Let Go and Let God

            Sorry it has been so long since my last entry! Things in Micronesia are going pretty great! I’m really starting to settle in as a teacher, fitness coach, and basketball among other things. My students are wonderful…even at all hours of the day. Though the schedule here is quite strenuous, I think I am also starting to get used to being busy all the time. For those of you who don’t know, St. Xavier is a boarding school in which the girls live at home or with host families on the island and the boys stay in a dormitory here on campus. Our school day starts at 7:45 am and continues with activities and studies until 9:30 pm. It is quite a long day of teaching, coaching, mentoring, and lesson planning. But, again as hard as it is, I am here, I am needed, and I am really having fun with it.

            One of the many challenges I have been facing the past week is missing friends and family from back home. Though it is only two years, I sometimes find myself forgetting that I will have great friends and the best family in the world going back to me. As one friend put it, “home will always be right here waiting for you.” I have been lucky enough to have amazing friends and family in my life! And though it can be lonely here, I am so thankful and gracious for those friends and family who help lift me up and believe in my strength and give me strength through that. They pick up my spirits and make me believe in myself once more. I do not know what I could do without them! I know I am completely blessed to have these people apart of my life. Also lucky enough that they love me so much they send me wonderful emails, letters, and even a package or two!

            I am also further putting my trust in God. Letting my life, my stress, my anxieties all go to him. Tonight Fr. Dave was in charge of porch prayer. (Every Tuesday night the faculty at St. Xavier goes onto the porch before dinner at 6 pm and someone leads us in porch prayer.) The prayer night focused on the slow work of God and waiting for his works to become, not anticipating the works, but waiting and knowing that God will take care of you. But the concluding prayer was:

We thank you, Lord,

For our enthusiasm to get things done

And to achieve results.  

We thank you for the energy of our commitment.

But we ask you, Lord,

In imbue our dedicated hearts

With a spirit of patience and endurance

That corresponds to the gradual way in which your reign is relised among us.

May this patient spirit save us

From restlessness, agitation, and frustration in our work

And yield in us instead the peace of heart

That frees us to see the fruits of your Spirit in our midst.

Another line that stuck out to me was during the reflection was:

Give our Lord the benefit of your believing that his hand is leading you,

And of accepting the anxiety of feeling yourself in suspense and incomplete.

           

            I think this really struck home with me because of how much I miss friends and family. But it reminded that God is with me throughout this whole experience and how powerful that really is. So for now, I am going to Let Go and Let God guide me in much of this journey and really pray and put more faith in him.

            Life on the island has really been wonderful, and very blissful. We went to the Oriental Restaurant on the island on Saturday and had a delicious meal. We have also had great and beautiful weather, it has not been below I would say 75 degrees and though it has rained, it has been during the night and really helped to cool things off while were sleeping.

            I also picked my basketball team last week! I have two teams, Black and Red (Xavier colors), with 12 girls on each team. It was a lot of fun and I am really looking forward to working with these girls as well as spending time with them on and off the court. We also had girls orientation this weekend in which the girls and their parents came up to campus on Saturday. We had a wonderful mass, great introductions, and then we broke off into parents and students. The students talked about situations that might occur in host families or in general with the girls’ families and our session was about improvements, changes, and parents recommendations/opinions/feedback. It was really great, especially to be involved from the parental aspect. It sounds like they are going to try and start a PTA/PTO here which would be wonderful not only for the students but for the faculty and administration as well.

            Well that’s all the energy that I have for now to write J I am in my office with some of my students, and like always, it is getting a little loud and silly in here.

Nepong annim! (Good Night!)

Em