One week (or rather two short days) of school down, and a full week starts up tomorrow! My class is SO different from last year. They seem so little and they have SO much energy! I have had to be pretty strict last week and that is true even more so tomorrow and all this week. I feel like this first month is going to be very important to establish clear expectations and behavior in the classroom. I know they have been a problem for teachers in the past and I am trying to keep that at bay this year! They are so sweet though and I am really excited for all this year holds.
As some of you know I have really been struggling knowing what to do about a church and the youth group I was helping out with last year. After a lot of talking to others and really praying about the decision, I decided to not help out anymore. I feel at peace with the decision. I found I was pouring myself out SO much and I was never really being filled. You can only give so much for so long until you are dry. Last year I ended the school year bone dry, weary, and extremely frustrated. That was not fair to my students, who are my first and most important ministry.
New teachers this year are really struggling to adjust to the culture. They don't like the food, the heat, the "Thai" way our school is run, or the expectations of the Thai parents. Don't get me wrong, each one of these things (expect the food of course!) has been a source of struggle for me at some point in my time here. Just pray that they would adjust and that God would make them culturally sensitive and aware. Once you start to have a heart for these people, it is so much easier to avoid feelings of frustration over little things.
On a happy note, I have made a really strong connection with my thai teacher, Kru Pon. On Friday, we sat after school for an hour and talked. She told me in her broken English mixed with my broken Thai the story of how she and her husband fell in love. Thai people don't let you in very easily, you have to earn their trust for a long, personal story like that. I praise God that we are bonding! I just hope that we can continue to deepen our relationship. She is such a special woman, and she has such a special heart. God is big enough to reach her where she is, and I pray I am here to witness it.
Sorry I know that this post is sporadic but so much has happened in the two weeks or so that I have been back. God has really put this verse on my heart for this year and I would like to share it with you. "My heart and my flesh may fail, but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion forever!" Psalm 73:26
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