playing Rumble Ball when Sarah was tackled (part of the game), and her knee found the sharp rock in the grass.  She gouged the front of her knee, and got five stitches, and a brace.  The brace only has to be on for a few days to keep her from bending her knee, to allow the stitches to 'set'.  She was in and out of the ER within 2 hours--now that's impressive!

This morning has been slow, and the entire family has been thankful for that.  It has been a busy past few days.  We are enjoying the sunny weather, and time together.  I hope you all have a blessed long weekend with family and friends, and remember those who serve our country!

movie night

Well, tonight is movie night.  Normally, we as ABC students are not allowed to watch movies, but in the Servant Center and in plain view.  Of course those movies have to be approved.  Well, something they started this year is that once in a blue moon they give special permission for us to watch movies in the dorms as a reward.  We got to do it earlier this semester as a reward for moving the new furniture into the girl's dorm.  It was actually open dorms too, which means persons of the male gender were allowed in the women's dorm and persons of the female gender were allowed in the men's dorm (doors wide open of course).  Well tonight is a movie night again, but this time not open dorms.  I had not heard about it, but my friendly neighbor asked if I knew, and if I wanted to watch a movie in her room with her.  It is Love's Long Journey and so of course, I accepted.  The majority of my packing is done, and so I didn't have to work on that.  She still has a bit of packing, so she is going to pack and watch.  I am sitting on her bed just vegged out.  I was telling Daniel the other day how much I miss being able to watch movies here at school (because I rarely feel like trucking across the parking lot to sit in a classroom and watch a movie).  Sitting down and watching something is one of the most relaxing things for me.  I know I should enjoy reading a book more, but that's not how I am.  So with exams and academics behind me, and summer break starting, I am so super excited.

Ashley is also in el ed and I have loved having her across the hall.  We use each other's school supplies and ask for el ed help and ideas often.  She has a quiet and sweet spirit I greatly admire.  I will miss living across the hall from her next year.

I can barely believe I am halfway through my college career.  This semester especially has been an absolute whirlwind.  I don't know where it went.  I was so incredibly busy and hectic just about from the first day to the last day of classes.  It has been an absolutely amazing journey the Lord has taken me through.  I have had to learn a lesson time and time again that it is not my own strength that gets me through each day, but the Lord's strength.  I have learned the reality of the verse "when I am weak, He is strong."  I have been in the schools a bit more this semester, which has been wonderful.  I am here for children, and being able to 'get my hands dirty' with the children has been very rewarding.

I have remained very active in my church here and loved every minute of it.  Yes, there have been those exhausting moments, but even those exhausting moments are good.  It is those moments that make me appreciate the rewarding moments all the more.  I did not teach tonight which was actually so relaxing.  I enjoyed being able to not study to teach and just go and enjoy the kids.  Those kids each mean so very much to me, and when I told them it was my last week, I got several poochy lips.  They know how to make Miss Rebekah feel special.  One of the little boys tonight told me he wanted to go to Heaven so he could say "hi" to Jesus.  How cute is that?  I am going to miss my kiddos over the summer, and will be very eager to see them again this coming fall.

My parents plan on leaving Friday after school on Friday and will stop in Lancaster for the night.  They will go to a special restaurant for breakfast, and then hit the road West Virginia bound!  Commencement here is required, so I will be here for that, and then have RA duties to help check people out of their rooms.  My parents should get here sometime in the afternoon.  I hope to go over to the gorge with them and have a picnic dinner (praying for beautiful WV weather).  I will then be able to bring them to church here to meet my dear church family which I will miss immensely over the summer.  Monday morning, the four of us will hit the road, hopefully arriving in VT Monday evening!

Before I close this blog, I would like to give a shout out to my sister.  Sarah turns 16 today.  She has matured into a beautiful young woman of God.  She has been at public school this year, and I have been proud of the testimony she has had for the Lord.  She is drop dead gorgeous, and continuing to work on her inner beauty.  Proud to call her my sister, and excited to see how the Lord uses her life for His glory!

another week

Another week has come and gone.  I find myself counting down the days until spring break! 13 days is the count, just in case you are interested!  13 is less than 14, which means less than 2 weeks- hip hip hooray!  The week went very though and I am so thankful for the gorgeous weather we had.

Wednesday night was no exception to every other week.  There is this cute little guy (same little boy mentioned in this post) who comes each week, and this week he had a foam cut out of a tiger.  He went to hand it to me, and I acted scared out of my mind (pretty much to the extent that my mom would have spanked me if I had been that dramatic about something so small).  He of course giggled to no end, and then tried to soothe me by saying "it's okay Miss Rebekah, he is just pretend".  I immediately stopped my drama and asked how he knew it was pretend.  He quickly replied "because is frozen like this *poses in a similar way as the tiger* and Jesus made him that way".  Trying to maintain my composure at this time, I ask him if he is pretend or real.  He assures me that he is real, and so I ask "how do you know you are real?"  He looked at the ground, and then back up at me, "because I have real legs, and a real face!!!"  And I could no longer hold my composure.  I lost it, as I got down on eye level with him, and just laughed.  I love these kids so much, and without meaning to, they put a smile on my face each week!

The Lord graciously blessed up with gorgeous weather this week.  I was so ready to wear open toed shoes, and they got a lot of use.  I was able to comfortably walk to and from class with no jacket on either.  My room also appreciated the spring breeze blowing my white sheer curtains.  I am thankful for the breath of fresh air the Lord blessed us through the weather!

