"I have no great joy than this,"

"to hear of my children walking in the truth." - 3 John 4

The highlight of this last week was to see one of our grade 9 students obey the Lord in baptism. Having watched this lovely young lady grow up from grade 3 onwards, to see her making this public profession of the new life I have seen in her was truly special. It was also special that her dad, a missionary at a nearby station, was able to baptize her as part of our joint prayer meeting. The Lord has really been working in the hearts of particularly the junior boys this term, and Satan has also been at work, but to see these glimpses of what He is doing is such a privilege.

Thus begins the last 'normal' week of school

I’m trying to remember what all happened this last week. Um… Half-term, the 7-9th graders made it safely back from the Copper Belt sports tour, my kids were totally ‘hung over’ for most of the week, and I had a busy weekend on. I’ve been working through preparations for next term—things as mundane as notebooks and binders set aside and labeled and the more exciting such as a big ‘where to find it’ document for whoever fills in for me. I have my big bag half packed, and I need to weigh it to figure out how much of the stuff currently stacked on top of it is going to get to go home that way.

So far my shoulder is holding out; I’m being very careful how I use it. I’ve started playing through the whole program once a day to try and build up some more endurance, and I’m being careful how much I knit to avoid straining it prematurely. Please pray that I’ll be able to make it through the program and the rehearsals without too much pain.

Parting shot: The skies here remind me to lift my eyes up to my Maker and the source of my strength.

His Mercies are New Every Morning

I am so glad that there are new mercies for every morning, and that no week lasts forever. This past week was quite a challenging on several levels. For one thing, last week my grade 7 students had seven national exams to write, and directly after writing the last one on Friday morning they and the grade 8’s and 9’s headed down to Chingola for their annual Sports Tour. So, there was a lot to do to get ready for that, and there was a lot of shuffling classes around to make sure that the most vital things were accomplished. Grade 6 wasn’t left out of the testing joy either—Phil had me doing a lot of Key Stage 2 (the British systems) assessments with them that ended up filling up a lot of the week as well. There was a personal melt-down early in the week when the last straw was reached over a vacuum cleaner (don’t ask), and I wadded through so much marking. I had to get the grade 9 students ready for the practical part of their music exam, and there was, of course, the usual duties and things to accomplish.

After that, what a blessing to have a weekend off! To have the chance to make my favorite molasses spice cookies and a big pot of chili, drink good tea, knit, spend time with Ruthie and Beth, and just breath. It was a rainy weekend, so I got to enjoy the sound of rain from the comfort of my house for once! It is in the midst of times like these that the Lord’s goodness shines out all the more, and after some sleep, some time alone, and some time with Him, I am feeling better. So, just in case you thought I was some kind of super Christian, I am in need of grace just as much as the next person!

Parting shot: Grade 1 and 2 girls roller skating this half-term.

Week 8

Last week was…intense. While I didn’t have a sudden invasion of grade 9 music students and power stealing teachers, my cleaner for most of the school buildings didn’t show up for work all week, and I didn’t hear anything at all from him until Friday afternoon. I suspect that the only reason I heard from him then is that the ‘bush telephone’ had let him know I was starting to shake the bushes for him. Thankfully he came into work this Monday, so while I am writing a letter for his file, hopefully this won’t happen again. My students probably hope so—one of them who was out to lunch for large portions of Friday afternoon ended up doing some community service cleaning in the admin!

This week is also an intense one in my classroom; my grade 7 students are writing their national exams. They need to keep up with the core items of their regular studies as well, and then on Friday as soon as they finish the last exam the grade 7-9 students are heading down to the Copper Belt for their annual sports tour. So, before they go, I am trying to get two pieces of paperwork done—one for the Teaching Council of Zambia and one for Imigration, as well as a baby gift that I want to send to some friends. I’m trying to get corrections done and make sure that while not overburdening my grade 7’s, that I’m also getting done what must be so that we can finish the term in good shape.

I’ve also started the lists of things that must be done before I leave Sakeji for my furlough on the afternoon of December 1st. It’s hard to know how much to put and how much to leave to my substitute’s good judgment. Speaking, of, that is a prayer point—who will be taking my class while I’m away. So, prayers for sanity, strength, patience, and grace would all be appreciated!

Parting shot: I love frangipani blossoms like these ones; so lovely!

An Unexpected Meeting and Independence Day

Last week I had an exciting Thursday; I was supposed to take our three grade 9 students in to the local school where they are writing their national exams for a run through of the practicals on the music exam, but much to our surprise, the whole grade 9 music class and three teachers pitched up here! So, there was a scramble to set something up in the hall, we had to source a CD player to play last years test, and when their two CD’s didn’t work I had to run and get my iPod on which I had thankfully just put a copy of the 2015 music exam. We gave the kids the exam, and then the music teacher and I sat down and marked them all using the answer key we (really mostly I) had made. All in all, two hours of my day went to this most interesting of exercises. I was a little stunned when they left to see the number of electronics they had brought with them for apparently the express purpose of charging them on the sly off our electricity…oh Zambia!

I was off this weekend and got to spend some time with Ruthie and Beth as well as get some rest and try to dig myself out from under marking mountain. Today, Monday, is the 52nd anniversary of Zambia’s Independence, so we celebrated with our traditional swimming gala, lunch at the river, and bonfire in the evening. Heavy rain this afternoon curtailed some of the house events, but as it is very much needed I was thankful. Here are a few pictures:

The flag raising in the morning,

And the bonfire that evening. No picture of the swimming gala as I was rather busy getting kids to their races! Happy 52nd birthday Zambia.

Slower Week

I was on this last weekend, so that meant that there were two damaged toes to deal with at the river, a splinter, and a grievous green mango eating incident. I had Ruthie take some pictures of the first part of Sunday school--the nice part where I still have 240 power! Here I am directing the juniors into my classroom for some singing before we split up,

I did a lot of marking this past week, so much so in fact that I was able to enjoy a Saturday evening with NO MARKING. What a nice treat!

This week I will be switching back into history; Tim has taken my science class, so I am excited to dive into ancient Greece. I have an interactive notebook resource that I'm excited to use, and of course I love teaching history. That's pretty much all for now--a slower week is a good thing now and then!

Parting shot: I enjoyed this glorious sunset a few nights ago.

Two weeks--Birthday Party and Half-Term

These last two week have been so, so busy, so yeah, blogging didn’t happen. This weekend I was off, it was half-term, and I powered through a good portion of my to-do list. I would like to think that I leave myself some goals, but the bottom line is that I just put more on as I cross things off.

First, a few pictures from our farming birthday party.

Half-term was a nice time of not just marking and accomplishing, but also some rest. My swim supervision turned into dorm supervision due to a big rainstorm on Friday, but after that we had lovely weather in the afternoons that let the kids take advantage of the lovely river playground. I even went swimming after lunch on Saturday! Here are a few pictures.

Rainy afternoon in the dorm,

'Bag supper' in the rain.

The amazing chocolate chip cookie dough cake I made for Bethany,

And down at the river on the second day of half-term.

Parting shot-- A lovely sunrise over the misty soccer field before early morning swim this half-term.