End of school!

The past couple of weeks were incredibly busy.  First we had finals week at school, and then we had a last day of school party by class.  I went from room to room and found kids playing games and eating pizza and fruit and whatever else they had brought.  They had fun, but I heard that some kids (and teachers) cried as they said their goodbyes. 

Last pictures with the teacher

After the party I thought in the back of my mind that things would quiet down a little.  But how wrong I was!  There were three graduations to set up and attend, not to mention a staff dinner and four student missionaries leaving on airplanes in the middle of the night. 

The first SM left on Friday night, with students and everyone else there to see her off.  The next one left Saturday night…again, students and missionaries all sent her on her way with hugs, prayers, etc.  Unfortunately, planes heading to Guam usually leave around 1 or 2am, so sleep was pretty scanty over that weekend…

Then we had the Palau Mission Academy graduation.  It was the first class that Principal Sanchez had seen all through their four years of academy (since this is his fourth year), so it was kind of special.  I didn’t really know most of the students, but it was special for me too because I could tell they were really happy, proud of themselves, and sad at the same time to be saying goodbye.  They got showered with leis and balloons afterward.  There were real leis with plumeria flowers, fake plastic leis, leis made from candy, and leis that had blinking lights in them...I'm going to be so disappointed when I don't get a stack of leis at my graduation.  

Leis and balloons

Not the graduates, but the clean up crew

Some of the students will go to college in the U.S., the Philippines, Guam, and Palau.  They seem like great people who enjoyed their time at PMA, and I’m praying that they’ll do great things.  They said that not only did they learn a lot academically, they learned a lot about God too, and it makes you realize how big an impact the school and teachers have on the kids.

After the academy graduation was kindergarten promotion…I’d never seen one before, but it was cute.  Ridiculously cute.  Little bitty kids in graduation caps with tassels.  It’s for the parents, really. 

A lot of stress went into creating this...

And then 8^th grade graduation was the next day.  It’s amazing to think that these kids will be moving on to high school next year.  I didn’t get to know them that well, but I taught them social studies for a while, and they are a cool bunch.  Over 25 teenagers with a huge variety of backgrounds, interests, and goals.  I think they had a good year and a good teacher in spite of all the ups and downs.

Watching their slideshow...awww

 

Anyway, it was really a busy, crazy, stressful week with a lot to do, a lot of emotions, and not a lot of sleep.  I'm glad I'm writing about it now, not reliving it.  But there are a lot of memories for everyone.  The sad part is that more missionaries are going to be leaving by twos and threes, so our numbers are going down.  It feels strange to say goodbye and watch them disappear on a plane, and knowing we’ll probably never be together again—not like we were this year in Palau.  But at least we’re all a family, and there’s a chance we’ll see each other again.  The internet makes it easy, too.  We chatted with Erin (who left first) on a video just last night.  

Blurry, but it's what it feels like at 1am in the Palau airport saying goodbye

Probably the hardest part is saying goodbye to the people on Palau.  It’s not easy to get here, and when they ask if we’re going to come back, you can’t always promise anything.  The kids and parents are always asking if we’ll come back to teach, to visit, to live.  But no one knows if it will happen…it makes you realize how nice it will be in Heaven, when everyone who loves each other and God will be together.  No more goodbyes…

I’ll end now by telling a little story about the kids.

When a joke is going around third grade, all the students want to tell it to you.  So by the end of the day you might have heard it three or four times.  

One of the jokes started out with a kid saying, “Tell me your name.”

“Ms. Hillary.”

“What is this?” asks the kid, pointing.

“Your nose.”

“What am I holding in my hand?”

“Nothing.”

“Aha!  Ms. Hillary…nose…nothing!”

Hahaha, very funny.

The latest one I heard was in Ms. Krissy’s class.  One of the kids comes up and asks, “Will you remember me tomorrow?”

“Sure.”

“Will you remember me next week?”

“Yes.”

“Will you remember me next year?”

“Yeah…”

“Will you remember me when you leave?”

“Of course.”

“Will you remember me when I’m gone?  When I die?”

“Always.”

“Knock-knock!”

“Who’s there?”

“Ahh!  You’ve already forgotten me, Ms. Hillary!”

Of course, by the third time, I would jump in and say, “I know who you are!  You’re [insert name]!” 

To them the joke was incredibly funny if they could pull one over on a teacher, so I probably spoiled it for them.  But all I could think of is that I don’t know when I’ll see them again...  They’ll be half a world away by June.  Technology and fast travel makes it more likely that we’ll see each other, but the joke made me think about when we really will be far apart.  So it was kind of bittersweet.

“Ms. Hillary, will you remember me when you leave?”

Absolutely.