Anyways, I am going to stop boring you with my long winded-ness and close this blog off.  Thanks to those who faithfully pray for me.  I recognize that it is your prayers that carry me through each day.  I pray each of you have a lovely week- and feel free to drop me a note with ways I may specifically be praying for you!

a slow week ending with el ed adventures!

I am not going to lie, this week has gone by very slowly. I got ahead on homework last weekend, which left me feeling a bit bored this week (weird I know). I keep telling myself to enjoy it, because in the blink of an eye I will be craving 'boredom'. It was a slower week compared to this coming week, but I used that to try and work on next week's stuff, so I was not overwhelmed with it all next week. Tonight is open dorms (what they say is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity with strict guidelines) which will probably find me in another girl's room celebrating a mutual friend's birthday and playing games. Tomorrow I am hoping to catch up on some very very needed sleep, and get a bit of homework done. I work tomorrow afternoon for Alpine's winter camp. I am not sure how much time I will for homework, but that isn't necessarily a bad thing, is it?

Wednesday night, my church started a new thing... catered fellowship dinner. Wednesday nights are hard for most families to get home from work to feed their children to get everyone to church. The leadership has also been feeling like our church has been lacking fellowship, so they decided, in trying to resolve both issues, to have dinner provided at church on Wednesday nights. This week, it came from the Steak Escape! You order what you want (from a small menu) on Sunday, and (at least this past week) your order form is stapled to a bag with your dinner. This past week it seemed to be a huge success. It was fun watching everyone fellowship with each other and laugh! I love the fact that I am a part of this body of believers--I love them so much! I love the fact that I feel like I belong, and I am one of them. I love that I am looked at as an adult. It was so amazing...I was walking over to the food table to get one of the little girls I was sitting next to some napkins, and one of my girls from 2s-5s (new as of about 6 weeks ago) said to her parents "that's my teacher!!!" as she gave me a bear hug saying, "Hi Miss Rebekah". I love being a teacher, I love being loved by those dear children, and I love the energy they create in me. Teaching and children though are not always a bed of roses.

Sometimes instead of creating energy, they zap it right out of me. The fellowship dinner was a huge success, but I think it had some connections to my 2s-5s behavior, haha. They were WILD! It was good though, because I was able to discuss it with my helper (went to school for el ed and used to teach) some tricks to hopefully better their behavior when acting the way they were on Wednesday. They are still doing SO well with their Scripture memory and make me so proud of them.

******

WARNING: I had a great adventure today, but be forewarned...I included several details.

Today, I had an exciting (and scary at times) adventure with two other el ed students for one of our art observations. Our driver had received directions from our prof, printed from mapquest. The directions were so weird. They took us on little (what I call) 'bubbles' off the main route, only to bring us back on the same exact road we were just on. We laughed pretty hard about those, especially since we missed our turn for one of those 'bubbles'. We tried hard to follow our directions to a "T", only to find ourselves on a sketchy road with 'residential' on one side, and a huge hill on the other, with a long stair case going up it. We could see a sign, but could only make out something something something Home of the something Hawks (I still don't know what sign says). We giggled a little bit, because the directions hadn't really taken us anywhere. We looked up on the hill and saw what looked like a gymnasium, so we took a few roads that would logically lead us to this building.

On our way up the hill we saw buses, which to us, was a very good sign. We then saw a playground, another good sign. The bad sign though, there was only the one gym looking building, a log cabin, one car, and no signs besides what looked like the back entrance that said something about head start. We decided that wasn't the place so drove back down the hill, saw a woman in her yard with several dogs, and asked where the particular elementary school was. Her answer didn't make much sense, so we decided to head up to what we originally thought was the school, and see if we could ask someone there. (Mind you, we left about 10-15 minutes earlier then we needed to, and we are in the same town the school is in.)

We drive in to this odd looking 'school' that we figure is a preschool, only to find like 4 cars total in the parking lot. It was weird, but we needed directions. Our driver got out of the car and went to the main entrance only to find lights off, cameras, and everything locked. She walked around the building to a back door. While she was in the parking lot of this preschool, this scary looking dog was following her. My friend and I are in the car, halfway laughing, and halfway worried for the safety of our friend walking around this odd building, with what looks to be a stray dog following her. She had better luck at the back door, when a woman awkwardly opened the door and gave her directions.

Remember that log cabin I told you about?!?! Sketchiest log cabin I have ever seen. It was really big, and the 'windows' were all boarded up. It was not cute at all like you think of when you think of log cabins. Next to the log cabin were broken playground parts. All in all, I don't know what happens there, but I wouldn't be surprised if nothing good happens. It was a very scary situation for the three of us ladies, a sketchy part of town, and we were glad to lock the doors, and get back on the road.

We went down the road a few miles, after passing several trailer parks, abandoned homes, and even a "for sale" school building (we had wondered if the school we were going to had actually been sold, and we had been led to a 'dead end'). It is not the safest feeling place I have ever been, but we were already late, and we were determined to find this school! Praise the Lord, we saw a big building in the distance, and the closer we got, we could see the letters to the school name we were supposed to be at. What a relief it was! We pulled in to the parking lot only to find they have absolutely no pattern to parking, giggled a little more as we quickly headed to the front door to find our art classroom. To make matters all the more exciting....

The secretary let us in and we introduced ourselves. "We are ABC students here to observe the art class" She looked at us, and replied "I don't think you are at the right place, we don't have an art class" You have got to be kidding me. I am positive we are at the right school, but what is going on? She gave the name of the school, to which we verified, we were at the right place. We ended up giving her the name of the teacher we were to be observing, and she said "oh yeah, she works here! Let me page her". She sent a sweet student down to show us the way to the classroom (side note: public schools are set up SO weird. they are literally a maze).

