You're A Mean One, Mr. Grinch

This afternoon, we went to the post office to check on my packages. I had heard a report the day before that some of the boxes were opened and things were taken from them. Unfortunately, mine was one of them. Thieves had broken into the post office and rummaged through peoples packages to steal things. I had to open every one of my Christmas presents to see what had been stolen and then email my parents to find out what was missing. I was really bummed, not so much because my stuff was taken, but because I just can’t understand why someone would do that. Call me naïve, but I still believe in good in this world, so when something like this happens it just really affects me.

Wednesday is English Corner day. We have an EC at school, then we go to another EC in the city for adults (and we have another one on Saturday for children in the city). Anyway, I usually do not enjoy being at English Corner. I would rather bang my head against the wall for an hour on most days. It is not because I don’t enjoy the students, but because I disdain being asked the same boring questions week after week – where are you from, how long have you been here, how does the weather in your hometown compare to the weather here, etc even though we have other questions they are supposed to be answering. They usually do not understand them enough to have a conversation.

This week, however, was different because we were talking about Christmas. Since most of the students didn’t know anything about Christmas or how it is celebrated in the west, I had a marvelous opportunity to share the real meaning of Christmas and how my family celebrates the holiday back home. They were all pretty interested in the story. They also told me that they call Christmas Eve the Night of Security and give apples to one another. I used that as a “teachable moment” to explain where our real security comes from and how to get it. I don’t know if I had any sort of impact on them or not, but I was obedient and that’s all I can do. (They give apples because the word for apples and the word for security sound similar in the language here)

I walked to EC with Goldie and had an opportunity to talk with her about her walk and her relationship with her Father. She confided to me that she has really struggled since the death of her husband a few years ago and couldn’t understand why he was taken from her and doubted if her Father really loved her. I got to share with her a bit of my story and my Papa’s death and the questions and struggles that I had after that. I encouraged to talk to her Father and to trust him even though she didn’t fully understand everything. I told her the he is ultimately in control of everything and has a plan for good even though we don’t always see it or understand it. Keep her in mind as you talk to your Father.