We started off the year talking about resolutions, and I broke the students into prayer groups. I asked them to pray for each other about a fruit of the Spirit that they thought they might need to work on this year. It was amazing how united the students became when they started praying for each other, not just as a whole class, but individually. The students have also started to do individual journaling every day. I give them a prompt that makes them think about themselves and who they are. The last two weeks in Chapel, we heard students and teachers give testimonies about what God has done in their lives. Afterwards, I asked my students to write about their stories. Their immediate reactions were to say "I don't have a story." or "God hasn't done anything big in my life." I reminded them that if they are a Christian, God has done some major things in their lives. Immediately, they went to work, and my room was silent for more than 10 minutes (which is not very common if you know how my classroom usually functions :) We like to have fun!). My goal is to help them to explore what they believe for themselves and not just follow the crowd.
This week is Valentine's Day, and so my students and I read 1 Corinthians 13 to see what the Bible says about love. We then made a wreath to hang on our door. I had each student put their hand print on a piece of construction paper and then they wrote part of 1 Cor. 13 on the palm. As I was painting their hands to make the hand print, one very ticklish student said to me "This must be what buildings feel like....I feel really bad for buildings!" It made me laugh :)
I have continued to do volunteer work on the weekends when I have time, and also find some time to have fun. Last weekend was Super Bowl weekend. Because we are 8 hours ahead of the East Coast, we were able to see the game at 2am. A bunch of the teachers got together at someone's house who had satellite cable, and we watched the game throughout the wee hours of the morning. It was quite the experience! Afterwards, we had a "southern breakfast." Those seem to happen a lot here with all of these southerners that I work with :) I have come to love biscuits and gravy, but I am still warming up to grits. Yesterday, I also went bowling for the first time at the one and only bowling alley (that I know of ) here in Nairobi. It was a lot of fun. The lanes are much skinnier and the pins are smaller, but it was still a blast! I also got to attend a soccer tournament that some of my students were participating in. They played so well and got 7th place out of 32 teams in their division. It really helped me to bond with some of the parents and students from my class. I think I will continue to try to go to some of their games because it was so much fun!
This past week I was very sick with a bacterial infection in my stomach. The doctor told me it was food poisoning, but no one else at school or home was sick, and we all ate the same thing. 5 days later, I am still recovering, but I feel like I have more and more energy each day. I missed a day and a half of school due to being sick, but the one day that I was there this week, my students were so helpful and kind to me. They kept asking if I felt any better yet and telling me they were sorry that I was so sick.
Friday night we also had our talent show at school. Although I was still not feeling great, I decided to go. I tried to keep an open mind knowing that it would not be the kind of show I have been accustomed to seeing at Hempfield. I was blown away! The students did an incredible job! They worked so hard to prepare some amazing acts! The finale to the show (not a contestant) was a group of 4 boys who did a break-dancing act that was incredible. My other favorite act was that of a student who "read" a poem that she wrote. I put read in quotes because reading doesn't always include as much passion and energy as this young woman put into her poem. She wrote a poem called "No Application Form" about disabilities. She talked about the fact that there is no application form for someone to get a disability, it is something they are given without ever asking for it. It was beautiful and she got a standing ovation from the audience.
Overall, things are going well here. I am just taking every thing day by day and looking forward to seeing what God has in store for me at this school for the next year and possibly beyond. I thank each of you for your support as always. I miss all of you very much and can't wait to see you the next time I am home (dates to come soon :) ).
This week is Valentine's Day, and so my students and I read 1 Corinthians 13 to see what the Bible says about love. We then made a wreath to hang on our door. I had each student put their hand print on a piece of construction paper and then they wrote part of 1 Cor. 13 on the palm. As I was painting their hands to make the hand print, one very ticklish student said to me "This must be what buildings feel like....I feel really bad for buildings!" It made me laugh :)
I have continued to do volunteer work on the weekends when I have time, and also find some time to have fun. Last weekend was Super Bowl weekend. Because we are 8 hours ahead of the East Coast, we were able to see the game at 2am. A bunch of the teachers got together at someone's house who had satellite cable, and we watched the game throughout the wee hours of the morning. It was quite the experience! Afterwards, we had a "southern breakfast." Those seem to happen a lot here with all of these southerners that I work with :) I have come to love biscuits and gravy, but I am still warming up to grits. Yesterday, I also went bowling for the first time at the one and only bowling alley (that I know of ) here in Nairobi. It was a lot of fun. The lanes are much skinnier and the pins are smaller, but it was still a blast! I also got to attend a soccer tournament that some of my students were participating in. They played so well and got 7th place out of 32 teams in their division. It really helped me to bond with some of the parents and students from my class. I think I will continue to try to go to some of their games because it was so much fun!
This past week I was very sick with a bacterial infection in my stomach. The doctor told me it was food poisoning, but no one else at school or home was sick, and we all ate the same thing. 5 days later, I am still recovering, but I feel like I have more and more energy each day. I missed a day and a half of school due to being sick, but the one day that I was there this week, my students were so helpful and kind to me. They kept asking if I felt any better yet and telling me they were sorry that I was so sick.
Friday night we also had our talent show at school. Although I was still not feeling great, I decided to go. I tried to keep an open mind knowing that it would not be the kind of show I have been accustomed to seeing at Hempfield. I was blown away! The students did an incredible job! They worked so hard to prepare some amazing acts! The finale to the show (not a contestant) was a group of 4 boys who did a break-dancing act that was incredible. My other favorite act was that of a student who "read" a poem that she wrote. I put read in quotes because reading doesn't always include as much passion and energy as this young woman put into her poem. She wrote a poem called "No Application Form" about disabilities. She talked about the fact that there is no application form for someone to get a disability, it is something they are given without ever asking for it. It was beautiful and she got a standing ovation from the audience.
Overall, things are going well here. I am just taking every thing day by day and looking forward to seeing what God has in store for me at this school for the next year and possibly beyond. I thank each of you for your support as always. I miss all of you very much and can't wait to see you the next time I am home (dates to come soon :) ).
Prayer Requests:
- For continued spiritual growth in my classroom
- For my health to continue to get better
- For the 7 couples I know that got engaged in the last 3 months (seriously...there are 7 of them!). Just pray for their wedding plans to come together smoothly and for them to cherish this time together.
Verse of Encouragement:
"Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, and in purity." 1 Timothy 4:12
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