Kenzie Teacher

October 10, 2012

My hands are black with stains from smudging whiteboards and writing out stories for the kindergartners to learn sight-reading on big easel sized paper. Kakoli, a 3rd grader, ran up to me and reached for my hand to hold as I walked out of the 1st grade classroom and asked with a confused face, "Teacher, why are your hands so dirty?"

"I've been using them to teach," I replied.

"Oh, well you should come to our bathroom and I will help you wash them!"

Yes, I am now called Kenzie Teacher. I spend a great deal of my day reading Dick and Jane books. I help teach English and math to kindergarten and 1st grade and art to all of the grades on Fridays. I also teach an English conversational class to the 4th graders after school. I don't think they are too excited about this class, especially since it is taking 30 minutes out of their work/play time and we are learning about manners: please, thank you, informal and formal greetings, and "table" manners (even though they eat on a mat and not at a table). I told them their homework this week was to say please and thank you to their room mothers when they were served their dinner. Now, I hear them saying it all over the place in their afternoon sewing class, breakfast, lunch, dinner, to me if they want to hold or touch something of mine. I am so amazed and delighted with their attentiveness to saying these words at the appropriate times, especially when I or someone else least expects it. Here in Bangladesh they don't use these types of words very often. I figured this out within the first couple of days when I would say "donobahd" (Bangla for "thank you") to someone and they would just look at me with a blank or slightly confused look on their face. Also, trying to teach the children in the classroom to be silent and listen while someone else is talking has been a challenge. I don't think their teachers have spent a lot of time or care with this skill, but I'm hoping they will improve as I am trying to implement the "hands up, mouths shut" rule from camp.

Even though I am the teacher, I feel as though I am the one learning the most. Figuring out how to teach the KG class to sound out their alphabet and keeping the 4th graders entertained and focused throughout the whole class period is a challenge, but it's a learning experience for sure. Learning these different things has helped me to see the children's world from their perspective:  a perspective of simplicity. I'm thankful for this opportunity to grow into a life of simplicity.

Smiles

October 8, 2012

My heart is gone. It is officially stolen as of today by these children. Their bashful smiles is what gets me every time. During worship when I am leading guitar I try to make eye contact with a few of the smaller children and give them a smile and they first look down then they look up and reflect my expression with a small hint of shyness in their eyes. Or, when a group of the older children are gathered around me as I sit on the edge of the tree planter, each one trying to hold onto part of my hand or arms, I will look into each of their faces and give them the biggest smile I can muster and they giggle and reflect my expression in return. Oh! My heart is gone forever! The younger girls love to come and put their hands over my eyes while I try to pick them up and tickle them which causes them to scream and giggle with abandonment. I like to imagine these are the sounds that will fill heaven one day. Bangla Hope feels like a little piece of heaven. Not everything here is perfect or exactly how it should be, but there are definitely large pockets of goodness here and I enjoy living here and experiencing these little humans and their unique characteristics. Each day is a new day to discover and love.

Ants In My Pants!

October 10, 2012

I had just gone to my happy place of dreams and rest when I felt something crawling up my legs. I brushed off the feeling as just another bug. There are tons of bugs here! Mr. Waid has a saying: if you think there is something crawling on you, there probably is. Blatantly, I ignored this thought as I pressed harder toward dreamland. Then all of a sudden I felt it. Little balls of fire erupted in various places all along my legs. I sat up straight and grabbed my headlamp to look under my sheets and there they were. Little monsters wearing red: ants. Ugh. The ants had been everywhere in my room and apartment up to this point, but never in the sacred space of my bed and they decided to choose this "opportune" moment of peaceful sleep to enter into it. Oh! I was not happy. Instead of picking each one out one by one and killing them (which I so badly wanted to do), I rippped off my sheets and threw them across the room. Going to the beareau in the front of the apartment I was thankful it possessed a plethora of sheets and I plucked a clean set of green, deciding against the red ones in defiance of the little monster's uniforms, and stretched them across my bare bed. "Tomorrow is the day I find bug spray and end this little charade once and for all," I schemed to myself. You see, those little monsters had already found their way into my sealed ziplock bag of dark chocolate and had feasted on my Ghiradeli bar. Violating two of my sacred possessions was enough! Lesson one learned of being a SM: always, always, ALWAYS bring bug spray with you. Lesson two: put your dark chocolate in something more secure than a ziplock bag...like a bear canister!

