Today was our last day teaching in Kibera. We met Martin, once again, at one of the many entrances to Kibera and walked in at around 8:15. We had our first class at 8:50 with class 2 for creative arts. They were quite excited to finally have us in a creative arts class with them (we'd had them earlier this week, but only for PE). They caught on pretty well with the song, of course we had Martin there translating (which can sometimes be frustrating, because he tends to repeat, not only what you say, but what he says, over and over again. Even though he's talking in Swahili, we can tell he keeps repeating because of his body language. Oh well, he's still quite helpful).
After that first class we had a bit of a break, so at first we just chilled in the shade and played the guitar, but then Rose, the "kindergarten" class teacher, asked us to come play with her class. I had been waiting for that all this trip :)! So, we got out the bubbles and played with them for a while until we were invited in for Chai. They of course loved the bubbles! So much in fact I had them all over me! They didn't quite like taking turns with the wands, so every once in a while they would be fighting over them practically on top of me, while I was holding the dish with the bubbles in them...and you can guess the end result :)! Oh well...we had plenty of bubbles and at least I got my skirt clean, although my feet were completely covered in mud!
We then had class 3 in creative arts again, so we had to teach them a few different songs. We taught them "Celebrate Jesus Celebrate", which they pretty much knew, and "Lord I Lift Your Name On High", which they had heard before, although didn't really know it.
Then we finally got to have a class with class 1! It took them a lot longer than we were used to to catch on to the songs, but it just helped us learn patience when it came to translating words, ideas, and motions. But it was still fun.
Then we had another break where we just went into the "kindergarten" (that's what I call it anyway) class and just sat with them, looked at their drawings, and laughed with them.
We then had them all (all as in all the lower primary kids, k-3) in a short devotional. We went over the songs that we had learned over the week ("Celebrate" and "Some Trust"), and then I taught the devotional on Proverbs 18:10, which says "The name of the Lord is a strong tower, the righteous run to it and they are saved." We then taught them the song that went with it (and that we had taught all the upper grades the previous week), "Strong Tower".
Cynthia and I were both kind of tired from yesterday (which I didn't tell you, but Cynthia was sick with probably food poisoning, and I had a migraine...joy), so we weren't necessarily as energetic today. Please be praying that we gain our strength back and that we just have an amazing week with the team at the building site (they are coming in tonight).
I love you all!
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
March 8th
Well, today was another short day at Kibera. We had to meet Martin at the entrance to Kibera at 10:10...the walk in keeps feeling shorter (even though the walk out is still torture!). So our first class was PE with the 2nd graders. We taught them frisbee because they had never gotten the chance to work with them last time (reason being we were working with the upper primary last week). It went well...they get a little confused with certain concepts and whatnot, but littler kids do take longer to teach and it doesn't help that their english isn't as quick as the upper primary. I played with them until about 11:20 and then Martin asked if I would stop by class 6 and say hi and God loves you, because they felt that we were leaving them out. Apparently they had been keeping track of how many times we went into the other classes and they weren't up to that number. They were sooooo...happy when I walked in there. I felt so bad, but the schedule we were given only gave us so many of their classes, so there wasn't much we could do. Our second and last class was with class 3 in Creative Arts. We taught them "Some Trust", and again, they're a little bit slower, but they caught on and they loved every minute of it :).
So, now for the rest of my day!!! I took a taxi downtown to this place called The Roots Salon...yep SALON! Do you know why I went to the salon??? Well, I'll tell you...I got me some Locks (as in DREAD LOCKS)! You know you're all jealous :). My lifelong dream has been realized! Haha. I'd take a picture now and show you, but I just put a wrap on my head in order to go to bed and not get oil all over mamma Vickie's pillow case. So I will take one tomorrow!
That's all we did today...because the dreads took about 4 hours to do.
I love you all so much! Please keep praying...I already know you will, and I thank you so much for that!
So, now for the rest of my day!!! I took a taxi downtown to this place called The Roots Salon...yep SALON! Do you know why I went to the salon??? Well, I'll tell you...I got me some Locks (as in DREAD LOCKS)! You know you're all jealous :). My lifelong dream has been realized! Haha. I'd take a picture now and show you, but I just put a wrap on my head in order to go to bed and not get oil all over mamma Vickie's pillow case. So I will take one tomorrow!
That's all we did today...because the dreads took about 4 hours to do.
I love you all so much! Please keep praying...I already know you will, and I thank you so much for that!
