Auntie Kim

I arrived in Seattle around 4pm Saturday evening and about an hour later I had my precious niece in my arms. Reality really set in that I am an aunt and it brings me more joy than I could have imagined. Later this same evening I watched my little niece play baby Jesus in my home churches Living Nativity.

To Seattle for the Holidays

My journey back to Seattle is halfway over. I arrived at the London Heathrow airport a couple of hours ago ready to get a taste of the cold weather. I actually forgot that I would have to exit the plane into the open air to get on a shuttle to terminal 5. I am thankful I have a zipup sweatshirt and a light jacket. My mom has already been informed to bring my winter coat, a scarf, and mittens to the airport. Thank you all for your prayers for a safe journey. I will see some of you soon! Seattle and cold weather here I come!

Christmas Fun

The last couple of meetings with my small group we have done some Christmas activities along with reading the Christmas story. Below are some pictures of our fun together.

Cookie Decorating

At first the girls were surprised we could eat the colored frosting, but then they enjoyed licking their fingers.

Fabric Angels

Using some local fabric we cut out circles and created angels for the girls to bring home as a decoration.

It is hard to see the angels in the picture, but they turned out GREAT!

Exam Week

This last week exams have been taking place at the primary schools. While the math teacher for the P4 class has been away I have filled in as his substitute. I didn’t realize that he wouldn’t be back in time to give the end of the year exam, so last Wednesday I gave my first official exam here in s. Sudan. Here in Mundri there are no copy machines and for most people, limited access to computers. This means that all tests are hand written by both teachers and students. Teachers prepare their exams in advance and then copy them by hand onto a chalkboard. Then time is included during testing for students to copy all the questions onto their own paper and then respond. What could be an hour exam turns into 3 hours. I hand wrote my exam on big chart paper because the P4 black board is significantly smaller than some of the others. During the exam 88 P4 students crowded to the front of the room so they could see the problems. At different times students would call out and say they don’t understand a question and sometimes just a minute or so later the same question would be asked again. The most challenging part of giving this exam was testing these students on material I hadn’t actually taught them. It was hard not to just want to give them the answers.I continue to be thankful for these opportunities to teach in new and different environments. The Lord is using these experiences to show me how I can best encourage the staff and students her in Mundri.

Giving an exam to 88 students means correcting 88 papers. Took awhile and I was happy today to hand it off to another staff member to hand back next week.

As students handed me their completed exams I noticed that students who had more than one paper found some sort of plant stem or some other creative something to tie their papers together. No staplers here.

World AIDS Day

Yesterday Dec. 1st was World AIDS Day. People from all over Mundri district gathered together to take part in this day of awareness. Because of Sudan's history of war it has only been in the last couple of years that AIDS education has been targeted. People are aware of this virus, but many may not understand its danger or the importance of being tested. The theme this year was Universal Access and Human Rights.

The day started off with everyone marching together down the road; singing as they moved.

Many primary schools from all over Mundri sent students to share songs and dramas stating the danger of HIV/AIDS

When student groups started dancing others from the audience soon joined in.

Many people were sporting t-shirts with bold statements written on them driving the point of AIDS awareness a little deeper. Some tshirts said 'Avoid risky behavior' or 'Nyebe nga londre wayi ro' which means You leave behind looking anyhow or 'Sibu takum Dowuria Sambala' which means You leave your messy walking.

Pies, Pies, and more Pies!

Yes, even pecan, apple, and pumpkin pies can be made and enjoyed here in Mundri, s. Sudan. We spent two days as a team preparing delicious delicacies (thanks to the Massos who brought lots of wonderful things from Uganda). This year we also had the pleasure of offering a little taste of home to 13 American visitors who chose this year to sacrifice time away from jobs, family, and friends during Thanksgiving week to come and love on the people of Mundri. It was a joy to share in this day together and to take time to reflect on the many ways our Father continues to pour his love and blessing into our lives.

