Teaching No Greater Call

As a child, I loved to play school.  The far corner of the recreation room (now-a-days we would call it the family room) in my parent’s home was my classroom.  I can remember spending hours making math papers and spelling tests. There was a corkboard on the wall where I could tack the completed work of my pupils.  Pupils?  There were the obvious candidates—my five younger brothers.  Some of them were more willing than others. (Now that I think about it, I would be willing to bet that Scott had the edge on his fellow students at MIT because of his early beginnings in my class.  Maybe not, by the time he was old enough to participate I would have been beyond playing school.  Paul, though, probably should have acknowledged the jumpstart I gave him on his application for Commissioner of Church Education.)  When they had had enough, there were the Holmsteads or the Schoonmakers. 

It was not difficult for me to decide on a major in college—elementary education.  I knew it from the first semester.  I took only those courses that were required and was through in three years.  I loved my years as a teacher and when I had kids of my own and stayed home to raise them, I missed being in the classroom. 

As this mission provides so many opportunities to teach, I am remembering why I love it so much.  It is fulfilling and rewarding.  I learn so much as I prepare lessons, and I learn even more when the students share their knowledge and experience.  This week in our institute class ‘Presidents of the Church’, we finished up a two week lesson on Joseph Smith.  The first week I asked the students to spend some time during the coming week, searching their hearts to evaluate how they felt about this great prophet.  Did they know for themselves that he had seen the Father and the Son?  Did they know that he had been given authority from God to restore the church with all the ordinances necessary for exaltation?  This week I finished by asking if anyone felt comfortable sharing what they had discovered.  It was the best part of the class as several students told of their journeys to gain a firm testimony of Joseph Smith.  Their sincere and humble testimonies invited the Holy Ghost and He testified to our minds and our hearts. 

Teaching the online seminary class is a completely different experience, but a good one as well.  Students work through lessons on the computer.  These lessons help students discover principles in a scripture block and then try to get them to arrive at some application for that principle in their lives.  Their responses, usually in the form of essays, are sometimes so insightful that all I have to do is cheer them on as I respond to each one.  Others need a longer response…”Did you ever think about this?”, or “That’s true, and so is the fact that….”.   It was wonderful to hear from one mother that her sons’ attitude toward scripture study has dramatically improved.  One Grandmother wrote that her grandson doesn’t say much, but she has noticed that he comes right in from school and sits down at the computer to do seminary.  It is wonderful to see how much the Lord wants these kids to learn.  If they will give some effort, he will help them feel the spirit even when receiving lessons over the internet.

Sometimes we get to plan and prepare for the lessons we teach.  Sometimes we get no preparation.  Yesterday, after sacrament meeting in the Cashmere ward, we were asked to teach the youth class in Sunday School.  Their teacher was not there.  Last night we found that one of our early morning seminary teachers was in the hospital, and John had to teach that class at 6 a.m. this morning.  I will be teaching it tomorrow morning. 

Some of the YSA girls have been wanting to learn to sew.  They say it is very difficult to find modest clothes and think that it would be fun to make their own.  So, I started a sewing class on Saturday morning.  This Saturday we went to the fabric store and looked for patterns that would be relatively easy for beginners and learned about fabrics.  They are starting with skirts.  I’m hoping we can round up enough sewing machines for everyone and I’m hoping that each machine comes with an instruction manual or I won’t be able to thread them properly. 

Piano lessons are progressing well.  This week we got Vine Touli ready to play for church on Sunday.  She already played a little bit before she started lessons with me, and she has much natural talent.  She has been working on three of the simplified hymns, and they sounded good enough for sacrament meeting.  I worked with Sala, her younger sister, who will be the chorister.  I can’t wait to hear how it went. 

Star, Diana, and Trubecca (all from the same family with a last name I can’t spell or say), come to piano lessons each week with an eagerness that never subsides.  Each week as they take their place at the piano, they play their assigned exercises with correctness.  They do not have a piano in their home and when I say to them, “You’ve been practicing haven’t you?”, they smile and say, “Yes.”  I ask them if they have been coming to the church to practice, and they look surprised and say, “No.  We practice on that cardboard keyboard you gave us.”   It was such fun to give them one of the electronic keyboards that the music department sent out.  They were so grateful and so excited.  Their mother couldn’t hug me tightly enough.  A wealthy couple gave a grant to the church for developing keyboarding skills so that congregations around the world can have music in their meetings.  How wonderful is that?  These courses are usually taught by senior missionaries, but sometimes members of a stake or CES workers can teach this piano course.  I’ve never loved teaching piano before but I’m loving it now.  Perhaps it is because these kids are so eager, so grateful, and some of them, so gifted.

Star, Diana, and Trubecca.  Diana is quite possibly the most angelic child I have ever met.  There is something so sweet and wonderful about her.  Look at her eyes, I think you can see it in her.

Vine Touli, ready for her debut in sacrament meeting.  Matt and his dad are very impressed.

The Touli family provided these treats for everyone after piano lessons.  They cannot afford to do this, but these people are generous to a fault.  From left to right; Sala, Matta, Lote, and Matt.  The girls are all Toulis.  Sala is probably one of the brightest and most talented kids I’ve known. 

Some of the YSA after Institute on Thursday.  They are GREAT!

There is a boy’s school somewhere near the institute.  These boys walk by every afternoon.  I think they look so cute.  I should have made my little brothers wear uniforms.  I think they would have behaved better.   

This week we have a heavy teaching schedule and then we start another trip south on Saturday.  We will be gone for four days and plan to return up the middle of the island—some places we haven’t seen before.  The weeks are flying by now.