I Love Teaching

I had the chance to teach a lesson in the Elephant Class today (older 3s to younger 5s). I LOVE teaching children. Training the teachers has been such a challenge. Im definitely out of my comfort zone with adults. And training adults makes me exercise muscles I didnt ever want to develop. But I was so happy to get to stretch my "teaching-kids" muscles today. I dont think Ive lost my touch. In case you dont know....the trick to teaching little kids is to keep them interactive and BUSY!

The theme for the next 2 weeks is MY FAMILY. Its so hard to teach about families. Each child has a different set of circumstances. Some have just mom or just dad. Some have a mom and dad is in jail. Some have grandma, but no parents. Some have lots of brothers and sisters or aunts and uncles but no parents. Or any combination of the above! And often family friends or elders in the church are referred to as Auntie and Uncle (Im Auntie Amba to the Sunday School kids). So that confuses things even more.

So I copped out a bit and focused on the story of Goldilocks and the 3 Bears (The Bible story came later in the day). I talked about the different people in the bear family. And then I introduced the concepts of big and little. The kids actually did a pretty good job of sorting big from little. There were a few who dont understand a thing I say because they only speak Zulu. But after modeling a little, they got the concept too! I love to see light bulbs turn on! With children you can see the moment when something clicks into their brains. Sometimes Im sure it is a moment that can be physically seen. Their eyes and face and whole demeanor seem to change when they realize "Ah-ha! I've got it!"

We ended with the song:
Lord I thank you for my Mom,
Yes I thaaaank you.
Lord I thank you for my Mom,
Yes I thaa-aaank you.
(Of course we changed the song by singing it with different family memebers each time. Thanks Grandma! I remembered this one from when I was in your children's choir. The teachings from our youth really do stay with us our whole lives. Proverbs 22:6)

I had a good time with the kids today. I think they had a good time too. And hopefully their teacher had a good time and learned something while observing me. What a fun day!

This week....

It has been raining for DAYS here in Jo'burg! Ive heard over and over "This is not typical weather." Since the day I got here they have had unusual weather. I've been waiting for the hot, African summer days and I just haven't seen them. I suppose Im glad since we don't have any AC. But sunny skies and a need for shorts would be nice.

One of my college roommates came to Jo'burg for a visit this week!! Kim arrived this past Saturday and will leave this coming Sunday. Poor thing has had bad weather and a bit of a cold while visiting! But they promise a bit of sunshine tomorrow afternoon. We plan to go to the Lion and Rhino Park.

Kim has really been a great help at church. We have tried to organize the Store Room AGAIN...(this seems to be an unending task!) After planning themes for the Pre-school, Kim helped me make a box for each theme. We put books, games, and toys that correspond to each theme in the boxes to help the teachers access what they need.

I am amazed at what we have in the Store Room now. To think about what we had when I first got here (old broken toys..and not many of those). And then to see what we have now, I am AMAZED. God is good. Between local donations and international donations, a little shopping with donated money and some digging in the corners of the church, I think we are well stocked!!

My big wish now is for wooden kitchen furniture for the classes. Right now we have make-shift card board ones. And all teachers know that cardboard is the best way to ask for bug infestations! Yuck! So my needs/wants list has become incredibly short! God is good and provides for our needs!

Ive had a bit of bank trouble....again. A few wires that were supposed to come through did not. The VBMB has been great about trying to solve this problem! And thank God Im able to access some money. Im not worried, just frustrated with the South African banking system!

I was hired to come to South Africa and write a curriculum for the Touch Life Centre. I was also hired to train the teachers. I feel like Im making great progress in both of these areas. It has occurred to me that it will not take me 2 years to complete my tasks. So Im praying hard about what God has planned for my future.

Please help me pray about God's plans. Join me in praising God for providing for our needs. Pray for my bank account to work properly. Pray for a safe flight for Kim on Sunday. And pray for the children and teachers of the Touch Life Centre. I cant begin to tell you how special they are. They have already touched my life in so many ways. They have taught me and given me more than I could dream of teaching or giving them! Pray for them to be protected, loved, cherished and aware of God's love always. And please pray for a little sunshine too!

School Begins

The new school year has started at the Touch Life Centre Pre-school. We have 60 kids registered to come. Most of them are children from last year who have returned. About 17 children are new students.

The school year started well. The children seem to be settling in. Some of them were moved up to a new class. It is wonderful to see the young little Puppy Class students old enough to move up to the Elephant Class. Children grow SO fast.