Monday, March 7, 2011
March 7th
Today was a good day. Our first, and only, class wasn't until 12:10 in Kibera, so we didn't leave the house until around 11:00. It was nice to just relax, check up on internet things, and prepare for the day. Mike dropped us off so Martin (the chaplain) and Benja (the school's kitchen help) met us just outside of Kibera to walk us in. Since it was in the morning, it was still cool, so it was quite a nice walk...minus the fact that all the smells (but mainly the bad smells) were more pungent because I'm still getting over being sick. When we arrived we spent some time with Andrew (the Headmaster). We went over the schedule for the week and then he taught us some Swahili until our class started.
Our first class was PE with the Standards 1-3. We wanted only 1st because if we had all the kids it would add up to be almost 100, but don't worry...he brought out all three classes! AWESOME (sarcasm)! We decided to teach them a dancing game that Cynthia knew from home. You stand in a circle and sing "Come on baby, ride that pony" three times while the people in the middle run around the inside of the circle. When you sing, "this is how we do it" the people in the middle pick a person from the circle and dance "front to front to front", "back to back to back", and then "side to side to side". After they dance, they switch, and the person who was inside the circle is now part of the circle and visa versa. It's a fun game.....if there aren't 100 little kids trying to learn it at the same time! But really it was okay. I don't think they had the words all figured out, and they didn't get the switching part...they just pulled the dancing partner into the center of the circle with them. But they did have fun :).
We hung out with the kids a little after that and then we had Chai in Martin's office while we waited for the 5th and 8th grade devotionals. For that we taught them "Some Trust (in Chariots)" and then did the devo about the three trees. I think I talked about that before, but if I didn't, ask me and I'll tell you it.
When we were done with devos, we really "had" to go (more like wanted to go so we didn't have to eat, cause they had just fed us bread and Chai). But we really did have a place we said we would be, it just wasn't as pressing as we made it sound. We felt kind of bad, but there was no way I could eat anything with that much flavor after just being sick the day before and we were just ready to go.
Vickie picked us and we stopped by the house to drop our things. From there we took a bus downtown. First time down there...it was interesting. BIG buildings (bigger than I'm used to in Africa), lots of people, traffic, etc. I won't tell you where we went yet, cause it's a surprise, but I will tell you there were "locks" everywhere :)! So we took a bus again for our ride back to the house. Let me tell you, was that ever a packed ride! It wasn't shoulder to shoulder...oh no...it was side to shoulder. Like I was leaned forward the whole time, with my arms up on the seat in front of me, and their arms were digging into my rib cage. Thankfully one of the guys that was next to me got out before me (even if it was only two stops before), so I had a little more room after that.
Tonight I just fooled around on my g-fiddle a little before supper, and after supper we just talked about plans for tomorrow and relaxed.
Thank you so so much for your prayers. I hope you don't get tired of hearing that, cause I'm gonna keep saying it :).
I love you dearly!
Our first class was PE with the Standards 1-3. We wanted only 1st because if we had all the kids it would add up to be almost 100, but don't worry...he brought out all three classes! AWESOME (sarcasm)! We decided to teach them a dancing game that Cynthia knew from home. You stand in a circle and sing "Come on baby, ride that pony" three times while the people in the middle run around the inside of the circle. When you sing, "this is how we do it" the people in the middle pick a person from the circle and dance "front to front to front", "back to back to back", and then "side to side to side". After they dance, they switch, and the person who was inside the circle is now part of the circle and visa versa. It's a fun game.....if there aren't 100 little kids trying to learn it at the same time! But really it was okay. I don't think they had the words all figured out, and they didn't get the switching part...they just pulled the dancing partner into the center of the circle with them. But they did have fun :).
We hung out with the kids a little after that and then we had Chai in Martin's office while we waited for the 5th and 8th grade devotionals. For that we taught them "Some Trust (in Chariots)" and then did the devo about the three trees. I think I talked about that before, but if I didn't, ask me and I'll tell you it.
When we were done with devos, we really "had" to go (more like wanted to go so we didn't have to eat, cause they had just fed us bread and Chai). But we really did have a place we said we would be, it just wasn't as pressing as we made it sound. We felt kind of bad, but there was no way I could eat anything with that much flavor after just being sick the day before and we were just ready to go.
