Saturday, June 22, 2013

Raising Young Artists

 Dearest Friends and Family! Greetings from far far away!

Praise Reports!
Thank you all for your prayers, I am doing much better health-wise, and most of my kids are recovered from this this epidemic!

School..
As a teacher, I've learned so much from my kids.. And God has used them to speak into, and touch my life in ways I didn't think I would ever be touched.
God has also given me a mothers heart towards them, seeing that most come from broken families, He's been using me to speak life and love over them.

While teaching here I've noticed how the other teachers and students treat the children who have certain disadvantages or issues such as ADD, behind in school years, louder in class, "trouble makers," and so on. 
I began praying for the teachers and children in these situations, and God showed me that this was the reason he put me there in the first place. I am an artist, and everything I teach is art/creativity based, and this method of teaching has opened miraculous doors to these children's hearts and minds!


Raising Young Artists..
Jonathan is one of the "trouble makers" as they would call him. None of the other teachers can handle him, but I've realised more and more over time that it's because of the children like him, that I am here. 
Jonathan is ADD, hipper active, and will shut down immediately when people speak directly to him, or call him out on things.
I would observe him in class with other teachers, and begged God for ideas as to how to help him, and all the other kids similar to him! And He gave me an answer! 
One day during class I took him by the hand, and led him over to a small table next to my desk. I pulled out a blank sheet of paper, and a few coloured pencils, set them in front of him and asked him to draw me a beautiful picture.
I continued class normally as though nothing would be different, and all the other children did as well. I had never seen him so quiet, peaceful, and focussed before. 
I began doing that with other children, and soon we'd end up having full-on art days! We'd speak in English together, learning new words to the art supplies and I'd allow them to go crazy with their imagination! 
The moment I began to allow them to express themselves through Art, they began opening up and blooming in every other way, their grades were getting better, their behaviour in class began changing, etc.

They are Artists... They aren't sick, they aren't mentally challenged, they aren't problems! They are simply Artists! 

 Jonathan drew me a picture of the jungle with lots of animals he's never seen before other than in storybooks. The children who had the worst grades academically, and worst behaviour of all made the larger, more creative and expressive collages. 
Their strengths might not be Math, or History or Science, they simply have other strengths and I know God has set me here to protect that, so that they aren't shut down by people who simply don't understand where they are at.



Outcome.. 
Before a lot of this happened, I had been going through a hard time trying to understand why God had put me, a young MK (Missionary Kid), with no degree or back ground in teaching, in such high position in these kids's lives as this. 
But soon after the first Art session with the kids, the director found me and asked me how everything was going, to which I responded with the entire story on my newly discovered young artists, she came and looked at their work, and later took it to the school founder.
He later came and spoke with me on the decision the church leaders, him and the director had made.
He told me that they had noticed that there was a difference in my children, and the other children at the school. They had seen that obviously, something I was doing differently from the other teachers, was making a great difference in their lives, and they have asked me to begin lessons with the other teachers, teaching on everything I've been doing and showing them how to teach the same way.




All I could think of was Jesus telling his disciples He was going to make them fishers of men... 
He's set me now as a Teacher of Teachers, and now I see why God brought me here.






Prayer Request..
*I am very nervous being the youngest teacher at the school (the closest one to my age is 13 years older than me), And I never thought I would EVER be in a teaching position much less teaching my elders. Please pray that God would be glorified and would be the one teaching through me. 
He has been the one behind any right decision I've ever made for these children's lives, please pray with me that it would stay the same with this, and that I would be granted wisdom and favour.
*I've been looking for a time in which I'll be able to leave to go to Chile.. it's been a very long, on going process, and I haven't been able to leave the school for lack of a replacement, in order to make this trip, but there will be a 10 day break in July, and I am praying very strongly that God make this trip possible during that time.
*Also please keep in your prayers God's provision. It's been a complete walk of faith this entire time, and the need it always there, and I know that God is faithful, He always is and always will be, so please pray with me for this area.

Thank you so much for being a part of this journey, and reading about the things that go down over here, it's a huge blessing to know that I'm not alone in this!
Blessings! 
Rachel

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