Dearest Prayer Partners,
Thank you so much for your prayers; and for your
encouraging emails as well! They are SO appreciated. Your prayers give me
strength every day, knowing that there are people behind me in the battle. The notes
put a smile on my face; for, as Proverbs states: good news from afar is like a
drink of cold water in the heat of a summer day. Thank you all so much for your support!
A Day at CEI:
Friday
I convince myself to crawl out of bed at 7:45. Today is
the only day when English class is not the first morning class. Yes! So, I
quickly get ready for the day and run upstairs to the office at two minutes to
8:00.
Today is a special treat, as, it just so worked out that
this week, I don’t have any (teaching) responsibilities. It is such a blessing
every once in a while. I pulled my Bible out of my desk drawer to continue my
study on Matthew 25. I am very much enjoying the study. There is so much I can
learn from the Master and His description of His kingdom. It saddens me to know
that most of the time, I am focused more on earthly things than I am on eternal
things. Oh to live completely and totally for Jesus!
The only break time of the day comes right before English
class. I play a tune to the kids game chant “Quack diddley oh so, quai, quai,
quai;” to the children’s delight. (It’s like playing music to a musical chairs
game, only more predictable.) I think the group this week liked to get out just
so they could run in the circle around the players, chanting the little
sing-song. They are so cute to watch. With the blow of a whistle, they all run
off to class, laughing and giggling.
Today, I get to watch as the other teachers teach the
final class. Technically, we really don’t teach much, it is just a good-bye
class. The main material we teach them is “I love you” in American sign
language, a skit the teachers perform, and a slide show of the week.
The skit is called “This little light of mine.” Four
teachers carry a candle into the (darkened) classroom singing “This little
light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine.”
Once they get to the front, the Accuser comes, usually dressed in black,
to discourage and destroy our light. However, the last teacher with a candle
refutes the Accuser by acknowledging her mistakes, but then standing in the
good character she has learned and claiming a second chance to do right. She
then helps her friends, telling them they have a second chance as she re-lights
the candles. The Accuser gets frustrated and leaves. This skit is a good visual
for the kids, as they will be discouraged to do right, but can be encouraged to
just keep trying.
(The skit, as you can see, is also a Spiritual picture,
and even though we can’t talk about the grace of Jesus, we hope that someday
the teachers will see the real truth of this skit. Kids often know that the
Accuser is Satan; and some put together that the lights are people who follow
Jesus. We cannot come out and say it, but if they bring it up, we will talk to
them personally.)
After English class, the children file down to the
cafeteria for the closing ceremony. The teacher in charge will review the
lessons the children have learned throughout the week, and then the children
sign a ‘resolution’ of sorts, saying they will work on the character they have
learned. Then the all of us teachers line up at the front and “give our love”
to the students, and we sing the “Special” song. At long last, they invite the student’s home
teacher to come up and present the children’s certificates to them. Certificates
are HUGE in Taiwan, and for some of the kids, it is their first time to receive
a reward. It is a joy to watch their faces light up, knowing they have achieved
something notable (finishing character camp). As they come off stage, we give
them high fives and atta-boys.
Lunch time! Sometimes, we get to sit with the children,
but this week there is not enough time before the bus comes, so we are not able
to. I am disappointed, because this group had amazing English, so I had
actually been able to get to know all of them quite well. Usually Wei Wen or I
take a group picture on Thursday, but that hadn’t happened this week; so we
took it today. It is always amazing to me how many original poses the Taiwanese
people can come up with.
The children run up to 4th floor to retrieve
their luggage, and then slowly make their way down to ground level. As they
line up outside, all of us teachers line up to give hugs. One girl who had
attached herself to me on day one just clung to me, and then managed later to
get a few more squeezes in. It is so hard to say goodbye! They load up into the bus, and we wave and
run along the side of the bus as it takes off.
Ching Fang is the first to turn around with a big smile
to say “Good job hug!” Then it just gets crazy as everyone is trying to give a
hug to everyone else. When I’ve finally gotten everyone, I stand waiting next
to Wei Wen and Jo to give a group hug and “jaio” cheer for the next week.
I have about 15 minutes to get a snack or a drink, and
then we have a meeting about next week’s kids. The last one to meeting usually
has to do something (embarrassing), so it’s good to be on time, if not early.
As soon as the meeting is over, I race out the door to go
to my violin lesson. Usually, it is on Thursday nights, but I needed to move it
this week. I know enough Chinese now to maneuver the train station and taxi’s
on my own. (Freedom!!!) However, I missed the first train out, so I was a
little late to my lesson, but I called my teacher and let him know I would be
late, and actually ended up arriving before he did. I really have been enjoying
my lessons. They are a bonus, and it is SO NICE to have a teacher! However, the
level I’m playing now, I have to get a smaller violin in order to play them
correctly, because my fingers are too short. That kind is difficult to find, so
pray that I can find what I need at
an affordable price.
With camp finished for the week, and my violin lesson out
of the way, I gladly met up with a Taiwanese friend to hang out.
Getting back to the apartment at 9:30, I changed, jumped
into bed, and fell asleep quoting Psalms.
God is so good. It’s been a great day.
Happy in the Service of the King,
Barbara J. Sutton
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