Jenn

Monday, August 17, 2009.
The day started like any other. A bell rang out, Korean children rush to the main room to start worship. They scramble to find their own special chair while gibber jabbering in that fun little language. The countdown begins. 5. 4. 3. 2. 1. 0. A silence comes over the room as they stare at the tall teacher with a large beard. “Good afternoon students how are you?” utters Mr. Riley with his classic smirk. The students reply as if they were robots, “Good afternoon Mr. Riley, I’m fine, thank you. How are you?” Worship begins with reciting of verses and songs.
I sit and listen to our children singing and praising God when Mrs. Kim walks in with a beaming little girl. “This is Jennifer,” said the overjoyed teacher, “she’s our new student.” I greeted Jenn with a basic hello. She replied with a smile and nothing more. The realization of my new student’s English level intrigued me and sent ideas bursting through my brain like fireworks. She didn’t know any English whatsoever! It was too late for to talk myself out of it. She became my new project… my English baby.
Who know that adding 3 extra classes to my already overwhelming and often painful schedule would actually sooth my mind and give me tons of energy and joy? It has been 2 weeks and she now knows the alphabet and each letter’s wonderful sounds, a few songs and nursery rhymes, a bit of sentence structure and several phrases. She is the most passionate student I have ever had! Our remaining months here in Korea couldn’t be more blessed!