Wow, time has flown by! Everything has gone smoothly, and the favor of God has been so evident in every minute of the time since we have been here. I have met some very amazing missionaries and even more amazing children. I don’t quite know what to say in this update, so I thought that the best thing that I could do is tell you what a typical day for me is like.
SO….
5:00am – 6:15am : Alarm goes off and I roll off the bed onto the ground. I lie there for a couple of moments and then feel around for clothing and the light. Then drag myself off to the shower. After showering and other hygienic stuff, I go out into the kitchen area and look around for breakfast which usually turns out to be bread and butter. Around 6:15 or a little after the combi (an old van that is used as the school bus) comes to pick up Marye, Theo, and myself. Marye and Theo are the 3rd and 2nd grade teachers at Community Hope, and also my roommates. Jodi (the art teacher and school administrator) also lives in the same house as us, but she drives herself to school in case she needs to leave for something.
6:15am – 6:45am : Driving, Driving, Driving
6:45am – 7:30am : 6:45 is a tentative arrival time. Sometimes we leave the house a little later, and other times we have to pick up other people to take them to school. The school is actually a church that is allowing the school to be there. John and Suzanne are currently trying to find a more permanent building. Once we arrive at the school we go to our classrooms and put down our bags and other things and then we meet in the sanctuary to pray for the day and the children. After prayer I go and make tea, then go outside to watch the children play. The children have also decided to use this time to give me lessons in damara (the local language). Needless to say it is not going as well as they thought it would. At 7:30 school begins. I have been working in the grade 1 class and I absolutely love it!
7:30am – 9:45am : worship, math, spelling, story time, break. During this time I usually work on correcting homework from the day before and then updating the homework folders for that day. The first week that I was here though, Mr. Beukes (the grade 1 teacher) had to go over to the pre-school to test next year’s grade 1s, so I actually taught the class for the 4 days that he was gone. It was such a wonderful learning experience for me.
9:45 – 10:15am : at this time the children have snack which is 2 slices of bread with something like butter, peanut butter, and syrup (which sounds strange but is actually quite nice) or just plain peanut butter and jam. They also all get a cup of tea. After they have finished their snack they go outside to play for about 15 minutes. During this time I also have my snack (whatever the children are having) and supervise outside. Sometimes after we come back inside we will take the children to the toilet, but most of the time we go back to the class.
10:15am – 12:00pm : bible, history, geography, science, literature, reading. These are the subjects that are covered at this time of the entire week, not all on the same day. During this time I usually do whatever is most helpful to Mr. Beukes.
12:00pm – 1:00pm : Monday = Art (taught by Jodi), Tuesday= Computer Class (taught at Beautiful Kidz), Wednesday= Sports (taught by Mr. Beukes). I don’t really have anything to do during this time unless Mr. Beukes has a special project that he asks me to do, like putting contact paper on signs for his class room, or filing papers. Normally I try to help out where ever I can be most useful.
1:00pm – 1:30pm : At 1 o’clock school is officially over for grades 1, 2, and 3. The majority of the children eat lunch at school and then head home. Grades 4, 5, and 6 all stay until 2:30 so they eat and then have recess. At this time I am done with class. On Tuesdays and Thursdays I have tutoring with a couple of girls from my class at 1:30 till 2:00. Also Thursdays and Fridays there is Youth Club at Beautiful Kidz which I help out with.
And that is for the most part how each day looks for me. Evenings free and I have used this time to bond with other missionaries on the base
PRAYER POINTS
1. I am still in need financially, so please prayerfully consider being used by God in that way
2. A constant renewing of energy would be wonderful
3. That God will continue to form stronger bonds between the students and me
Thank You all so much for your prayers, love, and support. I feel it all these thousands of miles away
