The Top 7 Things a Teacher Can't Live Without

David (grade 12 last year) and his new group of students in Mondulkiri Province.

Over the last year and month or two, I've discovered some things that teachers (especially those in the mission field) must have in order to be successful, or at least to survive in a crisis. I'll share some with you...

Whiteboard marker. Even if you have nothing else in your hands, this is an essential. Whether you are following the textbook or teaching from off the top of your head, the kids will listen so much better if you can write things out (simply) for them to see. You can play word games with them, or review for an upcoming test. It's definitely a must-have.

Clock. Pretty much anyone needs this, but it's for sure on the teacher's list. Maybe the grade in charge of ringing the bell forgot to do it, or you need to determine how much more time you have to talk or do work. If you don't have your own, make sure at least one of the kids has one so you can assign them the task of timekeeper.

Extra pens. Someone's bound to give the excuse that they can't do the assignment because they don't have a pen! This is easily remedied if you have a good supply at hand. You don't have to have a whole box, but just a few will be helpful.

Paper. It can be fresh paper, scratch paper, or the kids' notebooks, but paper is a necessity! Kids can work by themselves or in groups to write, draw pictures, or make a poster about one of the things you've been studying about. Or - if the printer and copier are functioning properly - the kids can do a worksheet.

Flexibility. Without this, you'll crash. You could be asked to do anything at any given time. Maybe the science teacher has to be away for a week, so you need to teach a few periods of physics. Or the power's out during your two computer class periods. What to do? Be flexible and figure out a way to learn something and make it work!

Sleep. You can go without sleep for a little while, it is true. But sometimes you just need to put away the books at 8:30 or 9:00 and go to sleep even if you're not finished with everything you wanted to do for tomorrow. The next thing on my list will help you through this quandary (it has been proved). In order to stay cheerful during the day, you need to get enough rest at night.

Absolute reliance on God. Above anything and everything else, this is something a teacher can not live without for even an hour. All your plans will fail if you do not recognize your need of God, and trust Him to give you your lesson plans. I've experienced this firsthand for an entire year and He has proved faithful every day that I have trusted Him. Don't ever leave home without His presence! Don't let your classroom be without Him there!

Two of my boys from last year, at Angkor Wat. 

Sunrise at Wat Preah Yesu.

Photo credits: David, Ro, and Francis.

Of Challenges and Bright Spots

Most of last year's Grade 6 class.

I was reading through my journal from earlier this year and found a couple of posts that tell of the heart of teaching. I'll share one of them here to show you why I love it here so much, despite challenges...

(I've abbreviated names for privacy.)

Thursday, February 6, 2014 - 5:17 p.m.

Today was a teensy bit better than yesterday, mostly because it had a few more bright spots in it. I'm not sure if it's just Satan trying his hardest to discourage me, or if I really am a terrible teacher, but whatever it is, I am having a super tough time trying to teach.

Basically, in a nutshell, yesterday I sat with B__ for over an hour in the empty classroom while talking to him and waiting for him to finally do pushups so he could go (eventually he did, thankfully). Then I spent the rest of the day feeling like a terrible teacher for being inconsistent and not teaching properly because I don't know how.....

Today, I prayed oh so hard. Last night, too. But this morning I went to my classroom extra early before staff worship and prayed for each student. But nevertheless, the class was noisy as usual for my first two classes. We somehow managed to learn a thing or two (between P__ doing multiple sets of 10 pushups for exiting his seat without my permission), but it was still awfully hard for me. As I walked home for the break between science & math classes, I was sick of kids' voices. I cried out to God for help. I thought and prayed and dozed in the hammock until time to go, and as I walked, I thought of "Be Still My Soul" - the song God had woken me up to this morning. I pulled out my iPod and read the words. Parts of a couple verses stood out to me in particular...

Be still, my soul; the Lord is on thy side;

Bear patiently the cross of grief or pain;

Leave to thy God to order and provide;

In every change He faithful will remain.

Be still, my soul; thy best, thy heavenly, Friend

Through thorny ways leads to a joyful end.

Be still, my soul; thy God doth undertake

To guide the future as He has the past.

Thy hope, thy confidence, let nothing shake;

All now mysterious shall be bright at last.

Be still, my soul; the waves and winds still know

His voice who ruled them while He dwelt below.

