Rolling Days

My how the days are rolling by! I can't believe it has already been a whole week since one of us last posted! Time is seriously flying by! We had another full and great week. My learning centers continue to be successful, praise God, and by some miracle, the students are learning! On Wednesday, I was involved, quite unexpectedly, in a prayer meeting. I was told either that morning or right before I left on Tuesday that we were going to have a prayer meeting while my students were off to their other classes, a 2 hour period of time. I didn't really know what to expect. It turns out that all of the mothers of my students gathered together in my classroom, along with Joshua (my co-teacher for those of you just tuning in:). They started off by singing a song of blessing to me and then praying for me. I cried my eyes out, though I tried not to. We then prayed for the school, the parents, and the students. It was incredibly powerful. We prayed for God's wisdom in showing us how to guide each child into what he/she was designed by God to be - that God would preserve their destinies and show us how to unlock their gifts and graces. How amazing is that!
After praying, things turned into more of a meeting mode where parents shared positive things that they are seeing in their children through this program, and areas that they would like to see improved. In my head I kept thinking "pros and cons" and I was worried about the cons, even though I really wanted suggestions on ways to improve this program for the students. However, I discovered - and was very humbled - that each mother was very greatful for what they were seeing in their children and were too embarrassed by their own English to thank me themselves. Joshua had to translate. Needless to say, by the end of it all, I was a blubbering mess! After the meeting, mothers kept coming up to me and giving me great big hugs and telling me that they understood how difficult it is to adjust to a new culture, and that they know that I am working so hard and that they're so thankful that I'm here teaching their children! They're worried that I'll have too much on my plate...I was overcome with emotion! They showed me such grace and kindness, encouragement and understanding. And now I just keep thinking "how awesome is this!" If I were in the States right now as a first year teacher, I would totally not be receiving such support, understanding, and encouragement as I am now! I see all the more clearly that God placed me here on purpose. Sometimes I hate the fact that I'm one of those people who requires large amounts of encouragement to even halfway believe that what I'm doing does matter and that I am making progress, and yet, God always seems to allow me that encouragement just the same. I totally don't deserve it, and I often wish I could just "suck it up" and "get over it" - and maybe there are times for that, but how thankful I am for these times when God finds way to send a monsoon of encouragement my way. They get me through the "suck it up" moments in life. Love you all, Sarah

Inside Blooming Beans

Please, enjoy this video. That's a new shirt. The video resolution doesn't do it justice. Sarah got a great new outfit, too. I'll try to make sure she is in the next video I post. Don't miss the new post below the video.
Love you all,
Micah

Sad Week

Last week was a bittersweet week for me. I had a great week in Korea and at work and in the midst of it I learned that my last remaining grandmother had passed away. My dad's mother had been in ill health for quite some time. She lived in Frontenac at the nursing home that our church visits. Each time we went on those Sunday afternoons I would seek out my grandmother and Sarah and I would talk to her. She once hollered at one of the nursing home workers then, when they had left the room, she looked at us, grinned and said, "That's how I talk to the help." We laughed and laughed. Helping her smoke felt strange and wrong somehow. It was only one smoke after a lifetime of smoking and I guess it calmed her down. Her favorite candy bar was Mr. Goodbar, definately in my top five. Grandma Bunn, I wish I could have been there. My family understood, but being around them would have been nice. I once read that the reason it hurts so much when someone we care about passes on is that it was never meant to be that way. Death was not in the original plan. Pray for my family. Thanks ~ Micah