Vickie picked us and we stopped by the house to drop our things. From there we took a bus downtown. First time down there...it was interesting. BIG buildings (bigger than I'm used to in Africa), lots of people, traffic, etc. I won't tell you where we went yet, cause it's a surprise, but I will tell you there were "locks" everywhere :)! So we took a bus again for our ride back to the house. Let me tell you, was that ever a packed ride! It wasn't shoulder to shoulder...oh no...it was side to shoulder. Like I was leaned forward the whole time, with my arms up on the seat in front of me, and their arms were digging into my rib cage. Thankfully one of the guys that was next to me got out before me (even if it was only two stops before), so I had a little more room after that.
Tonight I just fooled around on my g-fiddle a little before supper, and after supper we just talked about plans for tomorrow and relaxed.
Thank you so so much for your prayers. I hope you don't get tired of hearing that, cause I'm gonna keep saying it :).
I love you dearly!
Sunday, March 6, 2011
March 4th and 5th
So Friday, as I mentioned Vickie and I went in to Kawangware to teach three creative arts classes. We got there, unfortunately, in time for lunch. I say unfortunately cause I had already eaten something, still wasn't feeling that great, and they give you sooooo...much food. Also, because they wanted us to eat so badly we weren't done in time to teach the first class. Oh well.
We had a bit of a break in between lunch and our, now first class, so we got a bit of a tour of the school, which I hadn't really seen yet cause I've been sick. Then we got to spend time with the baby class! They are so beautiful! All we did was play with the bubbles with them, but it was marvelous! We don't have any time put aside for the baby class at either location so it was good to get some time in :). Hopefully we will be able to in Kibera too!
Our two classes went well. The first class was standard 7 who were a little shy and didn't respond as much, but they would get up and sing when we asked and replied with a little prodding, so it was fine. The fourth grade was our second class and they were very eager to learn! They loved the songs and they responded to just about all our questions. We taught them "I've Got Joy Down in My Heart", "Na na na na, Praise God", and "All in All" as well as went over a few of the other songs that Cynthia taught them.
Then we had a staff devotional with all the teachers at Kawangware. We sang a few choruses in Swahili and then the headmistress, Salome, wanted me to teach them "Desert Song". One of the teachers, Robinson, died about a week ago now and so she wanted a song that talked about praising God through everything we experience, and the Desert Song at one point says "All of my life, in every season, You are still God, I have a reason to sing. I have a reason to worship." And really the whole song has that kind of message, so she really liked it for this particular time. Then Vickie did a short devotional and we left until next time.
That night one of Kyle's teachers came over for dinner and we just had a lot of fun talking, eating, and laughing. :)
Saturday we got up in the morning to head over to Mathare school for a weekend program. The school is one room where during the week a 26 student preschool class meets (It's right next to a place where they "recycle", but it's pretty much just a dirty dump). On this day however the kids were all ages and there were about 55 of them crammed in there (apparently there are usually 80...I can't even imagine). We got there a little late because of traffic, so we went right to work teaching them a few songs and then a devotional. They were quite a bit rowdier than the kids we're used to, so we had to shush them, and rearrange them multiple times. After we were done with everything, we just hung out with them while they were fed their porridge for that Saturday. Pretty much that whole time I just held this one little girl who, right after she got her porridge and took one sip, she fell right to sleep...wonderful! :) The rest of the day was just spent driving around, grocery shopping, and watching a movie. Quite a good Saturday in all!
That's about all I have to report. Today I was sick again...it's getting exceptionally obnoxious. I'm getting discouraged and just really frustrated again, but tomorrow is a new day. It WILL be better.
Be praying for me please! I know I don't have to ask and that you have been...but for my mental security I still am.
I so dearly love you all!!
We had a bit of a break in between lunch and our, now first class, so we got a bit of a tour of the school, which I hadn't really seen yet cause I've been sick. Then we got to spend time with the baby class! They are so beautiful! All we did was play with the bubbles with them, but it was marvelous! We don't have any time put aside for the baby class at either location so it was good to get some time in :). Hopefully we will be able to in Kibera too!
Our two classes went well. The first class was standard 7 who were a little shy and didn't respond as much, but they would get up and sing when we asked and replied with a little prodding, so it was fine. The fourth grade was our second class and they were very eager to learn! They loved the songs and they responded to just about all our questions. We taught them "I've Got Joy Down in My Heart", "Na na na na, Praise God", and "All in All" as well as went over a few of the other songs that Cynthia taught them.
