My Last Week

As I'm coming into my 6th and final week here I am attempting to prepare myself to leave. And it's not going very well. Usually by my last few days here I have started to think about all of my friends and family and I am ready to go home. But that is not the situation this year. I think it is partially because of the way we do so many different things here. It doesn't feel like I have been here for 6 weeks. It feels like I've been here for 2.

I'm getting the opportunity to paint the special needs room at CIPI (where the little girl I love lives) and I am too excited. We have decided to do little swirly flowers in different, bright colors (there will be plenty pictures on Facebook once we finish). But tonight I was trying to decide what Bible verse we should paint on the walls, and I came across Philippians 1:9-10 "And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blamesless until the day of Christ." This is so fitting for how I feel about the kids here. I just pray that God gives them the knowledge to make good decisions and do good with their lives.

In the past few days I have found myself losing patience extremely easily. And that is not normal for me when it comes to kids. Anyone who knows me knows that I am more comfortable with kids than anyone else. It may just be that I'm on edge because I'm leaving, and it may be because I've got a cold and I'm just agitated that I'm sick my last week. But then I read Philippians 2: 14-15 "Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe." Oh man, does God know how to hit me. I need to focus less on myself. Especially in this last week. God has given me peace. There is absolutey no need for me to ever be short with people. I am here to glorify God.

I still haven't settled on one verse for the room. I'm really thinking about 1 Corinthians 13: 4-8 "Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast. It is not proud and it is not rude. It is not self seeking. It is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil, but rejoices in the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails." (Mom, you'll be glad to know I just did that by memory.)

Please keep me in your prayers this week so that God can show me what I'm supposed to be doing in my last few days here. Thank you again for all of your support. It means so much to hear that anyone has been reading this, or that people want to come with me next summer. God is always working.