Winding Down

      I apologize again for the delay in posting. It has been a busy and challenging few weeks. Here is a quick update about what has been going on:
Spring Break~ During spring break, Kristin and I spent a large amount of time planning activities to do with some of the kids from the orphanage. We went bowling (which they had never heard of!), got ice cream, and spoiled them rotten with Easter gifts! We have decided to semi-adopt them. We can't legally adopt them because single females can't adopt boys, but we are doing what we can to give them the family experiences that they haven't had.
      The other part of my spring break was spent hanging out with the group from Turkey as well as our friend Tonya who was visiting from our school in Ghana. We went on safari with the group from turkey and saw three young lions (two female, one male). They were hunting, but we didn't get to see any kills. Later that same day we went to Crescent Island again to walk with the giraffes, wildebeest, and zebra. That will seriously never get old! It was a relaxing break and no one was ready to get back to work.

     Since spring break, it has been life as usual. Teaching has been challenging the last few weeks because the students are looking forward to break and the rains have finally come. This means that they are inside much more often than before. I feel like I am rushing to get through the last of the curriculum which I guess is typical for a first year teacher. It takes some time to figure it all out.
     Two weeks ago, Jenn and I went "up-country" to the town of Kericho for a Women's Conference with our church. It was great to get to know the women from our church a little better, but it was definitely an experience in Kenyan culture! Jenn and I happened to be the only two white people there. This brought about some entertaining moments! On the first day we had Ugali for dinner. Every person who walked passed us stopped to stare and see if we were actually going to eat this traditional Kenyan dish. Little did they know, our Kenyan diet in November prepared us well for this retreat :) There was also a photographer at the retreat to take pictures of the groups from different churches and whoever else wanted their photo taken. We had some women come up to us and ask if we would take a picture with them. We called it "photo opp with the wazungu." Finally, on our last day there, the leader of the conference was thanking all the people who had helped make the conference possible. At the end, she thanked "the girls from America." After three days with ice cold showers (there was only hot water at 4am...) and foam mattress beds, it felt nice to be home. It was a really good experience, however, especially to see more of the Kenyan culture.
     I finished up the after-school program last week. I had been coaching softball and t-ball for the last few weeks to the elementary school students. They did a fabulous job! I was so proud of them and can't wait to do it again next year (or maybe get a program started :) ). My roommate Lisa helped me out considerably with softball and I could not have done it without her!
     In the last week I have gotten to go to the movies twice. We saw Hunger Games and The Avengers (that's right, we got The Avengers before the US!). They were both excellent movies! What makes them even more excellent is that I paid less than $8 to see the movie and get popcorn and a drink! I also got my hair cut when we had off school yesterday for Kenya's Labor Day.
    The only other exciting thing that I can think of is when we got invaded by termites when rainy season started. We had hundreds of termites flying around our car-port area and about 30 came in the house. It was like playing baseball with a flyswatter! They have huge wings and tend to dive-bomb your head when you least expect it. If you missed the video, check it out here: http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=364703176905238 .
     Thank you for your continued prayers. The year is winding down and with only 17 days of school left, I can't believe the time went so fast! I am looking forward to coming home for a few weeks this summer and getting to see my friends and family. If you want to meet up with me, shoot me an e-mail or facebook message!

Prayer Requests:
- finances
- for a good ending to the school year. Help us to finish well.
- for everyone preparing to travel back to the US for the summer or for good.

Verse Of Encouragement:
"Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me." ~ Psalm 51:10

I bless the rains down in Africa!

