My Welcome Back Party

    I entered Guatemala without a hitch. With all my passport issues cleared up, I was ready to enjoy some time with the children from the United Arab Emirates that I serve. As soon as I arrived back on campus, my two kids were buzzing about the the previous week. We sat down with a basket of french fries I purchased at a nearby fast food joint and talked about the things we had missed out on in each others lives the previous week.
    Afterwards we unpacked my bags filled with my personal teaching supplies, a much needed math curriculum for home-school, and gifts for my two kids. The one thing I was really excited to give the 11 year-old-boy was a study bible I bought for him. He loved it, and he has been reading it every chance he gets during school. I struggle to tell him to stop reading the bible to learn about reading, writing, and mathematics, so I can't say the State Department of Education would deem me as being an outstanding Teacher.
    Just to remind you, I live in a house with 14 girls and typically teach home-school in this house. The house parents of the house needed to renew their passports, so they were in the states.The next day after my arrival to CB the reality of serving at an orphanage was flown in my face. One child stayed home from school, because she has been throwing-up all night.  While I was cleaning up the mess of her adventures of being sick during the night and home-schooling my two kids. Two more girls came home from school because they weren't feeling well.
    For the next four hours I juggled making sure the girls were hydrated, eating as much as possible, cleaning, and teaching.  By the afternoon, the three girls and the 11 year-old-boy I home-school had fevers. They weren't getting better, and it was impossible to keep the medicine from being rejected by their bodies. Luckily, I had another adult's help in the afternoon. It was nice to have someone else to worry with me (yup, that is what we did-worried) about the kids' steady decline and to have another opinion of what to do.
    Caring for the kids continues, but today the kids are on a steady climb to surviving a brutal sickness. I was welcomed back to CB the best way I could imagine. I was needed.
   

Fill My Bags for Guatemala

I brought an empty bag back with me, so I could fill it up with stuff. Here are some items we are needing. I have highlighted the things most valuable for us to get. If you rather give towards me purchasing these things, you can contribute to Eternal Church (directions to the right). I will be at Eternal on Sunday, so you could hand off the goodies that way. Please post below, so I don't have more than one person getting an item. I know I have friends that are cheerful givers but space is an issue.  Thanks for your help.

11 year old boy
Glasses case 
Jacket (Medium/8-10)
Pajamas (Medium/8-10)
belt (size 10)
Tennis Shoes (35eur or size 3)
Church shoes (35eur or size 3)
Other pants, shirts for play or church

8 year old girl
 outfits for church

Teaching Stuff
Dry Erase Markers
Markers (1 pack)
multiplication flashcards
division flashcards
printer
I Tunes gift cards

A Time for Everything

After the odd week I have had, it isn't surprising to open my bible to Ecclesiastes 3.

For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:

² a time to be born, and a time to die;
a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;
³ a time to kill, and a time to heal;
a time to break down, and a time to build up;
⁴ a time to weep, and a time to laugh;
a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
⁵ a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together;
a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
⁶ a time to seek, and a time to lose;
a time to keep, and a time to cast away;
⁷ a time to tear, and a time to sew;
a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
⁸ a time to love, and a time to hate;
a time for war, and a time for peace.

     The Lord knows what he is doing and the plans he has made for me are set. I can be sure in him and nothing else. Just to make sure you are up-to-date on my life, here is what the Lord has done for me recently. The verses above ring true. The things I did last week is very different from this week, but the lord has laid both sets of plans before me.

    Three or four weeks ago my boss pulled me into her office once again and sheepishly asked me to home-school two children that had just arrived at the orphanage. These children spoke English not Spanish, so I was a nature pick for the job. The Lord had already been gearing me up to be back in the teaching role, so I cheerfully accepted the job.

    The two children I would be teaching were on vacation in Guatemala when there mother became wrapped up in illegal activity. The mother was taken to jail and the children ages 8 and 11 were found in a hotel room. As the police continue to investigate the mothers involvement with drugs, the Lord is giving me a huge opportunity to witness to these Muslim children. 

    Since I am able to communicate with these children and most of our houseparents aren't, I have been allowed to take on the role of substitute mom, their nanny, or caretaker. This has given me a lot of time to get to know these kids, and it has created a bit of stability in their lives.  

