Roll Out

This week we rolled out the reading program. We began last Saturday with a Legends meeting. At the meeting, we explain this week’s assignment to the Legends and taught them how to teach their classes (the Legends are placed in groups that each teach a grade 8 or 9 class every other week). This week’s lesson was a Vision paper. The students were each given a piece of paper which they folded to form 8 boxes. At the top of the page, they wrote “Me in 2020”. Basically, they had to depict what they wanted their lives to look like in 11 years. In the first box, they described their appearance, in the second their relationships, in the middle 4 how they were going to change the world (i.e. their job), and in the bottom 2 boxes they put the things that they would like to have. The learners were instructed to either draw or cut and paste pictures from a magazine showing their lives in 2020. Then they were to write sentences explaining the pictures. Additionally, the high schoolers (grade 8+) had to write the steps that were required for their vision to become reality. The purpose of this assignment was to get the students excited about the possibilities of their futures. We also plan to use it to encourage students to stay in school when things get tough (even primary school aged children drop out of school here).
The first assignment was both encouraging and discouraging. Throughout the week we gave the lesson to the 4 primary schools that we’re working in and supervised the Legends as they taught the grade 8s and 9s. It was exciting to see how hopeful the learners were about their future. Like students in the States, many of the grade 4s dream of becoming police officers, doctors, teachers, astronauts, firemen, etc. I even had one learner tell me that he was going to be a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle when he grew up. Yes sir, these kids are dreaming big. I love that they haven’t let all of the things stacked against them (a ridiculous dropout rate (less than 20% of learners who enter grade not (kindergarten) will graduate from high school), witchcraft, satanism, cults, drugs, alcohol, sex, gangs, violence, poor education, ridiculous educators, constantly being degraded, huge classes (one of the classes that we worked in this week had 65 learners in it), poor leadership, poverty, hunger, little or no school supplies, child-run homes, be orphaned, the list goes on…) discourage their dreams. They know that they want to leave an impact on their community, and we seek to help them achieve their goals.
The first assignment was also discouraging because it revealed just exactly how far behind many of the learners are. Many of the grade 4s struggled with simple tasks such as cutting out a picture from a magazine and understanding spacing; many don’t even know what a sentence is. In the last class that I taught, I asked a learner to write an “a”, and he didn’t know what “a” was. With other learners, I’d ask them to write a “w” and instead they’d write “h”. Yup, we have a lot of work ahead of us. Still, it’s encouraging to see that the students are excited to learn. I can’t wait to see how they’ve progressed when my time here ends.
Other than that, my week consisted of finishing marking assessments and meeting with principals to confirm when we were going to meet with the classes. It still amazes me how disorganized things are around here. You agree with the principal to roll out the program at such and such a date and time, and he agrees to it. Then when you come to roll out the program, he asks why you’re there. It’s just crazy to me! The other thing that’s crazy to me is how often the educators bunk (skip) work. 2 of the 4 classes that I taught this week didn’t have a teacher. Here, if a teacher doesn’t show up for work, there isn’t a substitute. Rather, the students just sit in class all day, falling further and further behind. I was talking with a secretary at the last school that we taught at, and she informed me that that day 7 of their educators bunked work. She said that was a pretty normal occurrence. That just floors me!

Today we had to hand out uniforms for the genvox program at the Soweto Vineyard Church, so we went there for church. For whatever reason, I work up in not the greatest mood, and not too excited for a church that felt so foreign. My mood worsened as I started feeling sick throughout the service. But God is good and gave me a precious little girl who made my day!
At the end of the service today, we had time to pray in a small group. The little girl's mother was in my group, so when we opened our eyes after we finished praying, the little girl and some other children were standing around us. At first the little girl was extremely shy, hiding behind her mother whenever we tried to talk to her. Then for whatever reason (I blame God, tehe), she was drawn to me. She started tugging on my skirt, and instantly we became friends. I spent the rest of the afternoon carrying her around on my back and playing with her. She was fascinated by the contents of my bag, especially my camera (as were the other kids). She lead me over to the jungle gym where a bunch of other kids were playing. One of the other little girls asked if the little girl on my back was my daughter (which I found somewhat amusing considering she is black and I am not), and I told her that the little girl wasn't my daughter but my friend. Then a bunch of the kiddos came up to me and asked if they could be my friend too. Aww, precious moments! Tehe. Yup, God is still providing exactly what I need. My God is so good!

Another highlight of my week happened on Thursday. After my most discouraging classes (the one where students didn't even know their letters), I returned to Nikki and Reagan's house to mark assessments, but Bianca (Marta's (Nikki and Reagan's maid; almost everyone has a maid here) two year old daughter)had other plans for my afternoon. She just wouldn't leave me alone. She'd run across the room and jump into my lap, wait for me to tickle or snuggle her, climb down, run back across the room, then do it all over again. Tehe. When she decided that I wasn't paying enough attention to her, she stole my pen. Then I think she felt bad for delaying my work, because she then proceed to mark the assessments herself (and by mark I mean scribble on them, or rather on the paper that I gave her instead). Too cute! A couple of times, she stopped me so she could give me a kiss. Now, as a two year old, Bianca doesn't understand the concept of giving a kiss on a cheek. The first few times that she tried to kiss me, I turned to give her my cheek. Now, Bianca just wouldn't have that. She took my face in her little hands, turned my head, and gave me a sloppy kiss on the lips. If she was any older, it would have been gross, but she can get away with it cause she's cute (Reagan says I'm spoiling her, and I'd have to agree). Tehe.

Yup, I love little ones! I'm so thankful that God has given me the opportunity to work with kids over the next 6 months (make that 5 months. Whoa buddy, I've been here a month already! Time sure flies!).

