grace week

This has to be the busiest week Emmaus has ever had...

Our second set of intensive courses began yesterday.  Pam is diving into the huge world of "Church History" with our FIFTY first and second year students...a student favorite every year with a LOT of content to cover.   Emily finally finished her Master's degree with Liberty in December and  is teaching "Christian Counseling" to our 3rd and 4th year classes, and they are just loving it.  Pastoral counseling is such a huge part of what they do, and one of the tasks they always complain about feeling the least equipped to do.

So that's our almost 100 students.

Then, Indiana Wesleyan University is here with two of their professors and one of their deans, teaching TWO residential master's classes (one in the morning, one all afternoon.)  Five of our staff members are in that program, so we are way low on staff this week as they all study "French for Thesis Writing" and "Christian Worldview" along with 15 other students from around Haiti.

Then, Dr. Gail (whom I personally love spending time with...and hate that she's battling bronchitis!) is here for the week teaching EBS's Masters of the Arts "Building Christian Community" to yet another 25 students, every afternoon.

And today our fab chief financial officer and her equally fab husband arrived for the next two weeks (with lots of chocolate, so, we're all happy.)

All this happening at the same time means there are over 150 men and women learning and teaching and studying and eating and HERE right now, all doing different things, all at the same time.  The kitchen staff is in crazy full swing, and our own kitchens are in full swing, too, with an extra seven at dinner each night.  Whoop-Whoop.

It's a week of math homework in the flour and ironing uniforms five minutes after they should have already left and dishes after everyone's in bed and crazy hours in the office with our partners all in classes and some little bits of grouchy and lots and lots of grace.

And in the middle of all the crazy, it's also a week of a LOT of really good formation through a LOT of really trained and experienced people with a lot of really fantastic young Haitian men and women who live all throughout this beautiful country.  And that's exciting. 

Man alive, do we need your help and prayers...He has so much to do in the lives of those around us and in the world today!  Pray that we might a-l-l be faithful, faithful to the One and Only whose opinion matters, faithful to the One and Only cause of Christ, faithful to be growing and giving Christ.

Let us not lose heart in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap, if we do not grow weary...Galatians 6.