    Last Thursday when I discovered that I needed to leave Guatemala to renew my passport, this put a huge kink in the plan I thought God had placed before me.  I know that God was in control when the immigration official marked my passport incorrectly. I believe that I am supposed to be here in SC right now even though I can't see the reason. There is a time for everything, and God controls it all.

Financial Help to Buy Clothes and School Supplies

Many of you continue to ask if I need help with anything and I do. I need help buying a few things.

1. The two kids that I am homeschooling are in need of clothes, undergarments, English bibles, and some school supplies. We have been able to find them some items at the orphanage and a lot of us missionaries have been able to purchase some items for the kids as well. I would also like to be able to buy them things as needs arise.
2. I started tutoring 7 kids on campus in the afternoons. At the moment, I have no school materials to use.
3. The dance fitness class I teach on campus has been a great success. The teenage girls are loving the class. This class has given me an opportunity to disciple the girls and build relationships with them. All of our music comes from iTunes and I spend about $15 a month on music.

If you would like to help, you can donate online to Eternal (look to the right side panel for instructions) or mail a check to the address below.

Darby Scott

147 Candlelight Drive

West Columbia, SC 29732

Thanks for your support!

Homeschool Adventures 1

It has been so wonderful homeschooling these two kids. They are here at CB for a very sad reason, but you can see on their faces that they find comfort and joy in hanging out with me for school each morning. We are continuing to learn about the life of Elijah and it has intrigued the kids to ask some amazing questions. Who is God? Who is the Devil? Is this story real?

The literature the kids are reading for class is christian in nature so the little girl, and I have been discussing prayer. On Friday, she recalled from this story that God answers prayer by saying yes, no, or wait." Wow. I am beyond excited to be a part of their lives in such an important way.
Thank you for your continued prayers.

On a personal note, the Lord continues to point me to scripture about prayer. From the previous story, you know that I have been discussing prayer with the kids during home-school. This week the bible-study we had at the baby house each morning was about prayer. When does God answer prayer? Why does it take God so long to answer prayer? Why doesn't he give you what you desire? These are all common questions we think about.

What we discussed is that when "we ask anything according to his will, he hears us (James 5:14)." Sometimes our hearts are aligned with God's desire and sometimes we try to blaze our own path in life. "When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures (James 4:13)."

I have been getting really frustrated not receiving some of the desires in my heart.  I love my work here but I want a family of my own. Unfortunately, lately I just haven't prayed about it. In James 4: 1 & 2 is says, "What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don't they come from your desires that battle within you? You want something but don't get it. You kill and covet, but you cannot have what you want. You quarrel and fight. You do not have, because you do not ask God." This verse was the kicker for me this week. I realized that I haven't taken the time to ask. I'm used to the answer, "wait" so why keep asking? I believe the Lord used the family bible-study this week to tell me to ask. God loves to spend time with us no matter the reason.

My Only For-sure Job

I had no idea that my last blog's title would become a perfect way to describe my jobs here. The title "What's in a Job?"  about sums it up. I was reminded once again that my jobs here aren't important but sharing the gospel is the point of it all.

Within 24 hours of posting my new job assignments, my boss had another conversation with me about a new new job. We had a brother and sister arrive at CB and they speak English not Spanish. The kids can't go to our Only Spanish speaking school on campus, so I am now homeschooling a 3rd grader and 7th grader. The kids are wonderful, and I'm really excited about being able to spend time with them.

They come from a background that isn't christian, so the Lord has given me a huge opportunity to tell them the good news. Cool! The Lord keeps directing us to the life of Elijah. Right now we are focusing on 1 Kings 17 "Now Elijah the Tishbite, of Tishbe in Gilead, said to Ahab, 'As the LORD, the God of Israel, lives, before whom I stand, there shall be neither dew nor rain these years, except by my word.' And the word of the LORD came to him. 'Depart from here and turn eastward and hide yourself by the brook Cherith, which is east of the Jordan. You shall drink from the brook, and I have commanded the ravens to feed you there.' So he went and did according to the word of the LORD. He went and lived by the brook Cherith that is east of the Jordan. And the ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning, and bread and meat in the evening, and he drank from the brook. And after a while the brook dried up, because there was no rain in the land. "
I can only guess as to why God wants to use this passage. Please pray for the Lord to capture the kids' hearts.