The positive part to the story is that we made it to the classroom only ten minutes late, and the lesson was very enjoyable. The teacher did a great job, had awesome control of her classroom, and was very positive. I later learned she is an ABC grad!

We got back out in the car, and each gave a sigh of relief! Getting back should be easy, right? Ha! Not quite! We made it most of the way fine, except we missed one of our roads, and instead were led on to the highway leading us away from where we were needing to go. I was able to recognize where we were and get us back on a straight shot back to school (college). But God still had more in store for us...only one lane open! We got stuck in a bunch of traffic just about the entire way back to school, but we were all happy to see the "Appalachian Bible College" sign. Our trip that was only supposed to take 1-1.25 hours took us 2.25 hours! It was a fun adventure, and I am thankful we were all able to laugh about the situation and make the best of it. Check back in with me next week to see if I am able to make it back there!

so proud of my church kiddos

What a week this has been, and I don't say that negatively. The week went by fairly quickly, was exhausting, but was a very good week. Classes went well. I don't think there are any classes that I really don't like. This semester will have a lot of required reading keeping me rather busy, but that isn't always a bad thing. I am taking several elementary education classes, which is a lot of fun! Intro to Special Ed is my first night class (which I was dreading) but has pleasantly surprised me into being a great class! My other el ed class is Elementary Art Methods. Surprisingly this class will require a bit of work, but will be a change in pace when I work on that homework.

Wednesday night, those kids were crazy off the wall. I enjoyed being back with them all and was so encouraged by their enthusiasm for memorizing the Word of God! One little boy came in with his Dad and his Dad was trying to explain to me which verses his son had ready for that night. The little boy perked up and said "the one with flawlessness in it" in his adorable 4 year old voice with a strong southern accent. His father could not remember the other verse he had memorized, so I sat down with the little boy and we were reviewing different verses, and I was trying to sound out which one he had not yet 'officially said'. After reviewing for a little bit, he remembered that it had something to do with 'indoor' (again in his 4 year old voice with a strong southern accent). I dug into my memory trying to think of what verse talks about the indoors. He had stumped me good! So we continued to work through each verse, and we got to 1 Corinthians 16:34 when he got all excited and said the verse. And then it hit me--he hadn't been saying 'indoors', he had been saying 'endure' and I was unable to understand past his adorable southern accent. These children may be a challenge and a test to my patience at times, but I truly have grown to love each one of them, and am so proud of them for how they have been hiding God's Word in their heart. They have Miss Rebekah so proud, but more importantly, they have pleased the Lord! I am so thankful the Lord has given me this opportunity.

The end of the week, was very exciting and tiring here on campus. The dorm I live in got all new furniture! I am loving every bit of it, and again, so thankful!

I challenge you to not just go to church tomorrow, but to meet with God (a common challenge from a prof here at school Friday afternoons).

So thankful for encouragement

I am constantly amazed with how the Lord uses people in my life to encourage me at the very moment I need it. Three specific times I can think of right off....

• At church yesterday, apparently I had a 'tired' look (we all know that means 'not good'), and a dear woman came over to me who I highly esteem a godly example, placed her hand on my back and asked me how my week really went. She was so encouraging as I shared the hardships, as well as the good times. She left the conversation with telling me she would pray harder for me this week and to remember that she loved me. She didn't know (though I may have looked) that I was having a hard day, but she allowed the Lord to use her to encourage me.
• After the church service yesterday, my little man from church ran over and while batting his eyelashes said "Hi Miss Rebekah". He caused a big smile on my face as his mom asked if I had heard him earlier. I hadn't, so she explained that when Pastor got up at the end of church after the closing song, he had just realized I was sitting a little bit in front of him, and yelled "It's Rebekah!"
• The third occasion was today. It has not been the easiest of all days, and I went to check my mail, not expecting anything when I got a letter with familiar handwriting (the best!). I quickly told my friends to hold on a second so I could open it up and show them. I had gotten a picture and note from Sophia back home with a note from her and her mom. What an encouragement that was. I called mom to talk to her about some other things when all of a sudden I hear Sophia pick up my mom's cell. Another encouragement it was just to hear her voice. When I asked if I could put her picture up on my wall, she informed me that I could do whatever I wanted to with it, haha.

I am so thankful to the Lord for the little things in life that are such an encouragement, and that pick me up when life gets busy and hectic. God is so good to me, and has blessed abundantly with wonderful people in my life. I have been reminded lately the power of prayer when I hear of how many people are praying for me. If you are one of those people who faithfully prays for me, I thank you so much. Your prayers are felt, and so very appreciated.

I hope you all have a great week, where the Lord teaches you something spectacular about Himself that you hadn't really ever noticed before!

Mid-Week Blessings

Each week I think I am finally going to get a break enough to take a breath, but it seems to never happen. Each week seems to be so busy, with little time to slow down and sleep, or socialize. It has been a bit wearing, and discouraging in some ways too. I feel I am already worn out, and the semester is just beginning, but yesterday I found myself rejuvenated by two dear children. I went to church, excited to teach Noah, but also feeling a lack of energy to be enthusiastic. I was trying hard, with little success when two of my girls walked over to me with a beautiful little bouquet of wild flowers, and a picture. They were shy, yet excited as they said "here Miss Rebekah, we picked these flowers for you, and here is a picture of a princess and a castle on the back" I immediately had energy and enthusiasm as I saw these young girls' hearts. I gave them each a great big hug, and enthusiastically thanked them. What an encouragement that was to me.

