Two Worlds

December is here and Christmas is fast approaching. I've traded my skirts and flip-flops for jeans and scarves. I can understand stranger's conversations (don't worry I try not to eavesdrop). There is Christmas music, decorations, and snow. It seems rather surreal. I have to remind myself to stay on the right side of the road. I'm still surprised when people tell me Merry Christmas! I think the grocery store is like an amusement park with all sorts of strange new things to discover, many of which make me laugh out loud. I'm amazed that there is a kitchen gadget for absolutely everything. I'm confused by the lack of fish sauce and rice. I'm enjoying the potatoes and biscuits and of course green chile on just about everything. I'm thankful for the drive-throughs here, but miss the fact that over there they pump the gas at the station. It's so cold I wish they would do that here.

I miss the little voices who chatter away in Thai and the hugs they give. I miss their smiles and quirks. Yet, I am so thankful for the sweet friends on this side of the world, who don't stop loving even though we're far apart. I'm thankful for the time with them and their wise counsel.

These are two very different cultures, styles, places: the Asian and American. Both with their good and bad and both with people I love. I'm thankful for the time I have in both worlds.

Things I Loved About This Week

(Two of our van kids. It takes us about an hour to get to the last kid's home and more often than not there are some sleepy kids.)


Singing with Viirawit in the school van on the way to and from school in the mornings and afternoons. Talking with him about Bible stories, hearing him tell about Abel sacrificing reindeer (I think he just got confused about the English word) ;). Having him tell me he was on blue.


Driving up to Naamfone's house and seeing her standing out on the road waving at me. Having her hugs and her slipping her tiny hand in mine as we go to the bakery store. Working through metric conversion problems in the store just because we could. The way my heart breaks a little when she tells me not to go visit the States, that I'm her big sister and I need to stay.


Visiting our newest first grader in the hospital. I don't like that he was sick, and I don't really like hospitals but I enjoyed the time with him. Reading, coloring, and practicing English. Remembering how when we dropped him off with an older man in a wheelchair last week he was so enthusiastic about waving to us while pushing the wheelchair that he ran the chair into a pole.


Sitting in our little clinic room and praying with my smallest 3rd grader who was feeling sick this week. I asked him if I could pray and he said yes, so I did and when I opened my eyes his were still closed with his little hands folded.


Watching our 4th, 5th, and 6th graders all brushing their teeth together at the outside sink at our school where we wash our hands. The dentist from the local hospital came and said that our children have very poor teeth and so we now require them to brush their teeth after lunch at school. So funny to watch. The older girls squat hiding in the grass and the boys who try to be so tough and manly just can't keep up that image with the toothpaste around their mouth.


When my third graders asked me, "Why don't your parents just come here if you want to see them?"


The chaos that is the school van on the ride home in the afternoons. When there are two girls and one boy shouting math facts, at least three different conversations being passed from the front to the back, me on the phone speaking Thai trying to figure out if we should pull over and pick up Naamfone's brother at school. When I am in the middle of trying to tell Amy something and inserting the word favorite into the sentence just because I saw it on a sticker on her hand and subconsciously said it, making no sense. My boss calling the teacher in the seat next to him on the phone because he was thinking about dropping her off when he actually meant to call his wife. Deciding that pretty much our whole team is crazy.


Hearing my children speak English and wondering "Where in the world did they learn that?" And then realizing, they sound just like me.


Seeing a little boy, who was in our summer school, on the street where we drop off one of our students. Waving to him and having him wave back enthusiastically with a big smile. Please pray that he might come to our school next year.


In the city on the last night of Loy Krathong (a huge Thai holiday) where old monks were grinning from ear to ear and repeatedly almost catching people, trees, and a temple on fire with lanterns with fireworks attached. I actually took off running from him once, and another time collided with a stranger because I was trying to escape from another lantern. We said that we probably could predict which of our boys will be the ones almost catching people on fire when they are 70 years old.


When the water in our house came back on after being out for two days. (I take that back, it's still not really working.)