     I apologize for the late post. I got a little carried away with being on spring break and missed my deadline by 3 days. I hope you will all forgive me :)
     The Thursday and Friday after my last post were half days at school. We had parent-teacher conferences both of those days. I was happy to have the parents of 15 f my 20 students show up for conferences. I got to meet a few new parents and chat with a few I have met before. I also got a chocolate bar from one parent and a cake from another just to "help me get through conferences." The parents of my classroom are awesome. They are very involved in helping their child to succeed.
     On Friday and Saturday the school theater class put on a play that they have been practicing for all year. The presented Neil Simon's "Fools." The play is a comedy about a town in Russia that has been cursed with foolishness and ignorance. A school master must come and educate a young girl in the village within 24 hours of his arrival or else he himself will become cursed. Of course the school master falls in love with the girl and the story has a happy ending. The students did a phenomenal job presenting this play! I had a blast helping with costumes and am now on a sewing kick thanks to this show :)
     On Saturday before we went to the play, two other teachers and I went to the orphanage to visit with the kids. We played with the babies for about an hour and then got a "tour" of campus from one of the kids that we know pretty well. It was more like a wild goose chase, but we went along with it anyway :) I love going to this orphanage, but it can be really hard sometimes to see how many kids are without families. My roommate Kristin and I are working on taking a few of the kids on excursions and just hanging out with them to get them out of the orphanage for a few hours.
     This final week before spring break was a typical week of school. No crazy stories or funny comments were made. On Friday night I went to the airport with one of the teachers, Gari, to pick up a group of students and teachers from our sister school in Turkey. They were initially supposed to arrive at 1:40am, and the flight got so delayed that they only got to the bus at 4:45am. Needless to say, I did not get very much sleep that night. It has been great getting to know some of the students and teachers. One of the teachers will be our new science teacher next year, so it has been fun to talk to her.
     On Saturday I went downtown with some of the other teachers to buy fabric for skirts and dresses. I got a black and white patterned fabric, one with teal and brown, some striped Kikoy, and a piece or fabric that I will use as a wall hanging that has a picture of Africa on it. Overall, I would say it was a successful day.
    Today we took a trip over to Village Market which is pretty much just an outdoor shopping mall. It has a water-slide, bowling alley, mini golf course, and movie theater. It is probably the most Americanized place I have been to here. Kristin and I saw the movie "This Means War." It was pretty funny, and we were the only two people in the theater, so it was a blast! The events of the rest of this week are mostly yet to be determined, but I will update when I figure them all out :)
    Finally, the reason for the title of this blog post is because we made it rain yesterday. And when I say we made it rain, I mean that we have absolutely no control over the weather, but wish we did ;). Jenn decided yesterday that it needed to rain. Rainy season was supposed to start weeks ago but it never came. It has been so dry and we have had sore throats from the dust. So Jenn and I made a "Rain Dance" playlist on Jenn's computer. We played it non-stop for about 2 hours while our friends were visiting. When they were leaving, they yelled back into the house "It is raining!!!" And sure enough, it was. In fact, it poured for the next 3 hours :) We then played the Toto song, "Africa," on loop for most of the night. So happy that the dust has finally settled. Thanking the Lord that it is finally rainy season!

Prayer Requests:
- Safety for all the people traveling during spring break.
- Finances
- Continued  rain

Verse of Encouragement:
"Jesus said to him, ' If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes.'" ~ Mark 9:23

I was born this way...

