Would love a little more room for myself

Dear Pastor,

I am a 17-year-old girl and I am living with my family - two sisters, one brother and my parents.

I share a room with my two sisters. My brother has his own room, but it is very small. My father is adding a room to the house. He is trying to extend the house so that my sisters and I will have more room and all three of us would not have to share one room. But the funds are slowly coming in because my father is a farmer and he isn't making a lot of money. My mother does higglering, but with all that is going on now, she is not selling a lot, but we have learnt to be satisfied with what we have.

My sisters are older than I am and they have boyfriends. They told me that they are sexually active. But I am not. I have a guy who likes me, but I told him that I cannot have sex with him and I aim to get a good education, so I do not want to get pregnant now. He promised that he would not get me pregnant, but I am not taking the risk with him. I have very good parents. They have worked very hard. My sisters are ambitious; one of them is in college and the other is aspiring to do the same.

I want to go to HEART. One of my uncles is helping my oldest sister, but our other relatives don't care to help us. They say that we are too proud. Pastor, we dress well and my parents insist that we should go to church. My mother always says that we need not be ashamed of where we come from, but if we look around we would see that the people around us don't have anything over us.

My uncle who is helping my sister is planning to give her a trip. He says he cannot take more than two of us, so because my sisters are older, they will go. I will have a room for myself if they leave, although it's going to be for a short time. We are very careful about where we go.

Pastor, it is very hard for us as a family living together, but we don't beg anybody for anything. I know that one of these days, the room that my father is adding on to the house will be finished and we will have more space.

G.B.

Dear G.B.,

Continue to study hard. Keep your goals before you. Focus on your future plans. You can't go wrong if you put your confidence in God and not in men.

You are 17 now and I am sure your parents are proud of you. I also feel that they are proud of your sisters. You haven't said much about your brother, but I am sure he gives you all a level of protection living at home. Wise girls are not eager to get pregnant, and if it happens, they try their best to take care of their child and to go back to school.

I will be thinking about you and hoping that your father will be able to finish the addition on the house so that you would have more space. Let me hear what is happening to you, so write to me again.

Pastor