10 snippets of my "this is Africa" life

1) getting stung by centipedes then watching scorpions run across the floor

2) using directions with phrases such as "look for the group of parked motorcycles," "after the really big pot hole," "when you see the orange building"

3) shortages on gas, which means my gas stove doesn't work

4) buying 20 sleeves of Oreos and Ritz at a time simply because they were in the store

5) getting new tires and two of them being flat the next day

6) ordering every beverage cold versus the usual warm

7) paying seperate prices based on resident, non-resident, or citizen

8) yelling at least once every drive, even if it's a 10 minute drive

9) sitting in traffic for an hour on a main road, at 6pm on Friday night, becuase they decided to install a new speed bump. really?

10) memorizing the path to my head lamp because the power goes out so much

Thanksgivings from Kenya

Since Thanksgiving is an American holiday, I don't like making my kids "celebrate" it. So, I made a "showers of blessings" bulletin board, and my students wrote down their blessings on raindrops. This is rainy season, so we're thanking God for our blessings in our own way. I like reading them, so I thought you might too.

from 8th grade:
-Thank you God for rain and life
-I have a nice warm home with a roof over my head. I am thankful I have good Christian friends and I can go to a Christian school.
-Really good friends at school
-Thank you for you gave me opportunity that I can study English in Kenya.
-my parents
-thank you Lord for giving me a family
-I am thankful for my mom and dad because they care for me and I'm thankful for my goofy sister
-I'm thankful for the people I get to know at WNS, and other place in Kenya : )
-giving me awesome friends and the gift of life!
-I thank God for reassuring me that I am safe and should not fear because he is with me like this Al-Shabaab thing. God loves me :)
-thank God for education and that I am still learning. I thank God for being alive.
-a good education
-my best friends that I can trust with all my problems and help me with them
-Thank you God for a wonderful day and the refreshing rain. Thank you for being in control of us and dying on the cross for our sin thank you for giving us life me love you and praise you
-I am thankful that me and no one I know has been hurt by the Al Shabaab attacks. I am also thankful to be able to get such good education here at WNS, and especially thankful that I am alive today.
-I want to thank God for helping my mum's movie come together well and for giving her the strangth to finish it
-Thank God gave me a really smart brain! and I can use it to honor and glorify him. Thank you Lord! Amen.
-We can get an education that others may not have the priviledge to. For friends that listen to me complain and joke around. The chance that we can live in a country where it's free to worship God.
-Thank you God for my parent's because they've taken care of me and my brother, also for Jesus dying for our sins.
-I am thanksgiving to God because God cares about us, protect wherever we go and making us to live till this day
-thank you God for helping me when I really need him
-Thank you for..giving me the blessing of being able to go to school
-I can go to a Christian school. I have parents who love me
-thank God for the safety of my friends and family and for the safety of my school and people who go here and for all you have done for us
-I can breath and praise Lord and I have vision for my God

My Birthday

I had a pretty tremendous birthday this year. The actual day fell on a Sunday, but the festivities started on Friday and didn't end until Sunday night. It all started at 9:20 in my 8th grade U.S. History class. I was just starting class when my roommate, the Pre-K teacher, comes in and says a few of my students were late because of her. Then, one of my boys and two girls entered carrying a cake, cookies, chips, drinks, everything! My 8th graders threw me a surprise birthday party! How sweet is that?! They bought this really big and pretty cake with "Happy Birthday Miss Jones" written on it, and it was just the best thing ever. And they made me a certificate for being the "awesomest teacher." It's super cute and hilarious. A bunch of them signed the envelope, even some of my former 8th graders! A few of my kids were really funny throughout the day. My 6th graders tried to hide and surprise me with "surprise! happy birthday!" when I entered the room, but being the great teacher that I am I knew what they were doing beforehand. I still let them "surprise" me, however. Everyone's "happy birthday"'s were heart-felt and sweet.

On Saturday, I went hiking in the Ngong Hills. It was techinically a late birthday celebration for my roommate, but I enjoyed it very much. After that I went to the market to look for outfits for spirit week. It was a fun and sucessfull trip.