     The last week and a half has flown by incredibly quickly! I don't even really know where my time was spent, but somehow I made it to today :) After my last post we mostly just had a typical week of school. Many people ask me about wild and crazy things that they think I am doing here in Kenya. Sometimes my life is a little wild and crazy while I am petting elephants and walking with giraffes and zebras. However, on most weeks I am just a typical teacher. I don't do anything different than a teacher in the states would do (except relate everything I teach to Kenyan culture). I also get to share God with my students which I would also not do in the states if I was teaching at a public school.
     On Friday last week we hosted the Junior/Senior banquet (Similar to Prom) at our home. The banquet was Hollywood themed. Our yard was transformed into a beautiful outdoor room. There were caterers that set up beautiful tables served delicious food. Some of the other teachers at the school also helped to set up a red carpet, a photo booth, a Hollywood walk of fame, and a juice bar. Glittery stars and white lights hung from the tree branches and ceiling in our house. Glitter still covers much of our living room :) I had the opportunity to play a celebrity on our version of Hollywood Squares. I got to play Lady Gaga. I covered a dress in socks and had my friend Tara put a ton of makeup on me. I think Paul would probably have called me "Sparkles" that night. Tara played Snookie from Jersey Shore, and then other teachers played Bruce Willis, Ozzy Ozborne, Hilary Duff, Whoopie Goldberg, Angelina Jolie, and Lil' Wayne. We had so much fun and I think the students did also.
     After recovering from the banquet, I went to the doctor on Saturday morning to get a physical for my MDA camp application. As many of you know, I have not had the best luck with doctors in Kenya, so I was a little nervous about trying this new person. The doctor is from Australia, and she was so nice! She had awesome bedside manner and joked around with me about living here. I think I will continue to go to her whenever I am sick instead of the guy who tried to purposely give me a medicine I was allergic to.
     On Sunday, Jenn and I went to church. In my last post, I mistakenly called it Langata AGC, it is really Karen African Gospel Church (KAGC). It is located on Langata road which is why I was confused. Jenn and I signed up for a women's conference in April. We are excited to go and fellowship with some of the women from the church. We also went to a travel fair on Sunday to check out the prices of taking small trips around Kenya and into other parts of Africa. We found some great deals, but I don't think I am travelling anywhere until next school year.
    Last week we started the after school program for our elementary students. I am coaching softball and kickball which I am beyond excited about! It is so interesting to teach these students softball and kickball because they do not have either of those sports of baseball at our school. They have never really had the opportunity to play, so I am trying to gain interest so that we might be able to grow a program. I continue to brainwash my students into believing that the Phillies are the only team worth rooting for :)

Prayer Requests:
- Health for everyone at school. Students, teachers, and other staff are all falling ill.
- Continued finances for my trip home this summer.
- The after school programs to continue to go well
- Energy to make it through the next week and a half until spring break.
- Parent- Teacher Conferences this week.

Verse of Encouragement:
"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for  yourselves treasures in heave, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."
- Matthew 6:19-21

Oh! The Places You'll Go!

     Wow! What a week! This was probably one of the most fun weeks so far in Kenya. It was also probably one of the busiest. Spiritual Emphasis Week went really well, and my students really seemed to grow a lot. They have been begging to listen to worship music everyday instead of just 3 times a week. I think this week we will rearrange the schedule and see how it goes :) I have been working with 3 other teachers from the school to make the elementary worship more active. We have been doing hand motions and teaching them what it means to really worship God. It has been awesome to see the students really singing with everything they have! A pre-schooler and a 1st grade caught my attention this week during Spiritual Emphasis week. One was singing as loudly as she could, and another had her eyes closed and arms partially raised to praise God. How awesome it is to see such young children giving God all that they have!

