but somewhere in the midst of the countless hours of reading (I even read a bio paper :P), reflecting, and relaxing, God gives me wonderful conversations :)
I've been helping some of the students with their English; mostly, I just converse with them and correct their grammar and pronunciation as we talk. I've spent quite a few times talking with one of the new students, Pichet. He is really studious (I always see him reading his grammar book when the others are napping), smart, and driven. He is not afraid of making mistakes and even asked me to explain the english in the bio paper I was reading!! (quite daunting given his english level). At some point, we tried to pronounce the books of the bible, especially deuteronomy. Somehow, we started talking about the backdrop of deuteronomy and some of the super cool passages in it. Pray for Pichet :) He is definitely seeking to find out more about God -- as we talked, he asked me to share my testimony (after we had already stopped talking about deuteronomy).
The days still seem really empty; I spent probably half an hour just watching the rain fall outside. This is good for me too... I am too used to working nonstop :P Well, despite the seeming uselessness, I know that I have definitely contributed to at least one thing here: the mosquitoes are loving me! I'm not sure this is what Jesus meant though when he said, "When I was hungry, you fed me..." :D
I'm glad you read the bio paper :D And for being able to rest every once in awhile. You deserve it.
ReplyDeleteif you want, i can take you to go buy some insect repellent.
ReplyDelete"it's more blessed to give than to receive", is that the reason that Christians always want to be useful to others? The mosquitoes are sending you the message: you are blessed! Just kidding:P
ReplyDeleteTo Fan: I think I feel partly guilty coming without any explicit plan to help (every other foreigner that comes always has a very set plan or way they are helping out). Sometimes I wonder if I am being a burden on the students (are they taking extra time to try to entertain me??) But, you know, I'm only just coming to realize the freedom we have in Christ -- there need not be any actions motivated by guilt, but only by joy! I think that, as Christians, our faith allows us to help others without fearing that we are losing out on our own life/resources/time. However, we also don't need to be driven by a need to "be useful". We can simply enjoy the life God has given us :D
ReplyDelete