Good-bye and Hello

Phil and I are in limbo. This is the weekend between the January and February teaching sessions. Last week was a blur of final classes, tests, grading, and end-of-session parties. Next week will pick up the pace with new classes and faces. But for now we’re sitting in our air-conditioned apartment, reading books and watching Netflix, because it’s too hot outside to do much exploring.

It’s been a bit of a wrench to say good-bye to students, not knowing if we’ll be their teachers this next session. Here are faces that have become dear to us, from our 1:00-3:00 Level I class:

The couple on the far right will not be here for Level II, as Jhim will spend much of February caring for an older sister who is ill. The lovely young woman behind my right shoulder is heading to Saudi Arabia for airline stewardess training for the Saudi budget airlines, FlyaDeal. We pray that no one there will take advantage of her and her friends as they navigate a new and challenging culture. Three in the group will be returning to class with us.

The younger group, which we taught from 4:45-6:45, were excited about the pizza party and very specific in what they wanted: thin crust, seafood cocktail, and only from The Pizza Place, not Domino’s. We also added ice cream and tangerines to each of our farewell feasts. 

They put together a little memento for us:

The next day we went to dinner with fellow teachers, three of whom are departing soon. Our far-ranging and spirited conversation touched on several truths:

• This is not a vacation. Though we are in Thailand—a tropical country of great beauty—our days are focused on work: teaching, meeting with students, laundry. We explore on weekends, but even those trips are often “work,” building relationships with students. We are not lying on beaches, hiking through rain forests, swimming in the pool. We are in a sprawling city, often gritty and bad-smelling, always noisy and full of traffic. 
• What makes everything worthwhile: our students. Hands down, we all agree about this. They lift our spirits, listen eagerly to instruction, amaze us with their desire to give, and make us smile with their kindness and joy. It is healing to be with them. I feel a glow in the evenings after classes are done, just thinking about them.
• It is hard to say good-bye to people we’ve become attached to—both coworkers and students. In that sense, I am not looking forward to that last day of February.

Good-byes are hard because of love. It would be tempting to hold back on the love a bit, so the good-byes that are coming will be easier. But it’s the love that makes this all worthwhile. And the threads of love are stronger than we may think. They can stretch thousands of miles and still vibrate with the energy and spirit of God, who is the source of love.

Tomorrow I will say hello a to class of seven new students, eager to learn writing and composition. I’m praying that the classroom will be permeated with God’s presence and that as we grow in knowledge of adjectives, adverbs, prepositions, dangling participles, and run-on sentences, we will also grow in love.