much joy

“JOY to the world! Joy to the world! Joy to the world! Joy to the world!”

sweet little Miffy :)

Christmas season is upon us…and this past week we’ve been busy preparing our EK students for their upcoming Christmas program this Saturday.

Despite “conventional wisdom,” my fellow EK homeroom teacher and I (who just so happens to be a *sister of mine), decided against having our little ones sing “Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer” and “Jingle Bells” and instead, opted for having them sing “Joy to the World” and “Away in a Manger” for their parents.

…which – when you think about it – contain some difficult language (and melodies) for ESL kindergartens. But our kiddos have proven more than capable of learning the songs…and hearing them sing out “Joy to the World” all throughout the day has just been making my week...

And perhaps driving us all a little crazy at the same time….

On Monday afternoon, after introducing “Joy to the World” to my class that morning, my

“Junie B. Jones” student (as I affectionately call her) kept singing/humming “Joy to the World” all throughout my Chinese Teacher’s afternoon class.

Miffy (yes, that is her English name) has a heart of gold….but the body (and perhaps the attention span) of a squirrel. She cannot sit still and remain focused for longer than three minutes :). However, she is SO incredibly bright. She is a “human tape recorder” for all things English (seriously, she remembers everything I say).

However, the only problem on this particular afternoon was that she could only remember half of the first line of the song.

Over and over and over again, this dear child kept singing out the same line ….

“JOY to the world! JOY to the world! JOY to the world! JOY to the world!”

It was if her sweet little mind was switched on to a perpetual repeat.

“MIFFY!” My Chinese Teacher’s once again interrupted her during their "quiet" work time. Her tone verged on exasperation. “Qing an jing! (Please be quiet!).”

“Aiyo!” Miffy exclaimed in surprise as she clamped a hand over her mouth and suppressed a chuckle.

As I watched this scene unfold before me from my position in the back of our classroom, I just couldn’t help but laugh, too – especially when Miffy began humming the same line a few seconds later.

Yes, there is joy here. The Spirit resonated this simple truth within my heart. 

Much joy.

The past few weeks leading up to this day had proven to be a little long. And definitely lacking in overwhelming joy.

To be honest, life here is wonderful. I absolutely love it.

But regardless, there are times (especially during this holiday season) where I just want to go home. I want to hold my baby nephew. I want to drive my little car and jam out to Lecrae with my brother. I want to meet my sister for coffee at our favorite coffee shop. I want to call my friends on my phone (not skype) and talk with them for hours about everything and nothing at the same time. I want to run on my favorite running trails. I want to make bread and wash dishes with my mom. I want to meet my dad for coffee at Starbucks. I want to be able to buy all my groceries in one place. I want to be able to communicate with my bank and fill out paperwork in English.

But you know what I want more? All the time?

I want to be here.

Right here.

Because I know that this is the place where I can laugh everyday. This is the place where little ones to come up to me and tell my about their playdough creations in broken English. This is the place where I am humbled. Where I am stretched. Where I am dependent, upon Him and upon others. This is the place where my longing for home propels me to long for heaven. This is the place where He wants me right now.

And that proves to be a place of joy.

Yes, there is joy here for Miffy.

There is joy here for me.

And there is joy for the world….and its found in our Lord who has come. :)

Asking that those around us here on earth would choose to receive their King this holiday season!

I'm thankful for... Thanksgiving!

happy (belated) thanksgiving, friends!

I must say, I just love teaching kindergarten. Only in kindergarten can you completely neglect curriculum for an entire week for the sake of Thanksgiving. :) ...just kidding – but seriously....

The past few weeks, we’ve completely devoted ourselves to learning about the Pilgrims, the Mayflower, and Squanto.

And in the past few weeks, I discovered that it is rather difficult to try to explain Thanksgiving to a kindergartner in their second language....especially when they have no background knowledge concerning it. (I’m seriously afraid that my students still may believe that any type of boat is called a “Mayflower” and that any person wearing a funny hat is called a “Pilgrim.”)

But despite the language barrier, we had a blast learning about Thanksgiving and preparing for our big EK-family Thanksgiving feast we held on this past Friday. In the preparation, we made pilgrim hats, silly turkeys, Native American masks, and mini-Mayflowers. 

But despite all the fun activities, my favorite part about Thanksgiving this year was the open doors that it granted. Through discussing the Thanksgiving holiday, He granted opportunities to share with my students about the Pilgrims, their f*ith, and their desire to w*rship G*d.

In our “thankfulness discussion,” when I asked my kiddos were thankful for, one little girl raised her hand and said, “G*d.” (Of course, I was attempting to draw a little picture of everything that my students were saying on the whiteboard as part of a “thankfulness web”….it became a little more difficult when I now needed to draw a picture of G*d, haha. :).

The next day, as we were continuing our discussion, another little girl raised her hand and said, “Teacher, I’m thankful for J*s*s because He loves everyone.” This led many of the students to shout out, “J*s*s? Teacher, who is J*s*s?” I was so thankful to share with my students as much about J*s*s as their short attention spans would allow. :)

And before our Thanksgiving feast/celebration with our parents on this past Friday, I was able to pr*y with my students before our big meal (just like the first Pilgrims did!).

All that to say, my Thanksgiving day was a little non-traditional this year. Not only did I have to work and be away from my family, but I ate rice and Chinese veggies for my Thanksgiving lunch. :) And yet, I’m so thankful for it. Through this very-American holiday, He provided so many little open doors with my kiddos and co-workers.

And so many reminders of just how much I have to be thankful for. :)