Such precious promise. The waves and winds still know, understand, and obey God's voice implicitly. Could students be any less obedient to Him? I got to the classroom but Teacher L was still inside with the Handicraft class. So I waited outside and watched all the kids in the schoolyard. Of such is the kingdom of Heaven. Even though they're a pain sometimes, God loves children most of all. Their spirit is what He wants in me. I was pretty quiet as I watched (I'm sure the kids wondered why), and then finally R__ poked me and said that I could go into the classroom now because Teacher L had left. I went in, just waiting for the oncoming battle. To my surprise, as we began our lesson on factors and prime & composite numbers, they settled down and actually learned. You know why? Because my God is incredible. :D He sent a group of visitors from the Korean church and they happened to stand outside our classroom for a good amount of time, talking or whatever. And my kids are quiet whenever visitors are around. :D :D God seriously can do anything!

After a fairly successful lesson (still need to work a few wrinkles out of that lesson because I didn't teach it quite right :P), I headed over to the music classroom for grade 8. I wasn't as stressed about that but was still not really looking forward to trying to juggle pianos and violins again. But lo and behold, when I walked in, T__ was there! I asked him what he was doing and he said he was willing to help with whatever! And so, I got to spend almost the entire Music 8 period teaching S__ the first two Twinkles on the violin, which was pure joy. :D God is amazing. I told T__ after class that he had helped God answer my prayer. :)

Sin in a Box

Here's a skit that some fellow volunteers did a couple of weeks ago at Sabbath-closing vespers. Quite thought-provoking - and it really spoke to some of the issues and questions our kids face.

Video: Dan Serns (obtained via FB)

Mission Missings

Month 1 of 11 in Cambodia:

I'm a missionary. And, as I've been discovering over the past month, there's a lot of stuff I can't get here that's readily available at home. Some of it's totally fine. I really don't mind washing my hair with little packets of shampoo, sleeping on a thin mattress on the floor, wearing only flip-flops at all times, or scrubbing my clothes in a tub by the pump. But some stuff is rather missed: 

1. A real piano.
2. Smoothies (specifically peanut butter/banana).
3. Whole wheat bread.
4. An oven.
5. Juice (from the refrigerator).
6. Couches.
7. Taco Bell (I seriously never thought I'd say that).
8. Christmas lights.

Month 10 of 11 in Cambodia:

The update...

Most of that stuff I wrote back then is totally fine now. I don't miss it much at all anymore, and I've discovered an Asian alternative for some of it, anyway. For example, we borrowed a blender from the Home Ec room during mango season, bought ice just down the road, and made incredible smoothies several times. WW bread... well... I will enjoy it at home but I've gotten used to the French baguette bread here. In January, I moved to one of the only houses on campus that actually has an oven, so I've been able to enjoy using that. Once a week I can get sugarcane juice at the market. Couches... hammocks are just as good, if not better. My mom sent me some LED Christmas lights so those are stashed away for Christmas season. The only two things that haven't really been remedied are the piano and Taco Bell, but I will enjoy those when I do go home! 

I think I'm going to have to do a switch and write a list of stuff I'll miss about Cambodia while I'm at home:

1. Brown-skinned people (they all want to be white; I wish I were brown).
2. A cool dipper bath in the middle of a hot day.
3. Hearing and speaking Khmer.
4. Morning market.
5. Sitting on the floor during church.
6. Leaving my shoes at the door (and trying to find them afterwards).
7. Rice. Every meal.
8. Riding on a motorbike everywhere I go in town.

It's been a challenge to adjust to a new culture, but I am learning Paul's lesson:

"I have learned in whatsoever state I am therewith to be content" (Philippians 4:11).

One year

Pathfinder outing! (Photo: Shannon Maddocks)

The school year is nearly over! It's so hard for to believe. A group of student teachers from Avondale College have been here for the past three weeks, but they just finished teaching their last day, and will be leaving soon. There's one "normal" week of study, then we have review and final exams in the following two weeks. Didn't I just arrive here at Wat Preah Yesu? It's crazy how fast time has gone by.

During the course of this year, my students and I have grown quite close. We've been with each other through happy times and hard times, 19+ classes a week. It's been fascinating to watch each young character closely and see the strengths blossom. I've seen so many weaknesses in myself, but I've also observed so much strength in God. It's been an incredible opportunity to be pushed toward Him as in no other way, and chosen to be a channel of His power and love.