The teachers have been doing a fantastic job. Their classrooms are well organized and they are actually planning ahead and teaching fun lessons. Part of the Hall of the church (where we usually have lunch and free play time) was sectioned off with some play centers set up. It looks fantastic. And most of the work was done by the teachers while I was in Cape Town. They have really begun to take initiative! Im so impressed with the way they take the little info I give them and they RUN with it and make it into something great for these kids.

I have had several moments this week where I have just sat in amazement. I just look around and cant believe we have come so far!! When I first got here, there were a few boxes of old, broken toys. The children often say still and did nothing for LONG periods of time because the teachers wouldn't plan things for them to do. When the children were given things to do, it wasn't always age-appropriate. And they seemed to do the same activity for WAY too long.

Now the children have wonderful toys (thanks to the donations of materials and money by MANY people in the US). The toys are set up in play centers for the children. (Blocks, House Keeping, Books, Music, etc) The children are divided into small groups to play in each area. The teachers rotate the children through the different play centers so each child gets to try each center. There isn't any sitting and being bored. There aren't any broken, dangerous toys. The teachers are playing with the children and keeping everyone busy. There is planning and structure and fun at the Pre-school now! WOW! I'm not sure I can truly describe the changes that are happening! GOD IS GOOD!

So we have had a GREAT start to the school year. I look forward to getting in each classroom and teaching lessons each week. The plan is to work in each classroom one day a week. I will show the teachers different ideas for how they can introduce new information and keep the children interested and focused. I look forward to this because it means I get to work with the kids more!!! The biggest challenge will be the Puppy class (2-3 year olds). Most of the class is new students....and most of them don't speak ANY English.

Please continue to pray for the children and the teachers. Amazing things are happening here!
Pray for Nomalonga, Faith, Joyce, Aurelia, Malt, Lindiweh, John, Ivan and Mumsy. Pray for Tony, Cheryl and me. And please pray for the parents of these children. Pray for the adults who influence these children to have wisdom, love, compassion and patience. Pray that we can show God's love to these children in a way that will super-glue it in their hearts so that they never forget that they are children of God. Pray for protection and resiliency for these children. Your prayers make a difference! Thank you for caring about these children, teachers, and parents. God bless you!

Cape Town

My trip to Cape Town was great! We left on Friday, Dec 28th at 4 in the morning and didn’t arrive at our final destination until 10PM. There was a couple who owns a house that needed house sitters while they were in Europe, and we needed a place to stay, so God blessed up with free lodging while we were there.

We visited many different beautiful places. Richard (Pastor Cheryl’s Son) went with us. He lived in Cape Town for a few years, so he was the perfect tour guide and chauffer! Im going to list some of the places we visited with a few highlights about each place.

Me, Carol and Richard on New Year's Eve at the Waterfront.

Beaches—We visited SEVERAL beaches. These included The Strand, Blouberg, Nordhoek, Fish Hook, Camp’s Bay and Gordon’s Bay. All of the beaches had COLD water. The Indian Ocean waters were not as frigid as the Atlantic Ocean waters. Some beaches were perfect for surf boarding, but not for swimming. So we usually just walked through the sand and saw the sights at those beaches. There were some kite surfers that amazed us with their high jumps! Our favorite beach was Gordon’s Bay. The water was fairly shallow, there weren’t too many waves and there were trees along the back of the sand line so shade was available. A few lazy hours reading a book on the beach in the sun is God’s best therapy plan ever!

One of the beautiful sunsets we got to see.

The Waterfront—This is where we spent New Year’s Eve. The waterfront has lots of shops to explore and places to eat. There were a couple of local bands playing and fireworks at midnight. This place was SOOO crowded. I guess it was a safe place to find free entertainment on New Year’s Eve. You can also see seals around the water front. Unfortunately, we didn’t get to see any. But there were some great views of Table Mountain. We also saw a movie while we waited for it to get closer to mid-night.