      Last Friday we also got to celebrate Dr. Seuss's birthday. The students split up into different classrooms where teachers read many different Dr. Seuss books. I read "Green Eggs and Ham" to the students who came to my room. I also read "Oh! The Places You'll Go" to my own students. After we had all read our stories, the entire elementary school filed down to the bandas (our lunch area), and got to listen to one of the middle school teachers read "Cat in the Hat." We finished off the day with lots of homemade cakes that were Dr. Seuss themed.
     I decided, this week, that my students really needed to learn some study skills as well as test taking skills. I learned a lot about their study habits, and encouraged them to change some of the things that they were doing. One thing that I really encouraged them to do was change their diets. Many of them were not eating foods or drinking drinks that will keep them at a good energy level. I also played a little trick on my kids during this unit. One of the things that I taught them was that they need to be sure they read the directions before answering a question. Many of them had been missing very important parts of directions on homework and losing points for it. I decided to give them a fake quiz. At the top it said "Read ENTIRE page before answering any questions." Then the paper had a list of funny things they had to do like put the paper on top of their head and then raise their hand for me to come sign it. At the very bottom of the paper, however, the paper said "Do not do anything on this page. Turn it over and watch the fun." Needless to say, the students were very upset that I made them look silly, but the point was to teach them how important it is to read the directions before doing anything else.
    Last weekend we hosted a baby shower at our house for a couple from our school who will be adopting a baby in the next couple weeks. We played games and had some awesome chocolate cake. The new parents were able to get some really awesome baby supplies. It is harder to prepare when you don't have the full 9 months! They now have almost everything they need.
     I also got to help make props and costumes last weekend for the school's play. I helped to sew some vests for the boys. The play is called "Fools." The whole thing reminded me of sewing season at Hempfield which I am missing very much right now! It really helped to be part of the sewing for this play to make me feel like I was at home (Even though I didn't have my second mom, Donna, around to keep me in line :) ).
       Yesterday we had a random day off of school. Our household decided to go to the elephant orphanage near our home. This orphanage helps raise baby elephants whose mothers were killed by poachers or who have abandoned them. We lined up with about a hundred other people and watched as they brought in a bunch of baby elephants ranging from 4 months to a few years old. They all drank out of bottles and then had fun playing in a mud hole that was provided for them to cool off in. I even got to pet the 4 month old elephant! His skin felt very rough and scratchy. It was so awesome! At the elephant orphanage they also have a very large black rhino. He is blind and can't be released into the wild, but he stays at the orphanage and they take very good care of him. How amazing it was to be within a few feet of these two amazing animals!
     After returning from the elephant orphanage, we had to take Ginger to the vet for a check up. She has had some problems with itching and with losing the fur on her legs. The vet determined it was a fungal infection on her skin. We have to give her a bath every 5 days along with some anti-biotics daily. Hopefully this will help her to recover quickly. The doctors were awesome with her. I was really impressed by the care they provided...even if they did bring all the treatments and shots out to the car to treat her :) What can I say...this it Africa!
     Today I went to the movie theater with a few of my roommates. We saw the movie "We Bought a Zoo." It was a good movie, and the experience was almost like being in a movie theater in the states. Evidently they usually have everyone sing the Kenyan national anthem before starting the movie, but I think because there was only one other person in the theater with us, they skipped it today. The movie was still done with a film projector, not digital. It was interesting because there was scratches on the film and you could also hear the clicking of the film rolling on the projector. I haven't heard that sound in so many years. Oh, and did I mention that a movie only cost about the equivalent of $4 here? A bag of popcorn is only $1. I think we will be going more often!
    Jenn and I have decided to attend the Langata African Gospel Church regularly. Last weekend I was really not feeling well, and so we decided to do home church. The worship pastor from the LAGC e-mailed us and said they were praying for me to feel better and that they missed seeing us that day. I am aware that we are the only two Wazungu (white people) in the church, but it was nice to know that they noticed that we were missing.

Prayer Requests:
- For my finances for coming home this summer
- For the couple who is adopting that the final paper work will come through this week
- For the overall health of our campus. We have had a lot of students and faculty with various illnesses lately.
- For the end of quarter and for parent-teacher conferences in 2 weeks.

Verse of Encouragement:
" I will be glad and rejoice in you; I will sing the praises of Your name, O Most High." Psalm 9:2

And now we will learn about the WNS test boycotts :)