Creative Strokes

Twice a week 4-5 of my P4 girls come to my home to engage in a short English lesson or some other fun activity. We have been reading through some stories together and most recently I read the book Hot Hippo. Not only does this book have a storyline that is easily relatable to children here because it’s written about an animal common to e. Africa, but the pictures are also full of vibrancy and color. We have enjoyed together the humor of this fable and this author’s creative take on why the hippo lives both on land and in water. Once the girls became familiar enough with the story I had them use water colors to create their own picture choosing whatever part of the story they wanted. In just the matter of an hour I watched these girls transform a blank white piece of paper with the stroke of a brush and use of creative minds into a beautiful work of art. I don’t think I could ever get tired of watching children create.

Chai- It's a Love/Hate Relationship

Now when I say Chai, I am not talking about a cup of tea. I am referring to the dog of Acacia Masso. As the Masso family is in Uganda the four of us remaining have been given the responsibility of taking care of this pestering/playful dog. Each night when I lay my head down on my pillow I wonder if I am going to get a full night’s sleep without Chai’s random barking. This being a dog who barks even when small centipedes cross her path. But then there are nights, like last week, when I am thankful to have this watch dog in our midst. We were awoken by Chai’s barking and as I was about to leave my Tukul to go check things out I heard some other strange animal noises. At that point I decided Chai could handle herself and her barking actually had a purpose. When the barking keeps out intruders of a larger size I am thankful to have her around as our protector. Chai, like other dogs also loves digging holes. She usually digs one hole and then moves onto another so that multiple holes are scattered around. This makes walking from my Tukul to the latrine a little complicated, especially in the dark with the obstacle of dodging the holes and fearing a twisted ankle. However, these days Chai seems to be focused on a single hole. Maybe she thinks she can dig herself to Acacia somehow. The hole is definitely turning into a cave she can actually burrow herself into. All in all Chai is a fun dog to have around and really is a part of our team.

She is pretty cute sometimes.

Discipline

Discipline is always a tricky subject to talk about let alone write about. Everyone has their own view and opinion. But I think we can all agree that discipline is a part of life, it can help a parent rear their child to become a mature, responsible adult, and even though we don’t like it, it also helps us in our walk as we try to make decisions that will bring glory to our heavenly Father.

In the U.S. if a student is tardy to school without a note they may have to owe a recess, sit in detention, or make up the time in some other form. Over the past two days I watched around 500 students get punished for being late to school. My heart strings get pulled when I watch discipline take place here in Mundri. I struggle with whether this is because there must be other methods or because my western mind quickly goes in the direction of judgment since discipline methods here are far different from what I am used to. But is what I am used to better? I guess the most important question is: Is the discipline being done out of love? A question that I would love to discuss more with teachers and other educators. I also just continue to pray for my heavenly Father to change my heart in places that need changing and to place opportunities before me to love and encourage the students and staff as best I can.

Welcome Roomie!

Welcome Bethany! Bethany was one of the friendly faces who welcomed me to Uganda in Aug. 05. We overlapped for two weeks as she handed off RMS (Rwenzori Mission School)responsibilites to Amy and me. Then she returned the next two summers to lead our summer internship program. During this time we developed a great friendship that continues to grow. And now we get to continue sharing in life together here in Mundri, s. Sudan. It will be nice to share the tukul; to have someone to grumble with when Chai (the Masso dog) barks randomly in the middle of the night, to laugh with when random critters crawl into shoes or other things, and to talk the night away together.

Big Week at School

This was a big week at the Parish Primary School. All week long a film crew was around taking pictures and film of the students and their soon to be finished school building. The crew was hired by OXFAM, an organization who dontated money to finance the construction of the new school. As you can imagine it was one distracting week as students were more facinated by the 'Obonje' moving around with high tech equiptment rather than a lesson from their teacher. And then to add to the mix, on Tuesday the commissioner and some of his sidekicks stopped by as part of their official tour of all the Mundri district primary schools. And of course the commissioner can not just stop by without a welcome banner, welcoming songs, and a few speeches. Even though not a lot of teaching was taking place during the week, it was fun to observe the students get excited over all the new things happening around them.

This is the current school building. There are only enough rooms for P4-P7 (4 grades), the rest of the students meet outside under trees.

The new spiffy school buildings. They are just weeks away from being finished, but the school year ends at the begining of Dec. so they probably won't shift till next year.

Desks! Currently the students sit either on chairs they bring from home or stones/bricks they find laying around the school grounds. They write in their school excersize books using their laps as a hard surface. These students are very excited about their new school furniture!

