Repeat

Well, it's universal...kids say surprising things. Here are some of the highlights from today...

It started off this morning with one of my little girls as we lined up in the hallway to go to class. She asked me in Thai, "Teacher, for Christmas, what are you going to give your children?" (Meaning my little band of five and six years olds.) My thoughts...1) What! It's only August and 2) Most Thai people don't even celebrate Christmas...where did that come from? Although our kids did start randomly humming/singing Christmas carols at least a month ago.

During English class I asked my kids if they knew what today was. After they replied "Tuesday," which is normally a pretty good answer, I told them that it was Miss Brittany's birthday. They didn't understand in English and instead of just saying the word in Thai I decided to sing a bit of "Happy Birthday" which was actually just as effective, they caught on quickly. Brittany told me later that they went up to her during break time, sang "Happy Birthday," and gave her hugs.

My kids have been struggling to pass a math facts speed test for a couple weeks now. The first student passed last week and this week another of my students finally passed. The other students sat a little sullen as they failed, yet again, to complete the test in the allotted time. I could see the disappointment on their faces, yet out of their sadness one of the little girls looks at the two students who passed the test and says to each of them in a sweet voice speaking in English "Good job. Good job." I was so proud of her.

My kids have been struggling with how to be good friends, with including everyone and being kind to each other. I have a hard time combating this as I can only talk with them a little about it. We had a discussion as were lining up for lunch because we were having some problems in the classroom. As we were eating I heard them start talking about it again. I turned around from the table I was at to look at them so I could focus on what they were saying because I was concerned the conversation of ten minutes ago had been forgotten. So as I watched them, sure they were about to start fighting, I saw them all put their hands in the middle of the table on top of each other's after the fashion of a sports team about to yell "break." They said something in Thai and threw their hands into the air broad smiles on their faces. They showed such unity which I was quite thankful for.

After lunch as my kids were once again lining up in the hallway, one of my little girls was filling my water bottle for me, as she came back another of my students said (in English) "Thank you, dear." You can always tell what you say a lot when your kids start to repeat it. I got another taste of that a couple minutes later when we were upstairs going to computer class. Walking into the class I realized that I had left my computer vocabulary flashcards downstairs. I did say out loud, "Oh, darn." (I know, what a terrible example). One of my students was at that time walking behind me and said, "Oh, darn." It was then that I remembered, they will repeat, even when they don't understand. I don't know why the repeat button was turned on today, but it sure was.

Just thought I'd share a couple of stories from the day, moments that made me smile and laugh out loud. I never cease to be amazed at what my kids say in Thai or English. I'm thankful they are becoming confident enough in English to speak it on their own initiative and in different situations. I'm also thankful for their character development, I pray they continue to grow in love, selflessness, and encouragement for each other.

Friendship

Yesterday was a bit of a sad day for me. Sad for several reasons actually but all having to do with friendship. The feelings of sadness began to wash over me in the morning and just continued throughout the day. It was a quiet day at school, I just had four of my kids. During phonics as we were working through a sheet coloring only the pictures that began with the letter d, I noticed one of my little girls looked on the verge of tears. I gave the other girls instructions and took this particular little girl out in the hallway where I asked if she was okay and she proceeded to burst into sobs...not tears...sobs. She gasped out that one of the other little girls had taken her pink pencil, it shook her world. As I wiped her tears away and told her it would be okay, I saw myself in her. She was trying so hard to hold in her hurt and never had any intention of telling her friend about the hurt she had caused. After a little while, we walked back into our classroom where I gave some more instructions and then took the other little girl into the hallway. I proceeded to talk to her about the situation, after which she ran in and swapped pencils with my broken hearted girl. As I looked at them both sitting side by side not quite at peace with each other, wisdom from a dear friend came to me. I never really learned how to communicate with others effectively about feelings and hurts...it is something that only recently I've been learning because of this very loving friend. We've had some practice hurting each other, stewing while trying to hide the pain, then sitting down and talking through it, usually involving tears. The amazing thing is that after our conversations our friendship is so much stronger and we are able to keep moving on together. It would be quite unhealthy if we just stuffed our feelings down inside and weren't able to communicate them with each other.

Because of what I've been learning I tried to help my girls begin to learn how to communicate with each other after they had been hurt. It is just a beginning but hopefully they will learn how to lovingly and gently use unfortunately painful situations to strengthen and build their friendships instead of letting them be torn down.

The sadness came when thinking about these beautiful friendships and the truth that because of life circumstances and callings, friends who you depend on being near end up far away. To me, goodbyes are one of the most difficult things about life, and they break my heart.

The following song by Watermark fits perfectly with some some people I am so thankful to have in my life. Cherish friendships like these as long as the Lord sees fit to bless you with them.

"Something brought you to my mind today
I thought about the funny ways you make me laugh
And yet I feel like it's okay to cry with you
Something about just being with you
When I leave I feel like I've been near God
And that's the way it ought to be...

CHORUS:
'Cause you've been more than a friend to me
You fight off my enemies
'Cause you've spoken Truth over my life
And you'll never know what it means to me
Just to know you've been on your knees for me
Oh, you have blessed my life
More than you'll ever know, yeah, yeah, yeah
More than you'll ever know, yeah, yeah, yeah

You had faith, when I had none
You prayed God would bring me a brand new song
When I didn't think I could find the strength to sing
And all the while I'm hoping that I'll
Do the kind of praying for you that you've done for me
And that's the way it ought to be...

You have carried me
You have taken upon a burden that wasn't your own
And may the blessing return to you
A hundredfold, oh yeah...
A hundredfold, oh yeah..."

"More Than You'll Ever Know" by Watermark