Last night as I sat at a friend's house with 20 0ther people and said goodbye to yet another friend I couldn't help but feel joy and sadness at the same time. Since coming to Laos I have a new found joy in singing hymns and an even greater joy in hearing them in another language. As people sang in Japanese, French, Madagascan, Indonesian, Irish, and a few other languages my heart was full. In such a transient place the Father has brought so many people of different cultures together to walk, talk and live life together. Could I be more blessed? But with this blessing always comes the pain that at some point people return home. Yet still I know I am never alone for He is always by my side.
Father be by my side as I teach today help me to know the best way to communicate your love and educate my students. Thanks for being my redeemer. May I live for you and not myself, loving myself as I am, your daughter. Give me strength to face today and tomorrow. Thanks for not only being my Father but friend for suffering so that I might be set free. May I not too easily forget that it is because of you I am free and that is why I am capable of anything good, for all great things come from the Father above and He gives these to those who love Him. Thanks Father.
Sunday, April 17, 2011
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
He is so good He's so good to me
Man our Father is so good. He allowed me to see a friend I dearly love two days in a row, have a wonderful conversation with three good friends and one more scheduled for Friday morning and a good chat with my mom. He is slowly but surely calming my anxious heart. Where He leads me I will follow.
Today I go to Pakse ( a city down south) to visit a friend from my first year here that I lived with. She is now married and has a child.Today a good friends sister will take me to the bus station. I can't wait but am also a bit nervous as I travel alone. It is so easy to have up and down's. As friendships drift away I struggle not to be sad whether it is from them or me but I am glad that we can always meet up where we left off. I have had 3 people cancel on me in the last day and a half, makes it difficult to keep trying but must persist. 6 hours with nothing to do maybe rest go for a walk then go to my friends house a bit late b/c she won't even be there.
You see I don't let too many people inside but once I do there is no escaping for you. She is one of the few I let in deep and losing this friendship will hurt if it ever gets to that point, but have I really lost it for good or can it be found? Only our Father knows.
Give me strength for the things of life that boggle me down.
On a random note I noticed that in 3 years I have never written a November post. November and December are always the hardest months emotionally for me. What does that tell you....hmmm????
Today I go to Pakse ( a city down south) to visit a friend from my first year here that I lived with. She is now married and has a child.Today a good friends sister will take me to the bus station. I can't wait but am also a bit nervous as I travel alone. It is so easy to have up and down's. As friendships drift away I struggle not to be sad whether it is from them or me but I am glad that we can always meet up where we left off. I have had 3 people cancel on me in the last day and a half, makes it difficult to keep trying but must persist. 6 hours with nothing to do maybe rest go for a walk then go to my friends house a bit late b/c she won't even be there.
You see I don't let too many people inside but once I do there is no escaping for you. She is one of the few I let in deep and losing this friendship will hurt if it ever gets to that point, but have I really lost it for good or can it be found? Only our Father knows.
Give me strength for the things of life that boggle me down.
On a random note I noticed that in 3 years I have never written a November post. November and December are always the hardest months emotionally for me. What does that tell you....hmmm????
Monday, April 11, 2011
Letting go of Fear
Vision so clear
Eyes so dear
The red of the wine
The cup from the vine
oh wine wine
so tender so sweet
Bitter
We meet
The good and the bad
Happy yet sad
My heart filled with tears
Throat chokes back
My head filled with thoughts of years
I can never get back
Yet nothing have I lost
Nothing have I gained
That is visible they say
But so much past
To gain is to lose
The ultimate blast
The clouds above me
Who knows the weather the sky holds
The balloon pushing its way
trying to understand the worlds mold
Path A or B
What do I decide
The rain or the sunshine
The fresh smelling air or the burn
Soon it is my turn
Nothing forgotten
But a feeling of loss
yet not truly losing anything
But gaining the cross
With it I will walk by His side
Father be thy guide
No matter the fear
For though art greater
My dear deer
My dear deer
Eyes so dear
The red of the wine
The cup from the vine
oh wine wine
so tender so sweet
Bitter
We meet
The good and the bad
Happy yet sad
My heart filled with tears
Throat chokes back
My head filled with thoughts of years
I can never get back
Yet nothing have I lost
Nothing have I gained
That is visible they say
But so much past
To gain is to lose
The ultimate blast
The clouds above me
Who knows the weather the sky holds
The balloon pushing its way
trying to understand the worlds mold
Path A or B
What do I decide
The rain or the sunshine
The fresh smelling air or the burn
Soon it is my turn
Nothing forgotten
But a feeling of loss
yet not truly losing anything
But gaining the cross
With it I will walk by His side
Father be thy guide
No matter the fear
For though art greater
My dear deer
My dear deer
Lost in Translation
So here are a few of the sentences/phrases that got lost in translation on my student's test.
1. We were learning the difference between homophones (words that sound the same and might even look the same but have different meanings) so they had to write a sentence or a definition to tell me they knew the difference. Here are a few answers they came up with.
Dear- a husband; to mom ; my preesent
Waste-not wise; to spill things up; to use a lot; waste typing; making time unpreciously
Waist-half of the body( the outside); make time slower
Dye- S's mom(so saying a parents name here is like cursing. This particular student can't stand this other kid, doesn't make it right but hey 10-12 year old are mischievous. )
Flour- I can clean the flour?
2. We were working on using indefinite pronouns (someone, anyone, no one, etc). These are the sentences they came up with.
Someone is in the toilet( I got this one a lot)
Can I like somebody?
I want nobody nobody on you (this is from a song but the actual words are I want nobody nobody but you)
So the other day I was trying to learn how to say couple or match and it is the same word as rest but a little different (like so many of Lao words, unfortunately no matter how hard I try they all seem to sound the same). Anyways, it made me laugh 4 expats standing around trying to say it and one Lao person trying to help us understand the difference. I began to laugh because I thought of how funny , if I were Lao, it would probably sound to me and what it would be like if our roles were reversed.
Learning Lao has taught me how to have patience and empathize with my students also to understand why they make the errors they do in English. I am so thankful for laughter, friends, teachers and patience. May I never quit learning until the day I die for there is so much potential in everyone and thing yet to be discovered.
1. We were learning the difference between homophones (words that sound the same and might even look the same but have different meanings) so they had to write a sentence or a definition to tell me they knew the difference. Here are a few answers they came up with.
Dear- a husband; to mom ; my preesent
Waste-not wise; to spill things up; to use a lot; waste typing; making time unpreciously
Waist-half of the body( the outside); make time slower
Dye- S's mom(so saying a parents name here is like cursing. This particular student can't stand this other kid, doesn't make it right but hey 10-12 year old are mischievous. )
Flour- I can clean the flour?
2. We were working on using indefinite pronouns (someone, anyone, no one, etc). These are the sentences they came up with.
Someone is in the toilet( I got this one a lot)
Can I like somebody?
I want nobody nobody on you (this is from a song but the actual words are I want nobody nobody but you)
So the other day I was trying to learn how to say couple or match and it is the same word as rest but a little different (like so many of Lao words, unfortunately no matter how hard I try they all seem to sound the same). Anyways, it made me laugh 4 expats standing around trying to say it and one Lao person trying to help us understand the difference. I began to laugh because I thought of how funny , if I were Lao, it would probably sound to me and what it would be like if our roles were reversed.
Learning Lao has taught me how to have patience and empathize with my students also to understand why they make the errors they do in English. I am so thankful for laughter, friends, teachers and patience. May I never quit learning until the day I die for there is so much potential in everyone and thing yet to be discovered.
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