Friday, December 2, 2011
Dear Praying Friends
My heart
is heavy as the children go home. So many stories… it is hard to know where to
begin. This class could play very well together, but it didn’t take much for a
fight to begin, and they fought like vampires. They had no qualms about hitting
their seat-mate upside the head for not paying attention or kicking the person
across from them because they took the color of crayon they wanted to use.
Sadly, they all seemed to be very hardened individuals at 4th grade.
Though some of them smiled right away, most of them kept a very grim, serious
appearance. If they did smile, you could tell it was either devious or a “courtesy”
smile.
The
notes we received at the end of this week probably told it best: (Translated
from Chinese.)
“Teacher
Bob, Thank you for CARING about me.” This
is from a child who is often ignored or overruled by his classmates because he
is shy. However, he always greeted me with a cheerful “Hello teacher” so I
returned the favor. Many times this week, as it was very physical and emotional
sometimes, I would randomly ask a child, “Are you okay?” I try to get the quiet
ones to participate with the other kids. This boy really appreciated that a
teacher actually cared enough to stop what they were doing and talk/play with
him.
“Teacher,
thank you for playing violin.” Children love music. Teacher Jo, Teacher Lydia, and
Teacher Yellow play guitar, I play violin, and all of us sing. This little one
tried so hard to play Twinkle Little Star
on my violin even though it was huge for him. The children laughed when he
attempted at first, but with a little encouragement from me, he learned the
first line quite well. How sad that for some of these children, being told they
are “good” and that they CAN achieve and that they ARE worth something is
totally foreign.
That is just two of the many notes we received. (Of
course, these were addressed to me.)
One boy struggled all week long.
In the last English class, we played a game and he got upset and started
swinging. It took me a minute to get to him. I had to pull him back from the
other kids, kicking, swinging, and yelling the whole time. All that goat
wrestling was good for something! I physically restrained him, and then began
talking softly to him. “It’s okay, *Rex, it’s okay. Settle down. It’s okay now.”
He could not understand what I was saying, and sometimes still struck out, but
I did not let go. By the time a Chinese teacher came over to talk in his
language, he had broken into tears.
(Knowing the rest of the story
now, I know he cried because he had messed up again. He had made a wrong choice
and could not control himself. *Rex is extremely bright and one of the most
attentive kids we had, but he could not control his emotions. He doesn’t know
how to be happy or sad, only angry. So, if he is happy or sad, all others see
is an angry boy. The teachers here are hoping he can get some therapy, for he
badly wants to do right, but when push came to shove, he couldn’t. Please pray that God would intervene in
this boy’s life. I don’t know what home is like for him or why he responds
the way he does, but God can reach beyond all that.)
Later, I ended up washing my
lunch dishes next to me. *Rex greeted me with “hello teacher.” So, I responded,
“hello *Rex.” (In Chinese:) “Teacher, I’m sorry I caused so much trouble in
English class.” I walked over to him and gave him a shoulder hug. “It’s okay *Rex.
Wo ai ni.” (I love you.) “Thank you teacher. I love you.”
Wow. The other teachers said this was amazing. He really did care and
respond to a little love.
As us teachers met and discussed
the week, we all commented on the same things. It was a rough class. However,
though we didn’t see immediate change, they seemed to leave much softer than
when they came.
This week, we had the privilege
of teaching about Christmas. We teach all the traditions, from the stocking, to
baby Jesus, to why we have red and green at Christmas. It is a secular school,
so we cannot completely center on Jesus, but we can introduce it. At the end of
the week, we, the English teachers, host a party for the students and Chinese
teachers. They sing a song, write a Christmas wish, and even get a present. It
was so much fun! The Chinese teachers said it was the highlight of the week for
the kids. (Knowing them, probably them too- they love parties!)
Overall, it was a great week. I’ve
learned a lot more Chinese, and I’ve experienced very crazy classes. I need to
keep classes simple and learn more ways to get children who speak another
language to be attentive. I want to prepare better so I move smoothly from
activity to activity and I need to get as much out of the 40 minute class as
possible. These are my goals for next week.
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| We Wish You a Merry Christmas! |
Please pray for our team as we
revamp the Christmas lesson plans.
Pray for the children as they go
home, that they would continue to stop, think, and do.
Pray for *Rex, that God would
allow him to get some effective help in dealing with his emotions.
Pray for us, we will be moving
around a little because we have another English teacher joining us, to help
with double classes next semester.
Praise the Lord: it is winter.
The weather is cool and the mosquitoes are dead!
Praise the Lord for the
opportunity to witness to the children and translators through teaching about
Christmas.
Praise the Lord for a free
weekend to r&r!
Happy in the Service of the King,
Barbara J. Sutton
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