This morning I had to get up early for a Mission's Conference meeting. I used to come back and go back to bed, but today I have a test, so decided I better stay awake and be productive instead. I studied for a little bit while my roommate was still in, and did some cleaning. After she left I knew it was necessary that I spend some time with the Lord. What a lovely time that was with Him in His Word and praying with Him. I was reminded of how thankful I am that He hears my prayers.

Praise the Lord for the encouragement He has been giving me. Now to get back to studying for a test at 11am! But I did want to share with you in hopes that the Lord will use His encouragement to me as an encouragement to you as well.

long week and weekend

Man has this been a weekend, and really a week. It has been a week I have felt my double major, and have felt the elementary education aspect of it. Here at ABC, the el ed program is known to be the hardest, and we put in about 30 extra credit hours then any other major. I am tired, and worn out. I am very thankful though for how the Lord has carried me through this time, and how He continues to do so.

I don't necessarily have the time to fill you in on all of the details, for which I am sure you are thankful, but things continue to go well. I had a Testing and Curriculum test on Friday which everyone knows Dr. Burch's exams are a killer, so that had me studying a bit. But the Lord helped me, and I feel I did quite well on the exam. Anxiously awaiting the results. Teaching on Wednesday night was a lot of fun, but a bit chaotic, as I wasn't there as early to prepare everything, and I have forgotten how long it takes young children to do a simple craft. I also taught this morning for the 2s-5s class, which was a lot of fun, but very trying at the same time. Yesterday I was doing homework from 8:30am until about 9pm with a lunch and work (I worked the soccer game) break, therefore not leaving me with too much time to study today's lesson. I had twelve children (not all the best behaved) with no helper. I ended up paging one of the mom's I know a little better, and she was kind enough to come down and help me- boy am I thankful!

I worked this afternoon studying away, and cleaning a little bit. One of the highlights of my week is our College Small Group on Sunday nights. The transitioning-in Pastor and his wife lead it, and what a blessing that is. We have great fellowship (and if I might add, great food) and time together as brothers and sisters in Christ.

Tomorrow holds a lot for me: two exams, and two large projects due! I am confident about one exam, not as confident on the other, and the two projects are complete! If there is any way I can lift you up in prayer this week, please drop me an email and I would be delighted to do so. God has really been working on me with my prayer life, and how rewarding that has been.

Have a great week!

Week #3

Another week is coming to an end and I am finishing up my third week of being here at school. In one sense it doesn't seem possible because I still can't believe I am a sophomore. But on the other hand, it seems impossible that it is only my third week because it feels like it has been way longer then three lonely weeks.

Classes are still going well and for the most part, I am staying caught up with everything. I am kind-of-slightly behind on some reading (because on the schedule the reading was due Thursday or Friday, in the classes we didn't have class, but they weren't planning on not having class, if that makes any sense). I still find myself enjoying most classes, and am so exciting about my semester project in Testing and Curriculum. The semester project involves creating your own school that you have to write the Philosophy and Goals of Education for the school, and plan out a class. We will only be preparing one lesson, but we have to show all of our work of the technical things you are supposed to include in a lesson. Also in with this project we have to do a learning station on it, and at the end of the semester we will be teaching our lesson to our class. Our professor warned us on Monday that we may want to get to class early on Wednesday to pick out our textbook we would be using. I showed up about ten minutes early, and much to my excitement, I got Arithmetic 4! I absolutely love math, AND fourth grade is my dream age, and has always been my dream grade. The lesson I get to teach is on units of measurement (12in=1ft, 3ft=1yd etc.) I find myself wanting to do the entire project this weekend, I am so excited. The problem is, I don't know all of the nitty gritty details involved. I guess I should stick with creating my school and its Philosophy and Goals of Education this weekend!

Wednesday night was such fun with the children. The children at my church down here sure have made an impression on me and I missed them so much over the summer, so it is so good to be back with them. I was nervous about teaching Genesis 3 because of having to explain some of the topics to the 2s through 5s. But God was SO good (as usual) and helped me with it and I feel the children really enjoyed it. One little boy (~3 years old) is just so precious. He knew his memory verse from last week and was so excited to recite it to me, even though many of the older children could not remember it, and had not practiced. Later on while I was teaching this week's memory verse, I began reciting the verse, when I noticed the small voice next to me reciting it too--he knew this week's verse too. When I asked his dad about it, he explained that his son was so excited about it, they decided to go ahead and work on this week's verse too. How thrilling for a teacher to see her student so excited by the memory of God's Word. Before leaving, he looked over his shoulder with his big blue eyes and said "thank you, Miss Rebekah", while almost running in to the wall on his way out.

Once again, I am at work and it is so dead up here tonight. All of the freshman/incoming students are on a field trip (due back late this evening) and that is like half of our student population, so at the moment only two other people are up here. So far I have been enjoying my job! I get paid to do homework, talk to my friends who come by, and once in a while I sell some snacks or books, haha. I praise the Lord for providing this perfect job for me. I hope you all have a blessed, restful weekend! Always feel free to drop me an email on what is going on in your life, or how I may pray for you.

Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, "You shall be holy, for I am holy."

1 Peter 1:13-16

one week down

My first week is behind me and things seem to be going fairly well. I can already see the Lord using circumstanced in my life to draw me closer to Him, and I love that. A bit have changes have happened since last year, not all good, not all bad, which have taken a bit to adjust to, but God is good, and has never once left His throne. Nothing has caught Him by surprise, and He has a plan in everything.