We were really blessed during this school year to have a large variety of volunteers. A fellow teacher wrote about them here, on her blog. So many strong skills were represented this year: science, music, agriculture, photography, theology, health & nursing, accounting, math, and other things. God has provided just what we need to teach the kids.

Now we are looking ahead to next school year. We know that even though several of our teachers are moving on to new places, God will continue to give us the resources we need. However, at this point in time, we're still on the lookout for volunteers for the new school year beginning in September. Specifically, we need people to teach the following:

• Mechanics
• Bible
• English
• Science
• Math
• Music

We can use people with other skills as well. You don’t have to be a qualified teacher, but we do prefer conservative Seventh-day Adventists who have a commitment to letting Christ live His life through them.
If you are interested or would like to know more, please contact Tim Maddocks at tim @ saltmin . org (no spaces).

I'm so glad that God has worked it out so I can stay an additional year. One of my students mentioned that he wants me to stay for seven years. I said that it's up to God - He has to provide for me to stay if that's what He wants! So my little guy is now praying that God will help me to stay for that long. :-)

I will visit the US from August 14 - September 2. I am looking forward to being home again, trying out American food (not sure how I'll cope without rice), and visiting friends. I hope to see you, give you an update in person, and just catch up on life!

P.S. My friend Kathleen is much more faithful at updating her blog than I am, and she shares much of what happens at Wat Preah Yesu. You might consider following her blog as well - Purposed in My Heart.

Catchup (of Facebook and Instagram)

Two days ago marked seven months to the day that I arrived. I still remember that first day, those first months... a lot has happened and I've grown so much. God surely knew what He was doing when He put me here.

A good friend once told me that if you find yourself busy in one place, you can expect to be busy wherever you go. There's no escaping it. I think that's pretty accurate! I can't help but get involved in many things, and as a result I've had plenty to do. So much, in fact, that my inbox and blog have gone rather neglected. I feel bad, but at the same time, I recognize that life (and especially life in God's service) is about more than the digital world. Unfortunately, people who are busy can't always keep everyone adequately up to date. But I also know that it is important for those at home to know I'm alive, well, and still doing what I said I'd be doing. :) Therefore, this post. Though other ports of access have not generated many responses, I've kept fairly recent on Facebook and Instagram. They only require short blips to let people know what I'm up to! But for those who haven't seen some or any of those updates, I decided I'd make a post just for you. Following is an abbreviated chronicle of my life from October 2013 through March 2014. :)

October

My crazy but absolutely lovable kids.

November

(It arrived safely!)

One of my faithful in-classroom translators, Nak.
We have a great time figuring stuff out!

To this day, it's been my only time driving a motorbike.
I plan to change that during Khmer New Year
when I have time to practice!!

December

Christmas program, Karen style. :)

Having fun with these little guys on holiday!

January

We visited a nearby mountain with old temple ruins on top.

My violin enthusiast, Sann.
(someone recently donated a half-size violin and he loves it!!)

If you'd like to watch this, you can here.

February

They definitely figured out how to put a smile on my face. :)

A very awesome collage a fellow volunteer made for me on my birthday!

I adore these grade-6-ers...

March

Practicing my Khmer... although I forgot a character. :P
Someday I'll get this language learned. :) (It's supposed to say
knoum sraulein neak - I love you)

Two sweet boys on top of "Mount Everest"
which is actually a termite mound.

I very much enjoyed spending time with some
real genuine American kids!

(I'm also having a terrible time with the month subheaders so please forgive me for just sticking this up even though they're not perfect!)

The kiddos #2

Nak's vocabulary paper.

The most recent escapades of Moses:

This afternoon I had one English class. I haven't felt up to par today (cough, headache, etc.) so as I walked to the school, I prayed that God would give me strength and wisdom. My kids are fun, but they're definitely a handful! And I only had some vague ideas of what I was going to cover in this particular class.

I got to class, and greeted the students. It's a warm day today, so they begged me to let them go outside. I knew that wouldn't help learning any, so I told them that we were going to stay inside, much to their chagrin. They kept wiggling around and talking, and I finally told them that just for today, they could sit wherever they wanted to. On the floor (the tile is cooler), in the windowsill, on the desk, wherever. Anything to keep them quieter! They moved to their respective locations and I proceeded to teach them about how to write the story I'd told them to, using their vocabulary words for the week.