Thank You, Jesus:
-For little ones. Tehe. They just make my day. I can be having the worst day in the world, and something as simple as the smile of a precious child can change it completely. Yessire, thank You Jesus for children!
-For sunshine! After what felt like constant rain, the past three days have been filled with glorious sunshine. It's so energizing. Yesterday I took full advantage of it, and I have the sunburn to prove it. Yeah, my back and shoulders are going to be hurting for a while. And having a few dozen children climbing all over me, and a very special little girl on my back all afternoon wasn't very helpful. Oh my goodness though! Today, oh of the (many) girls who was playing with my hair noticed that my back was sunburned and asked me why a white person had red skin. Bahahahaha! I tried to explain sunburn to her, but I'm not sure she understood. It was too cute!
-For Laura. I simply love how giving Laura is. She's taking care of me not because she has to, but because she wants to. She understands what it's like to be a single woman living so far away from everything familiar. Ahh, I really can't put into words how thankful I am for her or all that she does for me. She just cares, and is crazy genuine. It's so refreshing, and exactly what I need here. God is the ultimate provider!
-That Laura's finally feeling better! Yeah!
-That my madre is coming to visit me in a little over two weeks. Tehe. I can't wait for her to get here! I didn't realize how much I would miss her. Plus, I'm super excited to show her what my life looks like over her and why I love these people like I do. And secretly I'm excited to have someone familiar here.
-That I get to go to Kruger Park in three weeks. Yup, the other good part about having my mother here is that it means I get some vacation time. Tehe. Laura (and everyone else who has been there) speaks the world of Kruger, and I can't wait to experience it for myself in a few weeks. Basically, Kruger is a giant game preserve that you drive through and see animals in their natural habitat. Laura tells me that it's nice to get away from the heaviness of Joburg, and that I wouldn't realize how heavy living here really is until I leave, even if it's just a few days. I'm excited to experience God's creation, to have a break, and to spend it with two people that I love (my mom and Laura).
-For God growing me. I realized lately that my devotions had taken a noose dive (danger danger!), and that I really needed to turn that around, so I dedicated Saturday to spending time with God (reading my Bible, writing in my prayer journal, reading a book about growing spiritually, singing, enjoying nature, etc). As I was journaling, I realized how much God has been teaching and growing me. It's so cool!
-For answered prayer! This is another thing that I realized on Saturday. For much of the time that I've been here, I've been praying that God would fill me with His courage and confidence, that He would empower me to do things that I couldn't do on my own. Oh buddy, does God answer prayer! I realized yesterday that for the past 2 weeks I've been teaching classes of 45+ learners. This summer I thought a group of 10 campers was too much to handle! And I've taught high schoolers. For whatever reason, high schoolers TERRIFY me. Maybe it's because they're so close to me in age, or they could easily beat me up if they wanted to, or because they're not cute little kids who love me simply because I smiled at them, I don't really know. Tehe. But God's helped me conquer this fear and has given me the strength to teach a whole class of them, and even to befriend a few of the Legends. Tehe.
-For amazing friends! Constantly I am being encouraged by people living half way around the world. This amazes me! Whether it's through a note written before I left, an email, something on facebook, a skype call, or a comment on here, constantly I'm being encouraged. It's great! I know that, if though I'm an ocean away, I'm never alone here.
-For a full belly. When beggars are a regular part of the scenery, one realizes what a blessing food is. And I don't just have food; I have the choice of what kind of food I want. I've even been blessed enough that I can go out to eat with friends, or have a crazy cookie party. Speaking of which...
-For crazy cookie parties! Wednesday, Laura and I were both a bit stressed, so to take the edge off, we decided to have a movie marathon (we ended up watching the Last Holiday and Friends for a good 5 hours), and what movie marathon is complete without not one, not two, not even three, but FOUR different kinds of cookies. Yeah sugar high! And Laura made delicious stir fry for dinner. Yup, it was a good day. Tehe.
-For finger paint. Tehe. This has been my other stress reliever. Last semester, my roommates and I started a tradition every Tuesday where we would finger paint anything from posters to pumpkins to each other. I've decided to continue this tradition (though I've extended it to more than just Tuesday). It's been fun, and as a bonus, my walls are not as bare.
-For prayer. I think it's so cool that God gives us such an easy method of getting a hold of Him. Tehe.

Please pray:
-That my sunburn heals quickly. I'm ready loose the "red girl" title. And for my ears to stop burning. Tehe.
-That I stay healthy. I think I'm starting to catch whatever Laura had.
-That I can continue to grow in God's Truth.
-For Unity and wisdom in the Vox team
-For patience and understanding
-For Reagan's sister. She's still in the ICU recovering from her brain operation. Pray for a full, speedy recovery and for peace for the family.
-For the students here. Pray that they're able to conquer all of the obstacles that are thrown at them.
-For the educators. Pray that they're hearts are transformed, and that they begin to see the impact that they have on their learners.
-For rest
-For continued safety
-For strength in spiritual warfare. Thursday, I got together with my friend Peter. Our conversation really opened my eyes to the spiritual warfare going on here. He told me that satanists and cults target kids, especially elementary aged kids, to join them. A lot of it is over my head, but the thought of young, innocent kids being targeted scared me. Pray that these children are able to resist the (literal) spells and lure of the magic that this people present to them. And pray that God changes the hearts of this people. And pray that I stay strong enough to stand my ground. Nothing is impossible with God.
-Overall, please pray for our children here. Pray that God protects them spiritually, physically, emotionally, mentally, and socially. Pray that, despite the odds, they thrive and fulfill the plans that God has prepared for them. Pray that I learn how to best encourage and help them.