Tuesday morning, something great happened. I think it started on Monday or even before. At the school, it has been a struggle to have the teachers push the students to learn--this is not really their fault as we simply do not have enough staff--but we have been implementing some pretty big changes and offering incentives for the kids to really push themselves. This week, I have seen a change.
Each day, the kids set goals for how much they are supposed to accomplish and each day, I check to see if they accomplish their goals. The kids have started to get used to this routine and come up to me smiling and bright-eyed saying, "Miss Cassie, I finished my goals!!!" They get so excited! It's so precious. Some of them really struggle to complete their goals each day while others complete them very quickly. I like to encourage them and help the ones who struggle. They try so hard!
This brings me to Tuesday morning. I was standing in class listening to the devotional on truthfulness, when the teacher, Brother Amos, seemed to get fired up! He stopped in the middle of the lesson (which is in English) and looked at me and said, "This is a very important lesson, you understand." He then proceeded to explain the lesson thoroughly in Creole so the kids would understand each word. I smiled. I don't think I had ever seen him so passionate about something!
After the lesson, he continued to talk--in English now--about goal setting and reaching each goal. He looked at each student (these are 8-12 year olds) and said something like, "Roselande, I know about you and I know that you can finish your goals today." or "Chama, you are very smart, you just need to stop playing and YOU CAN finish your goals." He did this for every one of the 18 or 19 students in that classroom. He became enthusiastic and passionate about their education. It was such a blessing to see. I grinned--I couldn't help it! What a gift to be able to encourage these students to want to learn...
These kids got the message from him and they got the message from me. I have never seen them work so hard to make sure everything is done well! They are pushing themselves and some of them need extra time or extra help after school, but it's worth it to see these kids try so hard. I like to see them so excited. I pray that they are learning the information and learning truth about the Lord at the same time. I hope they know that I am encouraging them and helping them because of my love for them and because of my love for the Lord. May God be praised!
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