It was a three-week vacation that I would not have traded for anything else: the chance to teach seventy Muslim high school students in a remote desert town.
When I took the three-week job, I was told I would have 36 students and teach just 2.5 hours a day. That seemed reasonable for my short vacation after a very full season in my normal job.
When I showed up at 8:00 am on the first day, I discovered that the numbers had doubled because word had gotten out that the class would be taught by an American. I now had over seventy students and would teach five hours a day.
So much for vacation! I did almost nothing but teach, plan lessons, grade, eat, and sleep a little.
Many of my students came from surrounding towns and villages. They were proud Bedouins with cocked turbans who would tell me how they love camels and driving through the desert. They would call out, “Miss, miss!” to get my attention, and they would grin like the sun came out when I walked down the hall. They messaged me in tentative English to ask how my weekend was and to request more homework to do. No complaints about students like that… except that there was not enough of me!
They were absolutely precious, and I loved them dearly. I would not have traded this chance for any other type of vacation.
When you think your heart can’t get any bigger, somehow, it does.
Ready to expand your heart?
**This account comes from a long-term worker.**
Original article: FrontiersUSA.org/blog/article/when-your-heart-cant-get-any-bigger
