New sport....

On Thursday afternoon, I was heading home from school when I found out that some of the older girls from school were participating in a volleyball tournament on Friday afternoon (the following day). I was surprised to find that they had never played volleyball before, and yet they were playing other schools the next day. The coaches found out that I had played volleyball before, so they asked if I had tips for them. WOW!!! What an experience. We went to the only court in Kibera, and taught them the basics. THey did not have a net, so they used what they had....sweaters and sweatshirts. They had to learn how to bump and serve....everything in one day.
They did not win on Friday (but they were close on one game). They played again on Saturday, and I have yet to find out how that went.

hhhmmm.....

Guess what....I have actually caught a cold in Kenya!! It has been a little chilly here since I've come, but today is actually sunny and warm! I did not even have to wear a jacket! I'm SUPER excited!!!

My school, New Adventure, is divided into 3 terms. They have classes for 3 months and have a month of "break." Really, this month of break involves 1 week of break and then 1/2 days of class for the rest of break. During each term, they are in school Monday-Friday (8:20-4) and have a 1/2 day of classes on Saturdays. They really do not get any breaks!
Right now, we are preparing for exams which will be the 21st-23rd of July. Hopefully the kids will remember everything that they have learned so far. Each exam is cumulative over what they have learned over the whole year. SO different! It feels odd being in school in July....at least I'm not the student any more!!!

Hope all is going well for you!

My kids...

Another week has flown by. I have taught a few classes throughout the week including Math, English, and CRE (Christian Religious Education). THese classes are not difficult to teach considering it is the 3rd grade. However, sometimes it is a little hard to communicate the point of the lesson in English. At the end of each lesson, the children are given classwork to do. That helps me to see if they understood. If they are having problems, they can be helped in Kiswahili by the teacher. That has been helpful. I'm really thankful for how it has gone so far. I am really exhausted by the end of the week, but I have 2 days a week off, so I can catch up on my sleep!

When I get home, I'm pretty tired as well. I have enjoyed going out into the compound and watching the kids play or playing with them. I enjoy having people of all ages here! In my spare time, I have baked here ...I have Christy's reputation to live up to :D HAHA! I love baking though!! Here is a picture...just for mom! It's a mango pie, and we cinnamon crips with the extra crust dough.
If you want to come for tea, and cookies some time, let me know....or just drop by! I'd love to have you :P

Happy 4th!

Hello all! Happy 4th of July! It doesn't feel like the 4th around here. It does not feel summery as it is winter here (It's pretty chilly here), and there is no celebration of America's Independence! Yes, I have been hearing cheering, horns, and yelling over the past few weeks, but that has been for the world cup. I have never been so "involved" in sports as I have been this week... we are so sad that Ghana lost yesterday. It was a tragic loss....

This past week has been exciting and very tiring as well. I have been observing in the classrooms of New Adventure school. I have a 30 minute walk with an escort to and from the school every day. The children are in school from 8:20-4 every day. I started out the week with the intentions of just observing all week. There was a little mix-up as one head man thought I was observing all week, and the head teacher thought I should pick a class. Things worked out all right, and I was not too stressed. I ended up choosing the 3rd grade, and the teacher I will be working with for right now is very helpful and kind. I have learned a lot from her.
She asked if I would want to teach the Bible lesson on Friday. I thought that would be a nice way to ease into teaching, so I said yes. On Friday morning, she was called out to go to a meeting form 9:30-2pm. I was nervous as she asked if I would mind teaching while she was gone....!!!! It ended well as she came back around 11. The meeting had been postponed since there weren't many people in attendance. YAY! God worked that out nicely. I may end up teaching more grades, but for now, I am with the 3rd grade.

Housing on the compound is great. THere are other missionary families and a couple single people around my age on the compound. Right now, I have a whole house to myself. I had 3 other roommates for almost a week, and they have finished their ministries and gone home. It is a little lonely in this big house by myself, but the people on the compound have been so kind. I have had meals with them and had game nights. I am blessed to be surrounded by such great people! I will be getting 2 more housemates around the 29th of August. I can't wait!