When one of my students did something against the rules and another of my students told him, "Bad choice." In English.


Teaching our cook/janitor English after school. She is such a sweet and generous woman and I enjoy spending time with her.


Hanging out with our Thai boss who is super funny and always selfless and serving.


Driving the previously mentioned school van because our boss had to take care of his kids while his wife went to Laos. Happening upon Naamfone and her brother on the way to school, stopping on the small street, waiting for Viirawit to freak out and rescue her from a spider, and then heading off to school with an extra passenger. Although it is infinitely more fun being in the back with them.


Being a "coach" during our basketball club after school, trying to remember what I learned about the sport when I was 9. Wondering how my little group of 1st and 2nd graders was going to play knock out because they rarely make a basket even though the one they use that is only about four feet tall.


The fact that we didn't get in a car accident! And our car was only in the shop once this week.


My student who usually gets low scores got the highest grade on our Science quiz this week. It seems to come so naturally to the other kids so I was glad he got a chance to have the best grade. He wasn't just guessing the answers either, who knew refraction of light was something he was going to understand quickly.


Hope you enjoyed a glimpse of our week. :)

Basketball club...
Above: I'm trying to get one of the little girls to not put her head on top of the ball before she tries to pass it.
Below: My third graders playing with Miss Amy

Signs...So Funny

Just for fun...

Please check out the following post on my roommate's blog. It is a hilarious collection of signs that we've seen around Thailand.

http://arambikur.blogspot.com/2011/10/signs.html

Feel free to check out her other posts as well. :)

Sprouting Seeds

I think one of my students is a missionary in the making. Technically, he's Buddhist but he has a soft heart for the Lord and remembers Bible stories better than just about anyone. He reads the Bible during English class and I feel terrible telling him that he needs to put it away and listen. My roommate says I'm persecuting him, and I guess she's right.

Yesterday, halfway done with the after school student drop offs my boy says, "I love God." I said "Oh, yeah?" My roommate who just been talking with him said to ask him why. He said, "Because God made us and called us and He loves us." We then proceeded to talk about the stories of Daniel, Joseph, and Noah. Joseph is his personal favorite. I remember being shocked several weeks ago when I asked my class who Moses was and they stared at me with bewildered looks on their faces. This boy however, raised his hand and was able to tell me in Thai from Moses' birth to the parting of the Red Sea. Now, you have to understand this child rarely listens to me, focuses on anything, or remembers what we've been studying, but he can remember entire Bible stories.

After we'd been talking for awhile he saw a plane passing overhead and made a comment so I asked him if he could go anywhere on a plane where would he go. He said he wouldn't because he wouldn't want to crash. But he decided he'd like to build a big boat. He said he would, "Have people come see, and have pictures, and tell them about Jesus." I asked if I could come see it and he said sure. There might be a second ark in the future. ;)

When we had arrived to the drop off spot he said truly disappointed, "Oh, I wish we weren't here yet, I want to keep talking about Bible stories." I told him to read a new one and we'd talk about it on the next ride home.

This is the same child who three days ago was on "red" which is the lowest rung on our school's discipline ladder. He was unmotivated, not listening, and not putting forth any effort. I was frustrated because we were trying to review a lot of information for the final and he was just not being helpful. We finished and he was still nowhere near done with his work so I sent him to the office with a note asking them to have him finish because we were moving on to Science and I had no patience to keep working with him. He spent all afternoon in the office working with my boss. After school I apologized for not being patient with him and he said, "It's not your fault, I'm sorry, I was on red, I wasn't doing very good." I said, "Well, we are both sorry we'll start again new tomorrow." To which he responded enthusiastically and gave me a high five. I was impressed with a third grader taking that much responsibility for his own actions. He has such a tender heart. Please pray for his development in the faith. Please pray Luke 8:15 for him: "But the seed in the good soil, these are the ones who have heard the word in an honest and good heart, and hold it fast, and bear fruit with perseverance." Please pray that he would not be like the "...rocky soil are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no firm root; they believe for a while, and in time of temptation fall away." Please pray that his faith would not be squashed by his Buddhist family, may they come to believe in the Lord as well.

