Taking a Walk

I can't believe the term is over and Christmas is upon us. I just got better Internet so hopefully I can now update this a bit more often. Praying you all have a very merry Christmas! Enjoy the time with your family.

I can hardly believe the term is already half over. On Wednesday they leave for midterm break for a four day weekend. Things are going well. The kids seem to be learning and enjoying their time at BethelAIS.

We (the Bennett's and I) are planning on going to Lagos for the weekend to enjoy something a little different. They have only seen this area as they drove straight here after landing. I look forward to a few days away.

A few prayer requests:
1. Wisdom in teaching my students, especially in English class. Definitely not my specialty but they are learning.
2. Continued efforts in building relationships here that honor and glorify God.
3. Refreshing and renewing of energy with a weekend away, that God would continue to build up good relationships with Joy and Stephen and their kids.

Thanks again for your prayers!

We survived the first week! This photo was taken the first day of school before classes even started. We have added two more students since then so I will get a new picture soon.

Pray for:
- the students as many of them are away from home for the first time.
- technology...we don't have Internet yet so our server doesn't work properly, we ran out of iPads because our enrollment went up, and my math book is currently only on my machine making class interesting.
- patience as we work out the rough edges in these first days.
- that God would give me a love like His for each of the students and staff here as we work together for His glory.

Thanks! I hope this works because it seems to be the only page I can currently modify. Thanks for all your prayers.

Thanks for the prayers!  I made it safely to Lagos, spent the night and made it safely to Fiditi in the morning.  We don't have internet right now, so I convinced my GREAT little sister to post about my whereabouts.  :-)  
Continued prayers about the internet progress out here would be great.    It is the easiest way to communicate with home, and it would be a HUGE blessing if we could have it in time for school to start!
Thank you all!

Psalm 15 (NLT)

1 Who may worship in your sanctuary, LORD?
Who may enter your presence on your holy hill?
2 Those who lead blameless lives and do what is right,
speaking the truth from sincere hearts.
3 Those who refuse to gossip
or harm their neighbor
or speak evil of their friends.
4 Those who despise flagrant sinners,
and honor the faithful followers of the LORD,
and keep their promises even when it hurts.
5 Those who lend money without charging interest,
and who cannot be bribed to lie about the innocent.
Such people will stand firm forever.

This has been my memory verse the last couple weeks. It is just such a good reminder that I need to live a life honoring to God. The reality is that none of us live up to all those expectations. It's impossible. That's the type of person who God is worthy of, but it's also why He sent His Son - because we can't be that perfect. So, I continue to strive to live my life according to His will, to be a light for Him, and to seek to be more and more like Him daily.  I need to make it a daily effort to spend time worshipping in His sanctuary and in His presence. It's not always easy to find the time, but it is always worth it.

What a crazy couple days. I just packed two of my suitcases to capacity and one of my Dad's, and there are still things laying on my floor.  Oh well, I guess some of them will make it on another trip! Thankfully, some of it isn't necessary, but a couple items I hoped to fit in didn't. (Like my frosty mugs you put in the freezer…when there is electricity I could have a nice cool beverage!) But that can be a dream for another day.

I have set up an iPad for our principal, Titi, so I can teach her how to use it when I get there. In the morning I get to set up one more for our science teacher. Then those have to somehow fit into my suitcase…

I fly at 4:15 Wednesday afternoon via Atlanta with an arrival of 3:30 in Lagos (that would be 9:30am in MN) on Thursday. Here are a few things you can be praying about as I travel the next few days.

* Smooth flights, and no challenges checking my heavy luggage!
* Ease going through immigration and getting more than 30 days on my visa (90 is the goal) once in Nigeria.
* No issues getting a cart for my heavy suitcases or people trying to stop me on my way out of the airport. 
* That my driver, John, would be there waiting!
* That the drive to Fiditi (on Friday) would not have any challenges on the roads or with the car.
* Saturday I give the entrance exam once more - pray for a good turnout
* There is much to accomplish in the two weeks before the Bennett family and my Dad arrive and teacher orientation begins. Pray for wisdom to know when to push, how much to push, and how to be an encouragement to these people. I'm told plumbing isn't ready to go, and that cannot still be the case in two weeks!
* Pray also that my transition to the new time zone, a new home, a new climate, and new people will be a good one.
* Pray for the Bennett family as they spend their last week in Minnesota followed by time in Georgia with more family before they arrive in Nigeria September 3rd.