I can't think of any class I really just dread or don't like (I can say that now, because the one I question whether I will like it, I don't have it yet, it is a Tuesday class). This semester I am taking: College Algebra, Western Civilization through the Reformation, Old Testament Survey, Testing and Curriculum, General Psychology, Apologetics 1- Origins, and Tech Resources for the 21st Century Elementary Educator (that's a mouth full). Both Testing and Curriculum and Old Testament Survey will each require a bit of long, hard work, but have no doubt that I will walk out of those classes having learned a ton.

For those of you who don't already know, I am on the mission's steering committee, which means myself along with four other students plan the Mission's Conference. It is a two year long commitment, and I am so honored to be a part of this group, and am so excited to have such a hand in this project. I already can barely wait until conference because I know some of the things we will be doing, and some of the missionaries that will be here on campus. When you think of it, pray that this conference be a life changing time for the Lord's glory.

I plan to be quite busy this year at my local church working with the children. At the time, my church down here is going through several changes, and I am praying that the Lord would use me mightily in this time. I will be doing the 2s through 5s on Wednesday nights, which includes teaching, snack, crafts and/or games, and will be given one helper for that time. I love the kiddos here at the church and look forward to working with them again. I will also be working with 4s and 5s on the fourth Sunday of every month where my responsibilities will be to have the children for an hour and a half to teach, and reiterate the lesson in several different ways. Excited to see how the Lord uses we ABC students at church this year.

Please, feel free to email at any time, and share with me what is going on in your life and how I may specifically pray for you. I pray you all have a lovely week to the glory of God this coming week, and that the remainder of your Sunday, truly is a time of rest.

catch up on the life of Rebekah

Got back from camping this past weekend, and it was a great time, yet very wet. It sprinkled all Friday afternoon/evening, and then we were excited to see the sunshine Saturday morning. It was a beautiful day, and enough sun to cause a slight burn, but the people who were out swimming are burnt to a crisp (such as Sarah). I was sitting down to watch the annual baseball game with a sleeping baby in my arms when the clouds decided to open in torrential downpour. I ran back up to the site with Allie (the baby) and she thought it was hilarious watching mom and dad run around trying to keep the tent dry. It got sunny later on in the afternoon, and we enjoyed a roast that had been cooked over the fire, and then the famous s'mores later on that evening. We went to bed, and lets just say it was a long night with little sleep thanks to the rain.

As you can read in previous posts, the past week went very well. Corey and I had an awesome host family that we enjoyed spending time with, and Thursday night they took us out kayaking! Both clubs went very well, and I was most encouraged on Monday when counseling two girls. I asked them why they had come back, and they responded with "I have sin that I just need to take care of. Like really REALLY need to take care of". In talking further, I am convinced that they both have accepted Christ, and so I shared 1 John 1:9 with them. They each prayed individually, and then I closed in prayer for them. I later realized what an example they are to me because of their tenderness towards sin. Sometimes I think I have grown stale to the realization of the seriousness of my sins, but these two girls brought a powerful reminder to me that I need to have the same mindset immediately after I sin. The mindset that I really REALLY need to take care of that sin immediately.

This week holds something totally new. We are doing a 3-day day camp with six Bible clubs. Try to figure that out (and if you do, explain it to me). What it will be is a day camp Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday that will go from 10-3. First thing in the morning we will do what we would normally do for a 90 minute club, then play games, eat lunch, do a craft, and then do another one of our 90 minute clubs. If you do the math, that has us doing 6 of the normal clubs amongst the other things, and we were trained to do 5-day clubs, so that has me pulling together the sixth lesson.

That is where you come into play....I need prayer! It is Sunday night and I know what I am teaching (Adam and Eve) and I have everything all scheduled out, but I still have to organize the box, and plan out games, and make sure I understand how the craft will work. I am very tired from the past week of clubs and the weekend and just need prayer for strength. I am clinging to 2 Corinthians 12:10 "For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

training week

Training of week is done, but I will say that I feel as though the week was very beneficial and productive. I have been blessed in getting a lot of this training previous years from a past CEF lady in preperation for our church Vacation Bible School. It was very long, but I am so thankful for the skills I was able to sharpen during the time.

Just a brief overview, there were 42 'students' training to go out and be CEF summer missionaries both in the state of Vermont, and New Hampshire. We had a tight schedule packed full with teaching/classes, demos, and study halls. Each part played a vital role in the overall training, but as weird as it may sound, I most appreciated the time being evaluated during study halls. To rewind a little bit, you learn how to do it in the class (whether it be how to use the wordless book, or how to teach a Bible lesson with the gospel truths), we would then watched the experienced demo it, and then we would study and that have to go do it for an evaluator where we would either "proceed" or "repeat". At first, it was a little nerve-wrecking having to be evaluated as you were teaching a lesson, but I grew to love that time by the end of the week. The evaluators impacted me in just the way they handled the evaluations. They cared about us enough to not be afraid to have us repeat if the truth of the gospel was not clear. I enjoyed the conversations I had with them about the strengths and weaknesses I had, and how I could best improve the clarity of my teaching. The evaluators I had weren't just there to evaluate me though, I had some blessed conversations with each of them where I was encouraged, and where they inquired about what I see for myself in the future. They were each a huge encouragement to me that teaching really is my calling.

I came home feeling very dirty, but very excited. I look forward to teaching the clubs and actually getting to teach several children, instead of one adult with a pencil and clipboard (might I add, an adult who knows all the answers). I have been lazy, and still have yet to unpack or do laundry.