Call...Obedience

I'm hesitant to try to explain my thoughts of late. Afraid I can't actually make them make sense in verbalizing them. Thoughts of obedience in the hard stuff, of desiring God's will crazy as it may sometimes seem, of common sense and throwing it out the window. Pete Fleming, missionary to Ecuador wrote, "A call is nothing more nor less than obedience to the will of God, as God presses it home to the soul by whatever means He chooses." I think this means that when we know that a certain choice is obedience to God's will, because He has pressed it on our hearts in various ways over the years, that constitutes a call. Rarely do we have a flashing billboard, a 2x4 to the head, or the audible voice of the Lord. But daily as we meet with Him and seek His face He lets us know. At the end of many quiet conversations with Him I can't explain to any human how His voice has turned my heart and helped me choose. Sometimes, we wait for the obvious sign, when God has already given us the quiet word/nudge. Yes, the Lord does command us to wait for Him alone, but when He gives the green light, we better move. We just have to make the first choice to obey and then follow the path of obedience no matter how many twists and turns, how many stops, or detours there may turn out to be.

I think so often God's will sounds crazy to everyone else, sounds irresponsible, sounds illogical. Yet God is above all that, more powerful, and more in control. It sounds impossible and way more than we can handle. And it is. That's the point. He doesn't call superheros, He calls those who in themselves are unqualified and incapable and He takes delight in providing His strength, His wisdom, and His grace.

I think that too often we miss the deeper call of God on our lives because of fear. Fear of what others will think, fear of being unprotected and uncared for, fear of believing that God is good or fear that God might prove to be harsh or cruel. I think within each of us two strong desires battle. One from the flesh for comfort for security and one from the Spirit for more of God and His plans. At least I know this battle has been fought in me. "God is not overly concerned with our comfort" I read those words from a missionary right before I moved to Thailand. I think he was right. There are much much bigger things going on right before our eyes yet we get tangled up in unnecessary worries. I'm not saying this kind of "crazy" obedience is easy...it is not. But it is worth it. I'm absolutely sure that those who have lived this way don't regret it. My fear is that I will consider the cost too high, the way too rough, the risk too great. That I will choose easy and that at the end I will see a wasted life.

May we be the kind of people who live like we truly believe in our faithful God. May we be the kind that follow Him to the ends of the earth. May we come to see that following Him, knowing Him is all that is truly necessary. May we desire Him more than comfort. May we love Him more than ourselves. By His strength and for His glory.

How Could I Ask for More?

"How could I ask for more?"

Those words jumped out at me during our Tuesday night Bible Study and they've been replaying themselves in my head all week. They convict me because I have everything I need, I'm blessed to do the work I do, and the Lord has always taken care of me. In spite of that my selfish heart sometimes says, "If I had this..." "If I was there..."

It's in those moments where He is prompting me to be grateful for what is. To be thankful for every hot afternoon teaching kiddos who are hot and tired and cranky. To be thankful for the hours of planning and writing lessons so that they receive a quality education.

In those moments...

"It's here that I call out,

It's here that I fall down,

It's here that I find out

You are everything I hoped you be.
...
I found You there." ~ Bebo Norman

That's where I find Him. In the midst of everyday. And I am reminded of and overwhelmed by the sense of how there is really nothing more I would ask for.

Sometimes I get a glimpse of Him in the ordinary moments such as when I walk into the kitchen after an encouraging talk about seeking God's will with our 5/6th Grade Thai teacher. As I walk in I see almost our whole team standing in the kitchen talking with each other in two languages smiling and laughing. It smelled like Thanksgiving and I thought of the past two Thanksgivings we've spent together and I knew we really are a family.

Or a moment where my little 3rd grader came running into the cafeteria as I was eating lunch with three of our English staff members. He bounded up to me with his hands full of clay exclaiming, "I found you some!!!" He had heard me asking our 5/6 grade teacher if he would mind helping me find some clay for my science experiment. This precious little boy took it upon himself to find it for me. It required some searching and digging but his perseverance produced the treasure which I was overjoyed about.

