Week 2 of School

Week 2 of School

I thought about entitling this post When Malaria Strikes. It seems like just about everyone is getting malaria. The mosquitoes are out in abundance due to the rain leaving large puddles that never really soak in. Every time it rains, it kills them off for about a day but any time there’s a couple of days between rains they’re out in full force. The other challenge here is screening, none of the windows have it and because of the heat, everyone’s windows are open. I asked Helen about this last night remembering that in Ghana we had screens on the windows that really helped. So I asked if it was the cost or something else. She said it was the way the windows here are built. It’s almost impossible to put screen up. There are two parts to windows here, the first is a set up metal rebars moving horizontally, usually with about half a foot between each one, the whole length of the window and then the second part is glass panes that open and close by a metal latch that latches to the metal rebars. So if you try to put screen on the inside you wouldn’t be able to get to the latch to open the windows and if you put it on the outside you would rip it when you opened the window. If you tried to put it in the middle it would rip when you tried to latch the window closed… so yeah… that’s why there’s no screen. That being said… I really don’t enjoy opening my windows for the awaiting world of bugs and insects to enter J Thankfully that’s why we have mosquito nets to sleep under, spray that we apply to the windows before we go to bed to keep them from coming through the places where the windows won’t close all the way, and little burners that give off a repellent as well. I also have been taking weekly preventative malaria pills so we’re hoping I don’t have to worry about that.

BC and some of his boys are battling it right now. This made school interesting yesterday (January 25^th). Teaching schedules here aren’t like teaching in the states. If someone is out for something someone else just covers for them. So I ended up teaching English to the grade 7s twice instead of only once and only had about 20 min with my class to give their Geography quiz and work on our English lesson. It’s amazing what you can do in 20 minutes!! And grade 7 can’t really get enough English so it was no trouble. This year Amano has brought in 9 new kids from the surrounding village of Kakolo. 5 of them are younger kids in grades 1 and 2, but 4 of them are in grade 7. They all passed their grade 7 examinations (which is a big deal, what we would call high-stakes testing doesn’t hold a candle to these high-stakes tests because they determine if the student is allowed to continue their education, and they have these tests at the end of grade 7, grade 9, and then finally in grade 12). So while they passed those tests they really can’t speak a bit of English and only 1 of them can read. We’re using our material for our low group in the other class for these grade 7s and it’s still a struggle for them. But we have fun while learning and their laughs are enough to put a smile on anyone’s face as they do their best to pronounce the new words correctly despite their difficulty with our many varied vowel sounds. To start class we basically play Catch Phrase only there’s only one team and I’m always the one giving the clues for them to guess the word. We use a stack of old Pictionary cards and if they get the word then they get the card. Whoever has the most cards at the end gets two stickers. (this is really all the motivation they need J) We show them pictures of things that they might not understand but try to use definitions and explanations for the words that come from their context. One of the biggest differences between teaching in America and teaching in any third world country is exposure. We’ve been exposed to so much and have so much information at our fingertips, while many of these children come from homes that maybe have one book. The village school doesn’t even have textbooks, hence these 4 students who passed their grade 7 exams but can’t read and don’t know English. I’m excited that they’ve made the choice to redo grade 7 here at Amano in hopes of learning English.

Along the lines of the testing, the students here at FCV that finished grade 12 last year just received their exam results yesterday. All of them passed except for two. One of the girls will only have to rewrite for one portion of the test (which means she passed the other 7 portions) and the other will only have to rewrite 2 portions, but she has already moved on from FCV and I’m not sure whether she will rewrite or not. So last night at devos with the older girls was a time of rejoicing with them on a job well done and multiple phones ringing with their friends calling to say that they had passed as well or to ask how the girls did. Helen baked them a cake and the excitement is contagious. In an education system that is pretty warped being able to pass without bribing anyone and being able to understand the English that the tests are written in (they’re written by non-native English speakers) is tough.

Prayer Requests:

• FCV is facing a lot of decisions right now; I don’t know the extent of that request but Helen has asked that we pray for wisdom
• For BC and his boys to recover quickly from malaria (Medias, one of his boys, had cerebral malaria a couple years ago and almost died from it, now when he gets malaria, instead of the typical symptoms, of fever and stomach ache, he has seizures. He’s one of the ones who is sick with it now and your prayers for a quick recovery for him would be much appreciated!)
• For me as I continue to figure out teaching in a new culture.
• CABC is starting classes next week so pray that they get off to a good start.
• Again, please continue to pray for many of the children who aren’t yet believers. They’ve heard the Gospel so much, pray that God would help them to realize that just because they act right most of the time doesn’t mean that they are good and without sin.

Thank you so much for your prayers and support!!

God is good all the time!

