83.3

Degrees F right now here in my bedroom. That's with the blinds closed to block the sun and the fan going. BUT it isn't too humid, so that's great. i'm enjoying the warm weather (except for the two hours on weekday afternoons when it gets horrifically hot and humid and there's so little air movement in my classroom that all 18 of us in the room are just turning into little piles of sticky nothingness and getting 17 little sticky piles of nothingness to do reading lessons just isn't fun).

two weeks of school are done! 38 more to go! Friday was a very good day, praise Jesus, and i'm feeling hopeful and excited about the prospects of my classroom this year! new year, new class, new routines, all things that I am trying to figure out as we go... Friday there were several moments of "ah ha! THAT'S how i can do that!" in my daily routines with the kids. i have a total of 12 girls and 5 boys! (that's better than the 15 girls and 3 boys i was expecting!) three of the boys are new students from non-Christian homes, and it's interesting to see them learn how to use a Bible, memorize verses, listen to well-known stories for the first time (Jonah, for example). I am also learning to appreciate girls more, and to have more patience with them in groups! (don't know why, buy i have more patience with boys in classroom settings...)

please continue to pray for "my boys" that I taught last year. the now-fourth-graders are still the same old boys, with only 2 girls this year, and yesterday saw the first major "incident" involving at least 4 of them and at least 2 sets of parents. Pray particulary for salvation for all the boys (i don't want to give specific names) because there are two in particular who derive great pleasure in the control they have over manipulating the tempers of their classmates, pressing buttons until explosions occur. It makes me so sad to see; even more sad is that one of the boys who IS saved and has a sweet heart will follow his non-saved friend's example in this respect, and seems to be doing so even more this year than last. Pray also for the ONE girl in the class that was here last year: she misses the other two from last year (one is in the States, one's family is experiencing financial hardship and can't afford tuition) and the new girl isn't exactly the optimal personality match. So please pray for Maia.

I am excited to begin to know all my "new kids" and look forward to sharing them with all of you. I will be dumping our camera into the computer later today, so hope to upload some pics soon!

with love and thanks to all of my friends who are family and family who are friends,
emily

Another Step of Faith

Well, as of now, we are planning to go back to Lima for a second year of teaching!

No, we haven't raised the full amount of support we need (a little less than $14000), but in seven days we received commitments for a little more than HALF of it. We're taking that as a confirmation of God's provision and direction for the next eleven months (to go back).

If you are one of the people who have generously pledged to support us, THANK YOU. Please go ahead and fulfill those pledges at this time; make checks out to either Emily OR Cindy and mail them to us at our parents' address. (If you need this address, please email me.)

Please continue to visit http://www.peruleinbachsisters.blogspot.com/ for support updates and information on our return.

Love to you all!

Please check out the Leinbach Sisters Blog

I am overwhlemed; Thank You!

Please go here http://peruleinbachsisters.blogspot.com/ for daily information about how much we have had pledged to us for our return to Peru this year.

Peru comes to US

There's a double meaning to the title of this post: I was going to write Peru comes to Chicago, but the events didn't all happen in Chicago. Then I thought Michigan, but not all in michigan either. So I just decided to say that Peru comes to us (as in the plural pronoun) and realized (hee hee) is can capitalize that and give it double meaning!

Last weekend, our roommate in Peru (and veteran missionary teacher that really really helped us survive) Katie Brink arrived at O'Hare with her fiance, Jose Manuel (who is Peruvian). Cindy and I had so much fun meeting them at the airport and shuttling them around city until her parents got into town SUnday afternoon. We stayed the night in the apartmnet of friends of ours from church who were out of town, went to our chicago church on sunday, took them down to the HAncock center adn then sent them UP to the observation deck as a wedding surprise gift. We ran out of time, but KAtie's parents arrived (driving on their way from Colorado) to pick them up nad take them to Grand Rapids, where the wedding was to be held.