There's not enough space on the Internet to share the many moments such as these or the more difficult times which teach me to be grateful for what is and to remind me that there is never any need to ask for more. He is enough. "God meets us on that level- every day's most quiet need. He will have a new word, a new sweetness or a new fellowship to help us press through to victory. And when the thrill of victory dawns upon us, we will whisper, 'O Lord, it wasn't in me. It was your sufficiency for every day's most quiet need."

The Word

She asked me where she should put her brand new still packaged Bible, and I answered. I looked at her face and I knew then, she wasn't really asking where to put it, she was asking for someone to give her permission to be excited about it. She was asking for someone to tell her it was a big deal. So I did. As I held the Bible for her she tore off the plastic with great enthusiasm. As I asked her to find our memory verses I realized that she hasn't ever read a Bible before. This is quite possibly her family's first Bible. She listened as I showed her the Table of Contents and talked about the Old and New Testament. She found Romans and I explained how to find the chapter and verse. Then she found it and started reading, "For all have sinned..." She exclaimed and looked at me so excited that she already knew that verse.

You know, I pray to hunger for God's word, but she puts me to shame. Every day since then she has looked for opportunities to read her Bible. During math she asked me "When can we read the Bible again?" So, we ended math a little early and everyone got out their Bibles (a required textbook for our 4th-6th graders). We practiced finding verses and all of my kids loved it and asked to keep reading. On the ride home she pulled her silver Bible out of her backpack and asked what verses to look up. As we sat surrounded by new Thai books (thanks to a generous church in Australia) she read to me a book with Jesus' parables. As we finished the story there was a Bible reference. She looked at me and said, "Oh! Can I go get my Bible?" She ran upstairs and quickly returned and found the book of Matthew just like I taught her.

Visiting with her mom at the end of the day I told her that her daughter has been so excited about her Bible and had read it virtually non-stop. She smiled and said, "I know, she came home yesterday bursting about her new Bible and read it to me last night."

When she was opening her Bible for the first time some of my other students came in to see what was going on. They saw some of our Bible story books in Thai and English and asked if they could read them. After they read for awhile and I read with my little girl we decided to play catch with a plastic ball. More of our students ventured in and we sat in a circle to play a new game. One of my boys said, "How about we play that we pass the ball around the circle and when Miss Emily says stop, whoever is holding the ball has to say one of our Bible verses." I said, "Good idea," Miss Brittany turned on music and the game began. As the ball stopped the kids would tell the other kid what verse to say and what language to say it in. Miss Brittany stopped the ball on me and the kids said that I should say Romans 6:23 in Thai. I got nervous and asked them all to say it with me. And the sweet children they are, they helped and we all recited it together. They really surprised me with how well they did reciting the verses on their own in both languages.

And I'm so thankful because God's word does not return void. "So will My word be which goes forth from My mouth; it will not return to Me empty, without accomplishing what I desire, and without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it." Isaiah 55:11 I pray that the Lord continues to work in their hearts and that they always love His word.

Grateful

As I prepared to write this blog post I read a blog by a woman named Ann Voskamp. She had two quotes in her post "When You're Finding It Hard to Be Patient" that jumped out at me.

As I read her words I thought of my fourteen beautiful children who last Thursday drove me up a wall and this Wednesday brought joy to my heart. And I was convicted, "Love is only patient if it's first grateful for what is." In order to be loving and patient toward my kids I must also grateful for each imperfect moment we have. Though I don't always show it I am without a doubt, grateful for the privilege to hear their little voices calling me teacher. I'm so grateful for the abundance of little boys with mood swings because I know the lives they've led. I'm grateful for the little girls who work so hard because I know who they get that work ethic from. I'm grateful for the kids who fight through so much that at school they're doing good to keep a smile on their faces. I can't imagine what it would be like if anyone of them were missing.

