Hi my name is Caleb

Caleb here, I have been hearing some critics say that I need to write a post and that they want to hear my voice.  Well here it is, might be the last.

 Things here have been wonderful, terrible, emotional, lonely but yet peaceful all at the same time.  It is hard to explain all the emotions I have been feeling. First off because I don't even know what all of them are and secondly it seems like there is a new one every day.  Each day brings a new challenge.

  The handyman work or feeding the chickens isn't the challenge, what's challenging is to never get done what I set out to accomplish during the day. Whether it is getting distracted by the students or by a neighbor who is excited to tell me everything he knows about Pennsylvania, something always gets in the way.  It has been frustrating for me because I love a Plan. When I eat my breakfast in the morning I make The Plan. “First I will paint the steps of the church, then move the broiler chicks to the new hen house, then give some attention to that leaky gutter” is what I think. The whole day is already scheduled before I even leave the house. But the plan usually doesn’t work out and I am left feeling like I didn’t accomplish much.  God has been working on me though.  He has been showing me that serving is not about me or the amount of work I am able to accomplish during the day. Instead it is about making relationships that are more than just skin deep. So I have been practicing at breakfast purposely not making a plan for the day.  It sounds crazy but not having a plan actually makes the day move a lot smoother.  It isn’t a perfect system but it works better than what I had going for me before. 

Lately I have been missing home a lot too.  I miss things that are familiar.  Family and friends and cold fall nights, the leaves turning colors, pumpkins and hunting.  Oh boy! I really miss hunting!  However one of the only things I remember from our 2 weeks in Virginia was how we were told “When you really start missing home and all you want to do is come home the best thing is to dive deeper into the culture and the people there.”  I will start by throwing away all of the hunting magazines that the Knepps (people who were here before us) left behind, I don’t think they are helping me.  But I am not sure what getting deeper into the culture looks like here; I will have to let you know when I figure it out.

Lastly, this morning I was watching a sermon by Francis Chan and he was talking about waking up every morning and telling yourself that Today is Going to be the Best Day of my Life! And really believing it.   We have so much to be thankful for but yet we still find things to complain about.  God is so good and loving and caring and yet we still complain.  I want to try it tomorrow and I hope I am able to see a lot more of the ways that God provides for me. 

 

Us relaxing before the school day started

The garden I have been working on. carrots, cucumber, thyme and calilou

Electric ray I thought was a flounder

The chicken house

The sweet ride we get to use

The homestead

Roni playing the game Gaga with some students

Roni giving me the sign for dirty while washing her feet

 

Well that is just some of what is going on.  These are some pics that I felt also needed some recognition.  I hope tomorrow is the best day of your life, I think mine might be.