McClain Family Blog: Recent happenings

We've started back up with Potter's Field Kids after summer vacation. School has started and after several changes in enrollment, schol schedules and therefore, our schedule, we finally feel like we have things figured out. We have 31 students so far and have room for two more, and we are trusting that the Lord knows who those two are.

I was sick all last week with a stomach bug, then almost lost my voice due to a cough and I suppose, just over-exerting my voice with the kids all week! :)

The unseen battle rages strongly these days, which is comforting knowing that we surely are in the will of God...we are learning how to give thanks in all things, the good and the bad. It is a wonderful journey.

Some random thoughts about the past couple of weeks...

As I said, the battle not seen rages strongly these days, and when it attacks our kids, it is never easy. We are thankful for our three awesome children and thankful for the opportunity to serve here with them. They are such a huge part of McClain Family 4 Him...it is not just Matt and I on the front lines, they are too. And as they serve too, they are learning valuable lessons and growing their faith. We are thankful that tought times lead to amazing, special conversations between us and our kids.

Audrey has been especially witty these days...several times she has kept me laughing. She is sharp and her peronality continues to show itself and develop the older she gets. She is doing well in PFK and I am looking forward to watching her grow this year, especially in her interactions with other kids and in her Spanish.

Isabelle is loving her math, memorizing her verses, and 'teaching' Audrey lately. Isabelle looks through some of the extra books we have around that have and that I use for reinforcement for the girls and she prepares 'lessons' for Audrey. They have built a tent in the backyard with the help of our neighbor, Doña Elvita, and have been spending almost all their free time in it. Isabelle teaches Audrey there. She also loves helping Matt with the English class and preparing games for different days of the week. She's trying to learn to play the guitar, also!

Ethan has been reading alot lately. He just finished Journey to the Center of the Earth and he really enjoyed it. He likes things that work his mind and he continues to build with his Legos. He has great ideas for other creations and really dreams of working for Lego sometime! He is growing and changing and some days it is completely unfathomable to me how he has grown. He will be 11 in a few months! How can that be?

When I was sick las tweek, I missed church. That never happens. I don't think I have missed church for being sick since we'vve lived here. The girls told me all about everything when they got home that night and they also told me that they had prayed for me on the way home that night! Melt.my.heart!

As I said, there was a change in the school schedule this year. We found out about it last Saturday. We started Club Monday. The school director added an hour to the school day this year. So that measn that the afternoon session will not get out of school until 5:40 pm Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. There are two sessions of school each day here. One week, a student will go to the morning session all week. The following week, the same student will go to school during the afternoon session. It has always been difficult to wrok around when we have discipled youth her. However last year, we had no problem with PFK, since we started at 4:30 and the afternoon session was out at 4:20 pm everyday. This year, however, it chnaged eerything for us, as Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday were all to be days when we were running the ministry. We started Club on Monday and had about 30 kids. Not bad but we were missing half of the PFK kids, as well as half of the kids from Club last year. They were all in the afternoon session of school. About 10 - 15 kids came in about 15 minutes before we ended Club that day, in their uniforms, as they had come straight from school!

We have ultimately decided to change the day of Club and have two groups of Potter's Field. Group A comes to PFK the week they have morning classes and to Bible Club, which is now on Thursdays. When Group A has afternoon classes they can come only to Bible Club that week and have the rest of the week off. Group B comes when they are in morning classes and when they are in the afternoon, they will be part of Thursday Club. At first the solution didn't seem like much of one...but we gave thanks to the Lord and are seeing the benefits after the first week of this schedule. We had a wonderful week with the first half of the kids and it was about the perfect amount to work with each night. We have Michaela and Sarah, two PFM interns and their help is so needed and appreciated and we have a coupld ladies from the church helping out. We had the three of us (Don Victor, Matt and I), and about three others each night and it was just the right amount of help and hands. I am so looking forward to this next week and seeing the second half of the kids!

Here are a few pics of PFK and of other random things from our lives...