A huge praise is that we have our first week of clubs set up, along with who I will be working with, and who we will be staying with. This is a huge praise because at the beginning of the week, we did not have a host home, but I was able to remember that we have some friends who used to go to church with us who had moved up to the area. They are looking forward to having us there, and I am looking forward to catching up with them. Praise the Lord, for answered prayers.

A prayer request is that I not get overwhelmed, but that I be able to have clarity of thought and that this coming week serve as a restful, rejuvenating time. Also, please pray that I have the right heart attitude throughout the summer.

Thank you all so much for your prayers. Each and every one of them are treasured.

time for training.

I can't believe I leave tomorrow for training. I am so thankful for the training I have received up this point. Through VBSs, college, church, and life, God has taught me so much, and has continued to kindle my passion for teaching and for children. When I sit back and think about my passions, I am just amazed that God has made it this clear to me, this early in life.

For those of you who do not already, this summer I will be working Child Evangelism Fellowship of Vermont. I will be involved with five weeks of 5-Day Clubs. These clubs are designed for children ages five through twelve and will be ninety minutes each day, including: singing, games, a Bible story, a missionary story, and some other little things. I will be working with at least one other partner where we together will do two to three clubs a day in an area. During these weeks, we will be living with a host family from our host church (this is probably the part I am most nervous about). I will leave each Sunday afternoon to go to the host church that evening, and will be able to come back home on Friday after my last club.

This coming week is when I receive my official training. I will be there from tomorrow (Saturday) through next Saturday. I really don't know many details at all concerning my schedule or how many people will be there, but I am excited for what I will be learning.

If you think of me, please pray that I will a vessel for the Master's use, and that I would be relying completely on Him for words and wisdom. I am excited, and thank you all for your support. I will try to keep you updated on my blog just on what is going on and if there are more specific prayer requests!

"So it is not the will of my Father who is in heaven that any one of

these little ones should perish."

(Matthew 18:14)

it's Friday...hooray!

Well, I can't believe it's Friday (and you thought I was going to say "I can't believe it's not butter"). This week has flown by with just different things going on around the house. At the beginning of the week, I thought I had my math CLEP test on Thursday, but it ended up that I won't be taking that until the middle of August.

Monday, I had a blast and got to spend my day with the beautiful Sophia, and Tuesday was spent studying for the CLEP exam (at that point, I was still planning on taking it Thursday). Wednesday was rather productive with little things such as continuing to unpack from college, balanced my checkbook, and went through all of the notes I had gotten during my spring semester at college. It is nice, because I had forgotten about a lot of them, therefore they were encouraging to me all over again. Yesterday was a lazy day as I was not feeling well, but I did get my prayer cards for the summer done with a ton of help from Tim. Today's agenda includes some studying, and then this evening I head over to some friend's house to help them organize some things to go on ebay.

I am sure many are wondering what I am doing summer job wise, and I would be happy to tell you (even if you aren't wondering). This summer, the Lord opened the door for me to be a summer missionary with Child Evangelism Fellowship (CEF) doing 5-day clubs throughout the state of Vermont. Training starts a week from tomorrow (June 19-26) and then the clubs start July 5, and my last day of clubs is August 6. The beginning of my summer has been spent with a lot of time at home just trying to lighten the load for Mom by taking over on the cooking, and doing a lot of housekeeping, along with doing odd things such as helping Scott, going to work with Dad, babysitting Sophia, and working with this friend to help organize things for ebay. God has filled up my time in what I feel to be a productive way.

I would appreciate your prayers as I officially start my summer ministry with CEF. Some specific prayer requests would include:

• For the week of training June 19-26
• For the other Vermont CEF summer missionaries
• That I raise the required funds needed
• For churches to host the 5-Day Club
• That many children would attend
• That the children’s hearts will be softened
• That my life be changed for Him

Without prayer, my ministry is not possible. If you are interested in praying even more specifically then that, I am looking for people to commit to pray for a specific day of the week, each week that I am ministering. If you are interested in making that commitment, or interested in getting updates from me via email, please email me at rebekah.hewitt@abc.edu and I would be happy to give you the exact dates, and to let you know in advance if something special is going on that day. Each lesson we give, the gospel will be presented, and our ultimate goal with these 5-Day clubs is to further their walk with the Lord, whether that be through encouragement in the Lord, or through introducing them to the Lord. Please be in prayer for this ministry.

"But Jesus said, Suffer little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me: for of such is the kingdom of heaven."

(Matthew 19:14)

busy day

I woke up this morning in time to be able to talk to Daniel. Wasn't bad, I woke up at 8, and it was 10pm his time. So I got to talk to him for a little bit, then went upstairs to prepare dinner. I made pancakes...yummy! I then talked with Beek and we found arrangements to getting to the hair salon this morning for our 10:30 appointment. I quickly got ready and drove Tim and Beth's car to Price Chopper. I met up with Beek and we headed to Turning Heads to get our hair cut.

Beek and I decided over a year ago that we were going to grow our hair out for Locks of Love. She was wanting to do something different with her hair so I said she should do something different by growing it out, and I would have to do something different by having it cut short. Well, about this time last year, I got my hair trimmed a little shorter then anticipated, so our plans were set back a bit. Beek was getting sick of her long hair and we needed to get it cut. The appointment was set for today, and Abby (a mutual friend, and Beek's roommate) decided to join us. Our experience was awesome! Our hairdresser, Tammy, was loads of fun and was so knowledgeable. She did a great job with the three of us. Both Beek and I got ten inches off, and Abby lost roughly seven inches.