Lifeguarding in an Irrigation Ditch

October 7, 2012

Sunbeams glisten through the banana tree leaves sending a spray of light on the dropplets of water flying through the air as children giggle with delight from the splashes of water washing their sweaty little faces clean. I'm standing in an irrigation ditch on the far side of the campus with 20 or so kids trying to splash me in the face as I pour buckets of water over them. In this moment, for maybe the first time since I have gotten here, I catch myself pausing and taking it all in: the sun, the refreshing water washing over my feet, and the children's faces filled with pure joy. "Everyone should have an irrigation ditch to play in at home if it makes little and big humans alike this full of joy!" I think to myself. The boys are slinding head first on  their tummies down the ditch as the girls suds-up their hair with shampoo as I pour a shower of cool water over their smiling faces to rinse their hair out. What a way to take a bath! "Kengie Teacher, watch me swim!" (In all of the notes I've received, they all spell my name with a "g" instead of a "z".)

God is good. Despite the awful circumstances that brought many of these children to the orphanage, the kids are experiencing something good even still. They are rich, but not in material items. They don't have much to play with such as toys, but watching them spend 30 minutes in a ditch, playing with buckets of water with each other is such a beautiful connection of humans just being, existing, dwelling together. So, today I'm thanking God for irrigation ditches, because I found joy connecting with children in a new and simple way.

On My Own

October 6, 2012

It's 6:30am and my feet hit the tile floor and the sound sends a small echo across the room. I look around and I realize something new. I am alone. Silently I walk over to my desk and sit. I look. I watch. I listen. From my window I can see ripples being made in the pond below as villagers wash their cookware. And out of the window to my left I can hear the younger children singing their breakfast prayer song. So, really I am not alone. I live among a new people, a new way of life. All I have to do is walk outside the door of my two bedroom apartment and live and learn. But here at my desk, I have the opportunity to converse and listen to my Savior in solitude. And I am thankful. Don't get me wrong, I've only been here two days and life is not all roses. I do struggle with the fact that I am the only student missionary here and it is hard to sit down and try to connect with my Savior. But, I am trying. The people here are very encouraging and all we have to do is smile at each other and we connect despite the language barriers. Thank you Jesus for the ability to smile otherwise I wouldn't know where to start.

since it was Sabbath, I got to spend all day with the children. I went to the 4th grade Sabbath school class and helped lead out in songs and Bible trivia. You should hear these kids sing! They have such strong voices for their little bodies. After the kids had their lunch and naptime, I carried my guitar out to the courtyard and instantly was surrounded by at least 20 children all wanting me to teach them a new song. And, yes, for those of you who had mentioned it, I did feel a little bit like Maria from the Sound of Music. We played games for the rest of the day and whenever I stopped to rest I was surrounded by kids either climbing all over me or prying for a spot in my lap or reaching for one of my fingers to hold onto.

After sundown, all of the children gathered in the cafeteria to close the Sabbath then watch a movie. I sat down on the edge of the mat and two of the littler boys, Jacob and Levi, crawled into my lap and instead of fighting over who could sit there, Jacob looked up at me and gave me a huge, cheeky smile and reached his arm around Levi's shoulders and just sat there calmly in my lap embracing his "brother". And my heart did two things: first, it melted. Second, it experienced a testimony of love. All day these kids had been clamoring for my full attention, my acceptance of them, my love. God must be trying so hard to do the same for my response to Him and when I let Him have my full, undivided attention all He wants to do is to be with me; put His arm around me and sit calmly. I'm praying each day that each time a child wants me to hold him/her I will remember Jesus and his eagerness to love me and to view each child with the knowledge that they have been born into a broken world and what they crave most is love - bottom line. We're not all that different: orphans and non-orphans. Being part of the human race we all crave the same thing and I am glad I believe in a God who in the essence of His being is love.

First Impressions

Oct. 5, 2012

"Kenzie, Kenzie, Kenzie!" My name is yelled across the yard as I walk by the cafeteria. Pitter, patter go the little foot steps as tiny brown fingers clammer for my open palms and big brown eyes look up into mine. I smile as I look down and into those beautiful faces; in awe how these little beings were made from the same substance I am: dust. The once eager faces turn bashful as they return my expression and look away, but ever so slowly those big brown eyes meet mine again. I don't know if my name has ever been said more times in one day or by more adorable voices. Beauty from dust.

