Thursday,
November 8th:
The
seating arrangement in 5B seems to be helping. I need to increase the space
between desks, but several of my more troublesome students have really stepped
up their behavior.
My other classes
went well. After letting one student get a chai in 6B, all of my students were
begging me to go. I told them that if they could be quiet for a whole minute, I
would let them. They clapped their hands over their mouths and we started the
timer. At 30 seconds, they almost burst out laughing, but pulled it together
until the end. I congratulated them for being the quietest that I’ve seen for a
long time. I dismissed them to get their chai’s and cappuccinos and told them
to return to their seats quietly when they were finished. The entire time they
were gone, I kept thinking, “That was probably a really bad idea! They’ll
either be so excited that they will talk the entire lesson or they will expect
me to do this every time.” To my great surprise and immense relief, they were
amazing for the rest of the lesson and extremely grateful for the special
privilege.
We made
our way through some new material – multiplying fractions by one to rename
them. [For those not interested in math, you may want to skip down to the next
paragraph.] I used the analogy of a telescope and a microscope. When we reduce
fractions it is like looking at the moon through a telescope. Something very
large and far away is reduced down so that our eye can see it (it “fits inside”
the telescope). When we multiply numbers by fractions that represent 1, we are
looking at them through a microscope. Something tiny becomes much larger. In
both cases, the object being examined doesn’t change, but our impression of
them either grows or shrinks. The kids seemed to grasp the idea, and I hope it
will help them remember the concepts.
During
one of the breaks, I noticed a little first grader trying to tie her friend’s
shoe, but she seemed to be struggling. Earlier this year, I was reminded that
the One I look to as an example of the perfect Teacher was also a Servant.
Since then, I’ve been looking for ways to intentionally serve my students –
whether that is staying during my break to answer questions or throwing away
their trash for them or doing things one wouldn’t expect from a “teacher.” With
that thought in mind, I bent down and asked if I could help. After tying both
shoes, I looked over to see how the friend had managed her own laces. She hiked
up her jeans and showed me – a row of knots had shortened the string, just
keeping them off the ground. So cute!
I stayed
until 1:45, sitting in on John’s class to help monitor students and getting a
lot of grading done. It was another great day for walking home. The sunshine
has been so refreshing!
[I think
I have something living in my ceiling. I can hear it fluttering around as I write this … yikes!]
At a
quarter to five, Andy picked us up and took us over to their house. The guys
left to go camping and we had a girls’ night in. We had a great time hanging
out, eating cream puff cake, and using wireless internet! I actually got to
Skype with Mom later in the evening and that was a nice, spontaneous
encouragement.
Henry had
a really high fever while Sarah and I were in Istanbul. He went to the doctor
and they gave him antibiotics. After a week, the fever subsided. The medicine
may have helped, but Mary’s sister-in-law who is a pediatrician in the States
wasn’t sure it was actually bacterial. He’s been better for about four days,
but today the fever came back and spiked right before we went to bed. We were
up at different times in the night, praying for him. Mary and John will
probably try to take him to the doctor again this week.
Friday,
November 9th:
All the
way through college, girls’ night meant staying up until 4 in the morning, going
for a midnight run to Wal-Mart, eating junk and watching movies, then sleeping
in until noon the next day. Now that the majority of my friends are married
with kids, girls’ night looks a lot different. We might stay up “late” (until
10:30 or 11pm) and we might still watch a movie (The Incredibles), but there is
now the inevitable early morning wake up, diapers to be changed and kids
needing to be fed. A little after 7 found Mary, Lisa and I lounging in our
jammies and sipping coffee in the kitchen while the babies played on the floor.
To be honest, I like girls’ night a lot better these days!
After
some cream puff cake for breakfast, I got ready for fellowship. Just before I
headed out the door, I asked Lisa if she thought Zander would want to come with
me and if she would be willing to let him. Zander was playing in his room when
she asked him. He replied, “Of course” (which is my favorite phrase of his) and
then he jumped up, put on his shoes and headed for the gate! We were able to
get a taxi pretty quickly for a Friday morning and had a nice drive to
fellowship. Zander was great the entire time and enjoyed seeing his friends.
Our study
was really applicable to the things I’ve been thinking about this week. We
looked at Galatians 3 and 4, focusing specifically on our adoption as children
of God. As we examined why the Galatians might have desired circumcision and
conformity to the law, I realized I could relate. Last year, it was such a
burden when I found out that people here assume that I am a prostitute, unclean
and immoral because of my physical features. It filled me with shame and I
immediately sought how I could cover it. What a discouragement when I realized
that apart from plastic surgery (not too far off from circumcision), nothing I
could do would convince them. After a long struggle, God taught me that as I
must depend on Christ to cover me before God, I must also trust Him to cover
me, to make me clean, before these people. The Galatians were being told the
same thing. Christ is the One who presents us spotless before God, bringing us
to Him as sons and daughters, and allowing us to experience the privileges of
children. They could fellowship with the Jews because Christ had made them
joint heirs.
The study
was also applicable as I’ve had more students and teachers interested in my
physical adoption. When I show them pictures of my family, they want to know
why I don’t look anything like them. A student came up to me at the beginning
of the week to tell me she had met a girl in Turkey who was adopted from Korea.
She had trouble understanding when we talked about the girl’s parents … “the
ones in Korea?” I tried to explain, but felt the vast difference in our
understanding of adoption. I was encouraged after the study this morning to be
willing to talk about adoption and help others understand.
Lastly,
even though I’ve often thought my life would be easier if I bore more physical
resemblance to my parents – I wouldn’t have to overhear people asking my
parents if I am an exchange student, I wouldn’t have to worry about people insisting
on the terms “real parents” versus my “adoptive parents” – I realize that our
differences bring more honor to my parents. We have a natural tendency to love
things that are like us. In bestowing the fullness of their love on someone who
is not like them, my parents exemplify Godly love. God extends the love that He
has for His only begotten Son to us, fallen human beings, clothed in nakedness
and shame. And then He “sent forth the Spirit of His Son into [our] hearts,
crying, ‘Abba, Father.’” Edwards describes the Spirit as the Love God has for
Himself. In this context, the Spirit seems to be the Love flowing from the Son
to the Father. This same love has been given to us, enabling us to love God as
children love their Father. May this love perpetuate thoughts of thanksgiving
to God and guide my actions towards others.
Zander
played and ate snacks while I visited with everyone. One of the families
offered us a ride home. Andy and John were back when we arrived. They left
shortly after – Andy and Zander to a picnic after dropping off the Mareen crew
at home. I stayed and ate lunch, visiting with Lisa, then walking home. It was
a little overcast, but the temperature was pleasant for walking.
Spent the
afternoon studying God’s Word, journaling, and enjoying a day to rest in the
Lord. Also tried to catch up on correspondence, but it has been difficult
without Internet. I have to copy the emails into a Word doc, then try to
respond to them throughout the week … it’s just not as much fun! In the evening
I made granola (now that the weather is cooler, it feels good to be in the
kitchen). Went to bed early…
