School is done! That is incredible! The week was incredibly fast - I feel like I might have possibly blinked twice and gotten a couple of hours sleep. (which isn't true, because I went to bed at 8:30 on Wednesday night...) Anyway, that's what it felt like. Thrown in there were a few birthdays, a couple of field trips, report cards, and a large end of the year party.
I managed to clean out my classroom with Deona on Friday after everyone left, and we thought about the year and how much the kids changed over time. I vividly remember setting UP my classroom, and putting up everything that I was taking down - writing names on books, dividing the kids into groups and putting together the calendar. It was crazy to take it all down. Last year was different. I took it all down, but I shoved it all in a big bag to keep for the next year.
How fast a year goes! A year is so long and so short all at the same time. A year is enough time to get involved in someone's life, and to change it. A year is enough time to learn many things, and change in many ways, and a year is definately enough time to change the world.
There are 3 or 4 students that totally stick out in my mind right now, although ALL of them were awesome and important. The first was Nat, who was one of the only students who seemed to realize that after today, there was no more K3, and no more Miss Rachel. She just sat on my lap and burried her head in my shoulder and said my name over and over. It was cute. She has changed incredibly to become one of the most sensitive caring students. She used to be really rough, but she has surprised me and become more and more gentle. She still is fairly tomboyish, and she goes and does absolutely everything the boys do, but I haven't seen her throw a punch since August, and everytime she accidentally hurts someone else, she bursts into tears. She has become so, so interested in Christianity and in the bible, and in God, it's amazing. She always has the best questions, and she seems to really understand. She tells me that she asked God for a white heart, and I believe her.
Month was the second student who sticks out in my mind - I gave him my Children's Bible on Friday, and he was SO EXITED!! It was awesome to see his eyes get wide! He asked me three times, "But why you give to me Miss Rachel??" "Because you like to listen to it so much." Then the wide eyes again. He tried to carry it around with him while he was trying to eat icecream. He almost dropped the icecream a few times before he plopped himself down on the floor to look at his new treasure. If Jesus returned today, I believe with all my heart that Month and Nat would be rising on the clouds too. It's such an awesome thing to see childlike faith.
The last one I'll tell you about today is Mind. Mind comes from a very troubled home, and he resisted coming to school every day so much that sometimes Kru Nok would lock him in the classroom to keep him from running outside to the parking lot. At first Mind was incredibly frustrating because he didn't understand anything, he never spoke and he was very very angry all the time. As time went on though, I began to see that he was just looking for love and attention. So Deona and I started to give him positive attention, read to him in tutoring and give him hugs. And then he started to stand really close to me, and the before I knew it, he would resist coming to school, but only out of the precident he had set. He would resist with a smile. And although the frown would return and stayed plastered on his face for most of the day, he became fairly obedient and he could do a good amount of his work with help, and he would come over and sit on my lap voluntarily. By the end of most school days, he was like my second set of skin. He would stand so close to my desk while I was working that it was less of a pain to have him sit ON my lap than to stand so close to my elbow. Kru Jane liked to call him my shadow.
On Friday during our party, Mind huddled himself in a corner. I thought maybe he was sick, but he shook his head. I thought he was tired, but he shook his head. I thought maybe he was hungry or shy but to those too, he shook his head. Finally I asked him if he was sad. And he nodded. I read to him what I wrote in his yearbook - that God would take care of him and that God was with him all the time, even if he was happy or sad or angry or scared. I told him that his teacher next year would love God very much, just like me, and I told him that his teacher next year would be very kind. To the first few things he just sat and looked at me. But for the last two, he shook his head and scowled. I think he felt abandoned. The poor kid! He says he hates his dad, and he doesn't love his mom, and now the only place where he feels safe is about to be shaken up, and he couldn't deal with it. I think that was the hardest goodbye I've ever had to make. Eventually his nanny showed up, and he went home, but I think his heart was broke. I just pray that God will be very close to him and transform him from the inside. As of now, I can't do anything else to help him - I can't change his parents, I can't change his feelings, I can't even make him feel loved at school. But I can pray, and that's more important. If you think of Mind, pray for him too.
Like I said before, a year is enough time to change the world. I have been with them for a year, and that is enough time for God to change how they act, how they think, and how they will live. How incredible!! Hopefully, the lives of these kids will be different because they spent a year with me, because I'm trying my best to follow God. God doesn't need me, but he lets me have the privilege to be used. I feel so honored to have been a part of these lives for this long. What a great blessing these two years have been!
r
(by the way - setlao means done and na ka is polite)
Saturday, March 26, 2005
Thursday, March 17, 2005
another week
...
