The Beginning

As I sat in college and pondered what the next few years of my life would hold, I purposed in my heart to regular document my journey so that the faithfulness of God would not only be evident to myself, but to others as well. I know myself too well to promise consistency, but I will promise effort.

For those of you who don't know, I have joined a program called Teach For America. It is a highly selective non-profit organization that is dedicated to eradicating the achievement gap between rich and poor, white and minority. Here is their mission statement:

At Teach For America, we are working with a great sense of urgency to build the movement to eliminate educational inequity by enlisting our nation's most promising future leaders in the effort. We recruit aggressively to attract outstanding recent college graduates of all majors and career interests to commit two years to teach in urban and rural public schools, and we invest in the training and professional development necessary to ensure their success as teachers in our highest-poverty communities. Our teachers, also called corps members, go above and beyond traditional expectations to lead their students to significant academic achievement, overcoming the challenges of poverty despite the current capacity of the school system.

We cannot, however, expect teachers alone to compensate for all the weaknesses of the system. We believe our best hope for a lasting solution is to build a massive force of leaders inside and outside education who have the conviction and insight that come from teaching successfully in low-income communities. We need such leadership working at every level of our school system, working outside the system to address the socioeconomic factors that contribute so significantly to the problem, and working in policy and the sectors such as journalism and business which influence policy. After our corps members complete their two-year commitments, we continue to foster their ongoing commitment to and leadership in effecting the fundamental changes necessary to expand educational opportunity.

Teach For America (TFA) places undergrads with a record of leadership in the worst schools in the nation. These teachers who come from all different majors dedicate themselves to working tirelessly on behalf of their children.

I have been placed by TFA in South Dakota--my first choice. I will be teaching 3rd grade at Little Wound Elementary School in Kyle on Pine Ridge Reservation. Pine Ridge is home to the great Lakota Oglala Nation. They have are a people who have survived incredible odds and are fighting to this day for the very continued survival of their people. The fight is difficult and did not end at the historical battle of Wounded Knee. Pine Ridge Rez is home to the poorest county in the nation--poorer than Harlem, Watts, Appalachia, etc. Unemployment rates hover aroudn 80% and a staggering amount of families live below the poverty line. Acholhism is rampant and they have some of the highest suicide, diabetes and dropout rates in the world. They are truly a wounded people who need to receive healing from our Creator.

At the same time, I know that God was with the Lakota long before Christopher Columbus every arrived. God loves culture and seeks to redeem it--not destroy it. Just as Western Culture must be redeemed and transformed to the patter of God's Kingdom, so too must the Lakota find their hope in Jesus Christ. I humbly pray that I might be an ambassador for Christ--not for America, not for White people, not even for the American Church-just for Christ Jesus.

In early June I met my fellow South Dakota corps members. It was a challening intoduction, to say the least. Though I get along with nearly all of them, they truly are people of the world. I had no idea how sheltered I had been from the party scence until I met my teammmates. God constantly has to remind me that I shouldn't expect darkness to produce light, but I am so shocked and sometimes condemning of the depravity of those around me.

It is also the first time in my entire Christian life that I have had to live among non-believers without a supportive Chrisitan friend. Even in the fartherst corners of the earth, I have walked with other believers. It is different here. Though there is one guy on my team who is a passionate believer, things are a bit awkward between us and we rarely talk. There is something about being intimately connected simply by virtue of one's faith that makes our relationsihp difficult. We both know that we may only have each for support these next few years so I think we both need wisdom on how to interact with each other.

I have already begun training for my new role as a teacher. I am currently in Houston, Texas. I have been here for two weeks and will be here another three. It is sort of like a teacher bootcamp--we are all learning to be teachers in just five weeks. As you can imagine, this is so intenese. There have been few times in my life that I have worked harder--and never had I worked more constantly. I get up at 5:00am every morning and am in bed at 1:00 am on good days. I am pretty much exhauseted all the time, but God is sustaining me.

Monday was my first week of teaching. Every corps member is teaching in a summer school classroom in Houston. I am teaching a 3rd grade transitional class. All of my sutdents are Hispanics and several speak very little English. There are only 11 of them and I am of course head over heels for them. I want to be an amazing teacher because they need to make such acadamic strides, but it is very challenging. Instructinig students with such different ability levels and language skills is incredible difficult. I would certainly appreciate prayers for wisdom.

Today is Friday and this is the first time I have stopped to breathe in a very long time. I just wanted to give an update on where I am at and where I am headed. Please, if you remember, lift my students and myself up in prayer. Here are some specific requests:

--That my children would make significant acadmic gains
--That my Teaching Mentor, Catherine, would come to know Jesus
--God would transform me into an exceptional teacher
--The salvation of my SD teammates
--Strength and encouragement for Daniel--the other believer on my team
--God's will would be done in all things and that I would be an instrument for His glory.

In Him,

Ms. Brendsel
--