Tried & True: And...That's a Wrap!

School's out.

This means my time in Shenzhen, China, has come to an end. Because of visa issues, I will return to America tomorrow and begin a new chapter. A new chapter that will involve me moving to Brighton, Colorado, where I have been Called to teach 1st grade at Zion Lutheran School.

It's all very bittersweet...

I had to say farewell to these crazy kiddos and it was much harder than I anticipated.

On the last day of school, I read the story, "You Are Special" by Max Lucado. It is kind of a lengthy/wordy story for these ESL students, but they loved every moment of it. If you haven't read You Are Special, here is quick synopsis from Amazon.com:

Every day the small wooden people called Wemmicks do the same thing: stick either gold stars or gray dots on one another. The pretty ones--those with smooth wood and fine paint--always get stars. The talented ones do, too. Others, though, who can do little or who have chipped paint, get ugly gray dots. Like Punchinello.

In this heartwarming children's tale from the best-selling pen of author Max Lucado, Eli the woodcarver helps Punchinello understand how special he is--no matter what other Wemmicks may think. It's a vital message for children everywhere: that regardless of how the world evaluates them, God cherishes each of them, just as they are.

The book never mentions, God. It is all a complete metaphor of how God loves us just the way we are. But, as we finished the book, one of my students asked, "Is Eli Jesus?"

As I held back tears, I explained that Eli IS just like Jesus. He created all of us and loves us just for who we are. Most of these students had no idea who Jesus was six months ago. At that moment, I knew I had made the right decision to teach at BCIS. My job at BCIS was complete: my students knew they were special and loved in the eyes of both me and Jesus.

Mission Accomplished.

The next evening, we had a farewell dinner for the staff and faculty. It was so hard for me to say goodbye to everyone, but especially my TA, Miss Wendy. I am so thankful for her help, her heart for Jesus, and her friendship.

My wonderful roommates!

I will soon be leaving for Hong Kong one last time. Despite a few hiccups here and there, I am blessed to have had this experience to start off my teaching career.

Thanks be to God.

Here are a couple of pictures from our classroom party!

I forgot to mention that for an end of the year celebration, we went to a lychee farm! (If you don't know about this delicious, heavenly fruit sent from God, here's the wikipedia page on it! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lychee )