Surprise, I am fully capable of loving a child.
Sunday through Thursday I worked in a kindergarten/preschool run by our contact. I had the joy of getting to know and fall in love with about 10 children. They’re all so sweet and so different from each other. Before when I thought of kids, I saw them all as one body of slobbering, crying, pooping, sleeping, attention seekers. Just so we’re clear they ARE all of those things, but they are MORE than that. They are these precious innocent creations that God put together with his own hands.
Each one of them bares the face of Christ. They each have their own little quirks and they are developing their own personalities. I spend time everyday praying over these babies. Holding them, playing with them, showing love without saying a word. I constantly have to fight the feeling of helplessness. In a closed country, you are not allowed to evangelize. I pray that God pursues them and that the people he calls into their lives will be obedient and bold and so many other endless prayers, because thats all I’m permitted to do. Last month was a difficult goodbye.
What did my time in Malaysia look like? Wellllll let me walk you through my day! Imagine a room that is full of life. The walls are all painted with little kid friendly paintings, the numbers, days of the week and other school things. The wall under the stairs puts the rest to shame. It’s an ocean scene that I would have loved as a child. (even as an adult) The stair steps are painted as waves and near the bottom of the steps there is a treasure chest. TYPiCAL. I wonder what the sea floor actually looks like. I’ve never snorkeled, the closest I’ve ever been was probably watching the titanic. My guess is that the fish don’t smile and that giant octopus looming over everyone in the corner isn’t looking out for everyone with such a pleasant expression; that thing looks straight up motherly. All that aside – this is the best thing about the school.
Like the rest of the world besides the US, the school windows and doors are covered with bars. Although this house seems relatively new, the lock on the door looks about a thousand years old. There are two ceiling fans playing my favorite tune since arriving to Southeast Asia. But most importantly there are six sleeping pads on the floor. Occupying these pads are 10 precious children.
In the corner is Ariez. He falls asleep first every time. It never fails. He’s the little ball of joy that greets me every afternoon with a giant smile and a hug.
The two who are holding hands next to each other are Ino & Sara. They are sisters who go to Chinese school. Most of Malaysia speaks at least 2 languages. THIS IS WHY – they start them at elementary level, learning and speaking another language.
Stationed by the door, you’ll always find Laurina. Her sleeping self reflects nothing of her conscious self. From here she almost looks angelic. She reminds me most days of the Tazmanian Devil. Just rollin through the place like a tornado, leaving only destruction in her wake.
Next to her I see giant puppy dog eyes peering over another body AT ME, Alwaled (pronounced all wah leet). I am quite certain he is the only child who doesn’t adore me (thats the sweet way of saying this kid despises me) He is most certainly plotting my demise at the very moment, that or he is just really hungry since he refuses to feed himself and I’m trying to break him of his only child ways. Yeah, he’s that kid.
The portly young chap rolling around with the raggedy crocodile beanie baby in his mouth would be my favorite little tyrant, Lucas. Dude is a fireball to say the least. He spends most of his time running away from us and not responding to his name.
Sprawled out on the 2 remaining mats are Kok Chong, Wei Zhong, Juju & Lulu. It would be a lie for me to tell you that I don’t have a favorite. However, I think I do a pretty stellar job of dispersing my love evenly.
OKAY OKAY! Stop Twisting my arm! My favorite is undoubtably Lulu. She’s adorable at about 3 years old she almost permanently wears the most ridiculous scowl. But if you get her to talk to you, she will break that silly face into the most precious smile that takes over the entire room. She will probably always be the first thing I think of when I remember Malaysia.
Kok Chong and Wei Zhong – The Conspirators. These two are likely to conquer the world one day. I hope they remember the numerous high fives we exchanged. Kok Chong and I wage war with cleanliness on the daily. If there is one kid who would rather wallow around in poo than water, its this kid. He hates being bathed.
Wei Zhong is my little evil genius buddy. At nap time all the kids eventually surrender to their bodies need for rest, all except Wei Zhong. He and I play tetris together. Sadly enough he has matched almost all of my scores and come very close to beating my top score. He’s clever, one of the traits I most admire in children.
Last but not least there’s Juju, the polar opposite of her sister Lulu. She’s is this unnaturally happy giraffe that runs around haphazardly until she finds someone to hug. If Spongebob was a 5 year old Arabian girl…well, Juju would have a twin.
This is my life. I can’t stop thinking about it. A year ago today I was just getting back from my family vacation in Florida. I was going back to work for Roger as his care assistant in that nasty hotel room, writing some of my first blogs thinking I knew what the race was about. ha.
Now I’m a million miles away, napping in a giant cuddle puddle of toddlers. That sounds weirder than it actually is. Here in Malaysia it is normal to bathe kids at school. NOt only is it normal but its expected and appreciated. Why? Because it’s freaking Hot. Here, people usually shower twice a day. If it’s hot, even MORE often than that! So my job as a teacher’s aid is to bathe the kids, get them dressed, prepare their food, clean up after them, make sure they eat their food and drink water, then lay down with them until they fall asleep.
Sometimes (most times) I fall asleep and nap with them. After nap time, we have milk time, but right in between those times is my absolute favorite time of the day. Wake Up Lulu Time. It is quite possibly the most entertaining span of time in my day. No one wakes up grumpier than I do, no one besides Lulu.It can take anywhere from 5 to 15 minutes. She turns her face from side to side as I tickle her nose or squeeze her cheeks. Then finally she opens her eyes and I prop her up just to have her slump down onto my chest. She looks up at me and my heart melts. She’s so tired, who am I to wake her from this adorable sleepy stupor.
Oh right, I’m “teacha” it’s my JOB to wake her up. So I pick her back up and try to reason with her that she has milk waiting for her. Then I sit her up on my knee, so her legs are almost straight and slowly transition her into standing. She gets her bearings and slowly walks to the table. I laugh the whole time.
Getting to know these kids has been my sanity here in Asia. I will never forget the way God used them to soften my heart. My heart has now broken for a completely new set of people. I have always been good with kids, but I’ve never really enjoyed them. But now I can say that I truly have a heart for them.