Ann Voskamp also said, "Patient people dare to gratefully accept people where they are. Grateful for who they are now, appreciative of works of art not yet finished, but still deeply loved." As I think about each of my little ones that applies perfectly to each of their lives: "works of art not yet finished, but still deeply loved." So in the studio where we work on building our characters, theirs and mine, I must remember to be grateful that I get a chance to be a part of their development. I pray that who we are tomorrow is more like Christ than the people we are today.

Rain and Tears

I'll be honest. This week...wasn't great. Tears came unbidden and irritation got the best of me. I felt overwhelmed and under skilled.

Our days are much like every one's... ordinary, unpredictable, and much more than we can handle. We wrestle with curriculum that despite the best efforts of many just doesn't match. We stumble around with words that just don't make sense. We spend hours planning, preparing and the work just isn't finished. We have hundreds of last minute changes and too much work with not enough hands.

Life is made of the days when I'm just so irritated that our kitchen roof leaks just about everyday, that one thing after another breaks on our car (I'm almost convinced that everytime we take the car to the shop they intentionally break something else so that we have to go back), that the cockroaches enjoy living under our roof. I'm annoyed that I live in a hot humid climate, that it may sound like its raining but it is actually the sound of many termite wings beating against our windows, that our Internet works in short intervals (when it's not too hot) and mocks me the rest of the time. That my students would decide to be crazy the day we have visitors in our classroom. That half the computers in the lab refuse to work as I'm trying to calmly teach a computer class to prove that really things aren't normally this crazy. That I ending up having to have one of the aforementioned visitors write the students scores on the whiteboard as they finished their computer activity every thirty seconds, while another volunteer reviewed flashcards with the half of the class that didn't end up with a computer. Meanwhile I spent most of the class in the hallway with two little rebellious and broken hearts and four eyes with big tears. You get the picture.

Sometimes the challenges of teaching my students, the termites, the floods, and the communication barriers drown out the voice of truth. They make it seem as if absolutely everything is terrible and that it will never get better.

BUT. But, the truth is that...

He whispers that He is my life. My salvation. My joy. My love. My strength.

And just as He graciously gave me salvation He has also granted to me suffering.

I know that heat, gross bugs, and constant challenges in our work do not compare to the suffering of many Christians and especially do not compare to the sufferings of Christ. Yet, for us, right now this is what has been granted to us as a privilege. A privilege for the glory of Christ and for our good.

"To you it has been granted for Christ's sake, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake."

The suffering, it's worth it. Why? Because it has been granted to me to believe in Him. Because He has laid hold of me, because He has poured out His blood to give me grace. Because suffering is often His means of spreading His message to the people who are far off. Because He suffered while walking on this earth, and He is our example. Because He loves me enough to die a horrible death to allow me to be His own. His own. As His own I know that what He allows in my life is for a good purpose and that one day He will wipe away all my tears.

Swim Club!

Swim club = the highlight of our kid's week. The kids love to don their borrowed swimsuits and splash around in the water trying to follow the directions of their English speaking teachers. They get to escape some of the oppressive heat and just be kids. Our bosses' wife has organized this after school swim club with the help of other volunteers for all of our students. They are doing a great job!



A picture is worth a thousand words so here you go...

Under the Cross

Lately, many people have asked, "So, I noticed there are Buddhist idols at your school, why is that?" While my mouth gives the black and white answer in my mind I think about what those idols represent. They are symbols of a lie of the devil that we daily fight against. How daily we live and work under the loving eyes of our all-seeing Father as well as in front of the unseeing work of man's hands.

On the surface, we are just a school. Underneath there is so much more.

I have Buddhist children who during FUN reading when they get to pick anything they want choose my English Children's Bible. When they've looked in that Bible they get the Thai Children's Bible and read about the stories. My boy from the mountains who has trouble speaking Thai sits next to this boy and tells him the Bible stories that he knows. When the daughter of an woman suffering from cancer who is also an ex-prostitute comes to join my class I'm thankful I get to speak into her life. I have a little girl who was just taken from her father and his girlfriend (who is a man who has decided to become a woman) because of abuse and other illegal activity. I have a boy whose parents abandoned him, and one whose parents are in jail.

