A Malaysian Weekend

Okisho is a school that just never stops moving forward, never stops building relationships, never stops offering extras to its students. This past weekend, we had a bunch of students visit the school from Malaysia. As we did last year, the students broke up into groups of 6 - 3 Okishoans, 3 Malaysians. They prepared PowerPoint presentations on set themes - this year they researched culture, education, sports/entertainment, and environment. I was responsible for a group, and semi-responsible for another. Both groups did projects on education, though they were slightly different in content. Anyways, I had fully capable students in my group: Asako is probably the top student in her class, as far as English, Koji is one of the most analytical minds I know, and Ran had amazing pronunciation. On the Malaysian side, Marha was the most enthusiastic student I have met in awhile, Izzati was highly intelligent, and Wawi was just a lot of fun.

So Friday, the students got to see Okisho, and did little tea ceremony and calligraphy workshops. Saturday we played sports together and worked on the presentations. Sunday they got to spend quality time with their host families, and then on Monday morning, they did more fun stuff at school. Monday afternoon was a time to put the finishing touches on the projects, and then in the evening we presented them, and ended things with a rousing reception. At the reception, Okisho students did eisa and other presentations, while the Malay students did ethnic dances. And there were lots of speeches. And the food was incredible!

It was interesting, the Malaysian students were all (except one, so I heard) Muslim. So they had special time to pray. The girls wore head coverings, too. But otherwise it was quite normal. When I talked to Marha, she very matter-of-factly said that the first man was Muslim. I thought that was interesting, since Islam didn't start until around 600AD, much later than the first man was created. But I suppose they have their own interpretation of things.

I got some of their e-mail addresses, and hopefully I will be able to share the love of Christ with them. I am under strict orders to not talk about religion at school, so I didn't feel that this weekend was the time to say anything too bold. But I hope to share more with them as time goes on. Pray that seeds would be planted and that I would share with love and boldness. God loves those kids so much...

最近、仕事が忙しくて大変です！しかし、沖尚はさすがに生徒に豊かな経験を提供しています。今回は、マレーシアから２３名生徒が来沖しました。去年と同じように、３人の沖尚生と３人のマレーシア人生徒がグループを組んであるテーマについてプレゼンテーションを取り組みます。今回は４つの主なテーマに分かれていました：教育、娯楽、文化、環境問題。僕が担当したグループは教育について研究してプレゼンをしました。短い間だったのに非常に良いプレゼンテーションを作り、発表することができました。

短期間だったけれども、マレーシアの生徒の暖かみを感じました。こういうことを経験する度に、海外に行って英語を教えてみたいなぁと思います。もちろん沖縄が好きなんだけど、（悪いけど）海外の生徒が積極的に英語を話していると、心が浮き浮きする。本当に口で「英語が好き」と言いながらしゃべらないのではなく、実際に英語を積極的に話している！すごい！マルハ、イザティ、ワウィ、本当に出会って嬉しかったよ！

最後に、このマレーシア人の生徒は一人を除いて全員イスラム教徒だった。イエス様を知らないのは悲しく思っています。これからメール交換の中で、彼らにイエス様の愛を述べ伝えたいと思います。神様、どうか彼らの心に語り掛けてください。私を用いて彼らを引き寄せてください。イエス様の御名によって祈ります。アーメン。