January 12, 2014

The first week back after vacation: Sigh. Most of the teachers reported sluggishess and blank stares as children, who were allowed to be schedule-less, now return to a routine.  My class had a golden week, with no one getting reprimanded for behavior or attitude. J

My students were glad to be back together. I could tell by their chattiness and their heads and bodies moving closer together when they worked on projects.  It was such a joy to see their obvious affection for each other.

I am very concerned about one of my girls who returned to us with a haircut designed basically to attract attention. When I told her it was “cute,” she said that she was going to shave half of her head and wear the rest in a Mohawk. That merely elicited the comment from me that such a hairstyle would take a lot of hair gel. But I can see that she is hurting. She had also been cutting herself during the interim and has been using her pencil to deepen the cuts on her hands.

Roger told me that his boys took cactus needles and were pushing the thorns into their hands as far as they could stand. When he gave them safety pins for their costumes (for the Christmas Project), they tried to pierce themselves through the skin on their fingers without actually getting as deep as the nerves.

Our children suffer intense internal pain. Sometimes the way they mask it is to make themselves hurt physically. One girl told me that she was so agitated inside that she just ran and ran and ran. When the police found her in the middle of the night, he gently told her that when she feels agitated, she should power walk in her community instead of making a beeline to who knows where.

These precious children suffer in unimaginable ways. They ask me what to do with bad reoccurring thoughts. I shared with them how I focus more and more on Jesus when bad thoughts threaten my peace. I picture Him dying on the cross for sin and for the forgiveness of those involved in the situation.

One of my girls and her sister wrote this poem. It is supposed to be about puppy love, but I like to think of it as also a love poem to Jesus who is “my everything.”

You are My Everything

You are my everything; you taught me how to sing.

You took a chance on me, opened my eyes to see.

You had the golden key that simply sets me free.

You are my only hope, the one I need the most.

You are my light and dark, the evershining spark.

You are my other half; you always make me laugh.

You are my dearest friend forever ‘til the end.

We were simply meant to be, for it is clear to see.

TR and MTR

California Dreamin'

Please pray this week for our students to experience peace instead of internal pain. Pray that they can come to trust Jesus fully.

We were at the Atlantic and the Pacific in 2013.

Ben and Mardell