During the 36 hours it took to get to Bangla Hope one phrase kept coming to mind as I travelled deeper and deeper into Asia, "We're no longer in Kansas, Toto." It's true, I'm not. As I look out my window all I can see are flat, fluorecscent green rice patties dotted with beautiful trees accompanied by a few farmers here and there and villagers walking through the patties to their homes. I hear children laughing and the dinner bell being rung for the older children to go eat and plop, yes, a gecko just fell from the ceiling. Yep, definitely not in Kansas.

I arrived in Dhaka, Bangladesh yesterday around 10:30pm where the Waids and I stayed the night at an Adventist-run dental clinic where I met Bani who works in the clinic on the Bangla Hope campus. After about 3 hours of sleep I was awakened and informed that we would be leaving at 4:30am to travel to the orphanage, because it would be safer to travel through Dhaka during the 5:00 hour when the Muslims would all be saying their morning prayers. As I walked outside to load into the van, I heard the Muslim recording of their call to prayer over the loud speaker on the street. Climbing into the van I knew this was going to be an experience. I wasn't disappointed. Driving on the left-side while constantly trying to pass people on the right on a two-lane road while dodging goats and people was kinda fun. Our driver, Joseph, is amazing and I didn't feel nervous at all with him at the wheel. But, I have to tell you the roads are beautiful! Beautiful green trees line the edges and the branches create a tunnel for us to drive under. (The main highways were actually in better condition than College Avenue.)

Six hours later we pulled into the campus gate which was decorated with signs and flags welcoming the Waid's home. As I climbed out of the car and looked at all of the faces of those precious children I became a bit shy. But after Bani did a little coaxing, I walked over and started shaking their hands and laughing at the way they became equally as shy when I smiled at them. I don't cry very often, especially when I am happy, but I let tears of joy roll down my face as a small group of children hovered around me and reached for my hands. They wanted to know if I knew Lisa and Kelsey and Chantel Teacher. And after I said "yes", Metali (one of the older girls) told me we could defintely be friends then. Listening to their voices sing during vespers as one of the girls climbed into my lap and gave me the biggest smile it hit me full on that I am here in Bangladesh only by an act of God. I'm still wondering how I even got here in the first place or why, but that's the interesting part. The mystery I have yet to discover when I walk beside God.

Anticipation

Packing. It's something I really enjoy doing. Organizing and putting together the puzzle pieces of all the items you are trying to fit in in the most consolidated way in order for you to travel effectively, the end result is extremely satisfying. It's a problem that can be solved. Not to mention the anticipation that goes along with the whole concept of packing: getting to experience something different and out of your comfort zone. I guess what I really like about packing is the feeling of anticipation.

Two  days. Forty-eight hours and I will be on my jolly way to PDX and then on to San Francisco where the wheels of a large Boeing 777 will leave this continent and land me in Singapore for a glimpse of its radiance then drop me smack-dab in the middle of my new home: Bangladesh. Thoughts going on in my head right now (besides obvious anticipation): wonder, excitement to see some beautiful brown-eyed children, contentment in God's existence in this world (a world I have yet to experience), and reality checks; although my bags are packed, my brain doesn't really think I'm actually going to leave. People have asked me if I am nervous. Honestly, no. Not yet at least. I am more humbled than I am nervous. Humbled by God giving me this opportunity, all of your support, and the vulnerability of being in a new place.

Updates since I last blogged:
-Karli and Rachael are not able to come and teach at Bangla Hope. God has called them to serve elsewhere and I can't wait to find out what He has in store for them!
-Mine and Mrs. Waid's current visa expires in December, so I'm talking to Jesus a lot lately about that. Hoping we can get a new one or have ours extended. Mr. and Mrs. Waid feel confident that we can get it worked out when we enter the country.

Here is my mailing address:
BANGLA HOPE
Mackenzie Thompson
Village: Hazrapur, Post Office: Mazina (Uchai)
Upozila: Panchbibi
District: Joypurhat
Bangladesh

I will try to keep this blog updated fairly often, so feel free to check back every once in awhile. The next time you will hear from me I will be in Bangladesh!