Everyday our team speaks into their lives. In all the languages we speak we tell them they can overcome. With all our efforts we show them they are worth it. With every ounce of His energy we pour His love on them.

For many of them we are their only hope. Their only hope of coming to know Christ Jesus as Savior. Their only hope of receiving a good education and not being left behind. Their only hope of a better future and a life different from their parent's.

Everyday we fight to be light in the darkness. We pray that the entrenched tradition of Buddhism and the unseeing, unhearing, unknowing statues which represent it will one day be cast down. That its influence will no longer blind our children or their families to the truth of Christ.

So at times when it seems like we live under the darkness of the idols and the lies of the devil which pervade this country, we have to remember that really we live under the cross, the victorious and gracious cross of Christ. That Christ on the cross ransomed and redeemed all who will come to Him. That He is the light in this darkness, the hope for these precious ones, and the Savior of every nation.

Numbers 13 and 14

Grade 4 was the class we almost didn't open. We started out with three students, lost one, and gained three more. Now with five students it is the third largest class. They bring my grand total up to fourteen which is still six short of the twenty students that certain friends were praying for me. :)

Our general school policy is that we are not accepting applications for this current school year. Mostly because the more students miss the farther they are behind and the harder it is to catch up. However, when they come and we are basically their only hope we make an exception. An exception we hope will change their lives for the better.

Meet two of our exceptions.

This sweet little girl has recently been removed from her "home." She has so many struggles and challenges to overcome. This kind of smile is fairly rare but is beautiful when it surfaces.

This little girl came to us two days ago with yet another heartbreaking story. We'll be taking her home as well as our other special little charge.

Please pray for these two little girls that they would quickly adjust to our school and that they would begin to thrive. Pray for their families and the healing that is needed in both situations. Pray that they would know the Savior's love for them and that would respond to His call.

Reasons to Smile

So I have to admit I think it's funny when he says plower instead of flower and fourn instead of four. Every time he says six it comes out like the Thai word for ten (sip) and the poor girl next to him gets confused.

It makes me smile when I go over to check on him and the other fourth grade boy because they are talking over a book in fun reading and I hear him explaining to his friend the Bible stories he recognizes from their pictures in the English Bible. They ask me if the statue in the picture is Christian or Buddhist and they don't quite get that it is neither.

I smile when he brings me a book in the library at break and asks me to read to him. When he excitedly calls a friend over and they hurry to the mats to sit down to hear the story. When it's finished they ask for another and when time is up they say, "Thank you, teacher" in English.

I smile when we're doing addition fact flashcards and he yells out "Seventyhaa." A strange mix between Thai and English which he thinks is so funny. Pretty soon we were all laughing, including my Thai co-teacher as we were going downstairs for the end of the day. He kept repeating it to himself and then giggling in the funniest way.

I smile when the ping pong ball taped on our back bulletin board in a solar system model randomly drops to the floor and makes that distinctive noise when no one is in the classroom and I am walking down the stairs.

I smile when one of my students from last year comes into the room politely, wais, looks confused and says, "I'm sorry teacher...um...I forgot what I'm supposed to ask." Before hurrying out to find Miss Amy again and ask what he is supposed to be getting.

I smile when I see my three third grade girls playing and giggling all together since one is a tomboy and the other has a hard time fitting in.

I smile when one of my dear little boys asks me "How are you?"before I ask him and when I ask him how he is he answers, "I'm fine thank you and you?" I wonder how long we could go in this cycle.

I smile when I am helping one of my students complete a behavior reflection form to help him think through why he got in trouble and how to avoid it in the future. We went through the first part of the Thai form fine with the name, date, grade and then I read him the first question because he can't read in Thai. He answered me and then went to write the answer and then asked me the Thai equvilent of "Now, does that start with an s?" (Which in Thai there are numerous symbols for the /s/ sound.) I looked at him and told him, "I have no idea." And then we both laughed because neither of us could spell.