Sisters Reunited

It is common in the course of a conversation to find that a person has not seen siblings, parents, or other relatives for years. This due to multiple variables such as work or school, but the greatest one being war. During the war here in Sudan many families were forced to separate as they ran to the bush or sought refuge in nearby countries. Yesterday I got to witness sisters who have spent many years apart reunite. It was amazing to watch my friend and her sisters pick up from where they left off. One sister she hadn’t seen in over 22 years! The reason for the reunion was to celebrate the giving of the dowry for one of the sisters even though she has now been married for over 25 years. I guess now is better than never. Most of these sisters live within Sudan but even traveling within Sudan is difficult and expensive. I feel very honored to have been a part of the reunion and have the opportunity to meet the family of my dear friend.

Coloring

Last week I took some coloring books and crayons with me on one of my visits to see friends. I thought the children on the compound would enjoy the pictures and colors. As I opened the coloring book I tried to find pages that didn’t look too complicated and then I demonstrated how to put crayon to paper. It was fascinating to watch the children try to stay in the lines and advice one another on different techniques. For many it was obvious that they had never even used crayons before. At this point I only know how to say the primary colors in Moru, but I am not even sure if other words exist outside of the basic colors. As I held up pink and asked the children what color, they responded with “oka” which means red. When I held up purple, they responed with “Läbuli” which means blue. The children were very proud of their pictures when they finished and made a point to show me their masterpiece. This of course brought a huge smile to my face.

Work Day

The land that was given to us here in Mundri has quickly transformed from a field full of long grass and bush to a lovely haven, or almost anyways. On Monday we all took part in a work day out at the land along with our two visitors from Bundi Ashley and Sarah. Most of us worked on one of the Dukuls, creating wire walls and the wire frames for the windows. I was looking forward to working with the cement, but we didn’t get that far. I guess I will have to go out there again in the coming week. It was great to have the opportunity to literally pore sweat into our future housing. We are all excited to see the finished product!

Liana and her level head was a huge help :o)

Just imagine that will be a nice screen window someday soon.

Friendly Faces

As I try to learn the Moru language I move around from home to home and sit with neighbors. There is one home in particular that I make sure to stop by almost every time I move around. The women of this home have become good friends and I look forward to seeing their friendly faces each time I go. Neither of these women speak even a small bit of English, which forces me to communicate solely in Moru, and maybe a few hand motions. Through these relationships that Lord continues to show me that it is possible to build friendships even with the language and culture barrier.

Few Words, Multiple Meanings

In the small book shop here in Mundri town you can find a Moru to English dictionary. This dictionary has become very handy for my teammates and I when needing to look up words we hear or read that are unfamiliar. Compared to our massive English dictionary this dictionary seems small with its 146 pages. I find myself thinking 'Moru can't be too difficult to learn if their dictionary only has 146 pages.' Although, I am sure not every single Moru word is listed and the dictionary was written some years back. I have also come to realize as I look up different words that many Moru words have multiple meanings. And when I say multiple meanings I mean drastically different meanings. Take the word dri for example, depending on how it is pronounced, used within a sentence, or what sound or letter is stressed it can mean: head, hand, on, through, bundle, or used to silence someone when they are talking. I confess that using words like this make me a little nervous because I fear I may say "Did you hand your firewood today?" instead of bundle firewood or "Put your book through the chair" instead of on the chair. But of course with learning a new language comes many many mistakes and lots of laughter.

Housing Progress

Our future and permanent housing is quickly going up. We are currently renting space, which is quickly becoming too tight as our team enlarges. Below are some pictures of what has been constructed to date.

Above is a picture of what we are calling the communial house. This house includes a shared kitchen, dinning, and sitting area. Along with a store room and library.

It is hard to picture just looking at this open space, but this will some day be our common kitchen where many tasty meals will be prepared.

You may think this looks like a cage at the moment, which is does, but soon it will be transformed into what we are calling a 'dukul.' This will be the sleeping quarters for two of the single women on our team.

Running for Shelter

The drops are starting to fall and the children who sit under trees for their lessons run for shelter at the nearby unfinished school building. Below, students are standing next to the current school building waiting out the rain.

