My Boys
Strangely enough, this seems to be my year for boys. Normally, when I am in a position of leadership, it is the girls I connect with (as it should be), but much to my surprise, this year the boys seem to converse with me more on a daily basis. Of course, there are some delightful girls I have gotten to know, but it just isn’t as much as the boys. For someone like me, who is very much a “girl”, and who hasn’t had oodles of male friends other than my friends’ husbands, it is quite surprising, and I am scratching my head in wonderment as to how this has happened. In my mind, I affectionately call them, “my boys,” because they are just too cute for words. Let me introduce you to some of them.Tom and John (Tomas and Jan) in pic above
I scarcely see one without the other. Friends since they were ten, they seem to be almost inseparable at school, and I have learned months ago it is useless to try to split them up in group activities. John studied in the US for a year, and his English is as good as mine is; Tom studied in Canada for half a year, and his is also quite good. I am honored to even be their teacher. About 19/20 years old, which would be college age in the US, they are very intelligent and I wonder if I really even teach them anything they do not already know. Their humbleness humbles me; even though they certainly don’t have to, they respect me as their teacher, but they treat me like a friend. When I pass them in the hallway at school, I am always greeted with a big smile, and if I run into them on the tram they are always happy to have a conversation. Truth be told, I’m pretty crazy about these guys, and when it is time for me to leave this place, I will continue to watch their lives with great interest.
Kuba
Kuba is the nickname for Jakub, and oddly enough, Kuba is his last name also. He is just a little darling. From the first day of class, he greeted me as though we had been friends for about 5 years. He sits in the front of the classroom, and he loves trying to have a conversation with me during the middle of the lesson. He is a very smart and creative young man, whose class presentations are full of life and enthusiasm. He affectionately calls me, “Courtney Crocodile,” whenever he sees me after playing a name game in an after school English club. Kuba is one, I humbly admit, who would probably do anything to help me (and it’s a good thing, because I once sent him out of class to go get me a soda). But he also has a special place in my heart, and I am very happy to be his teacher “for such a time as this.”
There are others, perhaps I will introduce you to them on another day. I remember leaving home in July, crying in that busy, but strangely lonely Newark airport. I remember Rich, my brother-in-law, telling me, "You have nothing to lose and everything to gain." Months later, I can see how true it is. I have lost nothing. I miss my family, of course, but they are still with me. I have gained so much, because I have never known love like this before. It makes me come alive. Like a breath of fresh air sweeping through my spirit, it invigorates me and wakes me up. I love my students as Christ has called us to love others, and I long for them to find life in Him.
I pray I would always be found, not sleeping, but serving.