On my actual birthday, Sunday, I went to church and sat through my first Sunday school class in months. We switched out teachers, so I get a break! During church one of my colleagues gave a praise during prayer requests and praises time that it was my birthday. Then during choir practice, everyone sang for me which was slightly awkward considering they were trying to make me dance in front of everyone. After church my entire school went out to lunch with me! Well, sort of. Since I helped plan events for our staff this year, I added a trip to one of my favorite restuarants on my birthday. Fogo Gaucho, is this amazing Brazilian steak house where you eat tons of different kinds of meat. They give you a card that you flip over when you want more, and they bring it! All you can eat salad/pasta bar and all you can eat meat! It's a heavenly place. So, it just so happened that a lady from the NICS home office came to visit us over my birthday. Every time a NICS home office member comes, they buy the whole staff dinner. So, my entire staff got to eat Fogo Gaucho for free on my birthday! It was a pretty sweet deal. I had about 50 people sing me happy birthday, plus the waiters who brought me cake. After the meat fest, a few of us went over to a friend's house to play games, where I proceeded to eat three more peices of cake my roommate had bought. It was yummy.

And, of course, I called my family so they could wish me a happy birthday. Joys of living overseas. But, overall, it was a fantastic birthday.

THEN.... like icing on the cake, I got a birthday package from home! It was perfect too. tuna, wheat thins, starbursts, ziplocks, even Chanel! Plus lots more. Just what I wanted. I love my momma for putting it together!

ah...I just love birthdays :)

10 snippets

1) "I keep calling you 'Mrs.' Jones! I think it's a sign you're going to get married soon." I'm ok with that; although I don't think I'll be a "Jones" again.

2)"Miss Jones, why are you in such a good mood today?" why thank you

3) "Miss Jones can we please open the windows?! It's so hot!" (he just came in from PE so I said) "No, it's not hot in here." five minutes later "Miss Jones! PLEASE! I'm hot as a train engine!"

4) One of my 8th grade girls kept holding up the class saying she wasn't done with her quiz yet. After the quizzes were passed in, she and her neightbor were giggling in their seats. Come to find out, she was done with her quiz the whole time, she just wasn't done with the flower she was drawing me on the back.

5) One of my 8th grade boys was really excited one Monday because he had a visitor coming into town who just happened to be a girl. He claimed she was just a friend who was a girl, while his buddies and I agreed it was his girl who was also a friend. Confirming our suspicions, he didn't come to school the next day.

6) One of my Kenyan students loves my American jelly beans so much, so she offered to pay me for each individual jelly bean or work out a system of exchange with my candy of choice. She really REALLY loves American jelly beans.

7) "Miss Jones you hair is dope!" translation- "Miss Jones, your hair looks lovely today!"

8) "Miss Jones, why do you always wear your belts on your stomach?"

9) favorite Kenyan yoghurt flavor name: Fruits of the Forest. cracks me up every time

10) my 6th graders still have about a billion questions a class period. I'll have 5 hands raised within the first 2 minutes of class, before I've even opened my mouth. If I ask a question to the class, they raise their hands and ask me a question. I'm constantly telling them put your hand down if it's a story. Before I let them talk, I ask, "Is it a story or a question?" the typical response, "uhm...well (30 seconds later) it's sort of a comment and a question." oh my, when will they learn?

