If You’re EXCITED and You Know It….

 
Over the past 2 weeks we’ve traveled to 10 different schools to teach English in the mornings and the meaning of Christmas in an afternoon ceremony. The best part about travelling to so many different schools and staying for only a day is that I’ve been able to make up a teaching routine. There are two routines I have, one for the 1^st-5^th graders, and one for the 6^th-12^th graders. But this week I had a little loop tossed at me. This week I found out that Abby and I would be separating from the rest of my team to go teach kindergarten and preschoolers.
 

 
I’ve been dying to have little ones in my arms again since Honduras, and especially with my sister’s baby just being born, I just needed to be surrounded by that energy and excitement and joy.
 
I learned a lot, a whole lot, in Kindergarten.. but I'm just going to share two lessons.The first thing I learned is to love fully no matter what. God led me to a little girl in a pack of over 100 2-5 year olds (that abby and I were in charge of.. haha.) She has lice and I knew it. She had a skirt on with no underwear on (they don’t use toilet paper here) and I knew it. There were a bunch of other kids that wanted to be on my lap, but I knew that the Lord wanted me to only hold her, to cuddle her, to love her.
 

 

 
            I began the day at a school teaching with Katie. We had what looked like a class of 6^th graders and rejoiced in the fact that we only had to teach for an hour that day. I always prefer to teach on my own, it’s a control thing I guess, but I love Katie to pieces so it wasn’t an issue for me to be with her. Not long into introductions the Director of the school called me out of the room and said they needed someone to go teach kindergarten. I was instantly excited. The thing about me and kindergarteners is that we often have the same energy levels, and the same desire to have fun, be loved, yell a bit, and jump around.
 
I knew there was a reason I was on my way to kindergarten for yet another time this week. So on the walk over I talked to God about it and simply said, “Daddy, I know your child’s in there, show me which one it is.”
 
So I walked in the room filled with rambunctious, giggling, spinning, children with their cute little paint smocks on and their terribly adorable chop hair cuts. As the teacher rounded them up and called them into their lines for them to scream out the usual, “good maarning tea-cha” greeting, I was seeking out my brother or sister in the room. As I scanned to the middle left side, I saw him.  There wasn’t a flashing sign over his head, no audible, “That’s him” from God.. Just a feeling; the kind when you just know and that’s that.
 
So while the teacher was talking before she left and handed the lil rascals over to me, I went and sat by him and some others and just placed my hand on his shoulder. I began to pray for joy and happiness over him. I prayed strength and that God’s will would be done in His life.. and that’s when my hand shifted his shirt over a bit, and there it was- the dreaded necklace.
 
My team and I have found a lot of frustration in the insane amounts of idols in Thailand. We’re constantly surrounded by them, rebuking all the stupid evil spirits that they invite in. Abby and I tell every giant 50+ foot golden statue to fall, and have faith that it can and will happen. But my absolute least favorite thing here is when every single child has an idol wrapped around their necks and the big honkin (and I mean HONKIN’ HUGE) chains and the giant spheres and pendants of false gods (and who knows what else) attached to the end.
 
Yep, there it was wrapped around my little brothers neck, holding him from freedom. That’s when I said to God that I wanted to see it fall, crumble, shatter. I declared that the chain didn’t have a hold on him anymore and that he was free and would jump around and dance in this freedom.
 
Class went on.. the usual “Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes” was screamed at mega fast speed, the “Hokey Pokey” and “ABCs” were sung in silly voices, colors were learned, and then my favorite part of class came up… “If You’re Happy and You Know It.” My usual emotions are happy, sad, tired, and, my favorite: excited!
 
That’s when the thoughts came into my head of how happy this little boy would be to know his Daddy. I prayed strength to combat the sadness that would come from the judgment and ridicule from his family. I prayed endurance as the effort of being a Christian in a Buddhist nation is often extremely exhausting. And I prayed for pure excitement to rush over him as he learns more and more about the love of Jesus, and as he digs deeper and deeper into who he is in the Lord.
 
Now, I go big or go home when it comes to singing “If You’re EXCITED and You Know It”… clap your hands, stomp your feet, shout “Hooray”, JUMP AROUND!!!!

As we came to the final loop of the song, we began jumpin' around in joy like crazy people.
 
 

 

 
I said I go hard on the “excited” part of that song… but never in my life have I jumped around with more pure excitement than I did in that moment.
 

 

 They're excited! He's the one up front with the silly face……………………………………..^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^