That’s what she told us the other day, at least.
When we enrolled Josie in school, we didn’t really know what to expect. We were told that she was doing well in school down in NC. She told us that she didn’t really like school, and as we began to “learn” her, we realized that she was not encouraged to be a good student in her home in China. She wasn’t one of the bright students, and got no help or instruction from her foster family. She never did homework or studied outside of school. When she moved into the children’s home, there were too many students per teacher to give her any individual attention, and most of her stories about school centered around behavior and discipline problems in the classroom.
Her language barrier was pretty evident from day one. While she’s a very social girl, her academic language was well below her grade level. Have you ever tried explaining 7th grade math terms to someone who doesn’t speak English? It’s a nightmare! And with her hearing problems, it’s no wonder why some words and the principles simply elude her.
I will always remember the day she broke down–it’s the only time I have seen her cry–at the kitchen table. She told me that she was told by her teacher and her “Chinese mother” that she was dumb, that she couldn’t learn. Who does that? My heart broke for her. I told her that there’s no way those people were right. I prayed over her, asking God to break the power of those lies and replace them with his truth.
So we’ve taken a couple of steps to help her overcome some of these obstacles.
1. She’s in the local ESL class, which has been good for socialization and general language development.
2. We’ve found a tutor to drop by the house a couple of days each week. Nellie has been a God-send, and does some great work with Josie in more ways than one. She works on math and general academic language, but she also mentors and encourages Josie from a “faith in Jesus” standpoint!
3. We’ve prayed for God to help. Almost every night we ask the God who created Josie’s brain to help her understand and retain the things we work on.
Yesterday she told us that it’s working! She gave God the credit for opening her brain and helping her learn. She’s making some real progress, and we are ecstatic about the growth that we see in her.
She’s faced some pretty high hurdles in her months in the USofA, to be sure. But Josie is the most joyful child in the Sublett house, always smiling, always eager to participate, willing to dig in and work hard. We are believing God for a breakthrough in Josie’s life. There are lies to be overcome, bad/no study habits to be broken, and a ton of catching up to do, but she’s on the right track.
What a joy this adventure is turning out to be…
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