I just got back from church and I'm so happy and thankful that I just have to write! I've been spiritually hungry for a while, especially since I moved from Iowa, and even though people kept speaking truth and singing good songs, nothing connected. I've been praying for a good church home for while I'm here, a place where I can learn and grow and build some good friendships. And this morning I walked into home. From the moment I walked in the door I felt pretty comfortable although I was still very afraid I'd have to sit by myself (I hate that!). So I walked in, saw an older lady sitting by herself, and asked if she was waiting for anybody. She wasn't; made room for me to sit and we proceeded to chat a little bit. Virginia is my new hero! Especially since the sermon was about the church's vision, and one of the biggest parts of it is intergenerational ministry since they have a lot of older people and also a bunch of younger ones. I ran into Virginia again after Sunday school and she said, "I told my Sunday school teacher about you!" and I said, "Funny -- I told my Sunday school teacher about you too!" :-) Isn't it wonderful when God puts people in the right place at the right time to minister to each other?

So, to continue raving about my new church, the worship leader was wonderful and sincere -- shared that he was having a hard time praising God right now, but that as he read Habakkuk (another one of my recent favorite books!) he found that we are supposed to praise God for who He is, not for how easy He makes our lives. And I knew almost all the songs we sang -- makes it easier to worship. And we had an excellent sermon on the church's vision, which is learning to love God and love people better together (paraphrased). And they're planning to focus more on prayer, to which end they have a whole week of prayer this week for all their ministries. And they're trying to be more outreach focused instead of only ministering within their own body. That's just where I need help too!

Then I talked to some nice ladies about which Sunday school class I should go to since they had 8 for adults! They pushed me toward the 18-25 year old singles class. I didn't exactly want to go because I'm sick of being lumped into the "desperate" category and I want to move on and serve where I am instead of searching for a mate. Even though that's hard for me sometimes. But I couldn't think of a polite way to say, "please quit putting me into the young singles category and let me just be a Christian and meet some older, mature people!!!!!" so I followed them to that class. And it was perfect! Most of the "kids" there were actually out of college, struggling through the transition steps of getting their first job and getting more involved in church and ministering to the people around them. They seemed really mature in their faith, able to share what God was doing in their lives. And the leaders were super too -- I was hoping they wouldn't be college students and they're not; they just took their son to college. Anyways, good times of sharing what we learned in the service, how it applies to our lives, and then praying for each other.

So I'm just overflowing with gratitude that God answered my prayer (and many of yours -- thanks!) for good fellowship and real connections with people and a solid church. I'll go back next Sunday, Lord willing.

School is still going well -- although I was overwhelmed on Friday by a sudden realization of how much a work a good teacher has to do. Kelly has been teaching at Elim for 8 years so she's gotten to know the kids and the curriculum pretty well by now, but the longer I observe her the more I realize that she constantly is thinking about each students' goals and abilities and the accommodations that need to be made for each so they can participate as fully as possible. That's seven different directions for a brain to go at once! Plus remember what she's saying/teaching about! I think my brain will explode if I try to do that. Thankfully I have several more weeks to get to know the kids before I'll have to teach them all at once, although I get to start small tomorrow with just one or two students in a center.

And yesterday Dale and Leslie took me to Kankakee State Park, which is a beautiful park beside a river with lots of nice trails. Here's a picture of Leslie and Dale with the dogs: Lulu is the golden retriever and Benji is the little poodle.