After we received our new cuts, we headed to Mr. Twitters to show Beek the new cut. She didn't even recognize us at first. We then headed over to the lake for the RACS' alumni picnic. It was good to see Caroline and hear about her first year of college, and her summer plans. We only stayed for about two hours, and then I rode back to Ira with my family. We went to Andrew and David's graduation party. When we got home, I worked on dinner, the family enjoyed it, and am now about ready to crash.

I get to teach Mom's Sunday School class, and tomorrow is my first official Sunday as the kiddos teacher- so excited. If you get this in time, please be praying for me, and ask how it went, I would love to tell you.

Have a blessed Sunday (tomorrow) worshiping the Savior.

this past week

This week has been a great week at home, and I have been so very busy. One thing I have especially enjoyed since being home is cooking. I don't think mom has cooked at all since being home, and that is by my choice. I am loving the life of being home, cooking, cleaning, and doing laundry.

Sunday started out early as I got up to get lunch (which was a chicken casserole) ready on the ready bake setting (or whatever it is called). I then got to teach my mom's Sunday School class (she was at a lady's conference). Those kids were so attentive, and I loved being able to teach. Mom forgot to warn me that this week the triplet sisters and their brother would be there. It ended up not being a problem at all, and they were all so respectful and well behaved. After lunch, I got a glorious nap and then came downstairs to find mom home, and giving Scott a beard and hair cut. He looks quite handsome, if I may so myself. I had nursery that evening where I had three children on my lap at once. If you know me though, you know I didn't mind that at all.

Monday morning started with cleaning Scott's house. He had asked me on Sunday afternoon, and I had agreed to do so. Let's just say it was one of those cleaning situations that at the end, you really felt like you had accomplished something. We were going to bake some cinnamon rolls so the house would smell nice for the showing later that afternoon. Much to my dismay, last time Scott had used the oven, his creation had bubbled over and burnt. Not sure how nice it smelled at the end. I got home in time to get ready and head over to the doctor's office for a doctor's appointment. I had my blood taken, but was fine with doing that. I came home in time to make some dinner of enchiladas and apple dumplings for dinner.

Tuesday, I was awaken by a call from Austin reminding me that it was Play Group. Mrs. May had invited me to go to Play Group with her and Sophia to learn a fun teaching style. I went and had a lot of fun, while learning too. Miss Jan was teaching the kids about grain and then ground up some smoked buckwheat and helped them make pancakes- what fun (and so tasty!) That afternoon, I was able to enjoy some time at home with Mom.

Wednesday morning I got up early and went to work with Dad. Again, not an ideal dream job of mine, but the time with Dad was so nice. It was 97 degrees that day, and made it hot outside, but I managed to walk away without getting sunburned. I was in charge of measuring, cutting, and bringing the blue foam insulation over to Dad and dropping it in the hole, so he could glue it on the outside of the foundation. We all went to church that evening and enjoyed our devotional outside at the picnic table. When we got home, Mom, Sarah and I were watching TV when we got a tornado warning, and soon after the electricity went out. It was an adventure to get the dog inside, and then light candles in the pitch black. Everything was fine, and we didn't suffer any damage.

Thursday involved babysitting Sophia, which as you know, I love. That girl is so precious and is all hugs and smiles. My favorite quote from her that morning was "Will you give me a french fry braid, Becky?" Oh the things, little one's ears hear. After watching her, Mom and I went in to RACS for the Memorial Day Service. We snuck out early with Sarah to the DMV. We now have another driver in the house- yikes! She did very well on her test though, and got a 100%.
Yesterday I got a surprise visit from Sophia again. Mom made her a T-shirt dress (mom used to make them for Sarah and I when we were younger and we just about wore them every day because we loved them so much) which she even helped with a little bit. We then enjoyed lunch, made cards, and headed into town to bring Hershey to the vet. Not like any of you care, but she lost 14 pounds since her last visit (because she needed to) and is now her ideal weight. Ice cream cones were 49 cents yesterday, so mom splurged and got us all one. Do you know what it is like trying to eat your ice cream cone, and keep an eye on a 3 year olds, when it is hot out and melting fast? We then picked Sarah up at school and headed home. Grandpa had given mom some wood for her birthday, so Sarah and I went out and helped him stack it. After that, I came in and made homemade pizza- delicious. I enjoyed allowing my creative juices to flow as I spent time with Mom making cards.

This morning has been a leisurely morning as I have eaten breakfast and just mozied around. I remind you, and ask you though to be remembering Daniel as he heads to Papua New Guineatomorrow. He will be gone for two months doing an internship being an airplane mechanic. You can read his blog about this trip here. I hope you all have a blessed weekend.

update on the life of Rebekah

So I haven't written a real blog in a while just on what I am up to and how this semester is going, so here it goes....

As far as classes, they are going well, though they have really picked up. It seems like I have just had several projects due at the same time. What is known as "the busiest week of the semester" is past and done, but since then I have wondered if that really was the busiest semester. I will admit, though it has gotten stressful and overwhelming at times, never I have felt like it was unachievable- Praise the Lord. Most of my classes (with the exception of Ecclesiology) have been a lot of fun, and I have been learning a lot (even in Ecclesiology).

