y= mx+b

A few of you know that I love math, specifically, algebra and statistics. About a month ago, I was able to begin tutoring a boy in algebra. For security's purposes, I'm going to call him Juan. When I sat down with Juan at his first tutoring session, he presented me his paper with an equation similar to y=mx+b and some graph paper where he was supposed to graph the equation. When I first asked Juan what he would do if he got this question on a test, he replied, "Copy off a friend." My reaction to this was, "Let's see if we can come up with a better way to answer the question." I then proceeded to explain that y=mx+b was a line and how he could get that line from the equation.

Since then, Juan has been coming to our tutoring sessions every night that we've been holding them. Some nights are better than others, but on Wednesday night, I saw a note from his teacher and a 0% on one of his assignments. When I asked him why he hadn't finished the assignment, he said that he had been skipping class and was failing math. It is also quite possible that he is being pressured to join a gang or is in one already, and if this is the case there is not much motivation to keep him in school.

Juan is very good at algebra, when he concentrates! I am encouraged by his progress in tutoring sessions, and if he starts going back to class he could very well not only pass but get a great grade. I ask for your prayers for Juan as he is in school, that he would become motivated to go to class and that he might be able to complete any make-up work. Last night I pulled him aside and said that I would be more than happy with him to have a meeting with him and his teacher, and to talk to his teacher about possible make-up work that we could be doing in the tutoring sessions outside of class. Pray that my words of encouragement would build Juan's confidence in himself up, and that he would not feel afraid to meet with his teacher. I hope to keep you all updated in the future about Juan's progress. Most of all, please pray that God would place a wall of safety around Juan in anything that he is involved in, and that he would feel like he can be himself when he comes to the community house for tutoring. Thanks everyone for your prayers. Let's rally around Juan in prayer.