The 2017-18 school year is well underway, and this school year has felt a lot different than years past. I'm still teaching the same four math classes, but on top of that, I seem to have undertaken a set of other responsibilities that are usually not mine. So far this year, those responsibilities have included:
1. Writing recommendation letters for students to go military academies.
2. Contacting US Senators and Representatives (see #1)
3. Leading a worship team.
4. Filling in on guitar, piano, and/or vocals whenever a student is absent from worship team.
5. Planning multiple retreats, each with an attendance of 100+ people.
6. Counseling and mentoring (there was a three week stretch where I could count on one hand the number of days there WASN'T someone crying in my classroom).
7. Being the official score keeper for athletic events.
8. Translating for non-English speaking parents.
9. Supervising my very own, brand new math department teaching assistant (I'm someone's boss this year!).
10. Being the final authority on dress code issues (seriously, the principal sends them to me).
11. Substitute teaching for 7th grade.
12. Interviewing potential new staff members.
13. Overseeing housing/furnishing needs for staff families.
Many of these tasks have taken me out of my comfort zone, put me in the spotlight, and pushed the limits of what I thought I could handle. But as we come to the end of our first quarter, I can say with confidence that this has been a really REALLY good school year so far.
28 September 2017
11 September 2017
Break Every Chain
"Hey, so that was my student. His friend is possessed and he needs help. Want to come?"
This is what my friend said from across the dinner table after excusing himself to take a call. I spent a few seconds staring blankly at him, making sure I actually heard him correctly. Then I asked him, "What do you think I should do?" I didn't know what we'd be walking into. I didn't know if I should be there.
I was coming off a very emotionally charged and spiritually heavy weekend. Attending to a demon possessed college student felt like the last thing I wanted to do. But I also felt like I couldn't walk away from a chance to pray over someone who needed it in a big way. So I went.
We arrived at a nearby boarding house to find four people on the floor in a dark room restraining a girl who couldn't have weighed more than 90 pounds. She was calm up until the second we walked through the door. Then she started screaming and thrashing, clawing and biting. We began praying. And praying. And praying. She eventually went limp. But she wasn't herself yet. Her eyes were vacant, empty. So we kept praying. Until suddenly she regained consciousness and control over her own body.
I'm not going to describe all the events of the night. I don't intend for it to be a spectacle or a wild story of some adventure I got myself into. But I don't want to forget. And I don't want you to forget.
Satan is real. He rules with fear. He causes harm. And I'm not even talking in a spiritual way, but in a real, physical way. When that girl finally started talking last night, the first thing she said was, "Everything hurts". Her body was in pain. And the four people restraining her did not walk away unscathed either.
The fear in that room was all but tangible. Girls were cowering in corners, shaking and crying uncontrollably as they watched this happen. They were scared and they were helpless. They say they believe in Jesus, but they don't know what that means. Because of their culture, they open themselves up to a lot of darkness, because they don't really know what that means either.
I found out that over the past week, about ten of the girls living in that boarding house have experienced attacks of demon possession. I had a chance last night to pray over the halls of that house. And while I know that prayer is not ineffective, I also know that the situation is not going to change for these girls until they make a choice for that to happen. All of these girls are from the same tribe in a remote area of Kalimantan known for its magic. This magic essentially consists of making deals with the Devil in exchange for some sort of earthly power, and many of these girls and their families have done just that.
We had a chance to talk to them about what they are doing. About the ways that they are allowing this to happen. About how Jesus is bigger. And most importantly about how much they need Him.
So all this to say... please pray. Satan is alive and well on this earth. Pray for eyes and hearts to be open to see and receive Truth. Pray for chains to be broken. Pray for peace to replace fear. Pray for revival.
"For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the power of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms." (Ephesians 6:12)
This is what my friend said from across the dinner table after excusing himself to take a call. I spent a few seconds staring blankly at him, making sure I actually heard him correctly. Then I asked him, "What do you think I should do?" I didn't know what we'd be walking into. I didn't know if I should be there.
I was coming off a very emotionally charged and spiritually heavy weekend. Attending to a demon possessed college student felt like the last thing I wanted to do. But I also felt like I couldn't walk away from a chance to pray over someone who needed it in a big way. So I went.
We arrived at a nearby boarding house to find four people on the floor in a dark room restraining a girl who couldn't have weighed more than 90 pounds. She was calm up until the second we walked through the door. Then she started screaming and thrashing, clawing and biting. We began praying. And praying. And praying. She eventually went limp. But she wasn't herself yet. Her eyes were vacant, empty. So we kept praying. Until suddenly she regained consciousness and control over her own body.
I'm not going to describe all the events of the night. I don't intend for it to be a spectacle or a wild story of some adventure I got myself into. But I don't want to forget. And I don't want you to forget.
Satan is real. He rules with fear. He causes harm. And I'm not even talking in a spiritual way, but in a real, physical way. When that girl finally started talking last night, the first thing she said was, "Everything hurts". Her body was in pain. And the four people restraining her did not walk away unscathed either.
The fear in that room was all but tangible. Girls were cowering in corners, shaking and crying uncontrollably as they watched this happen. They were scared and they were helpless. They say they believe in Jesus, but they don't know what that means. Because of their culture, they open themselves up to a lot of darkness, because they don't really know what that means either.
I found out that over the past week, about ten of the girls living in that boarding house have experienced attacks of demon possession. I had a chance last night to pray over the halls of that house. And while I know that prayer is not ineffective, I also know that the situation is not going to change for these girls until they make a choice for that to happen. All of these girls are from the same tribe in a remote area of Kalimantan known for its magic. This magic essentially consists of making deals with the Devil in exchange for some sort of earthly power, and many of these girls and their families have done just that.
So all this to say... please pray. Satan is alive and well on this earth. Pray for eyes and hearts to be open to see and receive Truth. Pray for chains to be broken. Pray for peace to replace fear. Pray for revival.
"For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the power of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms." (Ephesians 6:12)
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