     Sometimes, at night, I sit back and wonder, "Did my students really learn any of the stuff I taught them today?" Well, last week, I found out that not only have my students been paying attention, but they are able to apply their newly acquired knowledge to more than just the test itself. Every teacher's dream right?  My students decided that they would boycott their test last week on civil rights. I had to smile and be just a little bit proud of them for grasping what it was that we had been talking about for 2 weeks. While I humored them for a little while, I finally gave them an ultimatum. No test, no recess. They quickly sat down and removed their pencils from their supplies cases. This whole unit was an eye opener to me. I almost cried with joy a few times when I realized that these students are the products of a battle that so many people fought just a few decades ago. When students say things like "What do you mean I couldn't be in school with her because she is white and I am black?" it makes you realize that this generation of students doesn't see color of skin as any different than the color of the persons shirt. It just makes them who they are. Last week we also read a story about a young Korean girl who had to hide her gender because her mom wanted her to be educated. The story was written about a time in Korea when women were treated as less than men. We related the story to what we had been reading about in social studies. The students were fired up about both discrimination based on race and discrimination based on gender. I asked if they could think of anything that still encourages discrimination of gender today and when no one could think of anything, I asked them about colors of toys and clothing. They began to note that toys and clothing for girls are mostly pink, purple, pastels, etc; and clothing and toys for boys are blue and red and green. On student noted "People wearing clothes specific to gender is like racism against clothing." My goal with all of this is to get the kids thinking about how different things are for them and what issues they still face. It is interesting to me to see how they respond to what is going on around them.
     Tuesday this past week was Fasnacht Day, as most of you in Lancaster know :) For those of you who have never heard of Fasnacht Day, you are missing out! It is my favorite holiday based solely on the reason that it is the only holiday in which people celebrate a baked good. Now, I know that the point is not to celebrate the baked good itself, but it still makes me smile! Fasnacht Day is know by most of the rest of the world as "Fat Tuesday." It is the day before the first day of Lent in which all of your sugar and fats are supposed to be used up. Fasnachts are similar to donuts, however, they are traditionally made with potatoes. Luckily for me, all of the ingredients are readily accessible in Kenya, so I decided to make some! I found a recipe that said it made about 20. Now, I don't know about you, but whenever I read a recipe for a baked good and it says that it makes about 20, it really means 10-15 because they want you to make the size about half of what you really will make it. Well, evidently that is not the case for fasnachts. I ended up with almost 50 fasnachts! I just kept cutting them out and there was still more dough left. Needless to say, we had fasnachts for almost a whole week with 5 people in our house. We of course coated them with powdered sugar for extra flavor :)
     Over the weekend, my roommate, Kristin, and I went shopping for some things we needed. I bought a new pair of running sneakers that are so bright that I think that they might glow in the dark. For those of you who know me well, you will know that I am not really a runner. I try to get into it, but with my knee problems, I have just never enjoyed running and then being in pain the next day. However, I have decided to try jogging and walking with Kristin and Jenn every day after school. Even though we only started to jog today, I have to say, I kind of enjoyed it! I think it helps to have a jogging partner, which is something I have never had before.
     Kristin and I also bought a bunch of new and used books for our classrooms during our excursion this weekend. We found a really awesome books store in a mall about 20 minutes away that has hundreds of used books! We were so excited! I got 6 new books for my classroom and Kristin got a few for her's as well. The kids are so eager to get their hands on them! I love seeing kids eager to read :) This weekend I also started, and finished, The Hunger Games  book series. I loved reading them! If you have time to read, I highly recommend them!
     This week is Spiritual Emphasis Week at our school. We are setting aside extra time to have chapel every day and to pray for certain things each day. Yesterday the students prayed for other students at the school who may not be Christians. Today we prayed for families that are struggling, and for family members who aren't Christians. I love hearing my students pray, and I love that they WANT to pray! They are always asking for us to pray for them for all kinds of different things. This Friday we will also be celebrating Dr. Seuss' birthday. We will be reading many of his books and having a party with all of the elementary school students! It should be a lot of fun!
     Finally, I just wanted to share that one of my students brought in a chameleon today as a class pet. He found it at his house and put it in a soda bottle with holes in it, added some leaves and brought it in. It was really cool, so I thought I would share. I love being able to see this kind of thing on a daily basis here! PS, it was smaller than my pinky finger!

Prayer Requests:
- Finances for myself and my coworkers as we prepare for traveling this summer.
- For Spiritual Emphasis Week at our school to help students grow in their knowledge of Christ.
- For the safe travel of the parents of the students in my class. Maybe are missionaries as well, and they travel much of the year.

Verse of Encouragement:
    "My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires. Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you." James 1:19-21

Posting again already?! No way!

Hi everyone! I know, pigs must be flying because I am posting again in less than 10 days! I know many of you would like to have more updates, so I am going to try to post about every 10 days or so. Maybe my posts will be shorter then :) So here it goes...

