The Been Briefing

this is a tribute to my children, who have made my time in korea so meaningful.

i love them.

here is danny. danny is 8 years old, and i have had him almost the entire time i have been in korea. the first few months i had him, he didn't say a word. i marveled at his neat handwriting. then, miraculously, one day after several months he opened up his mouth and glorious english came out. this boy is incredibly sweet and persistent and genuinely cares for his little sister, who i also taught for a short while. danny is a perfectionist and struggles to stay up with the rest of the class, but he never gives up. he works so hard to communicate. i am immensely proud of him and am reminded of him when i wonder if my teaching is effective.

here is john. i am so sad to say that i am no longer teaching john, because he has moved to an international, all-english kindergarten. still, for the whole year i had him, he was a joy to teach. he brought so much life and ridiculousness to our class, and i've missed him a lot since he left. an out-going boy, competitive, quick, and creative, he was the first to finish the warm-ups (where they have to write a story and use their imaginations... which they LOVE doing) and the first to jump at a game. his english was amazing, and i often forgot that english wasn't his first language. i miss him.

this little snapshopt is one of the only ones i have of heidi. i need to get another of her. (she must have been absent the day i got one with the others.) in any case, this little picture does almost nothing to convey the sweentess of this little one. heidi has been in my class for almost a year, and i knew almost immediately that she was a christian, because she was always talking about Jesus and how much she loves her older brother. it is through her, that the Lord has answered small heart desires for things like a new wallet, a pen, and lip gloss. how could she know how the Lord uses her? she's a jewel to have in my class.