Oh Bibi Bibi!

We decided to do a class switch yesterday for the teachers,
so all of us get some experience teaching different levels of classes.

From a class of 8-11 year olds,
i now have a class of 6-8 year olds and a 4-6 year old class.

First day of teaching the little ones,
and Bibi the 4 year old got a cut that massively bled.
I don't even know where she cut herself.
we were playing holding hands and walking in circles in class when i saw her foot bleeding away.
it was bleeding so much there was blood on both feet and even on the floor.

The best part was she was laughing so happily until i pointed it out to Pok so she could get her treated.
and once Bibi saw the blood she started bawling.
I took a look at her foot today and it was the smallest cut ever.
where did all the blood come from???
and how did she even cut herself???

Was telling sau phea and Pok that initially i thought Bibi was starting her period,
at a grand age of 4!

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Second day of teaching my mini ones.

I asked my 6-8s to write small letter "a" for me today.
"Write "small a"!" i told them chirpily.
And they gave me "A"s written in tiny font.

And then in the afternoon,
Bibi suddenly stood up and said she needed to pee.
I handed my class over to the local teacher and brought Bibi to the loo,
all the way praising her on how she did great by informing us she needed to pee (as opposed to pee-ing in class).

She suddenly stopped just outside the toilet at the door,
and removed her underpants while i tried to coax her in.
Right there at the toilet door,
she released her fountain of blessing.

And then she stood there and looked at me,
underpants in hand,
waiting for me to do something.

I tried to get her to put her pants back on but it dropped and got slightly soiled,
so i decided not to make her put it back on.
But what was I gonna do with her underpants?????

I walked her back to class,
with her underpants in my hand,
while the local teacher Sophal looked at me curiously while i explained to him what happened.

"what happened to your nose?" i asked him, seeing him wrap his nose in tissue.
"Bibi headbutted me"

Anyhow,
there was only one place to put bibi's underpants.
In her school bag.
While i repeatedly reminded her to tell her granny that her underpants were there.

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Pok and Sau Phea could have killed me as i narrated to them what happened later on in the car.
"WHO PUTS UNDERPANTS IN SCHOOL BAG??"

"It's in the small compartment in front of the bag," i said in self defence.
"THAT'S WHERE SHE PUTS HER RAMBUTANS"

oh well.
what's done is done.
i can only imagine her granny or mom wondering where in the world her underpants disappeared to.
I don't think Bibi can explain much to them.
They'd prob think she lost it somewhere.

Until they pack her bag in the morning.

Sekali tio complain letter.

How Do I Find God

Lessons are on-going.
the children are as enthusiastic as ever.
we have a pretty wide range of children with us,
from aged 4 to 13.

the 4-7 year olds are the funniest ones.
All it takes to put a smile on my face on a moody day is to think of one of them called Bibi.
with her half closed eyes, lazy demeanour and talent for falling off chairs,
Beth (one of our teachers and a missionary) aptly nicknamed her Garfield.

And if she is Garfield then her classmate, one of the cutest boys around, Jetra, is definitely the Odie of the class.
Always kan cheong and running around and hyperactive.

They are really really cute,
even when they keep pee-ing in their pants.

And then we have Sok nai and Solvan.
the smallest little bits you can imagine,
barely walking steadily, looking perienially lost.
i've often wondered when they'll get knocked over by the rowdy boys running all around them,
but these kids have their ways of surviving.

the 4-7s are the cutest kids around,
but also the most maddening to teach.
the term "playing the piano to cows" keep flashing in my head.
you could do a naked chicken dance in front of them or read the encyclopedia from A-Z and they will still stare at you lost or wander off to some corner of the room or simply fall off the chair like Bibi.

the 8-13s are not as cute and funny,
but the earnestness in which they want to learn melts the heart.
everytime i do a prayer for the centre and classes i see the faces of the 8-11s in my class.
chit the quiet cool guy, looking rough and ruffian but so smart.
srey pert the noisy cheeky one.
oudom the smallest one and the most restless one but when he starts playing our toy puzzles you can see how smart he really is.
kanya the rebel whom i think i've won over. doesn't learn fast but so earnest to learn.
bro teb the only plump kid i've seen so far in this country. those puppy eyes staring at you.

i've never really taught in SG, only did some relief here and there.
i wonder if teachers in SG feel that kind of love for their students.
to be fair the stress is much higher back home and there are so many more students they handle.

but maybe it's not a teacher thing.
perhaps it's the nature of the work we're doing here.
in these children i see Christ.

it didn't matter whether they are clever or slow or naughty or earnest,
i feel the same love for all of them.

I was washing the cups the other day,
a daily after-class routine (we have no cleaners so we double up with sweeping and washing cups after classes),
and i suddenly realise i am teaching for practically no pay.

it's a question i've often asked myself back home.
what will you still do even if you don't get paid for it.
it made me forever thankful for my juggling gigs, that i get paid for something i really enjoy.
and now i realised i'm a teacher now for no pay.
i wonder if it means i should teach.
but then i think the SG environment is quite different.

in any case,
there is a lot of love in this school.
Roth, the local we'll be passing the centre to and also the village pastor, obviously loves children.
the little ones hug him and all the kids joke with him and some even call him "dad".
He's quite a riot sometimes.
We partner each other in class, as he is my translator in class,
and it's very fun, because he's like a kid himself.
he understands them and he's as cheeky as anything.

Our classes run in the morning till noon, and we have a two hour lunch break before the 2nd round of classes start at 2pm.
we pay some of the village aunties to cook a simple meal for us.
Last friday the staff had lunch together and Sok son brought some instant coffee along so we all had coffee after lunch.
Someone grabbed the guitar and right there we created our own lunch time concert.

Roth, the riot as usual, sportingly sang some Khmer songs while another teacher (also called Roth) played the guitar.
the kids who were early (and they are ALWAYS early) all squeezed and peered through the windows curiously as we sang and played the guitar and the toy drums and tambourines and macaras.

it is quite possibly the only school i know whose teachers celebrate life together.
it reminded me of this movie i saw years ago, Hype Records i think, where the staff of the place are young and fun and all great friends.

If i were ever to start a company that's the kind of culture i'd love to put in place.
and in that moment, i saw that.
all the staff, drinking coffee together and singing together.

I wonder what the children thought as they watched us through the windows.
Maybe in us, in that scene, that moment, they see the love of God. the love from God.

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i've been reading a lot lately.
and this theme has been appearing all over the place.
How Do I Find God?

Jesus' first words in the gospel of John is to ask the two men who are following him "what are you looking for?"
I wonder what i'll say if i bump into God one day and he happened to ask me that point blank.
"what are you looking for in life?"

the two men, his future disciples, replied. "Rabbi where are you staying?"

And perhaps that could be my reply to God. "How do i find you God? where are you staying?"

And Jesus replied, "come and see."

God is not a particular here, or there, or somewhere that words can describe.
someone wrote that answering that question is like "telling the fish how to find the ocean".
the ocean is all around the fish, and the issue is really to sensitise the awareness of the fish to the ocean around it.

God can only be found when you "come and see".

In these children i see Christ.
in the moment of our lunchtime concert i see the celebration of God.
In my struggle for personal space and freedom (almost non-existent when you're sharing a room with 2 other pple) i see the sacrifices (it can barely be called a sacrifice) required to walk the journey.

In the children, God found me.