Me and Carol at the Waterfront on New Year's Eve

Table Mountain-- Cape Town is surrounded by mountains. Table Mountain is a Cape Town landmark. It is a high mountain that is flat on top….hence the name Table Mountain. From on top of Table Mountain you can get a view of most of Cape Town. There are 4+ hour hiking options to the top of Table Mountain, but hiking in the middle of a South African Summer wasn’t a choice I wanted to make. So we took a cable car up the mountain. The cable car holds about 40 people. The floor inside rotates as you ascend so you can get a 360 view on the way up the mountain. We went up around 6PM and got to watch the sunset. When we first got to the top of Table Mountain, the sun was about three-quarters of the way down in the sky and there was a large mass of clouds below us. What a beautiful sight to see the blue sky, bright sun and clouds shining like gold and silver below us. It almost looked like you could just step out on the clouds and walk straight to heaven. Some of the clouds seemed to be pouring over the mountains in wispy trails. The pictures we took don’t begin to show how gorgeous it was.

Cape Point- Because of the strong winds and rough seas in this area, there are many ship wrecks off of Cape Point. We climbed the hill of Cape Point to see the view from the light house there. At Cape Point there is a view of where the waters of the Atlantic Ocean and Indian Ocean meet. There is also a view of the Cape of Good Hope. The day we were there it was extremely windy. All of the pictures have my hair blowing all over the place! It was a beautiful day with amazing views!

Behind me is the Cape of Good Hope

Boulders Beach Penguin Colony—Yes, Penguins live in Africa. On the Southern coast of Africa live the Chin Strap African Penguins. This specific type of penguin can only be found here in Africa. We walked along a board walk through some trees near the beach. As we were walking, we saw penguins waddling through the trees or sitting in small hollows in the dirt. There were many pairs of penguins protecting their eggs….in fact Richard got a little too close to one mom and got a bite on his foot! Down at the beach we saw penguins waddling through the sand or sunning on a rock. It is odd to see penguins on the sand instead of snow. Unfortunately, we didn’t get to see any swimming or surfing. My favorite part was all of the signs relating to the penguins. There was a Penguin crossing sign. And as you are headed back to the car there is a sign that says “Please check under your car for penguins.”

"That's MY Egg!" Said the penguin before biting Richard's foot.

All in all it was a fabulous trip. I have LOTS of pictures! Im so glad we had the opportunity to play tourist for a few weeks. Cape Town was beautiful. But it was good to get back to Jo’burg. And my next post will probably be about the wonderful kids and how the new school year is going!

The Diagnosis

After 24 hours of pain in my hand, I finally determined to try to figure out the international world of medical aid. So Saturday my roommate Sara and I left around 1:00Pm to go to a nearby clinic (We didn't go before 1:00 because I thought groceries in the fridge were more important than going to the doctor. Food comes first you know.)

On the way to the clinic there was a horrible flapping sound coming from the rear of the car. We pulled over and low and behold...we have a VERY flat tire (Thank God this didnt happen on the dirve to Cape Town!). I know how to change a tire (thanks Dad!). But the jack was a replacement jack, not the original....so I couldn't quite figure out where to put it. And Sara had never changed a tire before so she wasn't sure. And since one of my hands is out of commission....Sara would have done most of the work. Instead of mess up the whole process, we decided to phone a friend. Corey, a worker from the Door of Hope, came and changed our tire for us. And so finally, after 40 minutes and several scares with creepy people offering to help, we headed toward the clinic (Don't worry, we were locked in the car until Corey arrived. We are smart girls!) We arrive at the clinic at 2:10.....unfortunately they close at 2:00. Drats!

So I waited until Sunday (making sure to check their hours of operation so I wouldn't miss the doctors this time). But after a night of very little sleep because of the pain in my hand (not to mention a 10 minute fight to get the door unlocked) instead of getting there when they open at 8:00AM, I didn't arrive until closer to 9:00AM. After an interesting time filling in the paper work (its kind of hard to write when your ring finger wont bend and get out of the way!)...I FINALLY got to see a doctor.

The diagnosis.....I have cellulitis in my finger. The doctor thinks the infection was probably started by a spider bite of some sort. This is the third time in 2 years Ive had cellulitis. I feel like a walking germ factory! But I now have 4 prescription medications. One strong oral antibiotic, one probiotic, one tube of antibiotic cream, and one bottle of pain medicine. And they say that Americans prescribe too many drugs! Hahaha

So this is the story of my finger. I promise to tell about my trip to Cape Town in the next post. Trust me, Cape Town is far more interesting than my finger!

Returned Safely

We returned to Johannesburg today. The trip to Cape Town was wonderful. I will write more details later. For now I ask you to please pray for me. Some time on Wednesday my ring finger on my right hand began to feel a little sore. 48 hours later I have a very swollen finger with a painful infection. So please pray for a quick recovery that requires litte to no help from the medical facilities here in Jo'burg.