Moses, as usual, was chattering away, so I asked him to be quiet. Somehow in the ensuing conversation, he told me that he didn't know how to write the story. He asked, " 'Cher, can you just give me your mind? I have a bad memory!" I laughed and told him that he was smart too. The only reason I might be smarter is because I am older, and have had more years of experience!

"But how did you get your mind, 'Cher?" Some of the other students agreed with him. I decided that now was a good time to set aside anything I'd planned before, and sail with this wind.

I asked the students, "How many of you want me to tell you how to have a good mind?" A bunch of hands raised. I proceeded to give them a list of things I have done to help my mind to grow:

1. Pray (as proved in James 1:5)
2. Read a lot (they came up with this one on their own)
3. Talk with your teachers (and if you don't understand something in English, ask!)
4. Memorize the Bible (it will help you to have a good memory for everything else!)
5. Listen in class (they definitely have aways to go on this one, hehe)

A funny thing that happened during our discussion... Moses and Nak were talking about how it was hard for them to understand English because it was their second language. I told them that I was sure that was true, and that I admired them for doing so well with it. Someone asked me, " 'Cher, how many languages do you know?" I grinned and asked them how many they thought.

"Three!" "Five!" "TEN!"

I couldn't help but laugh. "Actually, I only know one - English."

You should have seen them, they were so surprised. Our teacher who knows everything, only knows one language? (note: sarcasm)

Moses (as usual) was the first to speak. "I know three! Khmer, English, and Thai!"

My point exactly. "You're smart!" I told him. "I might know more than you in other things, but you know more languages than I do. I didn't know any Khmer before I came here."

He jumped up. " 'Cher, I'll teach you a lot! Many new words and how to say things!"

I thanked him and reciprocated the offer (listen in class, please... lol).

Not all of the students paid close attention, but enough did that I was glad for this teachable moment. What a lesson for all of us to learn! I definitely don't have a perfect mind, but there are ways that I can grow.

Now, I'm going to tell you about a few more of my students...

Number Eight: Leang
When I first started to teach grade 6, I lumped Leang in with all the other troublemaker boys. He is about the same age and size, and so I assumed he was one of them. However, I was wrong. This boy is quiet but smart, and pays attention in class. He rarely misbehaves. I've asked him to do things before, and he's done the tasks faithfully and well. I'm glad to have him in my class!

Number Nine: Lis (pronounced Lee)
She's one of those that I stuck up front so I could keep an eye on her. :) Lis is smart, but she is easily distracted. She doesn't always listen and therefore doesn't understand some things, but when I take the time to explain to her, she often will have a lightbulb moment and say, "Yull!" (Khmer for "I understand!"). She's part of the handful, but she is a sweet girl and I know God has a big work He wants to do in her life.

Number Ten: Rothana
Rothana is half troublemaker and half not. :) He's very smart! Yes, he's quick to throw paper and punch other students, but when it comes to studying, he is quick and accurate. Today I decided I trusted him enough to go and do an errand for me (get colored pencils from the staff room), and he did it well.

Number Eleven: Sun
I adore little Asian boys with hair that sticks straight up. No gel or anything; it just can't be pasted down. Sun has hair like that. :D He's a little guy, and is so cute!! Yesterday I had one of my first opportunities to talk with him one-on-one, and I realized that he has a very high little-boy voice. He was excited about finishing his math test, and we talked together as we walked to the library for the next class. Awwwwww!!!

Number Twelve: Navy (Hun)
She's a really tiny girl, with the sweetest personality. I get her and Leakena mixed up sometimes because they look similar. This week, however, we had a Bible test, and she and two other students participated in cheating (someone let the others look at their paper, I'm not sure who). As promised, I gave them all a zero on their paper, and explained to them today when I gave their papers back. They all took it very well, I was thankful. I think Navy will be careful in the future not to do something like that (I hope anyway!).

Number Thirteen: Navy (Doung)
We've got two Sophalls and two Navys in grade 6. This Navy is quiet, and sits right up front. She is a little slower to understand, but she is well-behaved and usually listens carefully in class.

Number Fourteen: Ro
Same category as Rothana: I'd just have to describe him as half and half. Yes, he's a troublemaker, but he's too sweet and smart to be totally that. He's become more attentive since I moved his seat from the back to the middle of the classroom. Still talks a bunch and throws paper balls, but he does do fairly well with his studies.

OK, that's all for today! Now I'm off to grade math test papers...