Again, thank you for your prayers, your encouragement, and your support. I can't wait to share more about this journey from the other side of the ocean!

Laura


Financial support can be sent to givemn (project #1011):
http://givemn.razoo.com/story/Good-Samaritan-Society-Of-America

or,

TGSSA 
2236 Marshall Ave
St Paul, MN 55104

As a family, we got away for a few days to just have some quality time together at the lake. One night we went out to this pizza place and it was perfect to take a picture of the three of us...except that two of us had to be boys! I love having the whole family together right now.

Michael and I standing by the Bethel American International School bus!  It was new a couple weeks before I left, and I got to see it on the way to the airport. Soon it will have signs on it stating who owns and uses it!

While unloading the container we discovered a huge bucket of some sort of glue/adhesive had dumped everywhere including all over the bobcat. Here I am attempting to get it out of all the nooks and crannies. Wish I had a picture of my hands!

The number of people looking for a teaching position was incredible. We probably interviewed over 100 people and had another 100 turn in applications that we never interviewed. Talk about overwhelming!

Joy and Stephen and their two children will be joining our team as the dorm parents for our boarding students. I am so excited for them to join our tea

Thank you so much for all your prayers.  Things have been going very well.  Here is a quick run down.

1. In the ten days or so we have been around, we have seen drastic changes in the residence hall.  The doors are nearly all in, the floors are close in three wards, and the plumbing is being tested to make sure the pipes are properly connected.
2. We put up a sign out on the expressway announcing the school. It didn't last two days...maybe only 24 hours before it disappeared.  This is good and bad. Satan obviously is trying to thwart our work, but now we are working to find another way to advertise our school out on that road.
3. The first exam was on the 21st. We only knew of a few students who had purchased the form, but many bought the form the day of the exam so we tested more than double what I thought we might test.
4. The parents stayed the entire three hours and talked with dad. They asked lots of great questions and seemed very excited about the whole thing.  The students did better of the exam than I expected and finished quicker too. This is great.
5. Yesterday we had the opportunity to celebrate the birthday of Titi, our principal at the school. That was a fun event to be part of.
6. We have started interviewing potential teachers here. We have people coming all the time to inquire. Some seem like possibilities, others are not. Pray for that process.
7. We expect many people to visit the site this week. Pray for the work to progress, for wisdom in conversations, to be a light for Jesus.
8. Pray for our health. We have really been quite healthy, but we have had a moment here or there where we haven't felt so great. It is really hot, so hydrating is really important. Most days I drink a full two liters while working at the site. 
9. I have a fairly permanent shadow in the form of s 4 year old. Fikayo spends as much time at my side as she can! All the kids who live here are my little friends, but she is the one who appears the most frequently. Yesterday she shared her sugar cane with me!
10. We are eating better this time. We have been intentional in finding more veggies, so that has been really good. Lots of good fruit has been around too. We ate two pineapples in two days...and they were quite large! They were so good! Mango, oranges, plantain, banana, and coconut have also been around. We were also given a gift of some large snails, so I learned how to prepare and eat those. (they do not need to become a regular part of my diet!)

Psalm 138:1-2, I will give You thanks with all my heart; I will sing Your praise before the heavenly beings. I will bow down toward your holy temple and give thanks to Your name for Your constant love and truth. You have exalted Your name and Your promise above everything else.

There is a quick list of what is happening around here.  Thanks for all your prayers. I will try to write again soon.

Laura

Hello everyone!  This is Amy, Laura's youngest sister - updating you state side.  I talked to Laura yesterday, and she gave me a few prayer requests to post for you.  
1)  Testing is this Saturday.  Pray for guidance as prospective students and families apply to the school and travel safely to come take the test.
2) Our dear father (Scot Hintermeyer) has the opportunity to talk on the radio to help promote the school.  Pray for the right words to be said, and prepare the ears of those that are listening.
3) Praise: the flooring in the hospital is going in!  This is a huge step/accomplishment for the mission village.
4) Please pray for the success of installing internet.  They have been waiting for an appointment with hopes that "maybe today they will come".
5) Overall, they have been pleasantly surprised by the progress made at the site.  Things are coming into place!

I will be posting more as I find out more information, but as you might guess - conversation isn't very easy with a lack of internet and a time change.  

"Greater things have yet to come, and greater things are still to be done"...