Thanks to my sister who made special arrangement to babysit Charis so that I can serve for the carnival organised by JAMs last Saturday. It had been 3 months since I last served in JAMs, & I'm so glad I made it.
The carnival was a resounding success, because the students had enjoyed themselves tremendously! They were not just the happy ones. I was overjoyed to see them too, especially my pride & joy - N11 students! They were also as happy to see me :) I can see their faces lit up with smiles when they see me, just like the way Charis would when I fetch her from my sister's house.
It was time to leave & my students boarded the bus, while I stood outside the bus waving goodbye to them. Incredible sweet moments followed. Those students sitting by the window pressed their palms against the window, wanting me to put mine against theirs, with the window panels separating us. Kind of like those drama "farewell" scene you'll see in TV... Then Jason ran over to the side of the window to blow goodbye kiss to me, & he'll only do that to people he's very close with. I almost teared. These are moments I'll never forget & hold close to my heart.
I decided to go up the bus just to say a quick goodbye to them, & my bus driver made a remark to me, "they are like your children, all have feelings for each other". I'd been taking bus N11 since Jan 05, so they have been my "children" for 5 years now. In many ways, they are as precious to me as Charis is.
I used to take up the role of CGC for N11 grudingly (in my heart). I used to help out in another bus, N1, & I had a good relationship with the students there. There are also higher functioning, hence I could communicate with them well.
However in N11, the students are much lower functioning. For the first 2 years, I would find myself talking to a wall when talking to them, & I had to be thick-skinned enough to reply my own questions when no one answered. Some of them are hyperactive & drives me up the wall & even made me cry before. One of them is William. I had mentioned about him before in my previous entry http://tohgina.blogspot.com/2009/05/baby-is-so-active-kicking-me-so-often.html. As time goes by however, friendship was forged & now they respond openly & warmly to me. Some of them are not able to speak, but we no longer need verbal communication to understand each other anymore.
I used to tell James that when we give (in terms of time, money, love, etc) in JAMs, we should never expect anything in return, especially since these special children are not capable of giving. I was wrong. In those 5 years, they had given me many things. They had brought me many little gifts, cards, snacks, etc. Ah Jui would give me a CNY card every year without fail, with 4 numbers inside - for me to buy 4D. Hehe! It's their way of showing love.
But the most priceless gift was their love & friendship that they had unreservedly & freely given to me.
We love because He first love us. They love because we first love them. This is how the love of God should be spread.
