August 2015 Update

Dear Friends and Family,

I realize that it has been a long time since you heard from me; I just found an update that I started in March, but never actually finished and sent out! This year has been a very busy one here at Sakeji, and even though we are two weeks into the August holiday I am just finding the time to sit down and try to catch up on correspondence. Second term was very full of ‘stuff’, but good. Among other things we hosted a group of students from Amano Christian School over one of our half-terms, had a great sports day, and put on a show at the end of term, “Safari.” There was another broken arm, some good progress made in classes, and a winter themed birthday party.

Something new for me this year was helping with the grade 9 mock music exam at Samahina, a local school where our students will be writing their exams as we are not a grade 9 test center. I was very thankful for all my musical training; I spend an hour going over and correcting the exam with two other Zambian teachers, then had the very interesting experience of helping to administer the exam. This school has no electricity, so the keyboard was run off batteries that gave out just as we were about to start the exam. 12 batteries were then rolled up in a cardboard tube and one teacher held the bare wires to the terminals so we could be in business for cadence dictation! Seeing things like that makes me very thankful for the facilities we enjoy here at Sakeji, and reminds me how desperate the need for good education is in this country.

Another big happening of this year took place just this last weekend. Sakeji celebrated 90 years of the Lord’s faithfulness with a weekend where former students in Zambia representing several different decades of the school’s history gathered to enjoy a scavenger hunt, afternoon at the pool, trip to the cottage, enjoy school delicacies such as ice cream and fudge, and lots of time to share memories and visit. This little school in the middle of the Zambian bush has had such an impact over the last 90 years—it’s amazing how often you fun into former students, and when you hear where they all are and what they are doing for the Lord, it makes me thankful to have my small part in this great work. I spent a lot of the weekend helping to organize and serve the teas; it was interesting to see a very different side of the hospitality of the school. Usually when we have visitors I am busy talking to parents or doing a program!

Work has started on the renovation of our Lower School building. As there are cracks in the wall through which you can see daylight, this is a much needed project. Foundations for the small expansions on either end have been dug and put in, and we are waiting for the rest of the supplies to make it up here before the major work begins. It will be a challenge to coordinate the needs of grades 1-3 and the construction crew, but we have had a lot of practice in flexibility and creative location use since the major overhauls started a few years ago.

As we continue through the holiday and then start term back up in early September, there are some specific ways that you can pray for us here at the school. We are loosing our grade 1 teacher at the end of the year, and so far there has been no word of anyone who could take her place. We have not had any short term helpers this year, and at this point it doesn’t look like there is anyone preparing to come next year either. Please pray with us that the Lord will raise up the right people to join us in this work, and that if we have to wait awhile for His perfect timing, that He will give us the extra grace and strength to serve in this challenging circumstance. Another area for prayer is for my grade 7’s and the grade 9 students who will be writing their national exams in November. The government is trying to push through national syllabus changes that were put in place in 2013, but not widely enforced, so this year is a particularly difficult one for exam preparation. Lastly, this year has been a difficult one for me personally, and I would ask that you pray that these challenging circumstances will pull me closer to the Lord, and shape me to be more like Him. Thank you for all your prayers, letters, and encouragement; I couldn’t do this without your support.

May He find us faithful wherever He has called us to be!

Part 2: Some thoughts from the last weeks of school, and Sakeji’s 90th Anniversary Celebrations

First, the end of term. End of term is always a very busy time; the Monday and Tuesday are spent trying to wrap up loose ends, clean classrooms, and tie off the dozen or so loose ends that must be tied off before the kids can go home. We have our big end of term assembly where students receive certificates for things like academic excellence, neatness in the dorm, and for our merit system. The house results are also announced. Sadly, even though we won sports day, Fisher is in third place still! Bags are packed, papers are send up to the dorm, and my classroom disgorges a terms worth of clutter as they clean out their desks.

Wednesday is the day the parents arrive starting at 1pm; the kids are so excited that they can hardly eat their lunch! The afternoon is a whirl of parent teacher interviews for me, and this term there was also the AGM (Annual General Meeting) to attend before supper. I grabbed some supper before dashing over to the hall to help Jill tune the guitars to the piano. A quick change later and I was ready to start the program, “Safari.” While it was not what I was hoping for, the parents seemed to really enjoy the show. After that I collapsed into bed, a thoroughly exhausted teacher!

Here is a picture of the stage shortly before the program started.

Once the kids were gone we had a few days to collect ourselves before we had the big 90th anniversary weekend. People came from all over Zambia, and a few friends and former students of Sakeji just happened to be in the country and able to attend. There was a large group of young people in their early 20’s, and a good selection of students from the 40’s-80’s. There was a scavenger hunt so people could revisit favorite spots, an afternoon at the pool, and a trip to the cottage. I spent most of my time organizing the morning, afternoon, and evening teas so that Vickie could concentrate on getting the meals done. It was good to see people of all ages remembering, laughing, swapping stories, and enjoying being back at their old school. Many things have changed, but we still make ice cream and fudge, do early morning swims in the dam, and have marmite and rice cakes for breakfast! We pray that it was a refreshing time for our visitors, and that it was a real blessing to each and every one.

Part 1: Some thoughts from the last weeks of school

Two sisters at my table the second to last week of school were competing (apparently) for who can tell the lamest joke. As their ‘jokes’ devolved to the point of, “What do you call a chicken that’s been burned by the sand? A hot chick!,” one of the other kids at the table had all she could take. “Guys, those aren’t even jokes, they’re silly questions!” she said full of exasperation. What made this really funny to me was that this particular kid is generally not the ‘sharpest knife in the drawer’, so for her of all people to get fed up with that sort of silliness was pretty funny!