Testify

I thought I would take a minute and update you all on my learning centers that I keep talking about:) Today was the first day that students actually went to the centers and did the activities on their own. We've been talking about some of the center procedures and expectations, but we didn't turn 'em loose until today. It went GREAT! The kids responded really well to the centers! I couldn't believe how well it went, especially for their first day! It was such a good feeling to see them be so on-task and engaged in the activities. They did just what they were supposed to do - partners really teamed up and helped each other out. My principal/co-teacher (Joshua) was really impressed with everything too. We prayed before class started this morning that God would help us and show us how to best run everything. I found out afterschool that he'd been really uptight about the whole concept - learning centers are unheard of here! I had no idea how uncommon they were here! Joshua's wife (Esther - she's actually from Canada, so she knows about centers as well) - who has helped me tremendously with the organization side of things - was really excited too! She was really impressed with how well things went on the first day - I don't think any of us had expected the kids to respond so well the first day! Since it went so well, we're really thinking this could set a pattern for how other Immersion classes are run, and possibly give some of the Korean teachers some ideas for another approach to teaching. I believe these learning centers are really an answer to prayer. I'd wanted to do them from the beginning, but had been discouraged from doing so by another teacher who told me that that's really not how "they" do things around here. But then Esther came to me a few weeks later with the idea again, and once I felt that approval, things have really taken off! She really helped Joshua get on board with the idea, and now that he's seen them in action, he is really excited for the potential they hold for our classroom and the school. I am totally stoked by it all, and really feel that God's favor is being abundantly poured out on all of our endeavors. I feel as though my hope as been renewed for this school year - I had been feeling really overwhelmed by feelings of helplessness; I saw all these students who were all at such different levels, and I had no idea how to effectively reach them all. But now, that is all changing. My students really are learning, and these centers are going to help even more than we'd first imagined. God is so faithful in the way He gives us ideas, and then helps all of those ideas fall into place and just, well...work. I am so excited that I have a feeling I'm just starting to ramble...so I will stop writing for now:) Thank you all for your continued comments and prayers - we really feel your prayers and gain so much encouragement from each comment. There have been so many times, especially the last couple of weeks, that we've been feeling particulary low - but then suddenly we feel God's presence, and we just know that people must be praying for us. We've shed many tears lately; we really miss home, and Micah's grandmother passed away this last week. We were both a little under the weather this past weekend, but have pulled through just fine. We've had some really awesome prayer time in the midst of it all; we feel as though we're under a faucet of God's favor, and we have no idea why! It reminds us, though, of Ephesians 2:8-9 (NLT), "God saved you by His special favor when you believed. And you can't take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it." Love, Sarah

Spring is Here

Such a beautiful day today. As I walked up the steep incline to our house, I was distracted by all the trees in full bloom - the sun casting a warm glow through their branches, as a gentle breeze made the blossoms softly sway. I took in a deep, cleansing breath and let the weekend exhaustion from working late roll away. I have been working a lot of extra hours trying to prepare for the learning centers that I mentioned in a previous post. The hours of hard work don't seem to quite matter anymore. God is good. It is Monday, and life has moved on. All the labor of the previous week and weekend paid off - smooth sailing today. Home at a decent hour.
And now I'm free to enjoy this calming weather. I love that spring makes me feel new too - design of God perhaps? As my thoughts continue to meander, I remember a couple of positive things that happened (though there were several) today. First, I was given a compliment by a staff member today. She said that I am a good teacher - that it is not easy to prepare all those materials. I'd never really thought of the ability to gather and make good materials as an aspect of being a good teacher, but her saying that really meant a lot to me - and, again, made me feel like the extra work wasn't for naught. Second, Micah and I were invited to dinner on Thursday night by one of the second grade teachers. It was such a sweet gesture, and something to look forward to all week. Life here is going well, many adjustments, of course, but going really well. The understanding, support, and comfort that people here have shown continues to overwhelm us. Please continue to pray for our health and strength to adjust to the newness of everything. Strange how we can have made so many adjustments already and still have so many more to face - perhaps this is why culture shock can really overwhelm people; it's not so much that any one adjustment is too difficult to face, it's just that they keep piling up. Some days we feel like we're still at home and we're having a great time; some days we feel like hiding under our bed and not coming out (haha)! All in all though, I believe things are going great, and we feel very confident that God brought us here, and He will continue to lead, guide, and care for us. We have so much to be thankful for! Love, Sarah

