Back to day 1 of volunteering in Malaysia. We finally get a day to observe, to get a first hand look at what we will be doing for the month; a taste if you will. We head over the kindergarten which is right next door. So nice for the days where you sleep in a little too much.
So we get to the kindergarten and immediately head up the stairs. The first room we come to is the 3 year old classroom. Two girls from my team raise there hand, saying they would prefer to be with the smallest children. Then we head across the landing to another classroom, where two people were needed to help assist in the room; Chelsey and I raised our hands and headed through the door. For the first day we were told to just sit and observe, to understand and get to know how the teacher handles/disciplines the room.
That first day we mostly sat against the wall unsure about what we were allowed to do or how much to intervene. Finally, the teacher turns on her computer and pulls up fun and silly songs for the kids to sing along. She turns to us and motions for us to get up and join.
Now to paint the picture, it is fairly easy to tell here what religion you belong too, whether it be a dot on the forehead indicating Hindu or full head dress indicating Muslim and believe me there is a large population of Muslims.
Our teacher is Muslim, but she taught me so many things about Jesus. So at this point I’m sure you are thinking I am crazy or just stretching life but just take the time to read on.
This teacher’s is named Miza. She is tall, slender and radiates beauty, she has that beautiful olive skin that Asians have and kind, discerning eyes. Her classroom is full of mostly boys whom have endless amounts of energy. Think of the ratio 3 girls + 7 boys+ age of 4= craziness. Running, hitting just chaos. Did I mention they are a very diverse class which 4 different languages are main languages in individual homes.
Most of the month was chaotic, trying to get the kids to settle down or understand what we were saying or get them to accomplish work. Miza every single day put her best foot forward. She taught with grace, patience, kindness and Love. She literally has a heart of gold, and she doesn’t know Jesus. But working alongside her every day I was reminded how endlessly God loves and teaches his children.
He allows us to run, kick scream, to laugh, and play. But he is always there watching, gently correcting, patiently waiting. Gently he corrects us, sometimes he has to make us sit down in the chair so we sit and really listen and process through what is happening. We do not always understand the point of the discipline but it always comes from love. When we fall down or someone is to rough that we start crying he is there to pick us up, wipe our tears away and sit with us until we are ready to get back up and join.
I’ve watched a beautiful women who does not know God show me how God works and is with us every day, very rarely did I see her show signs of anger with the children. Much like God never gets sick and every day never puts conditions on the love he pours out for our life whether we choose it or not.
This realization did not hit me until today when we headed to our last day serving at the kindergarten. We spent the month exchanging many smiles and not many words, but the light and love of God flowed heavily through every single one of us this month, as we worked alongside these women who come from a very different backgrounds than us. But God stilled poured through our actions. As we went to say goodbye tears sprung to both of our eyes, and even though she does not know God, her tears and love poured out as she hugged us and said blessings to you on your journey.
“Blessings to you” those hit like a ton of bricks and all I wanted to say is God Loves you so Incredibly much blessings to you! but that is not allowed and in the moment all I could get out was same to you, same to you. Tears sitting in both of our eyes as we hugged and said things like I hope we get to meet again.
Leaving is hard, but there is something beautiful in it. We had a discussion as a team today about what leaving means, and what leaving hard means. In the worldrace each month is truly like a year. Some years are full of highs and positives while others seem so less exciting or fulfilling. As a team we decided that we want every single month be hard to leave. If it is hard for us to leave then it means we poured out Gods love to others, it means we invested, dug in and stayed present in where God has us. We pray that we never check out.
Miza will always hold a special place in my heart, she will be in my thoughts and prayers for a long time to come. I hope with every ounce of my being that she some day learns of our Loving God who doesn’t get angry with her or keep track of the wrongs she has or the times she has failed. But of a forgiving, patient, loving God who calls her a /princess and his precious daughter with whom he is well pleased.
God thinks the same about you, he is always waiting with open arms to comfort and love. He never keeps track of your failures, but forgives you always. He chooses you, do you choose him?