Then we had a staff devotional with all the teachers at Kawangware. We sang a few choruses in Swahili and then the headmistress, Salome, wanted me to teach them "Desert Song". One of the teachers, Robinson, died about a week ago now and so she wanted a song that talked about praising God through everything we experience, and the Desert Song at one point says "All of my life, in every season, You are still God, I have a reason to sing. I have a reason to worship." And really the whole song has that kind of message, so she really liked it for this particular time. Then Vickie did a short devotional and we left until next time.
That night one of Kyle's teachers came over for dinner and we just had a lot of fun talking, eating, and laughing. :)
Saturday we got up in the morning to head over to Mathare school for a weekend program. The school is one room where during the week a 26 student preschool class meets (It's right next to a place where they "recycle", but it's pretty much just a dirty dump). On this day however the kids were all ages and there were about 55 of them crammed in there (apparently there are usually 80...I can't even imagine). We got there a little late because of traffic, so we went right to work teaching them a few songs and then a devotional. They were quite a bit rowdier than the kids we're used to, so we had to shush them, and rearrange them multiple times. After we were done with everything, we just hung out with them while they were fed their porridge for that Saturday. Pretty much that whole time I just held this one little girl who, right after she got her porridge and took one sip, she fell right to sleep...wonderful! :) The rest of the day was just spent driving around, grocery shopping, and watching a movie. Quite a good Saturday in all!
That's about all I have to report. Today I was sick again...it's getting exceptionally obnoxious. I'm getting discouraged and just really frustrated again, but tomorrow is a new day. It WILL be better.
Be praying for me please! I know I don't have to ask and that you have been...but for my mental security I still am.
I so dearly love you all!!
Thursday, March 3, 2011
Not much to report.
So these past few days I really don't have much to report on. Tuesday, as I have already told you, I was sick. Well, that continued into wednesday and thursday. Not so much fun...nope. Wednesday I went to a clinic (from what I hear it's the best clinic in Nairobi, mom, so don't worry)...I got blood drawn, peed in a cup, and gave them a stool sample ( I know you wanted to know...that's why I told you). After all that, all she did was give me a prescription for the stuff I already had, so I'm just sticking with that and making sure I completely finish the dosage this time. I am feeling better, so hopefully this ultimately kicks it in the but.
Today, Vickie and I will be teaching the kids creative arts at the Kawangware school. We just have three classes, so it shouldn't be too hard. Cynthia is going to see the president of Kenya, who will be visiting a university here in Nairobi. So she won't be there for the classes, but she's coming to the staff devotional at 3, and we'll all be there for that.
Like I said, not much to report, other than I love you all and really appreciate your prayers. Please continue praying for my health; physically, emotionally, and mentally.
Love love love you!
Today, Vickie and I will be teaching the kids creative arts at the Kawangware school. We just have three classes, so it shouldn't be too hard. Cynthia is going to see the president of Kenya, who will be visiting a university here in Nairobi. So she won't be there for the classes, but she's coming to the staff devotional at 3, and we'll all be there for that.
Like I said, not much to report, other than I love you all and really appreciate your prayers. Please continue praying for my health; physically, emotionally, and mentally.
Love love love you!
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Last day of February.
Today was out first day at the Kawangware School. We only had class at 10:25, 2:00, and 2:35, and they were all Creative Arts classes. Since it was our first day at a new place, I was quite uncomfortable again. I had a hard time relaxing and just having fun. But eventually, of course, I was fine. Our first class was 2nd grade, and this was our first time with a lower primary class, so it took us a little longer to teach them two songs.
Again, we did "Strong Tower" and "Lord I Lift Your Name On High". Benard, one of the people who work with ICCM, came along with us for our first day. This turned out to be a good thing, because he could translate what we were saying into swahili, since the littler kids are still not very good at english. He just loves what he does, and being with kids, so he also brought a lot of energy to the PE lesson that we were not planning on doing.
While we were waiting for our last two classes we had a chance to help out in the kitchen. I served all the kids their lunch and Cynthia helped make the meal we would be eating. However, when it got to be the time when it was time for us to eat, we only had 10 minutes before we had to do our next lesson. Well, they wouldn't let us go without eating, so we ended up combining the two classes we had together.
That lesson was a lot of fun! We had 7th and 8th grades, so they learned very quickly. We got to the point where we were running out of prepared songs, so we started teaching ones I didn't even know, but it went well. The one we hadn't prepared, ended up being their favorite song yet. It was the song "Some Trust in Chariots", with motions and everything, and they just loved it! Nice choice Cynthia :)!
