Friday, October 21, 2011
Dear Praying Friends
Praise the Lord. What an amazing
week. 27 children marched to the office
on Monday morning. Usually, we meet them, but I guess they were excited and
came on up the stairs. This group of
students was also from the school here in Douliou, so they still feel at home
when they are here.
It didn’t take long to realize
that this group has a good hold on English, as most of the students from this
school. However, just like a usual bell curve, some students knew very little.
Split classes seemed in order. I requested the advanced class, to try some
material with “10 Gifts” that each student has as the theme.
This week had a few stories. One
girl in particular cried for the first three days because she had no friends.
She has been told so many lies about who she is, which affected her schooling
and social skills. We always greet the children well when they come, but I
decided to give this girl “extra special” attention. Every time I saw her, my
face would light up, I would get a huge smile on my face, run up to her saying
her name, and give her a hug. By the end of the week, she was a smiling,
laughing girl. What a blessing to see the change! God did amazing work in her
life.
Another child, a boy, was
slightly learning disabled. He was very sweet, but as the week progressed, we
had reason to believe that he is also abused. So sad! At the beginning of the
week, his face read anger all over. He was highly disruptive in class,
disobedient, and he took out his anger on the other students. However, by the end of the week, our love had
an effect on him. He became kind and
obedient. He paid attention in class and did his best in his workbook. What a
joy to see the effect of love and care on a little boy’s life.
Some of the children changed
less obviously, but their “wish” notes that we read at the end of the week
showed that they too had changed with the character training they received this
week. The notes thanked us for teaching them, playing with them, and living
with them for five days. -And then the
notes said “you not forget my name.” I surely won’t! I’ll keep praying for these precious
kids. Since they are from this school,
it is very likely we will run into them again.
What a blessing it is to meet
new children every week, to be on the front lines, teaching them and loving
them into being good. Of course, many of
them go home to difficult lives and family situations. Please pray though, that
the kids will remember what they learned here about character, and make good
decisions based on that character.
Happy in the Service of the King,
Barbara J. Sutton
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