Author: Kevin Solis

Last Thursday was probably the most joyful, yet hardest days I had to undergo through during my Practicum. I had to say goodbye to 4 of the classes that I was teaching that week. I never truly knew how much of an impact I had on them until Wednesday and Thursday.

The first two classes I had to say goodbye to were my English 9s. I’ve had them since day 1 of my Practicum and we clicked. I took them through the language of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream and they had so much fun with it. When my sponsor teacher left the room during my last class, all of my students begged for me to stay to which I had to respond with a sad no.

I said goodbye to my 12s next. We had just finished a project that allowed them to be truly reflective about their identity – who they were in the present, who they are now, and who they want to be in the future. They thoroughly enjoyed the project, and it was very surprising how much they enjoyed my class. Sure, no one wants to be at school at 830am and so no one is gonna be into class. I had them all fill out an evaluation form, and to my surprise, all of them enjoyed coming to my class (even though I am an extremely hard marker).

However, the last class of the day was definitely the hardest to get through – my English 11Es. After the fun lesson I gave them on performance poetry which they all thoroughly enjoyed, I gave them a “One more thing…” kind of gift. I took them from the classroom and into the foyer of the school and because, since February they have been asking me to sing something for them, I sang one of my favourite songs (you can have a listen to it here) and you can see the look of “please don’t ever stop teaching us” on their faces. To my surprise, after we concluded and headed back to the classroom they had a goodbye gift for me as well – a thank you booklet with characters from the movie Frozen and messages from every single student in my class. I couldn’t speak, I was at a loss for words, but I didn’t cry. When the bell rang, each student came up to me and said their own good bye to me. One of my students just stood there speechless and staring at me. Not knowing what to say, after a minute passes by, she says “Thank you” with a smile on her face and rushes off embarrassed.

I had my Final Meeting with my Sponsor Teachers and Faculty Advisor and it was an amazing meeting. Not only did I pass, but they said that I was one of the best student teachers they ever had the privilege of working with. I still did not shed a tear. However, what got to me was that when all was said and done, and after they all left the building, I stayed just reflecting on my 10 weeks at my school. Just as I started packing up, no more than 15 minutes after her departure, my Faculty Advisor comes through the door. I asked if she forgot something and she said she did and proceeded to give me a big hug. Afterwards, she said, “That’s all. I think I will finally be going now.” She left the classroom and immediately tears began falling. I have not been so thankful, so appreciative of everything given to me in my life than in that moment. For 15 minutes, I paced throughout the room with tears flowing down my face beholding and pondering at the love my God had for me when He affirmed me all those months ago about going into the teaching profession, when He affirmed me in my struggles in my studies and when I hit rock bottom in my Practicum, and when He affirmed me by allowing me to have another chance at doing something amazing.

Father, I kneel at the foot of the cross of Your Son, ever so thankful, ever so blessed at the opportunities You have given me on this earth. I pray that as I continue to pursue my profession that I may guide your children into choosing good over evil, and that they may continue to grow and love you more and more with everyday that passes. Thank you for the multitude of chances You give me when I fail, and thank you for the arms You use to lift me up when I feel hopeless. Continue to inspire in me a heart to love and serve you all the days of my life. Amen.

… no not Camp Crushes…

Today I had a 2-on-1 with the new West Chapter Heads and Couple Coordinators of SFC Vancouver. Now they aren’t exactly strangers to me since I’ve seen them throughout my time with the community. I am now privileged to have been able to serve with the entire family, in the past serving as a chapter head with both their daughters as my counterparts at different times and now I am privileged enough to be able to serve with them in the mission.

I could tell that in our 2-on-1 there was a lot of mixed feelings, both of apprehension and excitement, in taking on their new role in serving alongside a bunch of young adults, most of whom they have seen grow up in the community. As they were driving me home, Tita asked me if I like bubbletea (it’s a very Vancouver thing, y’all should do it up here when you come to #TNC2014). I told her of course I did. She then proceeded to talk about how her two daughters would always be out for bubbletea after an event late at night and that she did not understand why it was such a thing for YFC and SFC people. I told her that after a meeting one day we should go for bubbletea since we are friends now and Tita and Tito got super excited at hearing that prospect.

I love my couple coordinators. I’ve loved every single pair that was assigned to serve alongside me (and all those I’d encounter in my service) in all my years with the community – the Alcantaras, the Siys, the Saunars, the Cortez’s, the Ramirez’s, the Ruiz’s, the Madayag’s, and now the Rigors.  From all the 2-on-1s, loving correction, events, and service meetings, I do my best to acknowledge and thank them for their time, talent, and treasure (and food) that they invest in the ministry.

So if you are reading this, I encourage you to take some time and tell your CCs, whether it be the next time you see them or through a text message, how much you love them and respect them and are thankful for them for all that they do. No amount of short comings, mistakes, or negativity should get in the way of that.

We just finished our household today and one of the teachings came from Max Lucado’s article “Just a Moment.” All of us definitely agreed that it was extremely hard to imagine that someone so omnipotent, almighty, all-powerful, and all-loving could have taken such a lowly form. That from the moment Mary said yes, she conceived of the Holy Spirit and the Word was made flesh. That he went through a normal life – growing up from a baby to a toddler to an adolescent to a teenager to a young adult. That Jesus had feelings and emotions, that he felt hurts and pains, that He truly understands and empathizes with us and knows what it is like to be fully human, yet fully divine as well.

“God made Himself approachable to us humans so we could understand Him. We cannot understand God in all His perfection but we can understand His Son and His suffering as we would of others.” – Martel, Life of Pi

I am thankful for the household that the community entrusted to me because we are a household filled with brothers varying in knowledge of the faith and status of heart. Every time we come together, I am affirmed in my anointing. Every moment we are together, I get to find out more about how the Spirit continues to move them in their own lives.