So, yesterday, Cindy, me, Mom and Dad, and Heidi (our other roommate from PEru who came down to Indiana from Chicago to drive to the wedding with us) drove a nice 2 hours to the church where KAtie's long-distance wedding came together in wonderful style! Our head principal, NAncy Miller, was also there, up from Ohio where she's spending the last of her furlough time. It was a little of our Peru life here in the States, and what a pleasure to share some of those people with our parents! And what an honor to be there to support Katie, and even MORE importantly, Jose Manuel, whose family will not celebrate with him until the wedding celebration in Peru on January 24. I was so thankful that NAncy and the rest of us could provide at least four familiar faces from his life in Peru.

Please note; this is a copy of the post I just left on the Leinbach Sisters blog. Forgive the duplication. I couldn't add pics tonight. I'll try tomorrow.

FOUR MONTHS?

Say it ain't so!!!

I am so very sorry for the lengthy absence. Getting to the internet has been difficult, and it hasn't been high on my priority list. For that, I apologize. Please make sure you have visited our combined blog for Cindy's recent update with pictures! http://peruleinbachsisters.blogspot.com/

Our computer appears to be acutally working correctly in all the right ways. Please Lord, may it continue to be so. It's really affected our productivity, our communication with family and friends, and our mental health to be so disconnected and frustrated on so many fronts with our technology since moving to Lima. But, we're on the home stretch (hopefully) of things starting to come together, beginning with our computer working well. whoo hoo!

AND we're on the home stretch of our first year of teaching. we have only 17 days of school left. Yes, I am freaking out. I have so much that I didn't get done that I wanted to get done. And i'm going through a little bit of "I won't be able to do this with my kids" as i realize that after 17 school days i won't be their teacher anymore, and i won't get to see my boys (and three girls) every day... yes, they are a very challenging group of students, but they are such a WONDERFUL group of students, too! I love them all and will miss them terribly. So i'm trying to start looking forward to next year's third grade: all 18 of them... and this time, only three BOYS. what a difference! and i'm not sure i really want 15 girls to three boys any more than i wanted 9 boys to three girls... oh well. it will be different, that's for sure.

But i'll miss my boys. a lot.

please pray for me an dmy class over these last four weeks before school ends, our Christmas program occurs, and Cindy and I board a plane for Chicago. SO MUCH has to be done before then. There's some issues of an interpersonal nature that also need to be reconciled over the next weeks, in regards to some students and their families. PLEASE keep these things in your mind and prayers.

Things are getting better. It was a rough time for a while. I think i've just now started to realize just HOW rough of a time we went through, just how MUCH stress my brain and body were operating under... I'm praising God that I made it through with as little collateral damage as there appears to be! :)

Also, our roommate Katie (the teacher who's been here for three years already) is getting married in January. We are thrilled for her and Jose Manuel, but will miss living with her very much! Prayers for them would be great as they plan their wedding long-distance (it will be in Michigan) and also try to prepare here and find a place to live, etc. happily for us, since it's in Michigan, we'll get to go! YEAH!

Well, it's 10:30 and i need to go to bed so that i'll be able to hop out of bed in the morning! (yeah, right... like i EVER 'hop' out of bed!!!)

Love to you all, and thank you for your prayers even though i was MIA. -emily.

Say it ain't so!!!

*Sigh*
Football season just isn't going to satisfy the way it should this year. Watching my Denver Broncos just ain't gonna be the same... the last enduring vestiges of the "SuperBowl" dominant era with John Elway have fallen away from the Blue and Orange.

First, Lynch retires. sigh. Then, Elam defects to the Falcons. argh! and now, Rod Smith announces his retirement. NOOOOO!!!!!!

sigh. Broncos just ain't gonna be the same this year... no 47, 1, or 80...

and i didn't get ANY of their jerseys!

Geez, more than a month gone by...

I'm really sorry. the last month has been tough. cindy's been in tons of pain, and that affects me too, and it's been hard for either of us to feel like sitting down nad writing about how painful life is.

Many of you have been praying for Cindy's health- Thank you! It is improving! She is still in pain, but not nearly as much, and her feet are so much improved!

I'd like to direct you to the Leinbach Sister Blog and to the latest group of pictures posted from our Independence Day Celebration at school.

Fiestas Patrias: Independence Day Celebration!

I will write more later, but for now, the pictures and post at the Leinbach Sisters blog will have to suffice! Thanks for all your prayers and support!!!! I love you all!