alright guys, i know you are all just dying to hear from me this time--chrissy has finally given up the keyboard.
today marks one week that we have been in kenya now and we want to bring you up-to-date on the things that have taken place since the last post.
chrissy told you about our first full day at the youth center on friday, and so by now we have had two more full days there. i absolutely LOVE. THESE. CHILDREN. you're going to have to take my word for it when i say that they adore us. it's true, they do. and they would love you too because they are simply not used to seeing white people, or muzungu's as we are commonly called. i thought the newness of our being there would fade but no, during our breaks when we play in the yard they ALL want to touch us: our hair, our skin, our face. they get our attention by saying "how are YOU" (especially the younger ones who don't know much more english than that) or "teacha!" and then just smile shyly and truly we are many times surrounded and almost knocked over or dragged down by these kids. my class is class 2 (2nd grade) and i am so excited to finally know all of their names. today i taught a lesson on the difference between to, too, and two...and a lesson on trusting god...and really whatever ann tells me to teach on the spot. it's crazy. i've had the chance to plan one lesson because i knew it ahead of time (on germs and properly preparing foods). tomorrow i'm going to bring a book to read and usually at the end of the day i teach them a game. hangman today was a HIT. chrissy is doing well and teaching all sorts of things like good leadership or science lessons. they are responding very well, but we both agree that there are times when we struggle to explain it as clearly as possible simply because of the language barrier--they do know english but there are times when we are glad to have a kenyan teacher in the room with us to clarify something they are not completely understanding. the staff at the youth center is wonderful. these teachers are getting paid not even a salary--it is so small you could only call it an allowance, euticauls told us. the youth center pays the teachers what they can, but they are running basically on donations and what someone might give for that month. most of these kids have lost one or both parents to hiv/aids, and their families would not be able to afford to send them to school if it were not for this ministry.
right now euticauls is still driving us to the school in the mornings, but soon we will walk because it is not far from our apartment. we look forward to being able to walk there soon. we walked home from church on sunday and i loved it because i felt like i was a member of the neighborhood for the first time. we saw a HUGE pig in the middle of the road walking and chrissy and i thought it was so funny, we took videos of it with our cameras. jane, euticauls' wife, must have thought we were crazy to be so entertained by a pig.
saturday morning we moved from the bed and breakfast we had been staying at, to our brand new home! an apartment right downstairs from the one that euticauls and his family live in. we were blown away by all that they had done for us with this: jane had put up curtains on the windows, there was a big persian rug in the living room...they really are doing so much for us to make us feel right at home here. we love them. the apartment is big for just two people so we spend most of our evenings upstairs with the family and eat our meals with them. saturday we spent the day moving in, getting set up, and getting to know euticauls' three kids and their neighborhood friends. these kids...oh my goodness...wonderful. joe, jeff, and melissa are 9, 7, and 6, and there are several other kids who we have gotten to know. we taught them every game we could think of outside in the little courtyard of our apartment. i've played a lot of jackpot lately. joe can't get enough of my ipod and his favorite song is none other than...yes...justin timberlake.
okay, so the weekend for us looked like a lot of hanging out and fellowshipping with the family. getting settled in. meeting the church body on sunday morning. whew, that is a story in itself! we went to sunday school and church--and so were at the church from 8:30a to 2:00p. i don't want to make this post too long, so i won't go into great depths about that but i was so eager to see the church and was blessed by the warmth with which each person greeted me.
sometimes i stop and think that this must be a dream. not only because i can't believe i'm here...that's not really what i mean...but i can't believe what an entirely different world this is. the slum is like nothing i've ever seen. i still can't wrap my mind around the extent of the poverty i see and the new things i am seeing, hearing, smelling, touching. suddenly the $100 worth of school supplies that chrissy packed make a world of difference. we are thrilled to know how far these pencils, paper, crayons, pencil sharpeners will go at the youth center. i am kicking myself now for not bringing more books with me. children's books or adult books, because the teachers have been passing around a few of the books for pleasure reading that chrissy and i brought along. the children get behind in copying the work from the blackboard because they have to stop and sharpen their pencils with a small razor blade. yesterday i noticed quenter, one of my students, writing with almost JUST the lead of the pencil between her little fingernails. everyone knows how much need there is in africa--and i have a million thoughts running through my head constantly as the problem-solving side of me comes out and i think about solving this on a broad scale...the root causes of why things are this way here. sometimes i just don't understand. but on a very real note, i am here now and i can help, and that is exciting. please keep praying for us.
today marks one week that we have been in kenya now and we want to bring you up-to-date on the things that have taken place since the last post.
