Choosing to be thankful

Dear friends,

Hello and I hope you're doing well. Over these past few weeks, God has been speaking to me really clearly about how thankfulness is a choice that we make and that, no matter the circumstance, we can always continue to thank Him and ask Him to show us how He is working.

I was incredibly blessed at the beginning of this month to be able to join a Student Leader trip to Tansen, Palpa (14 hours drive west of Kathmandu) with 13 students from Grades 11 and 12 at KISC and 3 other amazing members of staff. It was really wonderful to see our students work with 150 primary students at a local school and to see them challenge themselves and learn and grow so much. This was also the first time that I have visited one of KISC's partner schools outside of Kathmandu and it was such a profound experience for me both personally and professionally.

I was excited to start Term 3 with no online component as almost all of our students were back in the country, restrictions here had eased and cases were very low. However, unfortunately after only two days of being back on site, all of the schools in the city were instructed to close and the daily Covid cases here are now some of the highest they have been over the last 2 years! I have been so proud of my students and the way that they seamlessly returned to online learning.

Here is a picture of one of my two days of in-person teaching this term.

However I was thankful that I could still work from the KISC site, despite the students being at home, and really seek to encourage my colleagues and spend time outside at break times and lunch times with them.

Then, a few days later, I came into contact with someone who tested positive so I needed to isolate for 5 days, but I was blessed that I was able to do this along with Karen and Bethan, who were also counted as "close contacts". And we've had a lot of good times sitting on the roof drinking tea together amidst all of the Zoom meetings!

5 days later, we all had negative PCRs, which I was so thankful for! And we could go back to the school site and back to our own house and reconnect in-person with people. We also got to celebrate Bethan's birthday!

Unfortunately, 24 hours after our release, we once again were identified as close contacts of a different positive Covid case, so here we are - back in isolation again! To be honest, I struggled to choose to be thankful initially (!) but, in reality we are so blessed to have such a lovely house to isolate in - we can walk around within the confines of the colony, people can come for coffee outside (in a very socially distanced way!), we have a projector so we can watch movies in the evenings, there's a rooftop for journaling and praying, and the students are online anyway, so they are not disadvantaged by me needing to isolate!

Here's one of my favourite spots to be:

This Scripture from 1 Thessalonians is on repeat in my head "Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances." (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18).

So this is me trying to put that one into practice! And I would encourage you to, too.

PRAYER REQUESTS:

- That Karen, Bethan and I would get negative PCRs tomorrow and be able to be out of isolation.

- For the increasing numbers of our KISC community (staff, parents and students) who are unwell and testing positive for Covid - that they would recover quickly and have no lasting effects.

- For the cases to be mild and to come down at KISC, in Kathmandu and in Nepal generally.

- For members of staff who have just arrived at KISC and are now navigating online learning.

- For wise decisions to be made within our school and within the city.

- For booster jabs (once we can get our boosters, we will no longer need to isolate if we come into contact with a positive case).

- For strength and perseverance to keep loving one another well and striving for excellence amidst the disappointment of being back online.

Thank you so much for continuing to pray and stand with me. I really value you.

With love

Hannah