Jules and I have already had our third Friday of arts and crafts and it has been going great! The first day we did a craft that included coloring on rocks (it was our first day, ok) the second Friday we made Valentine cards, and just last week we taught the kids the song "head shoulders knees and toes" and put them in pairs to draw their partner and asked them to label "head, shoulders, knees and toes." The kids loved that they had to draw their partner, they thought it was the funniest thing. We seen some interesting pictures of kids with fangs, elf ears, and even green faces. For fun, and to give an example, Jules and I drew each other in front of the kids, and man did they get a kick out of that! Jules did not forget to draw a sombrero on my head, a maraca in one hand, and a taco in the other (it's because I'm Mexican). I drew her with a potato in her hand because she's from Idaho, and because that's all I could think of.
The Valentine craft was just as much fun, by the end of the class some of the boys were gluing hearts to their foreheads. none of the kids knew what Valentines was, so me and Jules tried to share a little bit of what it is and shared with them that the greatest love of all is the love of God.
These kids have been impacting my life in a way that I have never even dreamed of. I know I say that in almost every blog I post, but it is so true! As I spend time with them, I miss them and I'm not even gone yet. There is a boy named Ashish and he is about 5 years old and I love him to death. At first he was a tough cookie to crack, but now every time I see him he gets the biggest smile on his face because he's finally warmed up to me! He cracks me up... He always come to school with his yellow bag, and instead of coloring on the paper we give him, he puts it in his bag and he doesn't forget the crayons too. So after every craft I have to check his bag for crayons. It's so funny when I take them out because he doesn't even try to stop me, he just smiles.
The first craft day was difficult because I've never done anything like this before, so what did I do? I sat on the ground with the kids and had a tickling party! I remember that when I first seen these kids, they hardly smiled, but now they smile so much! I take advantage of every opportunity I have to make them laugh, whether it is by tickling them or by making a funny face.
There are two sessions that Jules and I teach, the Burmese Refugees the first session, and the Ragpickers the second session. Each class is about an hour, it may not seem like a long time, but with a class full of kids who speak another language and with no desks in the classroom, it makes things a little challenging. But we are always up for a challenge! I called the second session kids "Ragpickers" because their parents (and sometimes the kids) pick trash for a living. It is how they are classified at the school as well, and it is by no means used in a derogatory way.
Looking back to when I first got here, I can see how much I've grown. At first, I was so consumed with learning the language, that I failed to do what St. Francis of Assisi once said, "Preach the Gospel at all times and when necessary use words." I'm preaching the Gospel and showing a bit of who Christ is just by loving like Christ has called us to love. There are no words to express how the Lord has been transforming me from the inside out, and just how grateful I am for it.
I'm leaving here in less than a month and I already miss it.
