Dear friends and family,

This last week has been a busy one.  As the school year starts to wind down (last week was the end of our third quarter), everyone’s levels of stress seem to go up.  Students and staff alike all seem to be a little more easily overwhelmed, as we all strive to reach our goals over the next 12 weeks. 

Over the last week I have had several different parent meetings (initiated by the parents) in an effort to best support and encourage their children.  Many families seem to be dealing with family health issues, grief, financial concerns, marital issues, etc,  I have been blessed to be able to get to meet with and get to know some of the parents a little better over this last year, and count it a true blessing to be able to participate in the life of their kids.

Rick has also felt the press, as time lines for yearbook and senior events begin to draw near.  He has agreed to take senior pictures of a few of his students, and has really enjoyed getting to spend that time with them.  It is amazing how God has opened the doors for Rick to sow into their lives (and they into his).
This last Friday Rick invited a group of the high school boys over for another Guy’s Night.  Sixteen boys came over, and nine of them ended up spending the night.  Between the spare bedroom, an inflatable mattress, Rick’s camping mats, and our living room rug, everyone seemed to find a place to rest.

I took advantage of the opportunity to attend a Girl’s Night at a friend’s house (Leslie Foster) who lives a block away.  I am finding that I rarely make time to spend with friends, and seem to gravitate more towards relaxing at home.  Even so, I desperately need female friendships and am happy to say that God is providing those for me.  It is always a bittersweet challenge, making friends in a world as transitory as this one.  Some of them will be here for several years longer.  Some will leave in a few months.  I often find myself wondering if it is all worth it, but always come to the conclusion that it most definitely is.

Please continue to keep us, other AAI staff, and our students in your prayers.  We truly are a multi-cultural community,and the ties to Quito and AAI reached all over the world.  I know that our ministry here has an impact in countries throughout Latin America, Australia, Germany, Russia, China, Japan, Korea, and many more.  Please pray that God would continue to give us the words to say and the wisdom to share, as we sow into the lives of others.

As always, thank you for your prayers and your support.  A special thanks to our friends at Oak Hills Presbyterian for the Easter postcards that you sent.  They were a wonderful reminder of how much we are loved by our church family in Kansas.

May God bless and keep you always,
Rachel Sams

This entry was posted on Sunday, April 18th, 2010 at 9:38 pm and is filed under Weekly Updates. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.