Tonight I told Vanda it was time to practice her English. We had already had a session this morning and she was reluctant to do more. I then presented her with about 100 (I really should count them) letters from the 7th grade class at her new school, Community School of Davidson. Her eyes grew wide and I told her this stack of papers was for her, from her new classmates. She was amazed and eagerly started reading each and every one. She smiled, and giggled as she read them aloud, Beth helping her with only some of the words. Ohhh, Ahhh she would say as she related to such things as “I like sports”, “I love my Art class”, and “The teachers here are really nice.” At one of the letters, Vanda and Beth were laughing so hard Vanda said her stomach was hurting. The laughter was good and I believe healing, as we have noticed that while Vanda is excited and committed to living with us in America, she is having a hard time with saying goodbye to her friends and family at the foster home. Vanda read aloud in English non-stop for an hour and fifteen minutes. She read until her speech started slurring, but she was determined to read every one of the letters. Vanda even said, “Thank you God” as she read one of the student’s letters. This was a moment to remember.
I am very grateful that God has set it up for Vanda to go to this school. These letters say a lot about the school and its environment. The kids mentioned how the school has an anti-bully policy, how the school is accepting of everyone, how the teachers are fun and good, how the kids enjoy learning, they learn a lot, and how new kids to the school are always treated well. Each letter was full of honest encouragement and genuine interest. I went to the school not for my kids, but because I heard it was the best place to teach. Now I am blessed to have both.
We are enjoying being part of a much larger community. Parenting was never meant to be performed alone.
Kirk, Beth, and Vanda too!
 |
| We ended the day with some fun father daughter play. |
Encouragement is one method that inspires a person to do better, be it a small task or a big one. Any person, who is encouraged or cheered, definitely produces better results than the one who is not. :)
ReplyDelete