PreSchool

There are other things in my life apart from BEADS!  This week one of them is the BanLung Preschool and a very happy and very tired little girl!

A few months ago a group expat missionaries living in our town began considering the option of having a small school for the children.  Although there are many wonderful advantages to home schooling I am sure,  it would not be our first choice of educational options for some of us.  So since there were a growing group of preschoolers,  it became an option to discuss getting together to "do school".

In the end, a "real" school with a permanent teacher was not an option for us at the moment.  It's not from need or desire, but simply logistics.  We really need to find a truly committed Godly teacher who is wiling to leave the beauty and ease of life in the West to come and serve us here in the beautiful but remote and slightly challenging jungle of Ratanakiri.

But for now, we do have a fabulous teacher from Phnom Penh who is willing to come up to visit us one week every month to run "preschool" for the six children in the 4-5 year old category.  Michelle is a CMS Associate missionary who has been working in Cambodia at Hope International School for three years.  She is committed, Godly, faithful, creative, full of energy and enthusiasm and our whole community has fallen in love with her!

Her classroom in the covered area under one of our houses.  She has no blackboard, no library, six very enthusiastic children, a minimum of supplies that she brings on the 10 hour bus journey with her or that we supply, rats in her bedroom, no hot water, long humid days ... and she does it all with an amazing ease and a genuine desire to serve that I can only thank God, really, for sending her to us.  

So, this week, Esther is off to school every morning with enormous enthusiasm, and Tobias follows in the afternoon and mummy does all the stuff she wishes she has more time for normally.  Yay! Everyone wins!

So if you know anyone who might want to do what Michelle does when she can no longer do it ... please let me know!