Emmanuel Baptist Church

I thought I should share a little bit about the church I attend in Nairobi. It is called Emmanuel Baptist Church (EBC) and has about 270 in attendance. I have attended for about one year now, and have been a "member" for several months. Since I am an expat (expatriot), I am a member yet still hold my membership at Fellowship Chapel in Bristol, VA. There are lots of great churches in Nairobi, and EBC is not even what I am most used to overall. However, it is the best preaching I've heard here. The pastor's preach the Word solidly, in a expository style which is what I'm used to. EBC has solid beliefs straight from the Bible, that I agree with. We only have a piano player, and sing mostly hymns but it's beautiful. EBC was started 10 years ago, and has just now bought it's own property! Previously we met in a large pavillion tent on the campus of a preschool. We have jsut bought the campus, but are still raising money to cover the costs. Land is expensive in Nairobi. Just today we celebrated new growth with service in our brand new expanded tent! It's twice the size of the old one. Yesterday, two friends and I went to church to help clean the stone slab floor and set up chairs. It was fun to be a part of something new! Both our pastors were thankful for a little extra help. Our head pastor, Joel Weaver, is American but grew up in Kenya as a missionary kid. He is almost as much Kenyan as American. Our assistant pastor, Ken Mbugua, is Kenyan and a wonderful first-time preacher. I truly admire these men of God. Our church is very international with about half Kenyan and half everything else. I really love the mix! We have one service on Sunday mornings, Bible study before when I teach a Sunday school class, and Wednesday night prayer meeting. EBC is very involved in the community, with outreaches in a couple different slums. We have also partnered in starting an outreach in eastern South Sudan. A couple men have traveled there twice now, and are going again next month. So far, they are working on pastoral training and working with youth. They have asked for help to accomodate the children, and I have volunteered to go this coming April. I'll give lots of fun details later on. God has definitely blessed me by bringing me to EBC. I miss Fellowship Chapel terribly, but love Emmanuel Baptist Church as well. It's my second home church!

preparation, safari, school

I arrived back in Nairobi with about 2 weeks before school started. I was planning on using that time to set up my house and classroom, hoping to get more done than I did the year before. I definitely made some improvements, but the time flew by and I didn't get everything done I would've liked to. I was able to purchase a coffee table and end table with my roommate, and after some painting over the break, our apartment officially looks like a home. It has always been a nice apartment, but now it's cozy. oo, and we just got wireless internet again! Which is, of course, a praise. So, with those few home things, and getting to know a bunch of new staff, my first week was pretty much gone without any work in my classroom being accomplished. I did,however, love spending time getting know our new teachers and administration. They are all excellent, and WNS is blessed to have them. I am looking forward to a great year. But before I continue with school...one of my roommate's mom was able to come and visit her! Since it was her first time in Africa, we went on a short, one night safari with her to Lake Nakuru National Park. I went to the same park last Thanksgiving, but it's so great I didn't care to go again. We had a fun time and were able to see a lot of animals! We stopped at Lake Naivasha on the way back home and took a boat ride to see hippos! That was one animal I hadn't seen yet, and we got really close to dozens! It was amazing. oh, and I got really super close to a zebra. That was fun. I probably could've touched it, but I didn't try. He did start to get annoyed a one point and our guard shooed him away as I quickly walked away. I didn't really want to get bit. So, the safari was a nice break from work, and a good start to a school year. When we got back to Nairobi it was time to work. I scrubbed and cleaned in my classroom for a long time, but I must say it's the cleanest it's ever been. The "dust" here (which is really dirt) gets on everything and you can't do anything about it. It's one of those times when you just have to shrug your shoulders and say, "TIA, This Is Africa." After the thorough cleaning, I got my classroom back in order, went through teacher orientation, and started teaching on Tuesday! We had a half day and then full days the rest of the week. It was soooo great to see my students again. We have a new bunch of sixth graders, but kept many of the same in 7th ad 8th! It is very strange to think of them moving up a grade, but I reckon that's what's supposed to happen. Many of them were very excited to be back at school and see me, but most tried to hide it. Our rosters are still chaning, but right now we have about 70 students in middle school. A few more than last year, which is good, but makes our classes large. I'm teaching almost the same classes: US History, World history, World Geography, 7th & 8th Girls' Bible, and the new one, Kenyan History. the new one is the one I'm most woried about. I'm writing the curriculum myself, and have not invested much time in it. Plus, I don't really know Kenyan/East African history. Right now, I'm just planning on making it up as I go. There is a ton of work I have left to do, and am praying I get it all done. I'm already so tired though. But, it's the weekend right now! yippee! I have taken a break so far, but need to get craking asap. Praying for a productive weekend and a great school year! There's lots of awesome ideas and changes floating around, and lots of prayer. I even invited the staff to join me in a prayer walk around our campus. I was very blessed we did it. I know God has great things in store this year. Ok, well that's been my first three weeks back! The end!

