Pence Family
We are using this blog to inform you about the developments of our family and ministry. Use the pictures tab, on the left, to view pictures of family life and ministry. Feel free to check the site on a semi regular basis to see what we are up to or leave a comment!
Sunday, September 1, 2013
The past few days, there has been some strikes and farmers protesting for better pay in the markets due to the free trade agreement Colombia made with the US and other European nations about 2 years ago. As a result of the free trade agreements, the local farmers have been priced out of business with cheaper imports and increased fuel cost. Therefore, the farmers have been on strike. At first, the strikes started in their local towns and as of Thursday, those strikes and protests are now in the center square of Bogota. Due to the protest and unrest, school was closed on Thursday and Friday for the safety for the students as they commute to school. Praise the Lord, we did not see or sense any of the instability in our part of the city. Please be in prayer for the government here as they try and settle the disagreements and do what is best for the country.
Sept. Update
Our heavenly Father continues to
do a good work in us, transforming us into His image. This year’s theme at ECA
is Service. What does it mean to serve? What is our attitude to be in serving?
Who and how are we to serve? All these questions are what we will be addressing
throughout the year. As it turns out, God is teaching us a lot about service as
well, both at home and at school.
At school we have taken on roles
to serve the needs of the school and students. Without a principal for the
first month of school, Steve stepped in temporarily to fill many of those
responsibilities. We both decided to serve as small group leaders and advisers for the new 9th grade class. One of the girls in that class is
currently undergoing treatments for leukemia. So we are learning how to balance
service toward someone in need and not making them feel like a “special case”
which many young adolescents fear to experience. Please pray for discernment
and grace as we attempt to help this class navigate cancer while honoring and serving
one another. We took advantage of a holiday weekend by having after school
activities with our new group of students. Steve was able to have a great
spiritual conversation with 2 of the guys after going paintballing. Please pray
that the small groups this year will be a tool for the Holy Spirit to actively
work in the lives of the 9th grade students. This past month has
been somewhat of a difficult transition of routines and discerning how to
balance personal devotions, marriage, parenting, school tasks, and connecting
with new students and teachers. Please pray that we will be able to find a
healthy balance of home and ministry.
This next month includes staff
retreat and High school fall retreat. Please pray that God will use these
events to bring unity to the staff and revival to the High School.
Sunday, June 30, 2013
June Update
Family
Update—Marlayna’s
mom, Irene, came to visit for the last 2 weeks of the school year. With all the
yearend activities going on, we were very thankful to have her support us in
caring for Elleazah. Irene and Elleazah had a great time together while we
finished final exams, helped lead Senior Trip, Senior Banquet, and attend
graduation. We will be heading back to Colombia at the beginning of July to: 1.
Take 4 weeks of intensive Spanish training and 2. Begin the process of adopting
a Colombian child. Please pray that the Spanish training will be fruitful
and that the Lord will guide our steps in the adoption process.
Looking ahead—
Looking ahead-
·The
Lord has brought new staff to fulfill roles of Bible, English, Science,
Electives, and Chaplain. The needs at ECA next school year are still for Middle
School Computers and Middle & High School Math.
·
There
will be a few newly married couples coming to ECA this fall. God has placed it
on our hearts to facilitate a book study with them using Meaning of Marriage
by Tim Keller as they begin their new life together on the mission field.
·
Steve
and another married couple who teach at ECA will focus on creating a support
system for new students, with special emphasis on MKs and their challenges with
transition to a new culture.
·
Marlayna’s
role might be similar to this year, teaching both Health & Biology, or she
will teach only one class, depending on our options for childcare. Since all
the students she was discipling have left ECA, she hopes to begin new
relationships with 1-2 students this next fall. She is also praying about the
possibility of mentoring new teachers, since she is considered a veteran
teacher.
·
Steve
will be advising the 7th grade class (Steve has done a small group
with the boys in that grade for the past two years). We are prayerfully
considering if we are going to do a high school small group and be a high
school adviser.
Monday, February 25, 2013
Prayer update for February
January ended with
a fantastic conference where Steve learned how to counteract bullying, helping
students with dyslexia and written language difficulties, ethics involving
standardized testing, and counseling children with anxiety. We also celebrated
Elleazah’s 2nd birthday, and we praise God for her in our lives. It
is a joy to watch her grow and learn each day.
Pray for:
1.
