 |
| building the fence, you see the red shirt choosing pieces, the gray sweatshirt weaving them in, and the purple shirt tapping them into place. |
When I left my last class today I walked out to see that
there were three of my 4th/5th grade boys building a
bamboo fence where they did all of the work yesterday. I walked over to watch
them and the one fourth grader who is fourteen started asking me questions
about America and differences between here and there. He is a super smart boy
and I’m always amazed at how quickly he picks things up and can memorize how to
spell words super quick. He is also the boy who gave me the Hello Kitty Doll at
Christmas, so he holds a special place in my heart even though this was kind of
the first time we have really talked outside of the classroom.
 |
| Emanuel weaving the bamboo pieces into place |
I was so impressed at how skilled they were in building the
fence, finding two that were the same height, and then alternating which one
went on which side and how well the boys worked together, one finding the
pairs, one weaving them, and one using a machete to put them tightly up next to
each other. As I was watching the conversation just flowed and we laughed and
joked. It moved onto if I was a Christian or not, and so then I asked him if he
was a Christian. Roughly translated, this was his response. “I used to be a
Buddhist when I lived in Burma, but then my parents died and I came here and
now I’m a Christian.” In that one sentence my heart broke for this boy. Here is
a fourteen year old boy who is an orphan, studying in the fourth grade because
he came to Thailand when he was older after his parents passed. I have been
talking to students more and more lately and I can’t tell you the number of
stories that are so similar to this one. As they get more comfortable with me
and are willing to open up I imagine this will happen more and more. I don’t
know how you prepare yourself for this type of conversation. Each time I just
want to take them in my arms and make it all go away for them, to provide them
a loving home, to show them God’s love, to ensure that they will have a
promising future, but the reality of the situation is that I can’t do this for
each of them. I can listen, I can sympathize, but I really don’t understand
what they have been through and the struggles that they will have to go through
for the rest of their lives. I pray daily that God will give me the words in
these situations and that I can show them love that they might not be getting
in the children’s homes that they are living at. My heart breaks for them and I
constantly wish I could do more for them. Being here is more than just teaching
English, I’m learning more and more each day that teaching English is just an
excuse to be able to be here, to get to know the students and pour love and
care into their lives that they might not get from anywhere else. Please pray
for each of my students, and especially Emanuel who this story is about. Pray
for his home as he is in the one that has a lot of problems, pray for his
future, pray for his heart as he has gone through so much at such a young age,
pray that he will stay in school and get an education, pray that I can continue
to show him and the other students the love of God in real ways on a daily
basis.
No comments:
Post a Comment