Dearest friends! Welcome back to Taiwan’s Teahouse! All I have to offer right now is some Southern Sweet Tea. 😉

Many years have gone by and a lot of change has occurred. The blog was suffering from a huge deluge of spam (and no small amount of inattention from me). I have been in a rough place emotionally and took time off to grow and heal. In that time, I completed teaching Polar Bear’s second year of ESL, started a new evening class called the Salmon class, took over a second grade class called the Sparrow class, and have visited my parents in the States. It would take too long to recount all the amazing journeys that have happened, but I wanted to share a few highlights with you.

Sparrow Class:

• Robert – At the beginning of the year, he despised Bible story class and essentially any conversation that centered on God. He would roll his eyes or put his head on the table and tune out. One day we went to the Science Museum and had a good discussion about Creation vs. Evolution. He was very strongly in favor of evolution as he had had it clearly explained to him before and told it was truth. Yet, when I was able to bring up science to support creation, he grew very contemplative and listened deeply. Since that conversation, Robert has been attentive during Bible story class and has asked good questions about God, His powers, and how the timeline of creation fits into his understanding. Praise God!
• Ray – In the beginning of the year, he was a stubborn, recalcitrant and completely disrespectful teacher. If you asked him to pick up his pencil, he threw it at a classmate. If you asked him to walk nicely five times as a punishment, he pranced and danced while laughing in your face. The administration was considering asking him to leave the school. My co-teacher and I decided to try one more thing and came up with a list of good behaviors we would like for him to achieve. Every day he had to come downstairs and talk to me about whether or not he accomplished that behavior and to what degree (on a scale from 1-5). If he got all 3s or above, he could go to the backyard to play instead of doing homework. If he scored lower than that, he had to stay in and do his homework. This was a big punishment for him as he loves to play basketball with his friends! At first, he joked and laughed it off, perhaps thinking it wouldn’t matter. When I asked him what he thought he scored for a particular category, he would flippantly say, “5”. After many months of coaxing and teasing out deeper answers, something clicked within him. He began to really think about his answers and to care whether he got a high enough amount. He would come downstairs eager for us to go over the paper and then tell me some interesting tidbit from his life. Ray started coming to me during break time, wanting to show me his newest treasure or to update me on his collections. Ray actively began bringing his work up to me and asking, “Teacher, can you help me check?” What an amazing transformation God helped this little boy through, this year. To start with having no inkling of responsibility to completely taking charge of all his actions. Amazing!
• Beryl – Beryl loves God and loves to learn and write about God! She recently wrote her testimony of how she first heard the Bible and learned about God and how that led her to confessing her faith in Christ. She is a sweet and kind-hearted child and wants everyone to hear about the saving power of Jesus.

Salmon Class:

• Abel – Abel has Asperger. This didn’t come out until nearly 8 months into the class and many explosions of temper. He is a warm, fun-loving boy who loves to share his treasures with me, tell me stories with all the English words he knows, and loves to make others laugh. With his strong desire to follow the rules, he struggled with his temper. This led him to use the worst words he knew in English (i.e – curse words) and then struggle with the guilt because he knew it hurt those around him. Through loving and patient guidance and discipline, he has been controlling his temper more and more, able to convey his frustration and hurt while obeying and respecting authority. Abel loves to learn about Jesus and happily answers questions with a huge grin and the words, “God!” or “Jesus!”
• I have two other students in Salmon Class with learning disabilities and/or emotional disabilities. We have had challenges together, but have learned how to be a cohesive family, supporting each other and loving one another. My boss mentioned that he enjoys watching me with my students with disabilities as he “can see the love [I] have for them” and “the light in [my] face when [I] talk about them”. It’s so fun to be able to work with God’s children!

This summer in America has been a wonderful opportunity to see my parents, friends, and all the green growing things I desire! As I am preparing to go back to Taiwan, I am praying for a few things.

Prayer:

• I am starting a new year one class in August called the Shepherd Class. Please be praying for them as they are transitioning into an English environment and learning how to be students. They are coming from kindergartens in which they never had to learn how to sit in a chair for longer than a few minutes. Also please be praying for me as I make the adjustment from being a year two teacher to a year one teacher, as well as changing names being used in the school.
• Please pray for Salmon Class to continue to grow and learn in the way of the Lord. Pray that they will come to understand the importance of what they are learning, and how to vocalize it.
• I moved house a few weeks before I left for the States, so I still have a lot of adjustment to do. 1. Adjusting to living with a roommate, the first in three years. 2. Organizing and getting everything settled and unpacked. 3. Adjusting to the longer commute and also finding all the new locations of stores and things!
• Please pray for safe travel back to Taiwan on July 25th.

How may I be praying for you?

May the Lord bless you and keep you,
Teacher Ruth