Classroom situations

Student: Cher, why do I always get homework after every lesson? Other people don't get as much.
Me: Coz I love you. When you practise, you will get better. When you get homework, it is more work for me to mark too. But I really hope you can improve because you are not a failure grade student.

Enough reason to convince the kid. :)

This same kid asked me why don't I open more tuition centers?
S: Cher, why don't you open more tuition centers?
Me: For what?
S: To earn more money.
Me: For what?
S: So you can buy a bigger house.
Me: For what?
S: So you can buy more things to put in the house.
Me: For what?
S: So you can be happy.
Me: But I am already very happy when I see you do well for your math. I don't need those things to make me happy. :) So if you want me to be happy, please get back to your work and improve in your studies! :p

All in one day!

Mac Breakfast from a student.
Overseas tidbits from a teacher.
Text message from a friend.
Kind words from my students' parents.
Wonderful message of God's love in Church.
A special gift that came so timely.

How can my life be not full with so much love? :)

This has got to be my favorite picture.

As a teacher, I'm always the one who encourages the kids and somehow I'm used to doing that. And since I always look so positive, so confident and so blessed, I don't often get encouragements from people. I'm fine with that actually. But just that when people encourages me, it catches my attention a lot more than I thought.

During church anniversary, we played a game and there I was, being volunteered. When it was my turn to "perform", I heard a voice shouting "Go, Phoebe, you can do it!" I looked towards the direction of the shout and there I saw cute little Asher. Though I didn't score the highest for my "performance", I was beaming with joy because of what Asher said.

It dawn upon me that God uses the people I always encourage to encourage me back. When the Bible speaks about he who waters others get watered himself, I didn't know it can be so literal! I'm so grateful for the kiddos. :) Because of Reuben and Asher, I want to be a more loving and encouraging person. They have shown me how much love can be poured into a person and how much difference a small gesture can make. I want to build an environment around me where people feel loved and valued just the way God will love and value them. The power of God always move in an atmosphere of love. I pray that love will be the greatest motivator of my life... To be loved by God and to love Him and His people.

Too blessed! :)

Thank you for the dim sum delivery to the door step! I survived my lunch and dinner on this.

The enemy of good is not evil, but apathy.

Just watched a video on sex slavery online. It brings back some much memories of the what I read and experienced in Cambodia. On one of my humanitarian trip there, we signed up for a program that allow us to shadow garbage collector kids and interview prostitutes.

It was like 6am and the first part was following behind a really young child, maybe aged 7-10 years old who collects glass bottles and precious sellable stuff that he finds on the street. Dragging a big sack behind him, he bends low at every dump of rubbish found along side of the road. That boy will do that in the morning so that he can earn some money for his family. After which, he will go to school that is sponsored by a NGO. We interviewed him and he shared that he had to take care of his family as his dad ran away. He would use the money to support his sister's school fees and also feed the family. After talking to him for awhile, we realize that he does have things he likes and aspirations that he wants to achieve. He loves to play soccer and wants to grow up being a scorer player. He is no different from the kids in my neighborhood except that he is born in a "wrong place".