And all of a sudden, it's been a week and there is only a week left. I feel like I should sit down and write something profoundly interesting and fascinating about my week this week, but I don't really have much to say.
Things have been CRAZY BUSY around here - testing takes up a lot of time. Report cards take up a lot of time, prep for the week when you don't have any books takes up a lot of time. I kinda feel like I've been going insane, but it's a good insane...
My favorite moment of the week was definately Nat and Seven having a spat after school yesterday. I walked into my classroom after hearing about 6 people yell "Miss Rachel, Nat hit Seven." (I thought they said Nat kiss Seven, which isn't all that unusual so I wasn't worried.)
But when I got into my class, Seven was standing there bawling, and Nat had a tissue and was roughly wiping away all the tears that were sqeezing out of his eyes.
Then Seven goes, "miss rachel, nat do this..." and he starts to demonstrate. I asked if Nat had said sorry, and Nat starts to bawl, saying over and over, "I say sorry already!!" So now there are two crying kids - one is crying because he got hurt, and the other is crying because she was the one who did the hurting. It all worked out in the end, and Nat gave Seven some of her prize to alay his bitterness towards her.
I hope your weeks have been going well -- I can't believe that mine here are numbering 4... The year has gone so fast! See you in 4 weeks!
And all of a sudden, it's been a week and there is only a week left. I feel like I should sit down and write something profoundly interesting and fascinating about my week this week, but I don't really have much to say.
Things have been CRAZY BUSY around here - testing takes up a lot of time. Report cards take up a lot of time, prep for the week when you don't have any books takes up a lot of time. I kinda feel like I've been going insane, but it's a good insane...
My favorite moment of the week was definately Nat and Seven having a spat after school yesterday. I walked into my classroom after hearing about 6 people yell "Miss Rachel, Nat hit Seven." (I thought they said Nat kiss Seven, which isn't all that unusual so I wasn't worried.)
But when I got into my class, Seven was standing there bawling, and Nat had a tissue and was roughly wiping away all the tears that were sqeezing out of his eyes.
Then Seven goes, "miss rachel, nat do this..." and he starts to demonstrate. I asked if Nat had said sorry, and Nat starts to bawl, saying over and over, "I say sorry already!!" So now there are two crying kids - one is crying because he got hurt, and the other is crying because she was the one who did the hurting. It all worked out in the end, and Nat gave Seven some of her prize to alay his bitterness towards her.
I hope your weeks have been going well -- I can't believe that mine here are numbering 4... The year has gone so fast! See you in 4 weeks!
Thursday, March 10, 2005
My "Month" Moment
Today I had the most wonderful "Month" moment -- let me share my exciting story with you.
This past week, we talked about Jesus' death and resurrection, and so yesterday we started to memorize John 3:16. One of my students, Month, pipes up from his position laying on the floor, and goes, "Miss Rachel, why have John 3:16?" So i told him it was so that I could find it in my bible. He goes, "Miss Rachel, you have bible?" I told him I did. "And, I see your bible?" So I told Month that I would bring my bible for him to see after school.
I completely forgot. Month however, did not forget. He didn't ask me once during the day, but the moment that school was done and i told them that they could all go home, he comes up to me and says, "miss rachel, I see your bible???" So I ran upstairs to my bedroom and found my bible and brought it outside for him to look at.
We sat outside on the steps for a while, and he asked me to find John 3:16, and read it to him, so I did. And then he asked if the other stories in our classroom (children's) bible were in there. So i showed him one (amazingly enough, he can pick out names like Jesus, Peter, Adam...) But then I had to go tutor. I told him that in half an hour, he could come back and we could read more bible stories from my big bible.
I totally thought he'd get distracted and forget.
BUT, he didn't. He appeared at my classroom door in precisely 25 minutes, asking me if I was done, and if we could read more bible stories. Our conversation went something like this:
"miss rachel, your bible have many stories?"
"yes"
"miss rachel, we read story of adam and eve?"
"ok" and we read adam and eve (the short version)
"miss rachel, your big bible have many word!"
"yes it does"
"miss rachel, the samall bible is more fun"
"do you want to go get it?"
"yeah" (month runs to the classroom and finds our picture bible, and then finds a story for me to read. it's the one where Peter and John heal the beggar in the temple)
Month looked really hard into the distance when i read that Peter made the man well, and he made this very thai noise - a raising of the voice that kinda sounds like "uhh??" (those of you who have lived here will understand)
"But Peter is not Jesus, and Peter make the man better??"
