Update on Orphanage... and 6 promises of the bible
Exactly two weeks ago today a leading orphanage administrator from San Jose led our meeting in English. She did very little translating of what was going on into Spanish for the two local administrators that were there. I don't think those two understood everything that was transpiring. When all of our proposals were denied, we asked lots of questions. We found out that teaching a 'Bible' class is not possible because it raises too many red flags. However, teaching a 'Reading' class using the Bible as the primary textbook is very much desired. So we are learning!
I was told that the pilot plan will be worked out with me when things settle down. The administrator told me that this is a very busy time for everyone. Kids (and the orphans) started back to school in Costa Rica three days after our meeting. They have their two month 'summer' break here in December and January. The administrator was surprised when I agreed to go along with her pilot proposal idea, to just teach English to a small group of 4 orphans and another small group of 4 Tias (house mothers) in another. If God is in this, which I believe He is 100%, it can't fail. In fact, God has a much bigger perpective on all this. So we pray and wait.
I did tell the administrator that we would be praying for one month for the 5 children that were hurting the most in the orphanage so that she could see the power of prayer. This was not translated into Spanish for the local administrators, so I don't know how much of this they understood. Please keep praying for the '5 kids' that God has set apart to show his incredible power and mercy until March 15th. Also, my good friend Bill Sterling added that he will also pray for the adults to see the results and not hide from accepting God's intervention (via digital grandparenting, anointing oils, our curriculum and our prayers).
While waiting, my wife and I are working with my son to help him finish his junior year in high school. He spent the last two weeks working like crazy on English and Algebra. Working online here is not easy. The internet and electricity grids are terribly unreliable. Power surges and outages and internet unreliability keep us all jumping. For example, when my son is in the middle of an exam and the internet dies, we generally jump in the van and make a mad dash to another WIFI location. Currently my son just finished his English and Algebra classes and is now working on his last two subjects of history and chemistry.
I'm working on lesson plans for the English classes, mixing short videos with The Silent Way and Total Physical Response methods along with journalling. In fact, the first thing that kids do when they get to my class is to write down a quote. These quotes get increasingly longer and longer as students get better at writing. So the first one is the shortest quote. I have short 20 minute class periods so I'll give them 3 minutes to write down the quote of the day before continuing with this fast paced curriculum. Here are the first six journal promises I'll have them write down.
The promises of the bible have changed my life in a very positive and dramatic way. I pray that I will be able to someday share some of my personal testimonials regarding 'Claiming the Promises of the Bible' with the orphans as God permits. If there are any complaints regarding writing down any of the promises, I also created a list, ordered by length, of the best of Solomon's Proverbs. If there are complaints regarding those, I have created a list of some of my favorite secular quotes. But we will start out with the promises of the bible and pray that these don't cause offense but spread liberty and hope.
Thanks for your prayers!
God Bless!
I was told that the pilot plan will be worked out with me when things settle down. The administrator told me that this is a very busy time for everyone. Kids (and the orphans) started back to school in Costa Rica three days after our meeting. They have their two month 'summer' break here in December and January. The administrator was surprised when I agreed to go along with her pilot proposal idea, to just teach English to a small group of 4 orphans and another small group of 4 Tias (house mothers) in another. If God is in this, which I believe He is 100%, it can't fail. In fact, God has a much bigger perpective on all this. So we pray and wait.
I did tell the administrator that we would be praying for one month for the 5 children that were hurting the most in the orphanage so that she could see the power of prayer. This was not translated into Spanish for the local administrators, so I don't know how much of this they understood. Please keep praying for the '5 kids' that God has set apart to show his incredible power and mercy until March 15th. Also, my good friend Bill Sterling added that he will also pray for the adults to see the results and not hide from accepting God's intervention (via digital grandparenting, anointing oils, our curriculum and our prayers).
While waiting, my wife and I are working with my son to help him finish his junior year in high school. He spent the last two weeks working like crazy on English and Algebra. Working online here is not easy. The internet and electricity grids are terribly unreliable. Power surges and outages and internet unreliability keep us all jumping. For example, when my son is in the middle of an exam and the internet dies, we generally jump in the van and make a mad dash to another WIFI location. Currently my son just finished his English and Algebra classes and is now working on his last two subjects of history and chemistry.
I'm working on lesson plans for the English classes, mixing short videos with The Silent Way and Total Physical Response methods along with journalling. In fact, the first thing that kids do when they get to my class is to write down a quote. These quotes get increasingly longer and longer as students get better at writing. So the first one is the shortest quote. I have short 20 minute class periods so I'll give them 3 minutes to write down the quote of the day before continuing with this fast paced curriculum. Here are the first six journal promises I'll have them write down.
PROMISES OF THE BIBLE (NKJV)
1.
And all things, whatever you ask in
prayer, believing, you will receive (Matthew 21:22).
2.
Delight
yourself also in the Lord, and He shall
give you the desires of your heart (Psalm 37:4)
3.
But seek first the kingdom of God and
His righteousness; and all these things shall be added to you (Matthew
6:33).
4.
Now
this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according
to His will, He hears us (I John 5:14).
5.
And
whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do
those things that are pleasing in His sight (I John 3:22).
6.
Now
to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think,
according to the power that works in us (Ephesians 3:20).
The promises of the bible have changed my life in a very positive and dramatic way. I pray that I will be able to someday share some of my personal testimonials regarding 'Claiming the Promises of the Bible' with the orphans as God permits. If there are any complaints regarding writing down any of the promises, I also created a list, ordered by length, of the best of Solomon's Proverbs. If there are complaints regarding those, I have created a list of some of my favorite secular quotes. But we will start out with the promises of the bible and pray that these don't cause offense but spread liberty and hope.
Thanks for your prayers!
God Bless!
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