Pray
for the new students who are starting new mid-year as they transition. New
students, especially those from the USA, have historically struggled a lot in
their transition
2.
Pray
that the students will go to the retreats and that the Holy Spirit will
transform their lives
3.
Pray
that we are able to find new balance in our roles and get back into the routine
of school.
Prayer update for January:
As we’ve
entered a new year, we want to thank you for another year prayer and support.
It was good to see some of you during our time in the States. It was wonderful
to spend Christmas with family and participate in some of the traditions.
Anticipated
activities for this next school quarter include a senior retreat which will
focus on what to expect after graduation and transitioning to college. Steve is
preparing a senior to give a devotional during chapel. Steve will also be attending a professional
school psychologist conference to maintain certification. Marlayna will be
helping out at school more this semester; hopefully, she and Elleazah will be
on a regular schedule by the end of the month.
The last
thing we would like to keep you informed about is that we are prayerfully
considering another year at ECA. Originally we made a two year commitment. The
commitment is up at the end of the school year, but we considering staying for
a third year.
Please
be in prayer for this upcoming activities and decisions.
Friday, October 26, 2012
Fall Festival 2012
Fall festival was a big success at school today. It is a day
for kids to dress up in their Christian character outfits (Elleazah is the bee
from Noah’s ark), host booths for carnival type games, and serve food- with the
goal of raising money for their class, and training the students to work
together in planning and executing community activities. Considering we are working
with the seniors, our class is very focused on raising money for their class
trip, which takes place at the end of May. Elleazah had a great time at the fall
festival. Though it is the rainy season right now, we had sunny skies. Elleazah
was still a bit young for the games, but she did enjoy getting her face painted
by the 9th grade class. She also had her first taste of cotton
candy. At first, she didn’t know what to make of the fact that the cotton just
seems to melt in the mouth, but once she realized it was sweet, she was always
ready of another taste! Needless to say, cotton candy will be considered a
special treat , only eaten once in a long while.
Sunday, September 16, 2012
Current events
Wow! Has it really been a month since we last posted?! We
must be really busy or there really isn’t much going on- and in this case-
there is a lot going on!
Steve has been meeting with a lot of students for a variety
of reasons: going over their individual education plans, meeting with seniors
to figure out college information since a number of the students this year want
to study in the States, meeting with juniors helping them start thinking about
college and tests they need to take to be accepted into college, and students who
are struggling with social/emotional/ or academic needs. He is starting to
observe in classrooms to hopefully help teachers teach in a way to meet the
needs of struggling students. He is planning a variety of parent workshops to
give parents strategies to help their students. And most recently, he spoke at
chapel to the high school students on the topic of “Who is your King,” speaking
from Luke 9:16-23. He challenged the students to reflect on how they are living
their life to see what rules their life, who they believe Jesus to be, and do
they trust Jesus as their king.
Marlayna has been enjoying teaching health to half the 9th
grade class and being in front of a class again. Though it is not in her
content area, she has really enjoyed bringing Biblical application to the content.
She has been able to help tutor a homebound MK student who recently had leg
surgery. She meets with him 12 hours a week to help him keep up with his
studies. She has also been able to continue building relationships with the
students she is discipling and with another family who has twins around
Elleazah’s age.
Speaking of Elleazah, she is quit the trouper! She goes to
school when we are at school, she goes to tutoring when Marlayna goes to
tutoring, and she does all this usually
with a good attitude- and for that, we praise God! We know that this busyness
is a short season in our lives and we are thankful she is doing well with the
schedule. She loves drawing and coloring, which makes it easier for her to play
by herself.
We recently went with the staff on a staff retreat, the
topic was Integrity. Going into the weekend, it was easy to think highly of
ourselves as having much integrity. But coming out of the sessions, we realize
how sinful we are and how much area of growth that still needs to take place,
Lord willing. The retreat was in hot country so we, especially Elleazah, really
enjoyed the pools, and the small zoo, at the location we stayed in Melgar, 120
km south of us.
Be in prayer for:
1.
Next weekend, we will be going to Chinauta, 85
km south of us, for the high school fall retreat. Please be praying for the
student’s hearts to be soft and willing to change throughout the weekend. The
sessions will also be on Integrity: From the Inside Out.
2.
Healing for the student Marlayna is tutoring
3.
Continue to connect with students and
discipleship
4. Wisdom in parenting
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