Second Time Around

I had the opportunity of leading the team coming here to India last year and was blessed to lead the team again this year.  This is my first time visiting a country for a second time.  I thought it would be super easy to just jump right back in to the swing if things since we are doing the exact same things that  we did last year, but I was very wrong.  The first week here was pretty difficult.  I experienced a lot of jet lag, culture shock, and anxiety.  My internal clock was all off and getting through each day became a challenge in itself.  I was actually nervous about teaching English this year which was the complete opposite of last year.  I was also nervous about the tutoring sessions that we would be doing with the students in the evening (for all their other subjects).  I wanted to be honest with the team, so I told them on Friday before our first tutoring session, about how I was feeling.  Julio reassured me that it was going to go just fine.  Later on in the afternoon on Friday, I sat in on one of the mentoring groups that the students have with an older person from the school, so that they can get to know each other better.  During the group the mentor asked the girls what prayer requests they had.  Almost all of the girls in the group asked for prayer for their studies, especially for their English class.  As soon as I heard this, I felt God telling me to ask them if they would prefer to have a girls only English tutoring session so that they might feel more comfortable speaking up and practicing their English.  They all said a resounding "Yes!".  So that evening I lead a girls-only English tutoring session and Julio lead a boys-only English tutoring session.  We both probably had about 20 students in each of our groups.  By the end of my meeting, the girls were spelling their vocabulary words out loud and with very loud voices.  I had never heard the girls be so open or bold in using their English.  It was amazing to see how God answered my prayers without me even needing to ask.  He knew my hesitations and feelings, and took care of me through it all.  God knew exactly what both I and the students needed.

-Risa