"yeah"
"how? why?"
"because Peter believed in Jesus. Jesus was not there anymore, but Jesus is not dead. where does Jesus live now?"
"up there" (points up)
"month, do you think that Jesus can help even if he is up in heaven?"
"no"
"i think he can"
"uhh? miss rachel, i go to get my water" (and he runs across the playground and brings his water back)
"miss rachel, jesus is God's son?"
"yes"
"and Jesus is God?"
"yes"
"uuhh?"
"is it hard to understand?"
"yes"
"month, it is hard for miss rachel to understand too."
and then, all of a sudden, his dad showed up and he went running home. If you think about Month, pray for him. I don't think he's attending GES next year, but he's definately thinking!! His thought processes are amazing for a 6 year old. He asked more questions, but i really can't remember all of them, and even if I could, I would bore you with the details.
I want to give him a kid's bible before the end of the year so he can read it for himself.
Praise God for small miracles! This is the first time I've actually seen a student actively interested in devotions or the bible. Lots of them are interested, but Month is really thinking! If you think of him, pray for him, and pray that this seed would not be stolen away from him, but that it would grow to bear fruit. That's kinda hard when he's only 6 years old and there are so many family pressures, but God can do anything.
WOW!!
(ps - my apologies to all of you who are reading this exact thing for the second time because I sent it as an email.)
This past week, we talked about Jesus' death and resurrection, and so yesterday we started to memorize John 3:16. One of my students, Month, pipes up from his position laying on the floor, and goes, "Miss Rachel, why have John 3:16?" So i told him it was so that I could find it in my bible. He goes, "Miss Rachel, you have bible?" I told him I did. "And, I see your bible?" So I told Month that I would bring my bible for him to see after school.
I completely forgot. Month however, did not forget. He didn't ask me once during the day, but the moment that school was done and i told them that they could all go home, he comes up to me and says, "miss rachel, I see your bible???" So I ran upstairs to my bedroom and found my bible and brought it outside for him to look at.
We sat outside on the steps for a while, and he asked me to find John 3:16, and read it to him, so I did. And then he asked if the other stories in our classroom (children's) bible were in there. So i showed him one (amazingly enough, he can pick out names like Jesus, Peter, Adam...) But then I had to go tutor. I told him that in half an hour, he could come back and we could read more bible stories from my big bible.
I totally thought he'd get distracted and forget.
BUT, he didn't. He appeared at my classroom door in precisely 25 minutes, asking me if I was done, and if we could read more bible stories. Our conversation went something like this:
"miss rachel, your bible have many stories?"
"yes"
"miss rachel, we read story of adam and eve?"
"ok" and we read adam and eve (the short version)
"miss rachel, your big bible have many word!"
"yes it does"
"miss rachel, the samall bible is more fun"
"do you want to go get it?"
"yeah" (month runs to the classroom and finds our picture bible, and then finds a story for me to read. it's the one where Peter and John heal the beggar in the temple)
Month looked really hard into the distance when i read that Peter made the man well, and he made this very thai noise - a raising of the voice that kinda sounds like "uhh??" (those of you who have lived here will understand)
"But Peter is not Jesus, and Peter make the man better??"
"yeah"
"how? why?"
"because Peter believed in Jesus. Jesus was not there anymore, but Jesus is not dead. where does Jesus live now?"
"up there" (points up)
"month, do you think that Jesus can help even if he is up in heaven?"
"no"
"i think he can"
"uhh? miss rachel, i go to get my water" (and he runs across the playground and brings his water back)
"miss rachel, jesus is God's son?"
"yes"
"and Jesus is God?"
"yes"
"uuhh?"
"is it hard to understand?"
"yes"
"month, it is hard for miss rachel to understand too."
and then, all of a sudden, his dad showed up and he went running home. If you think about Month, pray for him. I don't think he's attending GES next year, but he's definately thinking!! His thought processes are amazing for a 6 year old. He asked more questions, but i really can't remember all of them, and even if I could, I would bore you with the details.
I want to give him a kid's bible before the end of the year so he can read it for himself.
Praise God for small miracles! This is the first time I've actually seen a student actively interested in devotions or the bible. Lots of them are interested, but Month is really thinking! If you think of him, pray for him, and pray that this seed would not be stolen away from him, but that it would grow to bear fruit. That's kinda hard when he's only 6 years old and there are so many family pressures, but God can do anything.
WOW!!
(ps - my apologies to all of you who are reading this exact thing for the second time because I sent it as an email.)
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