Tomorrow is our end of term program, teacher interviews, a baptism, the AGM (annual general meeting), and our big end of term assembly where we give out awards. It's been a crazy ride, but the term is almost done! I see a nap in my future Thursday afternoon... I'll do a 'real' post after I've recovered a bit.
Praise the Lord for His goodness, and His mercies which are new every morning!
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
Friday, July 8, 2011
FIRE, and a letdown.
Yesterday they started burning the firebreak around the school, and started on the part that is behind my house and by the soccer field. I was a little alarmed to see the billowing clouds of smoke and ash coming from the direction of mi casa, but this was a 'controlled' fire with several of our guys watching it and beating out any errant blazes. There was so much ash falling that it looked like black snow, and the soccer games in progress had to be stopped because they couldn't see the far half of the field. Yay for burning season!
After all the excitement of sports day, it was discovered yesterday that due to a spreadsheet error Fisher had not won Sports day after all, it was in fact Poole. I was just glad that it wasn't faulty score keeping on my part! Oh well, we still got second, and so far we are leading in Academic points.
Only a week and half left of school!
After all the excitement of sports day, it was discovered yesterday that due to a spreadsheet error Fisher had not won Sports day after all, it was in fact Poole. I was just glad that it wasn't faulty score keeping on my part! Oh well, we still got second, and so far we are leading in Academic points.
Only a week and half left of school!
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
Sports Day Snippets
Just a few details about Sports Day 2011 at Sakeji Mission School.
*I was the scorer, so I had my tent and everything out on the field as well as my laptop to punch the scores into a spreadsheet. Are we getting posh or what!
*This was the first Sports Day with our new house system--Fisher, the house I'm a part of placed highest overall, and won the track events. Poole won the field events. Hoyte and Molyneux both did a good job as well.
*I'm going to need to buy a yellow shirt as that is Fisher's color. I tried painting my nails yellow, but it was such an awful color that I had to take it off as soon as I was home for the day. There is only so much I'm willing to do to support my house!
*Being outside in the open air all day is very tiring; I slept like a log!
*We had a couple of minor injuries, and one girl who strained her knee petty good while high jumping. The irony is that we have more injuries on the high jump now that we have a crash mat than we did before when they had to fall into a sand pit.
*I've never heard such a quiet supper before--we should (almost) do this more often.
*Go Fisher!
*I was the scorer, so I had my tent and everything out on the field as well as my laptop to punch the scores into a spreadsheet. Are we getting posh or what!
*This was the first Sports Day with our new house system--Fisher, the house I'm a part of placed highest overall, and won the track events. Poole won the field events. Hoyte and Molyneux both did a good job as well.
*I'm going to need to buy a yellow shirt as that is Fisher's color. I tried painting my nails yellow, but it was such an awful color that I had to take it off as soon as I was home for the day. There is only so much I'm willing to do to support my house!
*Being outside in the open air all day is very tiring; I slept like a log!
*We had a couple of minor injuries, and one girl who strained her knee petty good while high jumping. The irony is that we have more injuries on the high jump now that we have a crash mat than we did before when they had to fall into a sand pit.
*I've never heard such a quiet supper before--we should (almost) do this more often.
*Go Fisher!
Sunday, July 3, 2011
The Crazy Begins...
Only 2 1/2 more weeks of term which means--lots and lots to do! Report cards, interviews, Annual General Meeting (AGM), show, and all those little odds and ends to tie up. I'm doing my best to have as many marks ready to total up before exam week so hopefully I won't be up till midnight on Saturday!
We have had some problems with theft in the last week, but thankfully a lot of the items were recovered, and some good discussions with our workers has come out of it. I didn't have anything go missing, but several other families on station did. Sometimes it's easy to forget that this is a culture that will take anything not bolted down, and that 'nicking' something is fine until you get caught and it becomes stealing. Hopefully this will discourage further theft for awhile and help keep our watchmen on their toes!