a summer in review, snippet style

1) I got to sing in my high school best friend, Rachael (Royston) Edwards' wedding!
2) I got to see my sister pregnant! She was all baby and quite lovely. Even though she was just about miserable.
3) I made it home before the birth of my first niece, Emma Lee Shumate, who was born on June 11. I prayed I would be there, and God answered my prayers! I was able to spend the whole 20 some hours in the hospital with my parents and sister and brother-in-law. When Emma finally arrived, I was crying with happiness. She weighed 8 pounds 9 ounces, was 21 inches long, and is still just perfect!
4) Emma got to spend her whole first week with her Aunt Alanna.
5) I slept so much my night owl side came out! I coudln't go to bed before midnight and couldn't get up before 8!
6)I had so much free time (due to the fact that I didn't do all the work I needed to...oh well) that I got bored!! so lovely. I watched tv to fix that.
7) I got to speak in youth group, Sunday night church, to the Emmaus Way group, and to a Sunday school class dinner! such a blessing.
8) Emma spent a whole week in Tennessee with me. We visited all the family at Pappaw's house, and all the other family at our house! We had lots fun together.
9) I got to spend a lot of time with my parents, sister, brother-in-law, niece, grandparents, aunts and uncles, and cousins. AND, I was able to see a few very precious friends in TN and VA.
10) I ate Mom's food, Pal's, Pizza Hut, every other kind of American food. I only drank sweet tea. I shopped and got some good deals. I hiked and kyacked, and just enjoyed the green mountains. And yes, I got some work done.

Overall, pretty good summer!

a year in review, snippet style

1) Well, I survived me first year of teaching and actually enjoyed it. Now that's success.
2) I made a lot of new friends and have enjoyed getting to know them better and getting to know Kenya with them.
3)God let me disciple six middle school girls. I truly love them! I think we learned a lot together, and had some fun! They inspired me by their passion to see their friends get saved, be more like Christ themselves, and gain Bible knowledge.
4) Now I can drive on the opposite side of the road, in crazy traffic, and not wreck.
5) I got to experience and help at a few different slum schools and orphanages in Kenya, which I absolutely love doing.
6) Safaris are amazing! I've seen some incredible animals, and up close too! I love God's creation in Kenya.
7) Spring break in Uganda with friends was the best. Visiting Serving His Children Ministries in Jinja was humbling and so rewarding. Rafting the Nile River was unbeatable.
8)My middle schoolers gained some fun activities this year with the implementation of the Middle School Student Council, lock-ins, game nights, and movie nights! Lots of work for me, but also quite rewarding.
9)I think I can say I know how to live in Kenya. Which is, I think, an accomplishment. It's a pretty big deal to learn how to live in a foreign, third world country by yourself. God led me through with no hiccups!
10) I think the most important lesson I've learned this year is about the depravity of man. By watching circumstances around me, and pondering through my own, I have been reminded of man's frailty and lowliness. To sum it up, I own nothing and I am nothing. I don't deserve wealth or fair treatment, equality or recognition; I derserve death and hell! Who am I? The greatness of God makes man look like less than a speck of dirt. Yet, depraved though we are, He loves us. And because of this unwavering love, I am elevated to child of the King, a precious jewel, worth dying for. If that's not a humbling thought, I don't know what is.