Well that was the end of our day at school. When we got home Vickie and I went grocery shopping for dinner (spaghetti and salad!). It was a great time to just talk and shop, and then, when we got home, talk and cook! I just love our little conversations together :). Almost the whole night we had no electricity so we hung out around candles and computers reading, journalling and playing games. Another relaxing enjoyable night!
I suppose you are also wondering about today...well, today was another rotten sick day. I hope this doesn't keep to the same pattern the whole time I'm here cause if it does I'll be getting sick once a week. ugh!
Prayer:
-So please be praying for health (spiritual, physical, emotional) for all of us here.
-Keep Kawangware and Kibera schools in your prayers (students and teachers).
-Whatever else God puts on your hearts :)
I love you all so dearly, and I can't wait to see you when I get home!
Again, we did "Strong Tower" and "Lord I Lift Your Name On High". Benard, one of the people who work with ICCM, came along with us for our first day. This turned out to be a good thing, because he could translate what we were saying into swahili, since the littler kids are still not very good at english. He just loves what he does, and being with kids, so he also brought a lot of energy to the PE lesson that we were not planning on doing.
While we were waiting for our last two classes we had a chance to help out in the kitchen. I served all the kids their lunch and Cynthia helped make the meal we would be eating. However, when it got to be the time when it was time for us to eat, we only had 10 minutes before we had to do our next lesson. Well, they wouldn't let us go without eating, so we ended up combining the two classes we had together.
That lesson was a lot of fun! We had 7th and 8th grades, so they learned very quickly. We got to the point where we were running out of prepared songs, so we started teaching ones I didn't even know, but it went well. The one we hadn't prepared, ended up being their favorite song yet. It was the song "Some Trust in Chariots", with motions and everything, and they just loved it! Nice choice Cynthia :)!
Well that was the end of our day at school. When we got home Vickie and I went grocery shopping for dinner (spaghetti and salad!). It was a great time to just talk and shop, and then, when we got home, talk and cook! I just love our little conversations together :). Almost the whole night we had no electricity so we hung out around candles and computers reading, journalling and playing games. Another relaxing enjoyable night!
I suppose you are also wondering about today...well, today was another rotten sick day. I hope this doesn't keep to the same pattern the whole time I'm here cause if it does I'll be getting sick once a week. ugh!
Prayer:
-So please be praying for health (spiritual, physical, emotional) for all of us here.
-Keep Kawangware and Kibera schools in your prayers (students and teachers).
-Whatever else God puts on your hearts :)
I love you all so dearly, and I can't wait to see you when I get home!
Weekend.
Well I haven't posted in a while because of two reasons...one is I did very little this weekend (which was glorious!), so there wasn't much to report and the second is we haven't had internet until now since yesterday.
Saturday was, as I have said, glorious. I had a lot of time to catch up on laundry, skype, read, and watch movies after the girls left. It was very much relaxing and what I needed.
Sunday was slightly busier. We went to church at the Karen church again, but this Sunday a woman named Deborah was the speaker. She's a widow that goes around to a lot of different churches to tell her testimony, preach, and just reach out to others. It was a great sermon on unity again, but it had a bit of a twist calling everyone to be actively reaching out in their everyday lives.
After the sermon we came right home and started to cook dinner and clean the house because we were having all the women from the church come over for a Women's Fellowship. It was a great time of eating, talking, playing games, and doing a devotional. This was the first time having this social, so part of the time was also spent planning what this Fellowship means and what they will be doing with it.
Being praying for this Women's Fellowship, that God will work through and in them in amazing ways!
Saturday was, as I have said, glorious. I had a lot of time to catch up on laundry, skype, read, and watch movies after the girls left. It was very much relaxing and what I needed.
Sunday was slightly busier. We went to church at the Karen church again, but this Sunday a woman named Deborah was the speaker. She's a widow that goes around to a lot of different churches to tell her testimony, preach, and just reach out to others. It was a great sermon on unity again, but it had a bit of a twist calling everyone to be actively reaching out in their everyday lives.
After the sermon we came right home and started to cook dinner and clean the house because we were having all the women from the church come over for a Women's Fellowship. It was a great time of eating, talking, playing games, and doing a devotional. This was the first time having this social, so part of the time was also spent planning what this Fellowship means and what they will be doing with it.
Being praying for this Women's Fellowship, that God will work through and in them in amazing ways!
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