When we walk into our English classroom each morning at Good Seed School, I can just hear the chorus of Guns ‘N Roses “Welcome to the Jungle” begin to play. Monday through Friday we teach approximately 40-50 children starting from pre-k to elementary age in three small classrooms.
Before arriving to our ministry location, we asked our host how we could be praying for the ministry. One of the things he mentioned was for the pre-school teachers to handle the crying of the children. I now know what he meant. The second day I was with the preschoolers, the a.c. broke and I found myself with 10 crying children sitting in a suana. Thankfully, the a.c has since been fixed.
Good Seed School actually began with a previous World Race group back in March. It has since been maintained by 5 national teachers who are still learning English themselves. These teachers don’t have it easy, but they have been very faithful in teaching these children for the last 6 months. These teachers are also so hungry to learn English, that they arrive an extra hour early each morning to be tutored by one of my teammates and a few of them sit in on my evening class.
One of our first nights here, we sat together as a team and we asked the Lord what His heart was for our time here. We felt Him shift our focus to the teachers. We learned that most of them are not believers (yet). Although the children’s classes have been a little chaotic, it has been so enjoyable to work alongside these teachers. As we teach the children simple songs like “God Made Me”, or “God is so Good” or “Jesus Loves Me”, the teachers learn these songs as well and I’ve overheard them singing these songs to themselves and they even request them in class.
Like the name of the school, seeds are being planted. Not gonna lie, these days can be long and also a little hot. No, VERY hot. Just the other day, the heat index was at 106 degrees. But we’re content, and notably maintaining our sanity. We’ve noticed as a team that we haven’t felt overwhelmed amidst the screaming children, chaos, and heat- and we recognize that as the Lord.
I have a new appreciation for teachers for sure. Other than speaking English, I don’t feel all that qualified to be teaching it- but here I am. We have one more week to invest in the children and teachers before there is a national week long holiday where we will focus on other projects within the school, and explore a little more of Cambodia. Let me tell you what, I am THANKFUL for that holiday week. As we continue to plug away, the Lord has been speaking these two verses to me:
Colossians 3:23- “Whatever you do, work heartily as for the Lord and not for men.”
Jeremiah 31:25- “I will refresh the weary and satisfy the faint.”
Alright Monday, bring it.
