New Stories to Share

Today two very different events took place that I would love to share with you.  The first occurred right after school.  One of my Korean parents came into my classroom and asked how I was doing.  She is the mother of my "new" student (new to ICSV this year) and incredibly kind.  After I shared that I was okay, but a little sick, she proceeded to tell me her son had mentioned I was sneezing and coughing.  In her hands was a bag of small Korean packages.  She began to explain to me, in her best English, that the bags contained tea that I could use to help fix my cold.  Slowly and lovingly she explained what I needed to do with each item and when to drink the different teas.  It touched my heart to know that she had taken the time to prepare the teas, tried her very best to speak in a language that wasn't her first language, and genuinely cared enough about me to bring me a special gift.  I will forever remember that moment and I thank God that He has given me a wonderful student's parent to touch my life.

The second event happened later in the evening.  After returning from Billa (my local grocery store) with Nicki (my buddy/friend) I began to put away the contents of my purchase (we needed to buy some additional supplies in order to eat tacos tonight).  As I began to reach into my bag to remove a head of lettuce a "surprise" jumped out at me.  A 1 1/2 inch bug (it looked like a cross between a cricket and a grasshopper) came "flying" out of the lettuce and landed on the ground nearby.  I immediately began to freak out (I'm not a fan of bugs) and I had no idea what to do.  In my mind it was to big to smash, but not small enough to get near.  Fortunately Nicki took hold of the situation by telling me to leave, smashing the bug, and erasing all evidence of it's existence.  Thankfully the night continued without any additional bug intrusions, but I still couldn't get myself to eat any of the lettuce the bug had made it's home in.