Last Tuesday the temperature got to a cool 72 degrees. For us this means longs sleeves, jackets, and for some like Gaby Masso wrapping up in a snuggly blanket. With this cooler weather we have also had an increase in light rain showers. As I walked to school on Tuesday the sky above me was threatening rain. An hour or so after I arrived the showers came and the children scattered. Some probably ran home, while others just ran for shelter in the nearby unfinished school building. We are definitely thankful for every bit of rain we get, but I will also be glad when the new school is finished so that school lessons are not disrupted by weather changes. I'm sure some of the students didn't mind though, they seemed to enjoy checking out the new classrooms.

My First Staff Meeting

A little over a week ago I attended my first staff meeting at the Parish Primary School. Most of the meeting was in Arabic, but thankfully one of the teachers sitting beside me quietly translated what was being said. The meeting started off with a reminder from the head teacher about time management. She has not been happy that many of the teachers show up late and stressed that they should be arriving 30 min. before school begins. Next, an hour or so was taken to go over the class schedule to make sure all subjects were being taught and to clarify who was teaching what. I did not get all of what was being discussed here because too many people were talking back and forth, but I did here many teachers say they were unable to teach certain subjects because of the lack of text books. Other topics brought up were discipline issues with specific students and end of the term exam preparation. During the meeting I was just a spectator watching how the teachers interacted and listening to whatever the neighboring teacher was willing to translate. I was encouraged because it seemed all the teachers wanted to be there and as they discussed these various topics I observed genuine concern to make decisions that would be best for the students and school.

No Substitutes

In the U.S. school system when a teacher is for some reason unable to come into school he or she can arrange for a substitute to come and teach their class. Here in Mundri there is no such option. When I went to one of the local primary schools on Thursday I noticed a few classes without a teacher. I asked the head teacher why this was and she began to state that one teacher was sick, another was at a funeral for a neighbor, and other teachers were just running late. Here when a teacher is absent the students have a free period where they just sit and try to entertain themselves for an hour or so until a teacher is available to come and teach a subject. This is a situation where my heart stings are definitely pulled. Part of me wants to jump up and say I’ll do it! I’ll be the substitute! But the reality of that task is overwhelming. My mind races thinking about how this problem can be solved, but of course no feasible solution comes. As I continue to see how limited resources are here I continue to trust the Lord who is not limited by this lack of resources.

Making Bread

Yesterday I went to the local bakery to help make bread. Well actually when I say bakery I mean a little open shack and a locally made brick oven. A place where a few hundred round pieces of bread are made for the consumption of hungry customers at two local restaurants. The bread making process starts right at sun up and the last piece of bread is pulled out of the oven 5 or so hours later. Acacia, Larissa, and I helped roll the dough into little balls which later got patted down into flat circles. The whole process was pretty fascinating and the bread tastes phenomenal. I may not be able to communicate well with our Arabic speaking friends with my very very limited Arabic, but we can still laugh together and teach one another new things. Below are some pictures of the bread making process.

Observing Lessons

This last week I started sitting in on some lessons at one of the local primary schools. The teachers have been so open to allowing me to sit and watch them teach and interact with their students. They understand that I want to learn more about the schools here and what it is like for them as teachers. I believe just sitting in a class will better show me how to encourage and pray for the students and teachers here in Mundri. I have no idea what it is like to teach more than 30 students at a time, under a tree outside where there are dozens of distractions. Even when I taught in Bundibugyo the classes I taught were smaller than average because they were the older students. There were plenty of times I taught large groups games outside, but there was no pressure to meet the goals on the syllabus or prepare students for exams. On Tuesday I sat in on an English lesson where P6 (6th grade or so) students had to match words like impossible, argument, and agree to their correct definition. It seemed like a difficult lesson with lots of guessing. Then on Friday I sat in on a math lesson for P1 students. The teacher had her students pull out some counting sticks they must have crafted at home. She taught the students how to use their sticks, those who had them anyway, for simple subtraction. Then she listed about 5 subtraction problems on the board for students to work on independently in their exercise books. When they finished they all lined up and waited patiently for their turn to meet with the teacher for correcting. This teacher looked at 60+ exercise books during this time! The Lord continues to place a vision in my heart for how he desires for me to be involved in the schools here. He also continues to challenge me and broaden my views and ideas about education to see that different things work in different places.