"Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal."
2 Corinthians 4:16-18
what a crazy roller coaster ride! for real b! i'm glad i wrote the last email before the next week started!! hahaha anyways, get ready... when i said be expecting another novel in your inbox, i wasn't lying.....
i've learned another three important lessons since my last email:
#1 - some people (coach moore, mr. emery, dr. sheehy, ms. barret, the fischs, mrs. johnson, dr. flaming, ms. bradford and miss miller [brooke]) are blessed with the gift of teaching, and y'all do an AMAZING job! but, unfortunately, some people just.... aren't.... i think i'm probably one of those people.... i'm trying to teach arissa language arts and a class on botany... it's pretty hard to teach something you don't know... haha so we're learning together... i guess it's going alright, but i definitely wouldn't place myself in the same category as the above mentioned!! she's so smart though, and what better place than this to teach a child botany! we have a lesson everyday walking to devotions, the school and lunch.... how fun!
#2 - everyday will not continue to be progressively better than the last... it truly is a rollercoaster ride! i asked my houseparents for feedback a couple weeks ago, and after being told i can't be friends with the girls, i sorta lost touch with the Lord and was a little over focused on how difficult that concept was for me to grasp..... however, i've come to learn that that doesnt mean i have to be mean, or that the girls won't like me, or that God won't use me in their lives... it just means that i'm their authority.... not their best friend... and i think i'm ok with that.... but it definitely had a rough impact on the week before last! and, man! those days of our lives withdrawals are gettin worse everyday! hahaha just kidding..... (not really)
#3 - God can use something as small as a 4 pack of double a's to remind us of how amazing and powerful He is, and to keep the faith! crazy how i'm standing on the top of a mountain in the midst of this amazing sunset, and i see the greatest display of God's power that i've clearly recognized and acknowledged in awhile in a small gift to one of my girls from a stranger who said "what is it the good Lord said? we might be entertaining angels......" sometimes we lose sight of how powerful our Lord really is! my problem week before last was a lack of faith... faith that God would give me the ability to be a "strict" authority... faith that God would help me deal with a hyperactive 10 year old... faith that God would give me the skills necessary to teach botany! faith that i can live without 'days'..... hahaha the list goes on....... i was praying for patience, but what i should have been praying for was a renewed faith that God will "never leave me nor forsake me..." He reminded me through that stranger and his four pack of double a's.... God has put me in this position for a reason, and i know that He has the power to get me through each moment...
and when i'm forgetting that... each of my girls is quick to remind me!! they are so amazing and i love them all soooo much! God has really given me 5 very different, but equally wonderful girls to work and live with here!!
* arissa is continually the greatest and the most difficult part of each of my days here... but she makes it all worth it for me when, even in a fit of rage, she'll grab my hand and look up at me and say "i love you."
* camile and i.... we're on the same wave length... which is great, i'm constantly laughing!! she is always having new revelations about the Lord... it's truly inspiring, i can see God working so hard in her life everyday!
* lensa is a breath of fresh air! after a loong day, her calmness and sweet heart are the greatest wind down i could ask for...
* elizabeth is brand new to us! she's been here for 9 months, but just moved over here from the other girls house last tuesday.... she is always ready to give me a big hug, which is such a blessing everyday!
* laura keeps me entertained with her training the cats to sit, and all of her crazy animal stories! she's a great kid and so full of encouragement and energy..... which are both things you need a lot of here!!
I love these kids, and i am so thankful that they are in my life.... I never cease to be amazed by my awesome God! thanks again, y'all, for your prayers! they are greatly appreciated! Please continue to pray for me on this journey, in my personal growth and in my time with these kids...
so... this is pretty long too... it's pretty much useless..... i give up........
but i love all of you and hope to hear from each of you at some point! thanks, everyone, for your emails and letters and calls! they all mean so much to me! i miss y'all soooo much!
--anna kathyrn
ps - my picture is on the webpage!! or, maybe it's not right now, but it will be in the next couple days!!! click here to see it -->> http://www.wvr.org/pages/interns.html
and speaking of pictures, i attached one of camile, lensa and laura... it's pretty much my favorite picture of all time....
pss - congrats, corrie, on your engagement! i love you!!!
"I thank my God everytime I remember you.
In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy."
Philippians 1:3-4
...................and there's more
here are some short stories and things that have been said by me, to me, or in my presence that some of you might find humorous:
*"that's inappropriate!" -me
*i bungee jumped!!!
*"let's go girls! we've only gone half a mile!" -me
*one of our cows gave birth last week... wow! the miracle of life!
*my girls are trying to play matchmaker with me... hahaha the other day camile said "y'all would be so cute at your next prom!!"
*"who wants to go to the rec center with me every morning at 6?" -michelle
*we've got a black bear and a peacock roaming the grounds! how crazy! i wonder if they're friends....
*scene: camile totally runs into the wall... laura: "there's a wall there!" WOW! all of the suddenly, i'm back in middle school again hangin out at gainesville video with my wonderful cousin... i almost said "what's your number?" member? what? oops...
*i opened the door to my room yesterday and was greeted with a booming "Like sands through the hourglass......." wow! that was a great moment!
*scene: the funeral for the caterpillar...
"she was a great pet...." -arissa
"why don't we go around and each say what we loved most about fuzzy wuzzy..." -emily
"fuzzy wuzzy was a great caterpillar.... i'll miss her.... the strength of a mountain lion! that journey from indiana to east tennesse.... wow.....etc............" -me
WOW!! all of the suddenly, i'm back in middle school (and high school.... oh, and college... ummm... and this past summer......) at the many funerals for my pets and road kill...... (and my home) too bad i didn't have any coke on hand...
*ps - i love you emily buffington! (and i love you too emily conner and emily mantooth!!)
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