10 Snippets of uhm, well, my life

1)"Pandora requires 64kbps to run properly. You are currently streaming 16kbps." Curses on Kenyan internet.
2)student about another student: "T____ is like my grandma, she moans a lot." perfect description.
3)(me)"Make sure you label all these little islands." (student)"Miss Jones do we have to label all these tiny islands?" (me)"I just answered that question." (student)"Oh, I don't think I was here." (me)"I answered it about two seconds ago." (student) "Oh." dear oh dear
4)"Miss Jones, can you please get me out of detention?! Just say you need me to do some work or help me become a better Christian or something!" so creative with their excuses
5)I gave a student the task of erasing some dry erase maps....(me) "You just have to rub with a lot of elbow grease." (student) "But I thought we couldn't put cleaner on the erasers?" (me)"Elbow grease is just an expression for rubbing really hard." (student)"Oh"
6)When two of student were caught by the rest of the class walking as slow as possible back to class, they all accused them of "skiving." I had no idea what this meant, but they were sure yelling it out! I soon figured out that it meant skipping class.
7)So, I have this one student who I caught one day, putting her books and belongings in my lost and found basket. I asked her what she was doing and she said she would come and get them later. I had to inform her that she could not use my lost and found as her own personal locker. I've had to remind her practically every day since.
8)"Miss Jones, I think you're so smart that the information just slips out of your head."
9)I don't know why, but every afternoon when the students have left and I'm just working in my classroom, there's this bird that always trots into my class! Ya see, our classrooms open to the outside, not an actually enclosed hallway, and there's a huge tree right outside my door. So, this one bird just loves coming in! He's not really scared of me either! It's bit of a battle, keeping the bird out.
10)(student)"Miss Jones, I have a big problem. I think I've broken about a dozen school rules." (me)"What did you do?!" (student)"Well, ya know how stuff ferments after a long time? Well, I think I made alcohol in my locker."

Serving His Children Ministries

We jumped off the bus and were immediately accosted by boda boda drivers, frantically trying to the collect the five white girls and their bags. Even though the normal form of public transportation was sitting on the back of a moped, or boda, I preferred a taxi for this first trip. I was visiting Uganda for the first time with four friends from Nairobi. We had just rode the bus all night long and arrived in Jinja around 9am. I needed to find someone who could get me to Renee, the director of Serving His Children ministry. That was my plan for my first Kenyan spring break...visit Ugandan babies and of course, raft the Nile River. We finally managed to peel ourselves away from the boda drivers while I called Renee on the phone. She would come pick us up, brilliant. We parked our bags and ourselves on the other side of the petrol station where we were dropped off. I had only read a few pages in my book when she arrived, we loaded up, and off we went to Masese, the right outside Jinja where Renee lived. The views of Lake Victoria along the route were beautiful!

We found the house full of Ugandan mothers, babies, and older siblings. The two other American volunteers were quite welcoming as we made ourselves at home with chai and cinnamon buns. Over the next three days we each grew to love the sisters in this house. Renee had moved into the house three years earlier to start a feeding program for the children in the local community. It evolved into a malnutrition rehabilitation center for an average of 14 children at a time. The children we held, played with, and fed range from a few months old to a few years old, yet almost all look about the same age. Extreme poverty has shown it's horrors in the lives of these precious little ones. They come to the house just skin and bones, most not able to sit up, walk, crawl, speak, or really even eat. With God's help, they are nurished back to health while their mothers are taught how to properly care for their children. It was humbling to sit on the porch holding a baby listless in my arms, knowing the child was actually two years old, and could not yet walk or talk. What kind of future is in store for this child of God? It is heart-wrenching to think how many children are out there just like these, yet don't even have the chance to get well. How many of them will die of malnutrition? Hugging them a little tighter, I prayed God would give them a "hope and a future." It was exactly the kind of spring break I wanted. Spending time with some awesome missionaries and loving on the babies they care for so diligently. I don't understand the poverty and malnutrition, but I do understand God's call on His people to serve them and take care of them. What a great way to show God's love! If you understand God's command to care like these missionaries do, please visit their website to see how you can help. And always, say a pray. http://www.servinghischildren.org/