Last week we had a Valentine's Day party in my classroom. It was a blast! The students all got to make bags to put their candy in as well as make cards with hand prints formed into a heart. The picture you see is one from Pintrest, but ours looked similar. We had cookies and soda, and more cookies and candy, and more sugar and then I sent them all home to their parents :)

Last week, my students read a story about baseball and I may or may not have brainwashed them to believe that the Phillies are the best baseball team on the planet. They learned quickly, from the White Sox loving 3rd grade teacher, that I may have been slightly biased. :) The week pretty much continued normally. I slowly regained back my strength from being sick and was able to get a lot of sleep to recover. On Friday night, two of my roommates and I babysat for the principal's three adorable children. I have never babysat with so many other adults! It was a fun time though. We watched Power Rangers with the kids, and it took me back to the good old days when I wanted to be the pink ranger :) After the kids went to bed, my roommates and I watched the first Lord of the Rings movie. I think we still have about 100 movies left on the list of movies I need to see. I was evidently sheltered growing up!

On Saturday, all four of my roommates and I went with a few of the other teachers to Crescent Island again. We got to walk with the animals like Doctor Dolittle (although I am still working on that talking thing :) ). Jenn got within about 10 feet of a giraffe before it noticed she was there. It was incredible! It drizzled all day, but it wasn't too bad until we were headed back to the bus. We got about 300 yards away and it started to downpour! It was the hardest rain I have ever been trapped in. I thought it was hailing because the drops hurt so badly! We finally made it back to the bus and just as we were about to leave, we saw a hippo out of the water! It was huge! We stayed clear of it though because they can get mean if they feel threatened. Finally, we headed back to school on a one hour bus ride, completely soaked. 

On Sunday, Jenn and I decided to go back to a church I had attended only once before, and she had attended twice. We really liked the service and the pastor. I think we may have finally found a church to attend regularly! Praise the Lord! After church we got the best ice cream we have had in Kenya. It almost tasted like home. We decided that we can get the ice cream whenever we want as long as we walk a 5K afterwards :)

Finally, I want to write about my finances. Some of you are supporting my monthly, and I am so grateful for that support! It helps with the day to day expenses like food, transportation, and rewards for my students. I am, however, in need of some one time donations if anyone is willing to help. The one time donations that were given at the beginning of my time here have been used for furniture, a car, and other start up costs. I would like to come home this summer, but plane ticket prices have gone up a few hundred dollars since I came home at Christmas. My goal is to raise $2000 before June in order to cover my plane ticket and have a small amount of money left over for gas and a few social outings while I am home for 7 weeks. If you are able to help with these costs, please e-mail me or message me on facebook so that I can talk to you about how to donate. You can also go to http://nics.org/Donate-start to donate anonymously. If you use the website, you can click on "single donation" and then select "missionary support" under the drop down menu for "destination." You can then type my name in the box provided. All donations done through the website are tax deductible. NICS does take out 8-10% of donations to support the home office. I am so thankful for all of you who pray for me every day and for those of you who are supporting me financially so that I am able to stay here and work with the students at WNS. I could not do this without you!

Prayer Requests:

- For the heath of the staff at the school. Everyone seems to be getting colds and stomach viruses like I had. Pray for healing for them please.

- For all of the teachers who are transitioning to or from Kenya this coming year. Pray for wisdom in decision making and for peace about the decisions they do make. 

Verse of Encouragement:

"Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God." Ephesians 6:10-17

Finally, I want to include a funny photo that I think many of you will enjoy :)

February

      We are 5 weeks into the new semester here at WNS. Time seems to be flying by so quickly! Students are growing both physically and spiritually. I love getting to see the gears turn and minds expand each day while I am teaching. I have 21 students this semester, and each of them is so unique. It's amazing how, at such a young age, you can see the potential in each student to become something great, even if they don't yet see it themselves. I try to remind my students every day that they have the passion, potential, and determination to do great things, but they have to choose if those great things are going to be good or bad. Each day I see them make choices and decide whether they were good or bad. 

      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 :) ).

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