Even in the Valley, God is Good

How can I even start to describe the events of the past week? Without making this the longest post ever, I can’t, but I can give you a brief explanation of what happened. I can tell you that we have walked in a dark valley for over a week, and found that God was still by our side, leading, guiding, and showing us the way.It started when the principal decided to quit his job and go and help his parents while finishing his education. We were sad to hear that news, but we have learned to trust God with little details like that, and so wished him well. God could send us another principal if that is what was needed. We had heard rumors that there were 5 teachers that wanted to quit, and had been talking badly about Roy to the school children. We knew this to be true since our own kids go to that school and had heard it first hand. We knew that they did not want us there even before we came, so this was no surprise, although it makes us sad that they would not give us a chance, but had started turning the kids against us on the very first day of school.On Friday, all but three of the 6^th graders decided to stage their own revolt. They all left the school with only the approval of the teachers that did not like us, went home to get their parents on their side, and then came back on Tuesday. Nobody reported to us that students were gone until that evening, when the girl’s dean said that at least 5 of her girls were missing. We thought that maybe they had decided to go home, and got permission from the principal, but we could not find the principal to verify it.On Sunday a friend of ours visited us and informed us that a lot of the teachers were planning to cause trouble that week. We were in the middle of discussing it, when the phone rang, and one of the good teachers said that there was trouble and we needed to get down to the school right away. So, Roy headed out the door to see what the matter was. That was when we found out that almost the entire class was missing, and that certain teachers seemed to know all the details of where they went, and when they would be back. But, they had not told anyone that had the authority to actually let the kids go! A meeting was then called, but there was so much rebellion among the teachers that nothing could be accomplished. That was when we first realized that we were dealing with a major issue, and not just a missing student incident.The week escalated from there. The students came back with irate parents in tow. It was easy to get the parents angry since complete lies were rampant. They had been told that Roy fired the innocent principal, and so they were coming to defend him and put him back into his rightful position. This was followed by unbelievable activities, including a mob scene where an influential faculty member led the children in yelling threats at us in the village. They wanted the foreigners out of their village and their school. I can’t tell you how heartbreaking it is to be rejected by the very people you came to help.In the midst of all this, God gave us incredible peace. We knew that we had not done anything wrong, that this trouble had started before they ever even met us, and that there was one angry devil that wanted us out of his way.The mission sent us two people to help, and they did their best to calm the situation down, and restore peace to the school. But unfortunately, good and evil cannot co-exist in the same place, and it was evident from the chaos that followed that either serious measures would have to be taken, or we would have to leave. By Thursday, most of the students were in open rebellion, along with many teachers, so we turned in our resignation. It was clear that we can do nothing more to help them at this time, unless the trouble makers are dealt with by a higher authority than us.The reaction from the people in the area has been humbling. Many people told us that God is no longer at this school, and they are looking for other places to send their children. At first the parents were against us, but after Travis spent some time talking to them about what really happened, most of them seem to be really supportive of us and do not want us to leave. We do not blame them for being angry before, since we might have been also if we had been told the lies that they were told. The spokesman for the parents came to see us today and apologized for what had happened and asked for our forgiveness, which we freely gave.We still really want to help this school and turn it into a true Christian school. But, at the moment, our hands are tied, and we cannot do anything but pray for them. But, God is much more powerful than the devil. God can make a way, when there seems to be no way. Or, God can move us to a place where we can serve him better. We are praying and waiting on God. Please pray for this school, the teachers, the students and the mission, that we would all have the wisdom and courage to do what is right.