I smile when they help each other (the one who really struggles helping the one who struggles even more) and encourage each other.

I'm thankful for these many reasons to smile and my thirteen blessings who cause them and the God who carries us all.

The Moments that Matter

Just wanted to express thankfulness and answers to prayer for small steps of progress for my smallest one today.

He's walked a rough road and if he thinks he's not going to make it he gives up. I've seen it in English when he doesn't know the words and he literally shuts down and becomes unresponsive. In PE if he sees that the race is lost he won't finish. It breaks my heart, living life already defeated at eight years of age.

This morning he was sitting all alone watching the other kids play, so I went over and tried to strike up a conversation which all things considered went well. After school his ride was two hours late picking him up, luckily four other kids ride with him and two other students ride home with teachers so he wasn't alone. I was on duty today, outside watching the kids, playing games, talking, waiting for parents to come. This afternoon as I sat alone watching over the other kids he came and sat beside me. In a mix of languages we talked about all sorts of things like whether or not he liked tea, what colors were around us, what animals he liked, what games he liked to play, how God loved him, and other random thoughts. And then he asked me, "Where do your mom and dad live?" And normal as that question may or may not seem, I know what he's asking. My answer was simple, "They live in America, far away." I wonder if he knows what I'm not saying. That my parents and his parents are both physically inaccessible but for very different reasons. We played with the basketball, him making sure I got my turn and cheering wildly when I made a basket. I hope it's a breakthrough, I hope he knows he's worth the time, I hope he knows that with God's strength he can overcome his circumstances. I hope he learns to persevere and not give up. Like all my other students my hopes for him are high. Please continue to pray for the Lord's working in his life.

Words for Life

"We will walk the path of Jesus."

These are the words I hear little voices sing when we are playing a game resembling checkers on our stone tables with rocks, or when we bounce the basketball around the circle, or in chapel on Friday afternoon. The most unlikely voices sing these words and it's music for our souls. They sing the words proudly and joyfully, somehow knowing that its the way to live life.

As a school we've been memorizing Genesis 1:1 in both languages. During this same chapel time some students got a chance to recite their verses on their own for the first time. Sitting up straight just hoping to be called on, they were so proud to show what they could do. One of my boys was sitting up so straight his gaze fixed on the front of the room. He's one of my little guys who hasn't yet answered a question on his own correctly in English. He just hasn't yet figured out what is happening. As he was leaving school yesterday piled in the bed of his dad's truck with a bunch of other kids he widly waved at me and yelled out, "Good Morning!" His soft heart always goes out to the hurting and he is such a good encourager. This week I was having a conference with one of my newest students who has given up. I think he already feels so behind that he doesn't make any effort to learn. After Khruu Ooy and I talked with him about him needing to try this other boy walked by the doorway. He wanted to know why his friend was crying. When Khruu Ooy told him, he told his buddy "Oh, its okay. I don't understand anything she says either! I'll help you!" He put his arm around his friend and spoke words of encouragement as they walked away down the hallway.

Back to chapel time - I caught his eye and did the teacher/student communication thing (the signal across languages that means "Are you wanting to be called on or are you secretly dreading it with all your heart?" He gave me a huge smile and nod letting me know that he indeed want to be called on. I was afraid if called on he would be embarrassed in front of the whole school if he couldn't recite the whole verse in both languages. Sure that he did indeed want a shot I told Miss Brittany to choose him. He started off in Thai reciting without a problem and when he went to answer in English he started speaking Thai again. Amidst the giggles from the other children he started again in English and said the whole verse without a problem.

I was so proud, when I realized the first words he has spoken on his own in English are not his words at all. If all my children ever speak in English are God's words that will be more than enough.

Where They're Coming From

Knowledge changes me...