Sorry this is so long, I will try to keep my notes shorter. I just want to show you a few pictures of what I did this weekend. I went to an elephant orphanage and giraffe center....so here they are :D Thanks for praying for me! I appreciate it so much!!









THese elephants have been orphaned because of poachers. Every night, someone sleeps in the stall with the elephants. They raise them and release them in the wild. The elephant's human contact is limited so they don't become dependent on them.



Yes, I am kissing a giraffe. HAHA. It's not as gross as one would expect. I only put the food between my lips. Other people put it on their tongues for the giraffe. If it's between the lips, it's not too bad :D You should try it sometime!!

I'm back!

Sorry for the delay in updates. My travel went very smoothly. I found my way around each airport, and there were no delays! I sat by myself for the first flight, sat by a girl from Sri Lanka on the second, a US government worker on the 3rd, a German Theology professor on the 4th, and a French couple that live in Nairobi on the final leg of the trip. I had some great conversations, and some legs went so quickly! I got through customs with no hassles, and got a 10-hour night of sleep that night! The picture above is a view of the compound from my bedroom window :D

My week has been fairly busy. I went to the office for 3 days of orientation. I met with different people from all of the ministries and they told me more about what they do. I have met so many people, it's hard to keep them all straight sometimes. Many of them knew Christy when she was here a few years ago. Many of them say I look like her, and I am even called Christy at times :D
I have eaten dinner and spent an evening with most of the families on compound. They are all great!
When I got here on Monday night, the electricity had gone out. What a great 1st experience!!! At that time, I had 3 housemates. One girl left on Thursday. The second left on Saturday morning, and the 3rd will leave me on Tuesday! I will live by myself until August-when 2 German girls are supposed to come.

I visited Kibera *the slums I will be teaching in* on Friday. I will be observing the classes all of next week. I will be able to tell them which classes that I am most comfortable with, and get the curriculum to look over. Right now, it looks like I may be teaching Math and English.
Please pray that I will learn quickly, and have a good memory! I will try to learn all of their names as quickly as I can. I tend to learn names quicker if I learn a few at a time.

Orientation

Hey all...these last few days have been really busy! On Wednesday, I flew from Wichita to Houston, then on to North Carolina. All were uneventful trips, which was great! I had my first session on Wed night and was able to stay awake until 9:45 Eastern time. WOW...that's the earliest bed time that I can remember!

There are 9 of us going through orientation. I am the only one going to Kenya, but I have enjoyed getting to know the others as well. Three of the others are going to be teaching in Bolivia, so we have that teaching link. One girl, my roommate, is from Topeka, KS and went to K-State. We had found a friend in common within 5 minutes of meeting each other! Thurs. consisted of morning chapel with the SIM staff, 2 prayer sessions (their prayer day) and 4 sessions throughout the day. WE ate lunch with missionaries who had served in the countries. THe couple that I ate with were in Kenya while Christy was there. We had a great chat, and I learned quite a lot from them.
Tomorrow is the last day of orientation, but it will be a full day as well.
I promise to write more and add some interesting pictures when I am able....I can't wait! I will be leaving NC on Sunday. I am heading through O'Hare in Chicago, through London, and will be in Kenya on Monday. Please pray for safety as I travel. I have never been to O'Hare, especially not by myself. Dad printed off a map of the terminals, so hopefully it won't be too bad. :D

I'm leaving...on a jetplane....

....don't know when I'll be back again. Ok, so maybe I do know when I'll be back.
I have an itinerary for Kenya! YAY! I will be in North Carolina for orientation June 16th-18th and will leave from NC for Kenya on the 20th!

Since I am leaving mid-June, I will be able to bring the documents for my work visa with me and start it there. If it's needed, I can extend my tourist visa to cover for my work permit. God has worked out all of the details... :D Thanks for your prayers!

So, one more week in Kansas.....CAN'T WAIT!!