Don't forget I love you so much.

Written December 2, 2007.

Dear ma'am Jennessa,
Hi! How are you? I hope that you are in a good condition and have a good day and how is your family and friends with your neighbors and thank you for being a good teacher and God bless you and I'm very thankful to God because I live in ma'am Venus and Ma'am Kelsey's and they are very kind and ma'am Jennessa I love you so very much! I will not forget you forever. You are a very good teacher and you know ma'am our birthday is coming, are you happy?
And I miss you so very much ma'am Jennessa and ma'am always enjoy your work and don't forget the songs that you learned and the Tagalog words. Always have a good day and enjoy your family and I love you so much! I will not forget you ma'am. I am praying for you that God will send you here again and I will not forget the songs and the things that I learned from you!

Merry Christmass for you, ma'am Jennessa!
I Miss you my dearest teacher ma'am Jennessa

Don't forget don't forget I love you forever!
Have a nice day and night!

From your lovely Angel again

(Angel Runday-Grade 4)

Dedicated to...

my ever-loved, ever-missed, ever-thought of, and always in my heart students:

Grade 4-alphabetical order

Angel-Angel Girl

I remember stepping off the boat into the beautiful blue water that was gently splashing against the boat and the shore. I was trying to take it all in all at the same time, with no success. It was the first time I'd set foot on the shores of what I didn't know would only be my 'staying place' for 3 1/2 short months, but the home of my heart for life. The only name and face I remember from the first day, of all the kids I met, is Angel's. I remember her shaking my hand and introducing herself and I remember saying, "Angel! That's a good name! I like that!" and seeing one of the most thrilling smiles I've ever seen for the first time. And she is just that-an Angel in disguise. 

Sure, she had her ups and downs. She could try to fool that she wasn't an angel, but I know she was. 

Oh how she loved to pray and sing! She and I could sing together for hours and she loved to draw and color!

Angelito-Mr. Cruz -

This rascal had me going all the time. He's so full of energy that's just waiting for something to put it to. The inventor and imangator-

One day after I showed my class my calendar of the Denver Life Flight helicopter Angelito sat thinking. Thinking hard too, and then, as was his custom, he suddenly blurted out in the middle of something totally unrelated that he was going to be a pilot and fly a BIIIIIIG jet and that if I ever went back to America he would come and I would get on his jet and fly me 'home.' 

 I guess he must've talked to his father after me encouraging him to stick with that idea for several days, because about a week later he announced that he could not fly. It was 'so veeeeery dangerous!" what if you ran out of fuel in the sky? You would just plain fall down and 'be died already!'  "I will go in canoe! I will paddle alllll of the world and big wave too!" And, in accordance with his 'what if you run out of fuel?" question I asked, "What if you loose your paddle?!" 

Look at the culture conflict there. What a question! No one ever evvvvver looses a paddle unless 'they are making a bad travel' (or rather, they don't know how to travel!) 

Nonoy-Zebedee 

It was my first full day in Pinagbayanan and I was observing 3rd and (soon to by my) grade 4 in session so I could see how it was done. The teacher who was teaching had just switched from grade 1, therefore these classes were new to her also-perfect time to get confused. 

We had them all go to the front and introduce themselves, but I found it almost impossible to keep track of the 17 names on top of everything else I was trying to take in...along with having a sickness of some sort (first fever, then voice failure and a cough-poor hearing cuz of congestion etc). 

 I was so excited to see what was going to be my class. After a small art project, while the other teacher continued to teach, I graded. I got all of my grade 4 in a pile and all of grade 3 in a pile by elimination of the names I could remember when I there was one extra. "Zebedee." Of all things, I could faintly remember the other names, but I sure couldn't remember hearing anyone introduce themselves as "Zebedee!" I counted the students and shuffled names around thinking I must be mixed up, but it didn't do anything. There was still this alien name-Zebedee! Finally, I asked Venus (the other teacher-very sweet girl!) who Zebedee was. She could not figure that one out either! We thought and thought, but...no good. She turned to the class and asked if Zebedee could please raise his hand, and Nonoy did. This was the beginning of what I would soon learn to be normal-totally normal-in the Philippines-nicknames! (more about what exactly I'm talking about later) Oh the joy! What a great trick on a new teacher!! 

I was told by his previous teacher that Nonoy had to be pushed. That he just wanted to play around. That he didn't really want to be a good boy. The preconceived ideas given me I found to be wrong. We 'fell in love.' He would do just about anything to please me. Sometimes, just as every child, he would do something 'pasaway' but then he would feel remorse and try to make up for it. 

Shem-Japeth  

Stepping into a class to be a home schooled teacher for the first time is a little scary. Add to that hardly being able to speak because of laryngitis. Then add to that seeing a 'big boy' sitting in the row of your students. And then add to that him stepping forward and introducing himself as being 26 years old. I have to say I was a little shocked. You see, this guys not nutty or anything like you might be thinking. On the other hand, picture this: Having the courage to step into school having never been schooled-at the age of 24. Would you, could you do it? I doubt anyone here would. We'd just stick to watching TV and eating popcorn and hamburgers. Not this guy. 

 Shem had lost his mother some time before my arrival but on getting to know him better I could see the pain wasn't gone. Upon coming to know him better, I came to love him-as a brother. He wants to please, he tries to please. I mean he tries hard. He's the only kid I've ever seen work on a (boring) test for 3 hours straight, missing 2 breaks and study for another test. It's hard starting school when you're that 'old' but he's doing it. I'm so proud of him.

  The best memories I have of my sweet kuya (big brother) is his music. He could sit and play the guitar like the angels in heaven can play harps. I remember one time when my friend (and fellow teacher) Kelsey and I stayed out under the stars listening to Shem singing and playing his guitar. I crawled under the bench we'd been sitting on and fell asleep to him playing and singing Tagalog songs. 

Waren-Wyre

The cutest little kid on two legs. Or one, or none. However he comes, this guy's cuteness to the core, and sweetness through and through. Everything he does he does well. Everything he puts his mind to, he can do. He's the smartest thing you ever saw! His eyes sparkle and his giggle is so contagious and adorable you just can't help but laugh too. He's a math wizard if you ever saw one. If the other kids were too shy to do something, (or just refused) I could always count on Waren. He insisted on talking to me in Tagalog, even though his English is impressive for his age, just because Ma'am Jennessa wants to learn Tagalog, and she will learn if she talks it! 

He always begged me to "you shaaare mom! You share your experience! " in other words, tell a story about your life. What did you do when you were a child? Did you ride carabou too?  No? You saw moose? Why mom, why did you see moose?! And what on earth is a moose? Why did you not die when you fall in the snow? How can you not swim in it? 

  He would tell me riddles in Tagalog and then translate for me, expecting his 'wise' teacher to be able to see through them. Not so. I didn't even know what a durian was! 

  

In conclusion, my heart was stolen-or was it given away? Why does love make life so hard? Now my heart is beating lonely ever time it beats. Now my heart cries and aches and how it is broken from the separation of us. I never knew such love existed-so strongly, so deeply. Never did I know that God created kids even better than the best I'd met. He put in a love for them unlike any. 

And oh, how empty a place will heaven me, if even one is missing. Heaven just wouldn't be heaven without them!

Every moment we're apart will be  a lifetime to my heart.