October Newsletter

Dear Prayer Partners,

It feels crazy that another month has gone by. This month was full of what felt like the highest of highs and the lowest of lows. I often journal to sort out my emotions and my journal is full of flipflopping entries about being so overwhelmed with gratitude and crying out in desperation. Living here has been so so hard, but also the biggest blessing. I think it all started to set in a little more this month- being away from home, lacking close friendships and supports that I felt like I needed when I was struggling, the daily struggles and mental exhaustion of being a first year teacher. But God has been so good to me in these places of emptiness and loneliness. He has been teaching me the comfort of being part of his church. He has been showing me the beauty of being united to other believers who are also serving Him here. And, each day, He has been teaching me about what it means to work unto Him, not for the approval of man.

When I was deeply longing for someone to hug me, listen to me, and encourage me, God provided in beautiful ways. One of our missionary friends that lives in our apartment building sat and talked with me, hugged me, and prayed over me when I needed it most. She continued to follow up with sending me a milkshake, checking in on how I was doing, and sending me devotionals to encourage me. God knew I needed just that. The school director has also been checking in on me and encouraging me. It is so nice to have a community of believers here that understand the struggles of living and teaching here inside and out. They are such a deep encouragement to me and push me to continue on and serve Christ well when I feel like giving up.

Updates

• I have consistently been attending IBEM (the main church associated with our school) for the last few months. I went to a membership meeting this weekend and am planning on joining that church. I am getting more connected there and enjoy seeing familiar faces and meeting new people each week. I have discussed joining the praise team with some of the leaders and am hoping to do this in the coming weeks.

• I was informed this last week that I missed the window in which I was supposed to get my residency here (someone at the school was supposed to reach out and help me with it but it got overlooked). I am now starting the process of filling out the application for residency. It requires a lot of the same documentation that I needed to get my visa so it should not take a lot of extra work but it is a process to complete all the steps. I am hoping to get this completed soon and that there will not be an issue with me doing this later than I was supposed to.

• Teaching has had highs and lows. I am still struggling with a lot of disruptive behaviors in one of my classes, but I have been learning to focus more on relationships with students and have been praying that God would help me love and care for them well. I have loved being able to do devotionals with the class that I have each morning and I have been able to share about what God has been teaching me in my own life and how God moved in my life to bring me here which has been sweet to share with them. I am praying constantly for more opportunities to share Christ and praying that I can play a small part in helping my students really grasp the beauty of the Gospel as I develop relationships with them and teach them each day. I am very grateful to teach at a school that values this first, above any academics we could teach.

Prayer Requests

1. Pray for safety for me and the other single teachers here. We have been told that it gets increasingly more dangerous as we approach the holidays. Someone from my church was robbed and held at gun point this last week in our town. It is generally safe to be out during the day but we have been advised not to go out walking on our own or go out after dark (which is now around 6pm).

2. Pray that my residency process would go smoothly and be accomplished quickly.

3. Pray that I would have wisdom in managing my classes and have opportunities to have Gospel conversations with my students.

4. Pray that I would establish good routines so I can do well teaching but also have time to rest.

Thank you for your continued encouragement, prayers, and support.

Blessings,

Natasha Dobson