Preparing for School, Preparing my Heart

I have been working really hard this week to prepare for my new students that will start on Monday. It's really been a struggle - being in a new country, learning a new language, trying to understand a new culture... all while preparing for a new school year!  I finished my monthly lesson plans Thursday night and submitted them.  It was a humbling experience trying to plan for the two weeks of August without having any idea what my students are going to be like.  I always thought it was difficult writing a week's worth of plans in the United States when I didn't know the kids - but here its through the beginning of September.  It's humbling to sit in a meeting and only understand a few words of a thirty minute discussion on what the plans should be like.  And it's even more humbling to rely on the kindness of others to be successful at my job, because without my awesome coworkers I would never know what was going on.  I am confident in my ability to teach, but I cannot understand what the expectations are without them because the expectations are in spanish.

One part of teaching that I love is getting new supplies at the beginning of each school year.  Although the situation is very different this year, God blessed me by allowing me to have the experience of shopping for supplies.  It was humbling to have a $0 budget for my classroom.  I remember thinking in the past "I can't believe we only have $____ to spend on the classroom.  Don't these administrators/school board want my classroom to succeed?"  Well this year, thanks to my awesome donors I was able to pick up some things necessary for the success of my classroom.

I am currently operating under the mindset that we don't need a lot of supplies to succeed.  The students are supposed to be bringing in some supplies like markers, colored pencils, paper, etc... for the room.  I know that God will give us exactly what we need.

The past week I have also been working on preparing more than just my lessons.  I am trying to prepare my heart for whatever God has in store for me this year.  The divine mercy chaplet has really been a bright spot in each day for me since I've arrived.  When I am humbled by an experience, lately there has been frustration in those moments.  When I turn to God and give those worries to Him through prayer, I'm learning to trust not only in others, but in my Father.

I am blessed to always have a loving Father to turn to.  God is always there to help me take a step back and humble myself in His presence.  He has called me here.  He is the reason for my journey.  He will provide me everything I need.