A New Perspective

Day 3! Better.
                The day after speaking with Spencer and Jacob and expressing all the frustrations and confusions, we were able to get more direction. Pretty much everything that went wrong was because of miscommunication, or misunderstanding the communication (aka they were at our disposal, we just didn’t understand that) haha.

                The next morning after the breakdown, Anna, Caralyn, and I headed to the RT mart to get bowls for our lunches at school (which by the way, are very yummy, we all like it. It’s usually rice with some form of meat and vegetables). We felt quite accomplished for finding, buying, and getting out of there in a timely manner without talking to anyone who even remotely spoke English. :)

             At school we’ve been preparing our classrooms for our students. We were informed today that our students are actually 3 and 4 year olds, which does make it a little better. The girls I work with are so funny! Oh man, I love them to death, we have been able to connect and we even joke with eachother. They’ve been teaching me a little bit of Chinese, and I help them with their English (mostly LeeAnn because Queeny is practically fluent, they just talk slower). Queeny (age 24), is hilarious. She and I laugh all day long, and LeeAnn (also 24) is the cutest little thing I’ve ever seen. We all get along very well, which has been helping with the stress.

                I’ve been struggling lately with the increasingly negative atmosphere that we’re in with things going wrong. I’m trying to keep my head up, but I feel very alone in all my views and optimism. Finally I was so exhausted from everything I fell asleep for a much needed nap. I’m praying things will start to get happier, otherwise I might run away….

But I’ve decided to look at the age group differently. After the fallout, I skyped Spencer by myself because I had slightly different concerns than the other two. I realized that me teaching this age group could be a huge blessing. First of all, I think they will surprise me. I’ve been thinking about my little nieces and nephews that are two, and they are extremely smart. And from the decorations and preparations we’ve been doing in the class, I would think I was teaching 5-6 year olds anyway. Spencer told me that something these kids don’t get a lot of at home is affection and physical examples of love (hugs, kisses, lots of smiles, etc). And getting that from school, and from me will change their life. Second of all, Spencer said that it’s not uncommon for the Parents to take special interest in you. We may be able to teach them some great things. Thirdly, not only the little kids will be taught. I’ve met tons of other people here (that I see on a regular basis) who are hungry for more knowledge. Take Bella for example. She asked me to teach her how to read an English children’s book, and we’re having our first lesson this Friday. She wants to improve her English, and so does LeeAnn.

 My conclusion? I have the most wonderful opportunity to go be in China and teach my brothers and sisters, and the little children. And though I am not allowed to speak of my faith (which is gonna kill me), I have the glorious opportunity to teach them that they are so loved, beyond their wildest belief. That someone cares, that someone knows their name. And hopefully, someday when the laws of the land are shifted, they will remember the light that was in our eyes when we taught them through the example of the Savior. They will recognize their worth and the beauty of the companionship of the spirit, and that’s why I’m here. Everything else can just fade away, because it’s not really important.