oh my heart

Ok, so here's a personal struggle I have had off and on in my life: I try to take personal responsibility for the actions and care of those I care about. I first discovered this fault in high school, it reoccured throughout college, and it's resurfacing again now. Even though I long ago learned that I cannot do this and cannot let myself get burdened with others' struggles, it still haunts me. Right now, I feel the need to personally try to help almost all of my students. They have some legitimate needs and it breaks my heart that I cannot personally take care of their problems. Today I was reminded that I can only truly reach a few. Thankfully, God has brought me a select few students to pour as much as I can into. I love this. It is still hard that I cannot do this for them all, but this is not what God has allowed. He knows best! I still cannot belive He would use me at all! I have nothing special to offer these kids, nothing to achieve by myself. However, He uses me more than I even know! It's really cool to find out that God has been using you more than you thought. This week I've been kinda bummed about how many needs my students have that I cannot meet, and then I got the encouragement I needed. God has always given me more encouragment than I deserve, and He did it again! Yesterday another girl asked to join my discipleship group which was really exciting, and then today four of my girls decided to honor me with gifts. They created a giant card for me complete with stickers, glitter, and lots of hearts and flowers. They also gave me some chocolate, flowers, and a necklace...they know we too well. The notes in the card are what truly almost brought me to tears. Please allow me to share. Remember though, this is not what I have accomplished, but evidence of God using little 'ol me for something bigger.

to: the most awesomest teacher who we love so much!!! Miss Jones
you are an inspiration!
we love you!
thank you!

Miss Jones, you have helped me grow close with God again! Thats with discipleship, Bible class. But honestly you are a great role model. I do look up to you Miss Jones! I see you love God and I do admire that! You are truly a blessing! Thank you very much for coming all the way to Kenya. I love u SO MUCH!! And I bet you will be happy to hear my life has changed for the better, and you helped with that. You are so EASY to talk to and give us hope and advice. I love u Miss Jones and thank you (and whether you don't know it you helped me in one of the hardest times of my teen life!!!)

You are a great blessing in my life!
Plus, you are the most awesomest teacher! And a great awesome person!! May God continue to work through you! (it changes lives!!)

Hey Miss Jones!! Thanks for teaching me more about God, I really appreciate it!! continue with the hard work!!

Hi, Mrs. Jones!, Thanks for being an awesome and understanding teacher. It's so easy to talk to you about anything! Your a really good example and mentor to me! you always have awesome advice. Thanks for being awesome! Lots of love!

Dear Miss Jones, Thank you for being awesome, and always being there for me. God bless you!

I really love these girls. Praise the Lord for using me more than I could ever imagine to touch the lives of these girls. God is SOOOO good!

Valentines love one another

This past Valentine's Day, instead of celebrating the mushy gushy type of love that all middle schoolers already know about, we focused on God's type of love which is all about others. Here are their ideas about how to show love to one another...(which they wrote on little white hearts that I put on a bulletin board hehe)

-by being kind
-by being helpful
-love truly with your heart and care for them and forgive like God did!
-by caring deeply for each other
-we can help each other out like standing up for one another when someone is made fun of, or comforting each other in hard times
-it looks like my mom and dad we should love people like that
-by spreading God's love
-heling a friend in their hard times
-to love one another so that you can be friends and that you pray for them and help them
-by helping people in need
-by encouraging to each other
-we can share and be honest with one another
-by nice to each other
-don't get mad when your bff trashes your computer
-unconditional love and care
-respect each other and do nice things to one another
-treat others the way you wanna be treated
-put others needs ahead of yours
-love you neighbor as yourself
-buying me chocolate
-praying for others
-giving others gifts
-invite someone to your house
-we can love one another through God, by showing appreciation and respect towards one another
-putting yourself lower than others
-share lunch with a friend who forgot their's
-to care for each other by not holding grudges
-hugs
-being patient with people
-be nice to those who are not nice to you
-forgive no matter what
-"a man without love is like a fish out of water it can't survive" so give everyone love
-have a positive attitude towards others!
-complement them
-care for someone and believe in them

10 snippets and a shrew

I've been told a few times now that I'm long overdue and I agree, so here goes...