All in a Week

Sunday: Helen bikes out to a neighboring village every Sunday for a small time of Bible study with some of the ladies and then a morning service. The week before she had offered for me to go with because her other bike would be fixed by then. (I think it needed new brakes; for which I was very thankful for!!). So we set out around 8:30. I wasn’t quite sure what neighboring village meant, but I soon found out that it meant quite a distance for a biker. It was about a 7-8 mile roundtrip. Now before you think, “That’s not too bad.” Just remember that these are Zambian “roads/paths” we’re biking down and we’re both wearing trousers under our long skirts. ;) Needless to say, a week later I’m still recovering from that workout. Long gone are the days of church family picnics when my friends and I would ride our bikes all over James Island County Park for hours on end!! But the Lord was good! Despite the struggle it was, we made it to Chantente in plenty of time for the services. The way back was a little bit more tricky. The sun had come out, and earlier we had realized that we hadn’t brought as much water as we should have. Thankfully Helen had advised bringing a snack and I had packed some ground nuts (peanuts) in my bag. We made it home riding for half the time and walking for the really tough parts (I wish I could show you the paths… many times it was narrow on either side with a sort of ditch right down the middle because of the rainy season). I’ve never been more excited about a cold shower! We rested for the rest of the day, made some biscuits and tea and relaxed.

Monday was the beginning of the school year!! It has been such a joy and blessing to be here teaching! Learning styles are completely different, and many of my students while they are learning English still need help with directions. Thankfully we have a wonderful interpreter! Mumba interprets just about every direction we give as well as parts of lessons that aren’t specifically vocab or reading; I’m not sure how we’d manage without him. He is in his gap year. Because the school year here is year round, when students write for their senior year final exams in November, they don’t find out their results until February which is too late to enroll in university. So usually two of the older kids at FCV will come to Amano for a year and help 1 with the older and 1 with the younger. This year Mumba and his sister Nancy are both helping!

Teaching wise my week was very focused on vocabulary, small group reading lessons, geography, shapes, and art! It’s been a joy to see the differing ways the children learn as well as different ways to help those who are struggling. It’s also amazing to work with a team of teachers! Because our classes are combined (4-6) we have several teachers who come in at different times to teach. So one of the teachers works on specific math skills with them and then BC will also teach some kind of math lesson as well. The 7^th grade teacher comes down to teach science and social studies during last hour while BC and I go to the 7^th graders to work on English and vocab. It’s a healthy teaching atmosphere and I am so blessed to be working alongside of these people! I’m learning so many things, so many teaching strategies and I’m pumped!

I also was able to meet and work with Tori a dear friend to so many I'm working with now who used to teach at the Christian school in Riverside (Kitwe right across the bridge) and then was their administrator, from there she then taught at CABC for a little while and then due to sickness had to leave the field and return to the states. She is currently living up in New Hampshire... I think, with her husband and working as the assistant principle at their churches Christian school. Her advice and input about life in Zambia and teaching students of a different culture was so insightful! I felt as though I was in teacher-in-service for our several chats around Helen's kitchen table. What a blessing it was to hear and learn from her experiences :)

Teaching and Prayer Requests

Before leaving people would ask what I was teaching and I had some ideas about where they would use me, but this is also Africa and sometimes you can’t really plan things out J For this school year, I’ll be co-teaching grades 4-6. I will be teaching them Geography, Handwriting/Penmanship, Critical Thinking Skills, Art, as well as working through some short reading passages to introduce new vocabulary. I’ll also work with some of the grade 6 students on writing. My week will look a little odd because some days I will stay after school to help students who want or need additional help with homework or more practice with English and reading.

Due to an unforeseen circumstance, I will have a classroom that I can use when we split the grades up! It wouldn’t have been a big deal if it hadn’t been available, but I am thankful for the little things like some space for the grade 6 students to work on writing with less distraction!

Because I am co-teaching with the administrator, I will have Thursday off. This will give me prep time for Friday’s art project as well as the opportunity to go into town Wednesday evening for an English Bible study through Kitwe Church and get some internet time to post these updates!!

I am excited about the opportunities God has given so far and am pumped for Term 1 to begin. Please pray for the students. Most of the students are children living at Faith Children’s Village, others are children from church families, and several are children coming in from the village.

Please pray:

1. That the FCV children would grow in their relationship with God through Christian education if they are believers, and if they are not, that God would show them their need of His redeeming work in their lives. It is interesting to me the similarities of children in the states who have grown up knowing about God and children here who have grown up knowing about God. Both can act the Christian life without ever internalizing it. So pray that souls would be saved.
2. That the village children being brought in who are hearing the Gospel some maybe for the first time would recognize their need of a Savior!
3. The teachers, especially Gloria and her family as she is still grieving the loss of her sister and taking over the responsibilities of one of her nephews.
4. Rachel, the administrative assistant at CABC (Central Africa Baptist College), who returned to Zambia after being able to go home to the States for Christmas. She’s gotten sick with some throat related sickness, possibly strep. She’s on antibiotics and pain meds but teacher in-service at the college has begun and she feels like she needs to be at work. Pray that she would get over this sickness soon!
5. That I would get on a normal sleeping schedule. Right now, (Thursday Jan 12) I’ve only slept through the night twice. I’m hoping the routine of school will help.
6. With several children moving on from FCV, two new children have applied and are being brought in. Their names are Stephanie and Emmanuel Kafunga. Both are in need of full support (all children here at the village are supported through churches or families in the States).

