A memory both simple and profound.

This is a story I wrote for Walla Walla about my mission experience! I think its going to be in a mission story book or something... anyway! sorry I haven't blogged in eight hundred years :)

A Memory Both Simple and Profound

Yesterday I returned from my two week Christmas vacation in Hawaii, only to be met by 24 screaming fourth graders who all decided to jump into my arms at once. Next thing I new my two chubby twin boys were smooshing letters into my hand they had written me while I was gone, welcoming me back and telling me how much they had missed me.

The next morning there were two more letters waiting for me on my desk, my heart just about melted as I read the beautiful broken grammar of one of the letters, “Miss Breann is the best and great teacher on the Earth. Dear Miss Breann you are the greatest teacher. And you’re the best friend ever. Thank you for being my friend. And thank you for being my teacher. We love you so so much Miss Breann.”

Today, like most days, has ended with me collapsing on my dirty couch exhausted. However unlike previous days, as I collapse on this disgusting couch I reflect on my day in a new light. In a light that could only be provided by the One who brought me to this very couch, this tiny island most people have never heard of, and to a classroom of twenty four hyperactive children. For when I look back on today I no longer think of the frustrating math class where my children looked at me like I was speaking French, the aching feeling in my swollen feet from standing for so long, the seemingly never ending papers that still need grading, or the permanent sweat layer that drenched my skin. I remember Him. I remember the random salsa dance lesson I had with my kids during lunch time, the back massage that two of my boys gave me just to show me they love me, the game of tag during recess that ended in uncontrollable giggles and me being attacked and tickled by seven of my students, the piggy back race to the classroom that I lost, having my boys all pick me up and tell me they were going to kidnap me so we could all go camping together, the scribbled message at the bottom of a math assignment that simply said, “Thank you so much Miss Breann”, the hilarious Michael Jackson impersonation performed by two of my boys, and the long embrace of a child at the end of the day as he said, “Miss I’m never letting you go, we love you so so much!”.

In Jesus’ divine light, twenty four rambunctious children have taught me something more valuable than I
could ever teach them, something that I could have never learned sitting in a classroom finishing up my college degree. Through fits of giggles, little bear hugs, secret hidden notes, and pictures colored with the utmost care, I have learned how to be loved. And because of this, every day I have learned a little more of how to truly love in return.