Another Brass Tacks family has arrived to continue work on the dinning hall; the roof isn't on yet, but you can definitely see the shape the finished building will take! This family was out here last summer, so it's good to see some familiar faces.
We are now at our coldest part of the year--yesterday morning it was 12 C after breakfast (about 50F)--brr! I must say I do enjoy getting to wear my shawls and light fires though!
We have had some problems with theft in the last week, but thankfully a lot of the items were recovered, and some good discussions with our workers has come out of it. I didn't have anything go missing, but several other families on station did. Sometimes it's easy to forget that this is a culture that will take anything not bolted down, and that 'nicking' something is fine until you get caught and it becomes stealing. Hopefully this will discourage further theft for awhile and help keep our watchmen on their toes!
Another Brass Tacks family has arrived to continue work on the dinning hall; the roof isn't on yet, but you can definitely see the shape the finished building will take! This family was out here last summer, so it's good to see some familiar faces.
We are now at our coldest part of the year--yesterday morning it was 12 C after breakfast (about 50F)--brr! I must say I do enjoy getting to wear my shawls and light fires though!
Monday, June 27, 2011
Snake whacking!
This weekend was the senior’s walk to church, so I headed down with the kids to Hillwood which is about a 15 minute walk away. After a good message on King David, we all headed back, and I found myself behind 4 of my 5th and 6th grade boys. One of them was swinging a stick he had found and whacking the tall grass by the side of the road, when his friend suddenly exclaimed, “You just bashed a snake!” Sure enough, there were hurried rustling sounds by the side of the road. Of course then the boys all wanted to see it and were on the verge of heading off into the bush when I reminded them that it was now an annoyed snake, and we should probably keep going. I laughed about it for the rest of the day though, because that kid is a bit of an airhead, and when informed of his action, his reaction was, “I did what?” in a really high, girly voice. I bet that poor snake got the shock of his life! Sitting there, minding his own business, and then he got belted by a 6th grade boy!
We are well into the coldest part of our year, and socks, sweaters (aka jumpers), and even a few gloves and scarves have been standard attire for our mornings. The nice thing is that by noon it is nice and warm, and then as the sun falls, so does the temperature until the nippy nights have you appreciating a fire, tea, and a purring cat on your lap. The only problem is dragging your body out of your warm bed in the dark. How I love dry season!
We are well into the coldest part of our year, and socks, sweaters (aka jumpers), and even a few gloves and scarves have been standard attire for our mornings. The nice thing is that by noon it is nice and warm, and then as the sun falls, so does the temperature until the nippy nights have you appreciating a fire, tea, and a purring cat on your lap. The only problem is dragging your body out of your warm bed in the dark. How I love dry season!
Sunday, June 19, 2011
Parting is such a sweet sorrow...
Yesterday one of the harder parts of missionary life came around again, one of those parts they forget to warn you about. The part of your life where you always seem to be saying goodbye. The three education students who have been blessing us for the last 6 weeks climbed on the little plane and took off for Lusaka while the children waved and cried. I find it’s hard sometimes to let people into your heart when you know they are just here for a short time—holding back makes saying goodbye so much easier! We are so blessed by the many young people who give up a part of their life to serve with us here, but that only makes saying goodbye all the harder.
This morning I ended up walking to Hillwood for church, and then I came home and took a longer nap than I intended to. It was so lovely and peaceful on the road this morning—since it’s dry season there was clear blue skies and a nice breeze blowing. It was so great to have that time of quiet to pray and settle myself before getting to church. I love the first part of the dry season before all the burning starts the best I think—it’s still a little green, there isn’t bits of ash everywhere, and the cool mornings and evenings are all the better for the hot days.
I can’t believe there are only 4 weeks and a bit of term left—where has the time flown! All too soon it will be report card week again, and then the kids will be heading home. Where has the last year and a half gone?