To think that it only took one moment in time for the Saviour of the world to take on a human form. We ourselves experience many moments in our lives – some moments fleet by us without us acknowledging their existence, some moments we treasure and ponder in our hearts. I love my household, and every time I see them I make sure they understand that. So I encourage you, brothers and sisters, to take “just a moment” everyday to thank God for your household, a household that has feelings and emotions, that feels hurts and pains, that truly understands and empathizes with you.

Currently, I am undergoing my second of three practica with UBC Faculty of Education to become a high school English teacher. I love everything about literature and how our way to communicate thoughts and ideas come alive on a page through what our minds imagine. For the most part, it has been an enjoyable experience couples with trying times. However, what makes it all worth while is the connection I make with my students.

I am teaching Martel’s Life of Pi to my English 12 students, a story rich in religion and story telling. If you’ve read the novel (or watched the movie), you’ll know what I mean. It’s a rather dense book and my 12s struggled with reading simply because there was too much detail involved but we are getting through it well in these last few weeks that I have with them.

As a teacher, you run into all sorts of predicaments – half your class signs up for the Socials 11 field trip to Victoria or a Business Communications 12 trip to Seattle meaning they will all end up missing two lessons where you can’t really teach anything, or some will end up talking out of turn wanting to push the last of your buttons, or you’ll get that one student who gives up completely because he asks himself, “What’s the point?”

There is one student of mine in particular who I’ve only seen a total of four classes since February started. He had a great energy about him. He didn’t always participate in class but when he volunteered, the ideas he provided were insightful. He is witty and hilarious. His strength though is in creative writing and I was able to see that today.

He showed up for the first time in the longest time and participated in today’s activity – create an abecedarian (a list of words from A-Z about a particular topic) about Pi’s survival and then retro the story using the words you’ve come up with in order from A-Z. He was on fire – his vocabulary was exquisite, his story-telling so detailed that I’ve never seen such vigour and passion in him ever. He totally delivered.

One of the things I love doing is being able to talk to my students at their level. I asked him to stay behind and have a conversation with me. I asked him to be honest with me and tell me what’s been happening. He was open and honest with me about what was happening that caused him to give up on himself – he just wanted to pass the course without putting any effort whatsoever, so he’d end up coming to school late every class and I’d have to send him to detention on Fridays. This combined with expectations from parents and him failing the course caused him to rationalize that skipping school was the only alternative. He spoke with his older sister about it over Spring Break and he had reality shoved in his face. “Would you rather graduate with your friends or be yelled at all the time because of mom and dad?”

We talked for 30 minutes. He said he wanted to make up for all the work he missed and that he didn’t intentionally skip because he didn’t like me. I thanked him for his honesty and I told him that I expected better from him, that he is a totally capable student, that I enjoy his presence in my classroom, that I totally believe he can write anything, and that he can totally pull through and pass the course. He’s inspired and motivated to finish the race set before him.

Before we ended our conversation, he told me that he does a lot of creative writing on his own time (3000-5000 word entries every week) and he asked if I wanted to see his work. I said of course. And he said, “Thank you for believing in me still.” He shook my hand, gave me props, and a hug.

This student of mine has taught me patience and empathy. But more importantly, he helped affirm my vocation to teaching. I’ve always known that this is what I was meant for. Everyday, The Lord tells me that I am one day closer to achieving what I’ve always wanted and what I know He wants for me. I know that no matter how many times I may give up on myself, God is constantly trying ten times harder to pick me up. When He sent His Son, Jesus got on our earthly level in a human form. Now, God wants us to get on His level, His heavenly level,because He truly wants us to be happy.

Father, I thank you for not only the gift of my vocation, but as well for the students you bless me to teach. Help me to inspire in them a mind that yearns to know more, a heart that does good in the world and a faith to believe in you. Amen.

Today we celebrate the feast of the Annunciation of the Lord, Mary’s fiat to conceive of the Saviour of the world.

I had coffee with a brother from CCO (Catholic Christian Outreach) one day. I remember that when I was still in CFC Youth way back then, I led the camp that he joined. I also remember that a couple years later, after not having seen him or heard from him, I led a worship at a Campus Based GA that he came out to. He approached me afterwards and told me that it was like coming full circle and he thanked me for the worship that I led that day.

Anyway, since that GA, we would randomly meet up for coffee at Bamboo Cafe near Joyce Station and we would catch up with one another and how our lives are going. So when we had coffee for the first time since that GA, it seemed like we just talked the whole day about anything and everything – music, art, our faith life, sports (which was rather a short conversation since I don’t know much about sports). He told me something that will always stuck with me. He honours the community for our devotion to the Blessed Mother which is something that he constantly strives for now in his prayer time.

Mary has always been a big part of my prayer life but I never fully embraced her importance until this conversation. See, we always ask for her intercession because how can a Son say no to His mother? Jesus is not exempted from that. Her intercession is very powerful.

Mother Mary, thank you for your yes to carry the Saviour of the world. Thank you for continuing to intercede for me. As I journey into the beginning of the yes I gave in serving as a Mission Volunteer for Western Canada alongside my fellow brothers and sisters in Christ, please continue to intercede for us at your Son’s right hand that the mission of the True North continues to persevere and grow. 

The Father has great plans for the True North. Let us continue to grow in love and service for our God. Let us continue to say yes to whatever the Lord has planned for us, whenever and wherever He may be calling us.

Ave Maria, gratia plena. Dominus tecum.