The Been Briefing

Merry Christmas!!!

this precious little one is danny, in my second class.
right now it's late friday night... and i feel like i've been run over by a mack truck. several times. i did not know it was possible for the muscles in my back and neck to be so tight ... and this even after esther spent a few minutes after dinner tonight working on some knots.

i must confess this past week has been an incredibly stressful week for me. perhaps one of the most stressful weeks since i've been here in korea. mrs. kim was busy hiring and training two new teachers (part-time i think), especially in preparation for the rush of winter students who attend hogwans during their winter vacation. and since i am the sole foreign teacher at this school, my class is a huge magnet for parents and their children students. i feel a good deal of pressure to perform well - especially on the days we celebrate holidays. i had to buy all the decorations for the school, as well as goodies for my classes' Christmas parties. today we didn't do any "work" ... just eat lots of unhealthy food and have fun. :) who ever knew having fun could be so exhausting?

here are danny and amy, from my first class. their mothers are friends, and they attend another school together. both these children are at the top of their respective classes, but i must honestly say that i am often heartbroken at various displays of pride and self-entitlement. they are precious children... i just think too many people tell them they are smart. the less than godly part of me wants to give them a lesson in failure. but oh dear, that will never do! if i would ask for prayer, it would actually be more for their mothers, who are too competitve for their child's progress. mrs. kim and i are of like mind: it is more important to us that the children are emotionally healthy and they know we love them. once that is accomplished, learning english will be fun and come far more naturally. 

i did not want to neglect to update you on little andy, who was causing me such grief only a few weeks ago. mrs. kim and i had decided on an ultimatim: if he did not show much progress on an emotional level by monday (two weeks ago now), she would refund his mother and he would be free to leave without much loss. monday last week he showed up to class and was a perfect angel. mrs. kim and i shook our heads in amazement. "what happened?!" since then andy has become one of my most endearing students, racing into my classroom with an excited voice full of anticipation "hello, miss ruth!!!" a few times since then i have seen that lower lip start to quiver, but he has stiffened himself and held those crocodile tears in with amazing self-control. now he is writing complex sentences and using fairly difficult english words CORRECTLY in those sentences. not only that, but andy's MOTHER is no longer hovering. in fact, i rarely see her now, and mrs. kim says that apart from her initial concern about andy's emotional abilities in my classroom she has voiced no complaints. praise God!!!!! this really is a situation the Lord has completely redeemed for His glory, and i know that no one else can receive any accolades for it. still, i do want to thank all of you who prayed for this little bump in the road. 




so last night after work i went to bundang to crash at dave and winnie's place with laura. she was picking up a 5:30 bus for incheon airport to head back to the states for christmas. i arrived at their doorstep feeling slightly less than 100%... (i forgot to mention that i had my first big emotional breakdown the other night, on top of consistently feeling sick no matter how much sleep or good food i get.) we prayed for each other and sang a few christmas carols... then promptly fell asleep. 

today was basically parties... the mothers really chipped in, which took a huge load off of me. we had 2 cakes!! and with mrs. kim and i buying snacks we were loaded with the goods to keep these kids happy. :) many of my children gave me the cutest and most hilarious cards... i think i will keep them forever. and the parents (especially of the kids in my 2nd class) are so supportive of me. over the past 4 months they have begun to see how much i love their children, and how much their english abilities have improved. i am thankful for their encouragement, at least... because sometimes i wonder if these children (or their parents) know how much i love them. they could never guess how much i care for them. how much i pray for them how much i pour myself out for them.... of course there are definitely moments of great achievement, like tonight when i read sehwan's christmas card (signed "your ridiculous student sehwan") .... ahhhhh, he's learned the most important word in the english language. yesssssss! i could die happy!!! or when phil writes "Merry Christmas Miss Ruth! I liked your class very much (seriously)." LOOOOL. or when john hands me a bottle of starbucks mocha frappuccino. yay! so these kids DO listen to me in class.. hehehe

during my last class a really exciting thing happened. i was just going to show The Princess Bride to my students, but when the students from the other classes saw all the food we had in our classroom they began trickling into my class... and in the end most of them stayed to watch the movie and pig out on the food. it made for a delightful night.

mrs. kim seemed thoroughly pleased with how the kids responded to the "movie night" in my class, and she seemed most intent that it be repeated more often in the future. in hindsight, i think this must be what it's like to "birth" something into existence. but let me explain. for the past few weeks now i have been incredibly burdened with a dissatis-faction for the way many koreans do not know how to rest. while some people are taking winter vacation, korean hogwans offer special programs for english improvement on top of the normal schedule, which leaves the teachers like me working an insane number of hours and the poor kids never have any time just to be kids and play. so i was stressed all week long, but when i saw how the kids really seemed to let loose tonight and have a great time eating and talking and watching the movie.. and seeing how well mrs. kim and the other teachers responded to the whole situation, just maybe i can help encourage mrs. kim as she develops ERC's approach to english-learning here in suji. i pray that coming to ERC will not be a burden for these children, pushing them to an unhealthy extreme like most Korean hogwans. 

all week long i have been listening to Christmas carols (America's 25 Most Popular Christmas Carols - sent from home!), and the words from some of them pierce my heart and bring me to my knees.

O Holy Night
O Holy Night
The stars are brightly shining
It is the night of our dear Savior's birth
Long lay the world in sin and error pining
'Til He appeared and the soul felt its worth
A thrill of hope, the weary world rejoices
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn!

Fall on your knees,
O hear the angels' voices!
O night divine,
O night when Christ was born
O night divine,
O night divine,
O night divine!

Led by the light of faith serenely beaming,
With glowing hearts by His cradle we stand.
So led by light of a star sweetly gleaming,
Here came the wise men from Orient land.
The King of kings lay thus in lowly manger,
In all our trials born to be our Friend!
He knows our need; to our weakness is no stranger.

Behold your King; before Him lowly bend!
Behold your King; before Him lowly bend!

Truly He taught us to love one another;
His law is love and His Gospel is peace.
Chains shall He break for the slave is our brother
And in His Name all oppression shall cease.
Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we,
Let all within us praise His holy Name!

Christ is the Lord!
O praise His name forever!
His power and glory evermore proclaim!
His power and glory evermore proclaim!

what a wonderful, magnificent God i serve! that He who is the Creator of the world did not cling so tightly to His throne, but took on human flesh... became that baby in the manger.... that He might die for my sins and i might know Him, have a deep relationship with Him, and full assurance of eternity spent with Him.
merry christmas, my dear friends...