• she can't live with her parents because they have sent her away with the command to work hard and do the very best she can and they hope that she will have a better life than they
  


• he visited his parents last week...in jail...where they've been since he was five months old (about ten years ago) and they'll be there for ten more years



• he has a house key because he lets himself in and out on his own



• he is also separated from his parents because they live on the mountain, which means that he is in 4th grade and can't read in any language



• he's in 3rd grade yet actually should be in 5th grade but he's been held back because he's moved so much that he hasn't really been able to learn



• he is put down at home and basically told that there is nothing about him that is good or valuable and is publicly humiliated



• she isn't picked up from school because her dad is just not interested in putting forth the effort and her mom is just too tired to fight her dad anymore

"Teachers are their student's second parents." In a day we see them overwhelmed, victorious, tearful, laughing, mischievous, diligent, silly, serious. We see them hurt and insecure and we try our level best to convince them that they are loved, that they are valued, that they can persevere, and that they can overcome. The snippets of life written above are just that, realities of life that my students live with. Loneliness, rejection, abandonment, poverty, and abuse are not foreign to these children. The moments when their eyes light up or they share a crooked grin are worth more than gold. Many of them behave with a maturity far beyond their few years. They work hard to understand and learn and to make their parent's dreams come true. Their tender hearts look out for others and search for ways to be helpful. May God make me the patient teacher they need, the gentle encourager they deserve, and the person quick to see their worth that they desire. May my loving Father make me a loving "second parent" to these precious ones who know little to nothing of His love for them personally.

Grades 3 and 4

I know you've already seen the school and class photos but I thought you might enjoy a glimpse of these photos of the kids taken by my great roommate. They show some more personality than the other photos.

Grade 3

He cracks me up with his sense of humor and his use of informal English. He is the only student I have who will ask me how I am before I ask him.

He is the little boy who would show up to summer school an hour and a half before school started, by himself. He is our mystery child that started singing Christian songs and drawing crosses when we didn't have any idea where he learned them from. Today when I asked him if Jesus loved babies (we were reading a book about them) he said a definite yes. When I asked him if Jesus loved him he looked at me and said, "I don't know."

Another child from summer school this little girl is a perfectionist. She has a beautiful smile that lights up the room.

This little girl is very smart and does so well in class. She has a sweet and gentle personality. Even though she doesn't understand when I talk to her she still likes to come and sit with me which I think is brave. :)

This is my sweet charmer. He aims to please and usually tries his best. He likes to explain things in Thaiglish while wildly gestering so I get the point.

She is also very smart and diligent. She survived last year as the only girl in her class. Which actually didn't bother her too much as she likes playing sports and gets along well with the boys. (Of course they all fell in love with her which also doesn't seem to bother her too much)

This is my newest 3rd grade addition. He showed up yesterday so I don't know much about him yet.

He is smart and works hard, and like most of the boys likes to be silly.

He is super sweet and respectful. He struggles quite a bit to understand but always tries his best. Yesterday, with our two new students he was very gentle and would translate what I was saying to his new friends. I think he took pity on them because it is usually him who is totally lost. He did a great job with the translating though!

Grade 4

This is my newest 4th Grade student who always answers me with "Khap. Khap."(a respectful word that shows agreement) because he has no clue what I'm saying.

He is my sensitive student who struggled quite a bit during summer school. Now he finds himself doing so much better because he understands a lot of what I'm asking. He is doing a great job remembering and building on what he has learned. Every morning he arrives on his bicycle bringing our copies from his mom's copy shop down the road.

This is my only 4th grade girl. She works hard and has such a sweet and helpful spirit although she greatly misses her friend. We started out with another girl and through a sad set of events she might not be able to join us anymore (please pray that she will be able to come back.)

I also started out with one other boy from last year. However, his parents have decided that it is too far to bring him to school everyday and he will no longer be joining us. Please pray that the seeds planted in his heart last year will be watered by someone else and that he will come to know the Lord as his Savior.

I'm so thankful for these children that the Lord has given me this school year. Please pray that I will teach them well and that I will daily show them the love of Christ by my words and actions. Pray that they may know hope and that they may have a future in both Christ's kingdom and this kingdom of Thailand.