"It Is Well"

Last week was an all-around fantastic week. The girls have been doing very well in the LC, and I am very proud of their progress in tutorials. Some of the girls in our care entered our program, hardly being able to recognize numbers. Yet, these same girls are now solving word problems, doing multiplication, and long division! Some are even ready, come August, to resume their studies. I thoroughly enjoy the time I spend with the girls and love watching their faces light up, even from the smallest thing.

At the end of last week, three more girls entered our care. Since then, things have turned into a reality TV show. Yes, I am trying to sound humorous, but that's the truth: fighting, yelling, name-calling, more drama, and repeat. I detest reality TV shows because I cannot stand the drama, yet that's what I was in this entire week.

It has left me emotionally drained and tired, but once again, my Abba Father came through and gave me the strength that I needed to get through every day. He gave me the words when needed to calm girls down and to separate them from one another. He gave me peace to carry on, knowing that this isn't the end.

You see, the girls that we work with have years of turmoil built up inside of them. They have never had someone explain to them the proper way to handle or express their emotions. Some girls even "shut down" when they hear yelling and observe the fighting; others thrive off it. The other day as I pulled up to my apartment, the song "It Is Well" (Bethel version) started to play. I found myself sitting in the car with tears in my eyes, soaking up the words. It was a simple reminder that no matter what I'm going through or what is going on, it will always be well with my soul because I will continue to set my gaze upon my Heavenly Father...

Things to PRAY for:

• Please pray for our girls. Pray for the peace of the Heavenly Father to saturate their hearts. Pray that the spirit of peace would also saturate the Home.

• We are still short-staffed. We need more staff/volunteers. Please pray that people who desire to help girls at risk and with trauma will answer the call that the Father has put on their hearts.

• Please continue to hold our staff up in prayer. We are busy. We are tired and often come home exhausted, especially after a week like this one. We sometimes feel like we're running around putting out fires because we do not have enough staff to resolve problems. Please pray for continued wisdom and direction from the Holy Spirit.

PRAISES & BLESSINGS:

• We received two different donations of Bibles from two separate donors. We now have more than enough Bibles in the LC :)

• My Directors' son is currently spending some time with us and brought down a suitcase full of art & craft supplies for the LC!

• I have already received a few care packages from people ~ thank you! I cannot begin to tell you how much those little things mean to me.

• My parents booked me a plane ticket to visit them in Costa Rica over Thanksgiving week! Even though that's a few months down the road, I am looking forward to it.

Just a sweet note from a sweet girl.