This morning I ended up walking to Hillwood for church, and then I came home and took a longer nap than I intended to. It was so lovely and peaceful on the road this morning—since it’s dry season there was clear blue skies and a nice breeze blowing. It was so great to have that time of quiet to pray and settle myself before getting to church. I love the first part of the dry season before all the burning starts the best I think—it’s still a little green, there isn’t bits of ash everywhere, and the cool mornings and evenings are all the better for the hot days.
I can’t believe there are only 4 weeks and a bit of term left—where has the time flown! All too soon it will be report card week again, and then the kids will be heading home. Where has the last year and a half gone?
Monday, June 13, 2011
In which I make Smurf shoes and get some things done.
Today is the first of our half-term days, and I’ve managed to have a some one-on-one recorder time with about half my students, get two sets of papers marked, supervised the kids for their morning swim down at the pool, felted a pair of slippers, and made some bread and cookies. I’ve also fit in a few hugs for my cat, and a few chapters of a book.
The reason I said I made Smurf shoes, is because the felted slippers that were supposed to be an elegant ballet flat in a vibrant blue, didn’t quite shape out as promised, and created shoes definitely reminiscent of Smurfs. Oh well, at least they will keep my smurfy feet warm…
This weekend I lit my first fire and enjoyed an evening of letter writing and marking complete with crackling flames, hot chocolate, and classical music. Yes, I am that helplessly nerdy! Since my house has cement floors, it can get quite cold inside in June and July, so that is one reason why I was making slippers, and it’s also why I was so excited that my house had a fireplace. One of my favorite childhood memories is of eating a special breakfast of cinnamon toast and milky tea in front of the fire while my mother read to us. This was while we lived at Mukingi, and I’ve always remembered how special it was to not only get TEA, but also to start the morning off in such a cozy way. I’m so thankful that my parents understood how important it was to make little moments like that special. Enjoying a fire is still one of my favorite ways to spend an evening, and this is the perfect season for that.
My class just finished up its science units, and now its time to start our India social studies topic. I’m not sure if I have a novel that will work to read with the unit—Kipling’s Kim is a little over my kids heads, and I can’t think of another book that is educational enough to put with the social studies unit. Hmm… I’m slowly slogging through The City of Joy, and I think that I’ll be able to read parts of it (it’s a rather long book!) once I finish reading through the whole thing. I didn’t get near as much reading done this term break as I wanted to…
Well, I had better be going. There are lots more papers yet to mark, and a few things to figure out for the end of term program before I can go to bed tonight. Yay for half-term!
The reason I said I made Smurf shoes, is because the felted slippers that were supposed to be an elegant ballet flat in a vibrant blue, didn’t quite shape out as promised, and created shoes definitely reminiscent of Smurfs. Oh well, at least they will keep my smurfy feet warm…
This weekend I lit my first fire and enjoyed an evening of letter writing and marking complete with crackling flames, hot chocolate, and classical music. Yes, I am that helplessly nerdy! Since my house has cement floors, it can get quite cold inside in June and July, so that is one reason why I was making slippers, and it’s also why I was so excited that my house had a fireplace. One of my favorite childhood memories is of eating a special breakfast of cinnamon toast and milky tea in front of the fire while my mother read to us. This was while we lived at Mukingi, and I’ve always remembered how special it was to not only get TEA, but also to start the morning off in such a cozy way. I’m so thankful that my parents understood how important it was to make little moments like that special. Enjoying a fire is still one of my favorite ways to spend an evening, and this is the perfect season for that.
My class just finished up its science units, and now its time to start our India social studies topic. I’m not sure if I have a novel that will work to read with the unit—Kipling’s Kim is a little over my kids heads, and I can’t think of another book that is educational enough to put with the social studies unit. Hmm… I’m slowly slogging through The City of Joy, and I think that I’ll be able to read parts of it (it’s a rather long book!) once I finish reading through the whole thing. I didn’t get near as much reading done this term break as I wanted to…
Well, I had better be going. There are lots more papers yet to mark, and a few things to figure out for the end of term program before I can go to bed tonight. Yay for half-term!
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