10 Random Middle Schooler Snippets

1) I got some water from the water filter/water fountain at school and it was really hot. After I swallowed I said something like, "Ew, this water is hot!" just as a couple 8th grade boys walked by. One very nonchalantly said, "Oh that's my fault Miss Jones."

2)A couple of my 7th grade boys thought it would be funny to scare me one day. No one was in my classroom so I heard them approach me from behind, I didn't realize he was so close. He grabbed my shoulders making a noise and of course I shrieked. I don't think they'll ever let me live it down. He was practically rolling in the floor with laughter at the time.

3) We all eat our lunches outside underneath bandas, which is the perfect place for birds of prey to stalk. Since part of the way is open these "lunch hawks" have developed a habit of swooping down in between the bandas and snatching up lunches right off the plates. Well, I finally had my turn. This particular hawk demonstrated a perfet dive coming in from behind. I only felt the brush of wings and a little extra weight on my plate as he took his booty and soared away. I saw nothing. However, there was a nice group of girls coming towards me at the time who witnessed the whole event. They immediately began alerting the whole campus that a hawk attacked and I almost died. In their excitement, they may have overexaggerated a bit, but they will never forget it!

4)I finally slipped up in my 6th grade class. I do a very good job of never saying shut up or heck or the normal "bad" words, but this one day I lost it in front of the whole class. I said crap. The following gasps reminded me that even though they say those words plus, teachers are not allowed.

5)I just have to relay to you the coolness of teaching in an international school. They other day two of my sweet little 6th grade girls came up to me holding papers for me to view. One was filled with Ethiopian writing, the other Japanese. I'm so jealous of my kids' language abilities. Ethiopian/Japanese speaking English in a school in Kenya. wow.

6)I am now wondering if I ever had the typical middle school hormones. I really don't think I did, at least not to the point of some of my students. The more open ones will come to me saying, "Miss Jones I'm so depressed" "i just feel bad" "I just don't know what's wrong with me" right after bouncing up and down with happiness. Sometime I wonder if they are seriously bipolar?!

The next few snippets are a continuing story...

7) My 7th and 8th grade girls came into Bible class in a bit of a frenzy one day. One 7th grader kept claiming that her 8th grade sister had a dead animal in her backpack. she claimed she had caught a peek a couple times since yesterday and there was a dead possum in her bag. All the rest of the class kept trying to tell her she was delirious.
8)When she seemed so determined and the sister so calm, I walk to the sister with the supposed dead possum and asked if she indeed did have a dead animal in her backpack which was resting at her feet. She smiled at me sheepishly.
9)"Let me see it" I said. And sure enough, to my surprise, there was a small dead rodent in her backpack haphazardly wrapped in a kleenex. Apparently she had found the flattened, very dead animal on the football pitch and stashed it away for joke. I explained how nasty that was considering it was probably disease ridden, so she put it back in her backpack. It wasn't a possum, it was a shrew.
10) I told her she could put it away and later show the science teacher to be sure it was a shrew before she disposed of it. Needless to say the younger sister felt very justified. Of course she didn't want to dipose of it, she asked me quite politely if she could put it in the bushy hair of one of the boys. I said no. After we showed the science teacher we both agreed that if it ended up in someone's locker we might just look the other way. I have no idea what happened to that shrew.

oh world...

Perhaps you keep up with world news...if you do, you will have seen all the troubles happening around Africa. This is the staff devotion we received from our Kenyan art teacher, Billy Mugambi...

