Gifts
It has been a long crappy day at work. It is report card week, with all the data collation that implies. I was also supposed to be getting ready for an important meeting tomorrow concerning a student’s academic progress. There was paperwork involved with that process, too. I was hoping to finish that work after school, only to find out I had yet another meeting pop up out of nowhere. So it meant that I had one event to attend immediately after school, then go pick up Princess No when her school let out, then go back to my school to finish up paperwork.
I had a headache that wouldn’t stop, and I was hungry. Hoping to finish up and get out, I made one last call to the counselor to clear up some information for tomorrow’s meeting. That’s when she told me “Oh, you’re back at school? You’re probably going to be mad at me.” Of course I asked ‘why’, and she told me that she had asked for a new student to be placed in my classroom. Of course I asked ‘why’ again. She replied, “Because this new student will need a certain type of teacher, and I narrowed it down to you and another one. But the other teacher lost her husband last year, and this kid’s situation might touch too close for her.”
The kid’s situation? He’s from Haiti. Yeah.
So I rushed to the front office to see about getting some supplies. I hate getting a new kid unannounced, because I want to have at least a desk nameplate ready. It’s hard enough for a kid to go to a new school…I try to be as ‘ready’ for them as possible, so they feel they had a place ready for them…not standing alone watching the teacher having to hustle to get a desk, books, etc.
When I got to the office this kid was still there with his godfather. So I got to meet him, and show him our classroom and the school. He’s quiet, bless his heart. But his accent is sweet!
If I had left school ‘on time’, I wouldn’t have known about this new student until I walked into work tomorrow…20 minutes before kids start arriving. My ‘late’ day at school was actually a gift that placed me in the right place to hopefully give this kid a nicer start to his first day of school.
But I’m scared. This kid has witnessed something I can’t really comprehend. What do I do FOR him to help make it easier for him? The kid has not only seen his home destroyed, he’s had to leave his country. I can’t comprehend that series of upheavals and losses. I’m not really sure if his parents are alive or not.
God bless the dear little boy.
January 27th, 2010 at 12:35 am
The way I see it, God has already blessed this little boy and continues to do so.
You can’t expect to fix the horrer he has seen, but he is a world away from that now. His best bet for a bright future is a good education, that’s where you come in.
January 27th, 2010 at 9:17 am
Right place at the right time… and what a blessing you are and will continue to be for all your kids! It says so much that you were picked to be his teacher!
This child may have seen some horrors, but the structure, love and solidity of his new life will hopefully counter balance that. We’ll pray for continued blessings for him.
January 27th, 2010 at 11:00 am
What can you do? Be you, it will be enough. You know full well God placed this child in your hands. What a blessing that you get to serve in a tangible way to help with the Haiti mess -more tangible than I’d bet money anyone else I know will be given the opportunity to help. Keep us posted, please.
My brother-in-law has been involved with a group that has worked in Haiti for years. He has been there many times, even his daughter went once – to help. They were trying to build a clinic there but the bribes necessary to be able to pull it all together ended up making the project impossible. I know all this now is breaking his heart.
January 27th, 2010 at 7:46 pm
Proud of you, Kitten…
January 27th, 2010 at 7:59 pm
Ditto what everyone else says – God blessed this child by placing him in YOUR hands. All you have to do is what you do best, and the rest will happen in time.
January 27th, 2010 at 11:05 pm
Wow. Poor little guy. I’m glad people are being kind to him.