The Perfect Prescription

Today was a yuck day!  I dunno…we had a lot of angry parents this morning (today was supposed to be the day that sacking’s began for those who haven’t paid fees yet)…plus I had to be there at 6 am, and you know how I am on little sleep.  I tried to shake it off and snap out of it…but I was in a pretty lousy mood for most of the day.  But then, after school, I was walking around outside carrying Eddy and watching the kids play football (that in and of itself made me smile = )…and then a tiny fifth grade boarding student, Abigail, came over and started talking to us.  After chatting for awhile, she timidly said, “Aunty Jaci, I want you to buy me a storybook.”  I explained that I don’t have very much money, and that she should try the school library (which is very bare).  She responded that she’d already read all of the books in the library! = (  She had in her hands a moldy book, the kind of language arts textbooks that I couldn’t get my students at home to read (they’re pretty fat…and they have condensed versions of stories or books from different genres, with reading comprehension questions at the end of each).  I asked, “Is this yours?” and she said, “No, I just found it over there.”  So it wasn’t her reading level exactly, but we found a reader’s theater Paddington bear story…and began reading.  Pretty soon we had an audience, so we all crowded around this book, and gave parts to the people who wanted one, and read the story -- it was so much fun!  I found that they were very fluent readers, but their comprehension wasn’t great (especially since the story used so much vocabulary that they weren’t familiar with), so we stopped a lot to talk about what we were reading.  It just made me so happy (and sad at the same time…to see how starving for print they seem to be).

When we were finished, I was about to go home when Julius asked if I could help him with his homework.  He had creative arts and math…and it was so neat to see blank stares turn to being able to do problems on his own = )  It was also really rewarding because, again, we had quite an audience, and the older kids at first were trying to just give him the answers, or even do the work for him, and so they were able to see what it looks like to help and teach someone rather than to do for someone.  One of the boys who was watching seemed especially interested.  He said that he used to get beat (I think it’s like saying “getting lickin’s” at home…not always like actual beating beating…I hope) for doing his little brother’s homework for him, so I think he was enjoying learning how to help someone without doing it for them.  And when another girl asked for money to buy a snack, and I said I don’t give out money because I really don’t have very much since I’m not working for money, he was totally shocked…and I as able to explain about volunteering and stuff.  It was really neat; he seemed to really ponder intently on what I was saying…so I’m hoping I sparked a desire in him to do the same one day (although, I think that every citizen here has to do a year of volunteer service after they graduate from university…but I’ll have to double check that).

Then, on the way home…I got to talk to Ayo and Daniel! = D  Needless to say, I ended up going home in such a fantastic mood…even after one of the worst days so far.  I LOVE CHILDREN!!!!  Their humility and thirst for learning and love of goodness and desire for growth are just some of the qualities that I think our Heavenly Father was thinking of when he said that we need to become as little children = )

P.S.  Jake...if books aren't already part of your eagle project...list of goods...if you want to add them...books would be so valuable here! = )