chrissy told you about our first full day at the youth center on friday, and so by now we have had two more full days there. i absolutely LOVE. THESE. CHILDREN. you're going to have to take my word for it when i say that they adore us. it's true, they do. and they would love you too because they are simply not used to seeing white people, or muzungu's as we are commonly called. i thought the newness of our being there would fade but no, during our breaks when we play in the yard they ALL want to touch us: our hair, our skin, our face. they get our attention by saying "how are YOU" (especially the younger ones who don't know much more english than that) or "teacha!" and then just smile shyly and truly we are many times surrounded and almost knocked over or dragged down by these kids. my class is class 2 (2nd grade) and i am so excited to finally know all of their names. today i taught a lesson on the difference between to, too, and two...and a lesson on trusting god...and really whatever ann tells me to teach on the spot. it's crazy. i've had the chance to plan one lesson because i knew it ahead of time (on germs and properly preparing foods). tomorrow i'm going to bring a book to read and usually at the end of the day i teach them a game. hangman today was a HIT. chrissy is doing well and teaching all sorts of things like good leadership or science lessons. they are responding very well, but we both agree that there are times when we struggle to explain it as clearly as possible simply because of the language barrier--they do know english but there are times when we are glad to have a kenyan teacher in the room with us to clarify something they are not completely understanding. the staff at the youth center is wonderful. these teachers are getting paid not even a salary--it is so small you could only call it an allowance, euticauls told us. the youth center pays the teachers what they can, but they are running basically on donations and what someone might give for that month. most of these kids have lost one or both parents to hiv/aids, and their families would not be able to afford to send them to school if it were not for this ministry.
right now euticauls is still driving us to the school in the mornings, but soon we will walk because it is not far from our apartment. we look forward to being able to walk there soon. we walked home from church on sunday and i loved it because i felt like i was a member of the neighborhood for the first time. we saw a HUGE pig in the middle of the road walking and chrissy and i thought it was so funny, we took videos of it with our cameras. jane, euticauls' wife, must have thought we were crazy to be so entertained by a pig.
saturday morning we moved from the bed and breakfast we had been staying at, to our brand new home! an apartment right downstairs from the one that euticauls and his family live in. we were blown away by all that they had done for us with this: jane had put up curtains on the windows, there was a big persian rug in the living room...they really are doing so much for us to make us feel right at home here. we love them. the apartment is big for just two people so we spend most of our evenings upstairs with the family and eat our meals with them. saturday we spent the day moving in, getting set up, and getting to know euticauls' three kids and their neighborhood friends. these kids...oh my goodness...wonderful. joe, jeff, and melissa are 9, 7, and 6, and there are several other kids who we have gotten to know. we taught them every game we could think of outside in the little courtyard of our apartment. i've played a lot of jackpot lately. joe can't get enough of my ipod and his favorite song is none other than...yes...justin timberlake.
okay, so the weekend for us looked like a lot of hanging out and fellowshipping with the family. getting settled in. meeting the church body on sunday morning. whew, that is a story in itself! we went to sunday school and church--and so were at the church from 8:30a to 2:00p. i don't want to make this post too long, so i won't go into great depths about that but i was so eager to see the church and was blessed by the warmth with which each person greeted me.
sometimes i stop and think that this must be a dream. not only because i can't believe i'm here...that's not really what i mean...but i can't believe what an entirely different world this is. the slum is like nothing i've ever seen. i still can't wrap my mind around the extent of the poverty i see and the new things i am seeing, hearing, smelling, touching. suddenly the $100 worth of school supplies that chrissy packed make a world of difference. we are thrilled to know how far these pencils, paper, crayons, pencil sharpeners will go at the youth center. i am kicking myself now for not bringing more books with me. children's books or adult books, because the teachers have been passing around a few of the books for pleasure reading that chrissy and i brought along. the children get behind in copying the work from the blackboard because they have to stop and sharpen their pencils with a small razor blade. yesterday i noticed quenter, one of my students, writing with almost JUST the lead of the pencil between her little fingernails. everyone knows how much need there is in africa--and i have a million thoughts running through my head constantly as the problem-solving side of me comes out and i think about solving this on a broad scale...the root causes of why things are this way here. sometimes i just don't understand. but on a very real note, i am here now and i can help, and that is exciting. please keep praying for us.
tonight euticauls, chrissy, and i are taking a bus through the night to jinja, uganda. while euticauls goes to a meetings/conferences and handles his business there, chrissy and i will spend 4 or 5 nights at an orphanage there called amani baby cottage. at this point we don't know too much of what to expect but we can't wait to be there. you can pray that we would have safe travel and that all the plans would work out smoothly for this week. we'll be back in nairobi next tuesday night and from then on out will continue with our work at the youth center. we will be back in touch soon! we love you all tremendously and want to reiterate once again how encouraging you are with your comments, emails, facebook messages! keep them coming! we are continually blessed by your prayers.
so much love.
stephanie
5 comments:
Chrissy & Stephanie....okay, I'm ready to pack my suitcase with school supplies and books and bring them when we come! Enjoy reading about your work & will be praying for you both in the weeks ahead! Only 44 days until we arrive! Just wanted to say hello! Will be checking in on you! Kathydublin
This apartment is nice! Glad to hear that the teaching is going well. You both are in our prayers.
They are absolutely beautiful! I know you two are a breath of fresh air to them b/c of who lives in you and that makes me dang excited. Still praying for you lots. Love my gals!
I love you so much guys. How are you? How are you? (Do i sound like the little children you are with?) I miss you guys tremendously...and every blog just touches my hear to the extreme. I love see your faces with theirs..you are so special. GOD BLESS! SEE YOU SOON!
Hi Sis,
I went to the kid's school last week & thought about ya'll. There were several tables w/tons of books available for the taking.
We had fun at Tammy's shower. Of course we talked ALOT about you-all bad! (just joking-told them about what you were doing all the way over in AFRICA)
The kids especially miss you. Miss you lots.
Heather
Post a Comment