Magnificent Monday

I realize that it is now Thursday, but I just had to write to let you all know how my Monday went. It was possibly the best Monday I've ever had! I even thought to myself "Wow, is this really a Monday?" As you all know, I was whining and crying on Friday about how hard it was to teach children who couldn't even understand me, and I was worrying about whether they were even learning anything...and so forth.
Well, it's amazing what can happen when you really "cast all your cares upon the Lord" because this past Monday was magnificent! The kids came in and were like a different set of students! They were responsive in class - even eagerly raising hands to ask questions and make comments, I could barely hold 'em back! They could understand me! We went on a big science nature walk later, and they were all eagerly coming up to me to show me what they had found, and all throughout the day students were excitedly coming up to me and talking to me! Even the shiest of students were asking questions and offering comments in class! I could barely believe my ears! This whole week has been going really well - an amazing turn of events! Thank you all so much for your prayers - God is really answering them! Love, Sarah

Seeing Things More Clearly

Hello, Everybody! I am finally taking a moment to write! It's been ages! I have been very busy with school; trying to plan lessons for students with such different English levels is very difficult and incredibly challenging. I have some students who can't even read, and then others who are ready to write novels! Because of this, I have been working extra this week trying to prepare materials so that I can set up learning centers to better reach the needs of more students. I have experienced some really low points because it can really be draining to teach all day to students who can't even understand me. There are several who do understand, but at least half of the students still can barely understand my English, and there are some who can't understand at all. I keep going to God for ideas as to what to do, and there are some really great staff members who have offered me much support and encouragement. It's funny how on one hand I can feel such a huge amount of stress, and even sadness, and yet, on the other hand, there are always such amazing people to offer wise counsel and assurance that the students really are learning and that I will make it as a teacher; I still can't help but cry sometimes because God has just been so good and so faithful to me. And the students that He has given me are such fabulous little people! They are so sweet when they come up to me at random and say to me phrases that I know they have been practicing and practicing; they are funny and hilarious and precious and cute - downright adorable! I had one little girl come to school one day with some new grape-colored glasses - she looked just as cute as can be, which of course I told her. Then, later that day, I noticed that her glasses had no lenses! She was wearing them purely for vanity's sake!! I nearly died of laughter at this discovery! What a quirky and hilarious girl! I wish you all could see her - and all of my students, really. Each one is so special and unique. Everyday I ask God to give me the courage and grace and patience it will take for me to teach them anything.
Micah did home visits this past week, and I the week before. It was one of the most unique and interesting experiences we've ever had. We got the chance to meet all of our students' families and see them in their home environment - it was so neat. All of the families were so hospitable, and we walked away with several gifts (even though they weren't really supposed to give gifts, they just couldn't help themselves!). So sweet and caring. These children have books lining their bedroom walls, and many even had their own offices with books floor to ceiling! It is amazing to see the sacrifice these parents are making to see their children be successful. One thing I have noticed about this culture is that everything has to be the best. If they're going to do something, it is going to be done with excellence - there are no short cuts, no easy-way-outs, no room for average. It blows my mind to watch it all, and it demands that we put our very best effort into this, which is good - no excellent!
As you can see from the picture, I have new glasses. It has been a few years since I've gotten new glasses, so I didn't really know what to expect when Micah and I walked into the eye clinic. I'm not sure what my vision is now, but it must have been considerably worse because I had to watch my step! Everything seemed like it was zooming at me! It took me several days just to adjust to them, but now I can see much better. It's a funny thing, not seeing clearly, because you don't realize how blind you were until you have a new set of lenses - then the difference is overwhelming! Reminds me of when I was first saved; I just didn't know how blind I was until Jesus came along and showed me how things should really look, and this, too, is overwhelming!
We love you all, sorry we haven't written much this past week; I sort of suspected that we wouldn't always be able to write everyday, but I was hoping to keep it up for at least a little bit longer! I'm sure it'll just depend on the week. Thank you for your continued prayer and support. Each comment that is made is so valuable to us! I wish we could reply to every comment! Love to all! ~Sarah