I expected Sign Language to be my favorite class, but in a way, it has become the most burdensome. We learn 30-50 new vocab words most every class period, and after they are covered in class, we are expected to have them committed to memory. I have found that extremely difficult, and at times very discouraging. This past Tuesday though, my teacher brought in some of her signing friends, one of which was fully hearing, one who could hear out of one ear, and the other completely deaf. I was SO nervous, but after talking to them, I was still nervous, but was thoroughly enjoying the conversation. I think they had fun working with us. Let me tell you though, their 'slow' at finger spelling, is faster than I can even spell my name. It was insane. That experience was discouraging and encouraging though. I learned that there is still so much that I don't know and so much I need to work on, but I also learned that I know more then I think. I am ready for the class to be done, and hope that I will find the time to keep working with it, and that I gain enough courage to talk to David back at my home church.

The coal mine explosion took a toll on the school as we were greatly affected. The town in which the incident happened was where ABC started actually. Praise the Lord though for students being able to go. These students became a part of the families, and have actually been invited to one family's family reunion. Thank you for your prayers, but please them coming. These families still have so much healing to do.

Church down here has been going well, and I am REALLY going to miss the children and other people here at church. I have been teaching every Wednesday night for the 2s-5s and enjoying it. I have been going through a study on the fruit of the spirit. We have found the curriculum to be a bit above them, and so it has taken some extra work to improvise and change some things. One thing I love is that the children are really getting to know me and I love being able to get on the floor with them, and have them crawl on to my lap and ask me to read them a book. I just love children! I have also been teaching Children's Church one week a month, and enjoying that as I have been able to use some of my 'teacher' talents. The people at this church have been wonderful, and so accepting. Two women specifically stick out in my mind. One woman always says "Hi" to me when she sees me and genuinely asks how I am doing. Last semester, she cut an article out of Country that had pictures of VT- so sweet! Another woman started coming with her husband, three sons, and daughter after I had started going. I am not sure I have ever seen her without a smile. She has a motherly way about her that makes me want to give her a great big hug as she asks me how I am and what she can be praying for. Little does she know just how encouraging that is to me. What especially sticks out to me about her is that she checks back with me to see if my prayer was answered, which proves to me that she has been praying for me. I most definitely will be missing these dear people.

For Easter, I did not have to eat at the cafeteria. As many of you know, each Sunday night, I go over to our Sunday School teacher's home, where his wife gives us a light dinner. I especially enjoy going over there as it is a home, with children. They invited the college students over, and we happily accepted. Nancy cooked us up a storm. She also let me bring dessert, so that was fun getting to bake. I brought one of my family’s favorites- Hot Fudge Sundae Cake. We had a fantastic time of fellowship, closing up the afternoon with going through a Tour of The Truth Project.

Spiritually, God has been showing me some convicting, yet exciting things. One particular thing He has been teaching me is how I need to be a true disciple of Him. In Personal Evangelism and Discipleship, we have been looking at the relationship between the Rabbi and Talmid. Wow- I fall so short. I have been challenged with the thought that if I truly believed what I said I believed, wouldn’t I be automatically be living the life of a talmid, and not just talking about it. Prayers would be so appreciated as I work on acting out the things I believe. Through Sunday School, we have been going through the book Holding Hands, Holding Hearts, and this has been neat to go through and learn what the Bible has to say about dating (the answer is ‘Nothing. And everything.’). On Sunday evenings, we have been doing The Truth Project, and I have especially been marveling at the fact that we when I accepted Christ, I was not just saved from Hell, I entered an intimate relationship with the Creator. I encourage you to think about that for a little while and allow it to connect to the idea of being a true talmid.

This weekend is IMPACT, and though I am excited, I am a little nervous about not having that time to work on papers. Today, I worked hard and got my homework done up until Thursday, which is a huge praise. Hopefully I will be able to work on next week’s homework this week, so that I don’t have to cram it all in Saturday night and Sunday afternoon.

That is a not-so-abridged update on what is going on in the life of Rebekah. I am ready for summer, and excited to see my family in 18 days! Exams are May 3rd -5th and I will post a schedule when it gets a little closer. Thank you all for your continued prayers. If there is any way in which I can be praying for you, please shoot me an email, and I would be happy to pray for you. But for now, I am going to go get ready for bed, and then get some shut-eye before tomorrow.

Notes from the 1st-4th Graders

Thought you all may be interested in some of the adorable notes my mom's Sunday school class sent me. I was laughing so hard with some of them. I laugh, but in all actuality, they are just so sweet, and I doubt the kids will ever understand just how much these notes mean to me, until they are in college and get care packages from my mom's Sunday school class (yes, she will probably still be teaching it then). I made sure to keep their spelling the same, and I have omitted their names, just so that it doesn't come across that I am making fun of them.

"Hi Becky, where are you going to college I like to draw. My favorite part in school is PE. What is your favority thing _________?" I love how they ask me questions, and leave a blank for me to fill in.

"Dear Becky! How are you doing I am doing fine. What is your favorite subject! I love you Becky! What are you doing! By!" Complete with a picture of me and this little girl.

"Dear Becky I am glad to write to you Becky. This year I wish you cood cum to my home we have a puppy if you wood like to no the name is bicky I wish she wood not bite miy brather in the bute."

"Dear Becky How are you. I would want to meet you. were do you live. what is your phone number. do you want to be firend's...I want to know evry thing about you...where do you live? I realy want to be your friend, do you, you can tell I have a lot gowing on can't you? your mom is my teache isint her...I want to know every thing about you doun't you."

"My mom is pregnant." Complete with a picture of me in a castle with long hair and a boy at the bottom saying "have down!"

Children are just so much fun, and are the cause of the some of my biggest smiles. These are definitely going up on my wall. Thanks Mom for putting the time and the effort into doing this, it truly is a huge encouragement. (haha, I am not even going to try spell checking this blog)