7 Months & Going Strong(er)

Hello search engines & random passers-by,

It never seems to amaze me how quickly time seems to blow by over here in Thailand. It has already been two weeks since I sent my last update—and already January is over. The school year here ends on the 30th of March, which, at this perceived rate will probably feel like it'll be tomorrow.

Not surprisingly, it has been a busy couple of weeks at GES, as we've finally struck our full-paced stride in the world of academia. No more short days, no more long weekends, no more crazy excuses to get out of class. In fact, the only day off that we have left will happen on Feb 21, meaning that there is little time left for seeking adventure and pursuing craziness.

It seems like I have come into my own in this whole teaching thing. My workdays no longer consist of 7am to 11 pm durations in my classroom (now, I have only 11 hour days on average), yet I still am not exactly certain as to what has caused this marked decrease in time spent working. Granted, my accumulated experiences definitely play a role, but I think that, sine I've now been operating on a Godly amount of sleep each night, my working hours seem to be more effective simply due to the fact that I have more time to rest.

My first six months here, I was working like a dog, and I felt that it was necessary, since I really didn't have a clue as to what I was doing. After a few months, though, when I had gotten my feet wet, I thought that things would settle down, and in a way they did. However, I had been burning the candle at both ends for so long at that time, that I was suffering from a serious bout of over-exertion / mental exhaustion, which affected how effective my waking hours actually were. As a result, I ended up maintaining the same ridiculous hours as the first few months just in order to keep up with the daily grind, which in turn caused me to forfeit desperately needed sleep.

During our Christmas break, I slept a lot. And I mean a LOT: 10 to 12 hours each night in a bed that actually was comfortable & in a room that wasn't sweltering. I'm pretty sure that the amount of rest that I got over the break prepared me exceedingly well for when classes resumed. Because I had been getting enough sleep & rest, each of my waking hours was more effective... Which meant that I got (and am getting) more work done in less time. The end result being that, of course, I now have more time to sleep, more time to rest and more time to recharge. It's effectively a very simple feedback system: the more rest you get, the more effective at your work you are, which means you spend less time doing it... Which means the more time to rest you get. The less rest you get, the longer each task takes (due to a lack of mental efficiency) and the less time you have to sleep, which results in spending more time doing work, etc. Etc. Etc. So yeah. Things are going well right now.

One thing, though, that I'm certain has had a positive impact on my effectiveness at work & in daily life is my much more consistent (and prevalent) time with God. I've noticed that the days (and weeks) where I forego spending at least a half hour alone purposefully and actively seeking God, that these are the days (and weeks) where work seems to be more difficult, where tasks seem to take longer and where my daily efficiency goes down the toilet. In contrast, my most productive times have been founded on a solid foundation of purposeful, directed prayer & meditating on Scriptures. If there's one lesson that I've re-learned in this past month, it has to be that if we do “seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, all these things will be added to you."

It hasn't just been productivity, either! Students have been working better in class; they have been more respectful; they have actually been expressing an interest in learning (at times). It's nuts, and I can't thank God enough for the help that He's throwing in my corner of the ring. Speaking of having things added, one of the students in grade 10 has invited myself along with the two high school Mr. Jonathans (one of which, I'm sure many of you know) to go and spend a weekend fishing with him in one of the provinces at their family's cottage. What better an opportunity could there be to try and show the love of Christ to this student and his family than having the three of us interact with them relationally for a whole weekend?! It's awesome!

Jon, Jon & I will be heading out to this fishing cottage next weekend. I would (and I'm sure that they would also) appreciate your prayers concerning this matter. Pray that our student, Pop, and his family would be receptive to the message & the demonstration of the Gospel; that we would be good conduits of the love of Christ and that we would make the most of every opportunity presented to us (even if that might be to say nothing, and just to love). Pray also for continued resilience in the staff to fight the fight until the end and not to check out before the race is over. Those who have made the decision not to return seem to have a propensity these days to sometimes slip into mindset which results in a decreased level of engagement in the work that is set before time. Now, I know that this isn't always the case all of the time, but I know the temptation to consider the battle over before it truly is far, far too well.

Pray also for the teachers and the administration as the rest of the teachers make their decisions as to whether or not they will stay for another year. It's a big decision that each of us has to make (though, for me, I'm confident that God has called me remain for another year), and those positions that will be vacated are always difficult, it seems, to be filled.

That's all I've got for this instalment. Check back again after Valentine's Day for another glimmer of life in Thailand from the eyes of a Canadian fool who's just doing his best to walk in the path that he's been called to walk.