I got a good laugh out of one of my third grade students labeling the Sousaphone on his music test as a “head tuba.” Never thought of it that way, but hey, I can see where he was coming from!

Part of my craziness during exam week was having to go into a local school with out three ninth grade students to participate in a mock grade 9 music exam. I spent an hour working through and correcting the exam paper with two local music teachers, and then spent a very interesting next hour helping to administer it. The 6 D batteries in their keyboard gave out right as we went to give the exam, and the new ones they had didn’t work, so while one teacher did part of the listening test on the recorder, the other one tried to make the batteries work.
Eventually the head teacher of the school came back with a long tube of cardboard rolled around 12 D batteries, and the wire inside the keyboard pulled out so that the one music teacher could stand there and hold the bare wire ends to the ends of the battery tube to provide power. As they came into the classroom to get the keyboard set up, the head teacher turned to me and said, "Ah, we have had to improvise; we MacGyvered it!"
I couldn't believe that a) he knew who MacGyver was, and b) that someone was willing to let their bare hands be part of an electrical circuit! Never a dull moment guys...

Parting shot: My grade 3 and 4 girls with their handwork bags. A big part of this term was getting their cross stitched initials finished up and sewn onto their bags.

Week 10 is finished...the dash to the finish line begins!

Last weekend was our annual sports day, so the whole school was on the sports field for most of the day. I was the official scorer again, so I had my laptop, some bags of ribbons, and my knitting. This was my view from my little tent for most of the day; I'm right next to the Fisher (my house team) area.

I didn't get many pictures of the actual action as I was too far away for most of it, but here is a picture of one of the last races, the wheelbarrow race.

At the end of the day we were thrilled to find out that Fisher, Beth and I's house team, had won for the first time in years! Go Flames!

Monday and Tuesday were our second half-term, and we had a group of kids from Amano visiting us. They joined us for our early morning swim; I have to say that they all got in, but I think the promise of hot chocolate had a lot to do with that!

In more personal news, my knee is healing nicely; I'm now only wearing the brace for part of the day and while walking, and I took my first very careful jog on Thursday. I'm so thankful that it wasn't serious, and while it has taken longer than I would have liked to heal, I'm so thankful that it has! Now I'm trying to keep the nasty cold the kids are passing around at bay; the last thing I need is to be incapacitated with a cold during exam week!

Parting shot: I love the view across the valley!

Week 8 With Some Highlights of the Last Few Weeks

Life has been rather busy here at the little school in the bush. I picked up a class for a staff member who went on furlough, preparations are starting for the end of term program, and the never ending mountains of marking. A grade 1 broke her arm playing on the see-saw (the second broken arm and third arm injury in less than a year), and the fire break around the school was burned. We had our first half-term; here are a few pictures from that.

One of the half-term mornings was crazy hair day; the junior boys had a lot of fun with this!

We’ve had several former students from Australia visiting this weekend; it’s been fun to visit with them, hear stories of the good ol’ days, and get to see them enjoying this as a positive experience. We also have some visitors from the UK who have been helping out in many different areas.

Please keep praying that the Lord will provide staff for next year. We are loosing a core teacher, and so far there doesn’t seem to be anyone interested. Whether His answer is more grace, or another person, we want to rest fully in Him. After all, this is His school, not ours!

Parting shot: Sunrise in the bush

Short Update, Week 4

* There was a birthday; my chillin's were very nice to me and presented me with sweet cards and notes. In the evening the ladies of the station gathered for an evening of relaxing while enjoying the movie To Kill a Mockingbird.

* Dry season is here; warm socks are a must on the cold cement floors, and I am very thankful for my new comforter.

* While we are short staffed this term, the Lord is supplying grace and strength. I suppose one of these days I'll stop being so surprised at what I can do in His strength...

* My right knee has started to act up; going downhill quickly causes sharp pain, and during the course of my day my knee often feels stiff and tight. I'm praying that it will be sorted out quickly, as there is rather a lot of downhill in my life...

* The first half-term starts this Friday, so this week is all about finishing off so we can enjoy a few days off! I just hope my students take my encouragement to heart...

* Preparing the grade 9 students for their music exam is becoming quite a 'thing.' Prayers for wisdom in dealing with the local music teacher, the students, and how to best go about this would be much appreciated.

First Week

I always forget how tired the first week of school makes me--even though it's only three and a half school days. I always forget how hard it is to get up in time to prepare for breakfast at 7 and class at 8, I always forget how loud the dining hall is, and I always forget that THIS term was going to be the one when I didn't put those little jobs off till the day school started.

I also always forget how lovely it is to have a student come up to you and give you a big hug because they are actually glad to see you again. I forget how great it is to say something sort of funny and have most of your class laugh indulgently with you. I forget the excitement of a great class period where everyone is on the ball and focused, and the joy of marking homework that shows genuine understanding. So, term starting is both "the best of times, and the worst of times."

We had one of our senior boys move on to another school at the end of last term, and two other students rather suddenly pull out right at the beginning of term. My Hungarian student is here just for the first third of the term, and I have another kid going on furlough with her family about two thirds of the way through the term. We have Margie back with us as the 2nd and 3rd grade teacher, but no short termers so things are a little tight around here schedule-wise. I imagine that the Lord will have much to teach us all about patience and grace; I know that I need to take mine to another level! I have been challenged recently by reading a biography of Amy Carmichael, A Chance to Die. I have so far to go on my journey towards holiness--praise the Lord that He can use such imperfect vessels for His glory! I fear I get in the way all too often.