Dear Praying Friends,
It is so nice to have children again! To hear their
staccato recitations in class and their laughter in the halls. It was so… quiet
before. We missed having kids!!!!
The kids this week are so sweet! Thanks, I think mostly,
to their teacher. She seems to be a phenomenal teacher who works hard to make
sure all her kids are learning and growing. Students in Taiwan have the same
teacher for 3 to 5 years. This enables the teacher to really form the way the
students think and act, to know them at a very personal level, and acts as a
stabilizer to the children that are tossed around in broken homes. The kids
respect their classmates; including the one labeled “trouble maker,” to whom
they speak to in quiet reminding tones. It is like watching a large family’s
kids interact with each other.
In general, the learning level of the children this week
is higher even then the kids here at the county school. And their English! We
were able to teach more difficult words and phrases. -Again due, to their
teacher. With the high level of English and good behaviour, we often found
ourselves with extra minutes at the end of class, so these kids really enjoyed
good break times. In the emotions class, they knew all the usual words (happy,
sad, angry, shy, etc) so I taught them the advanced words: excited, confused,
bored, and lonely. They did very well. Also, in the weather class, I actually
got to teach a sentence!!! The learned how to ask and respond to “What’s the
weather like today?” And those are just the classes I taught. Other teachers
added to their lessons as well.
One student this week was sent to Taiwan to learn
Chinese, but is originally from Canada. His English, of course, was great. He
really enjoyed interacting with English speaking teachers, as much as we
enjoyed having a student who understood everything we said. He has been here
long enough, that if the other students did not understand, he translated it
for them. It was such a blessing!
One boy has an especially difficult home, and is often
getting in trouble at school. Since he has the same name as my brother, I came
up behind him, patted him on the back, and said, “Hello Mr. David.” At first,
he shrank away saying “Wo bu je dao.” (I don’t know.) But, I knew he knew, so I
continued, “Good job! You are a good listener!” (with hand motions). He smiled
and said “Oh. Okay. Okay.” His teacher is doing a good job with him. He loves
her. She spends her break times helping him with homework, as his parents are
not able. This is the only reason he is as good at school as he is. It is neat
to see the many good influencers in his life coming together to help him.
Our team has begun doing a Bible study on I & II
Peter. Mainly, it is for our team to grow in love, teamwork and doctrine. We
invited both our Chinese tutors to join us and any of the Chinese teachers. On
Tuesday, Bunny, one of our Chinese tutors came to Bible study. I Peter is a
tough book to come in on. She did not know much about Jesus, so we did a lot of
explaining along the way. She did not have a Bible, so once again, I found
myself giving away my Bible (a bilingual Chinese/English) and we showed her
where to start reading. What a joy to share Jesus! Pray that Bunny will read
John, and that God will open her eyes to her need of salvation, and that she
will come back!
Please pray for me. Some health issues have come up which
have necessitated doctor visits. The Chinese teachers here set me up to go to
the doctor once a week for I’m not sure how long. It is nice that in Taiwan, I
can see a specialist right away. Also, tests and visits are very inexpensive
here compared to the US. Anyway, I would appreciate prayers for wisdom of the
doctor, and strength for myself. I am still able to teach so far, but I am
grateful that the other teachers have stepped forward to help as much as
possible.
Happy in the Service of the King,
Barbara J. Sutton
PS: Make sure to visit the "Thankful List" to see how God has blessed this week!
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