Thank you all so much for your prayers and support!!

God is good all the time!

1

Getting Settled

Getting Settled

Saturday: God gave a smooth trip from South Africa for which I am so very thankful! My bags were a little heavier than the limit for the second airline I flew with, but the lady at the baggage desk was very helpful and when I told my aunt how much I had to pay in Rand (South African currency) she said that it was very reasonable. I was also a little concerned about the solar generator I was bringing along. In the U.S., they ran a check on it and then let it through, but I wasn’t sure how it would do getting through security in South Africa. I was prepared for my bag to be flagged and I opened it for the tsa officer. She asked me what it was, I told her a solar charger. I wasn’t prepared for her response! She replied with a, “Oh, nice!” and sent me right along like she’d seen one of those every day of work. When I told my aunt about it she replied, “Africa understands Africa.” J

When I landed in Ndola the administrator of the school (Mr. Cameon also known as BC) and Helen, the nurse I’m staying with, were there along with Paul, one of the grade 9 students. They helped me load up my bags, and we were off! We made a couple stops which allowed me to get to an ATM and pick up some things that I had not packed due to weight restrictions. We also stopped at the futbol stadium right outside of Ndola to meet a man selling a specific kind of chicken that BC wanted and was also picking up for another of the orphanage houses. Then we stopped at a little nursery and picked up some fruit trees. All in all, a profitable day! We got back to the house and I was able to get mostly unpacked.

Sunday: Church was a blessing! I am thankful for the Pastor’s use of English throughout his sermon! After church, I talked with BC more about what I would be teaching for the first week of school so I could get some things ready. For now, I’ll be teaching handwriting, geography, and vocabulary. As I was getting finished up with working on the Geography lesson, Helen made it home from the business meeting and informed me that one of the teachers at the school’s sister had passed away. The sister had been sick for some time now, but it was still somewhat unexpected. She had told some of the ladies she would drive them into town to the funeral home (a home of one of the deceased’s relatives) and was getting ready to leave. BC came over and told the two ladies (teachers) that were at the house and myself that because of all the uncertainty of when the funeral would be and those who were so close to the family being teachers, that we would postpone the start of school until the 16^th of January. This doesn’t put us behind because it is when the government school starts their term. Please pray for the families who are now taking on the responsibility of the children whose mother passed away. They are each going to an aunt or uncles home.

I am thankful for a longer time to adjust before school sets in! Had a fun time playing games with some of the girls yesterday and since school has been pushed back we’re planning to have quite a few kiddos over to the house this afternoon!

Thank you for your prayers.

Up Up and Away

And I'm off. I'm praising the Lord for safe travels so far. Left the U.S. Wednesday evening via Charleston to Atlanta to Johannesburg, and now I am chilling for a bit at my aunt and uncles.

The flights were both smooth. I had a window seat for both!! (two thumbs up) and was able to sleep most of the way there. I was also thankful that my plane landed early enough in the evening that the passport line was moving quickly (waited for about 3 hours in that line coming through on the survey trip). It was such a blessing to get through in about 10 minutes!!

The interesting part came when I picked up my baggage. One of my bags handles had been bent or somehow messed up so the pull handle wouldn't budge. This might not have been a big deal in many other scenarios, but with making the move for a year I had completely maxed out my weight for 2 checked bags and 2 carry-ons... it was over 100 lbs. :D

I quickly tied my jacket around the broken handle (makeshift handle for the win), put one of my carry-ons on top of the other checked bag and set off for the exit... Yeah, I didn't make it too far and was definitely a sight :) I stopped once to switch hands and then an older gentleman who was a passenger asked if I could use a hand. He knew where the exit was I needed to get to and said he wasn't in a rush. As we talked briefly he asked me where I was from and he said that his wife has family in South Carolina!! Small world! He helped me find the exit and stayed with me til I found my aunt so I wasn't at the mercy of the taxis or want-to-be luggage helpers!

God is good all the time :) I've been rearranging some of the luggage after giving Aunt Tammy the things she had asked me to bring over. Didn't lose too much weight so we'll see how the next flight goes :) Heading out from South Africa around 8:00 am (Eastern time would be 1:00 am) to reach Ndola, Zambia around 11:00.

Thank you for your continued prayer support!