The Bottom Line. Reflections of a Modern Day Pilgrim. Over the past week, at least five North African countries have come under civil unrest that threatens to spread to most of the Arab world. Just two days ago, Ugandan opposition leaders threatened to lead a similar revolution against Yoweri museveni's regime. Kenya's ruling coalition is on the verge of collapsing, millions are faced with starvation in Northern and Eastern Kenya. Billions of shillings allocated to resetting IDPs ahve been embezzled by senior government officials, and just yesterday, a couple lost their four children and all their belongings ina fire that reduced their home to ashes. That's just a sneak preview of what's been going on regionally in less than seven days. Internationally, things aren't looking any rosier. Australia, Brazil, Chile, South Africa and the Philippines have suffered some of the worst flooding ever. The dsut has barely settled on the Wikileaks scandal, and nationalistic dreams of a better tomorrow are rapidly turning into nightmares over an uncertain future. The US government has somehow managed to accumulate one trillion dollars of additional debt in six months, China's military spending has hit an all-time high and people across the world are wallowing in murky waters of deep despair. Ancient pagan deities that had been relegated to the history books are now being worshipped openly in many sectors of society and are now part of popular culture all over the world. We could go on and on about what's wrong with society today, but that isn't what we're called to do. In the sanitized bubble taht is today's middle-class Christian communion, it's easy to become insulted from the evil that has saturated our society, and mislead ourselves in to believing that God's will has led us to this blissful stupor of indifference. I have some to learn over time however, taht constantly identifying with the sorrow and pain of others less privilged than I am serves to remind me taht the peace and decent lifestyle i now enjoy is a gift, not an entitlement, and must be used solely for the purpose of advancing God's kingdom. That in Him I may become, and continue to be the salt of the earth. And while the whole world appears to have gone totally insane with no hope of redemption, I am encouraged by the simple truth that i have read the end of the story, and the outcome is certain. Christ wins. In a world where no good deed goes unpunished And Godly values have all but vanished, Where blasphemy's hip and hope is finished And worthy pilgrims are hunted down and vanquished.... I choose to believe what God has promised That sin's filthy grip will be demolished That in heaven's courts, gloriously polished, Countless redeemed souls will sing His praises...Undiminished...Unblemished...Accomplished. And that's the bottom line.

stuff

While in West Virginia, before returning back to Kenya from Christmas, my sister finally decided to relinguish the rights to her precious teaching supplies. We spent a whole day sorting through mountains of handmade visuals, games, and just about anything you can think of to make the perfect 1st grade classroom. I loved being able to pick out what I wanted! which of course ended up being just about all of it. The venture ended up being a bit overwhelming however, simply because one little number kept racing through my head: 50. My two suitcases could only be 50 pounds each. eek. What to do?! Thankfully, my mom said she'd just store it all at our house in Bristol along with all my other "stuff." While trying to pack up my two bags to come back, I was reminded of the horrible weakness I have in really liking my "stuff." I have lots and lots of stuff, and it's all great stuff! Yes, I am pack rat by nature, a "fault" I contribute to both parents. I was taught how to respect my things and appreciate them. With these great virtues comes boxes and boxes of well taken care of, sentimental stuff. And of course, after a year and a half of living in apartments, I have a decent stock of older kitchen supplies as well. To sum it up again, I just have a lot of stuff. So...the problem is back to 50 pounds. Well, I sorted it out and packed what I could and left the rest. This missionary thing really cuts back on what's important in life! God has to keep reminding me that all my precious "stuff" will one day burn. It really doesn't matter, it's really not important. All that I need to care about is honoring Him in my life, completing His plans for me.

Community Service at WNS

At West Nairobi School we have a community service spirit which penetrates pre-K through 12th grade. The classes take turns going on community service trips to various ministries through Nairobi and sharing the love of Christ. Below is a list of accomplishments WNS achieved for God this past semester. -308 Christmas food buckets were given to Christian Light Academy School in Kawangware slum -over 400 pairs of clothes and shoes for at least 100 children at Fadhili Chrildrens' Home on Ngong -over 600 books contributed as the first books in the Mitumba School library -over 250 plastic bags were given to women in Kibera slum to make baskets to provide for their families -over 4,700 Gideon's Bibles were given to children at Kimugul School, Mitumba School, Christian Light Academy, AIM School Kibera, and Haruma Children's Home. A Bible in every hand, what a blessing! -two children from Kibera slum got sponsors for their high school education -funds were donated to Heshima Surgery Center -60 fruit trees were planted at AIM Kibera School, Christian Light Academy, and West Nairobi School -Above all, our children got to enter the mission field and touch the lives of others. Praise the Lord!