Mad Props to the Teachers out there...

For those of you who don't speak Jive "Mad Props" simply means "A whole lot of Respect." I have a whole new respect for teachers that you just can't get from being a sub. That's right folks we have survived our First week at school in Beit Jala. For me this also means I have survived my first week as a teacher. Well, it's not quite over yet. We have Friday's off (it's the Holy Day for some of our students) and then we teach a 1/2 day on Saturday. But we should be able to survive that too.
I use the word survive on purpose. It wasn't exactly a walk in the park. Respect is a huge issue around here. But that having been said I think both Mandy and I made progress with our students. It's only the first week of school and I have already given out two Bibles. Working with out a curriculum I have been able to start off well in both my History and Bible classes. I am finding the balance between making them take notes all day long while I talk and not having enough to keep them occupied for 55 minutes. It hasn't been easy. Yesterday I think I talked to much. I wrote 3 whole whiteboards full of notes on the Historical Backgound of Jesus. They were all asking me if this was Bible class or History. I have to remember that I find these facts fascinating, they find them overwhelming. So today I was a little easier on them. I let them teach me for a while. Last night I assigned Matthew 1&2. So today I asked them about Marriage in Bethlehem. They told me about how in Christian Community here marriages are no longer arranged but the Muslim still do it a lot. If you want to marry a girl you have your parents talk to her parents and they work it out. Then you can begin to see each other if the family is present. There's a ring...etc. I tied that into Joseph and Mary and asked them how they would feel in Joseph and Mary's shoes. I think I made them see how amazing their obedience was in the face of all that happened to them.
Then I asked to they were going to write someone's Biography. They want to grab the readers attention with the first sentence. So I had them take a few minutes and write out a "first sentence" they they would use to grab their readers attention, to make someone in the bookstore want to buy their book. So they did and we went around and shared their sentences. Again they asked me if this was Bible class or something else. Then I asked them this "If you were going to write a Biography that you wanted people to read, would you start the Matthew does, with a list of names? They all said no. So I told them in our context today this geneology doesn't grab our attention. (Most of them said they skipped over it.) But to the Jewish audience that Matthew was aiming at this would have been the most fascinating first line of a book they'd ever read. Matthew just linked Jesus to David...King David...the man from whose line the Messiah was supposed to come. This would have been the answer to their prayers for of the previous 400 years, ever since they had been dragged away to captivity.
I think I got to them. I got to myself. All day I've been thinking about how cool it was that Matthew was able to draw a road map of Jesus family line. A road map that proves Jesus is the promised Messiah. A road map that goes straight through Bethlehem. You see along with all those names I see places. You say 'David', I say he was from Bethlehem. You say 'Naomi', I say she was from Bethlehem...along with Ruth, Boaz, Obed, and Jesse. It never gets old. It happened right here. There was historical reason why Jesus was born in Bethlehem. Most of these kids never really think in those terms. Do we? Do we realize the tapestry that God weaves throughout History? Jesus family line included Gentiles like Ruth, forgiven sinners like Rehab and David not just kings. Jesus family 'road map' brought him right to Bethlehem. Makes me have faith that our road map isn't random. A road map that began with for one little girl in Korea and one little boy in Natick that also passes through Bethlehem is in the hand of God. It's not a random series of hisorical events either.
So week one is done. Thanks for your prayers. They are heard by the Almighty and He answers them daily.
Please remember to Pray for Miss Grace's Family. She is under constant attack it seems these days. Her sister is going in for surgery on a brain tumor on Sunday. On top of this most of her family's Olive Trees have been taken from them by the Israeli army for the construction of their wall. This is so wrong but not much can be done. There is no one to complain to. Please pray for her family. Thanks.