Make Up November & December

FINALLY Kindergarten Kids Pictures

 This is the best group of faces yet.  Some are half colored but they mostly are all human!!  Yeah!!!

We carved pumpkins for our small group Halloween Party.  Next week, we are going to decorate cookies for Christmas.  Yeah, yeah, I'm a little behind.

• I now have 24 students.  I'm pretty sure it's illegal or something to give me more.  Or at least they have to pay me more if they do.  We don't really fit anywhere and line is something like 100 yards long.  They don't get sick and they don't move away.  They are just all there every day.  Thank goodness they listen or I might be halfway to crazy.
• They really do listen.  And their parents care.  I am a big fan of parents who are involved.  They read with them, practice sight words, sign papers, and return phone calls.  Honestly, it isn't everyone but it's more than most years and it makes a big difference.  I will not wish this year over too quickly
• Christmas vacation is only 3 weeks away.  That is CRAZY.  It seems like we are just barely getting started.
• They say funny things but I forget them.  Sorry.  
• On Sunday evenings, I make muffins and take them into school for what has been dubbed "Muffin Mondays."  I started it just to bring some cheer to the building and it's been a lot of fun each week to find and try a new recipe.  Check out my Pinterest board for most of the ones I've tried.  
• I Christmas shopped and wrote my Christmas letter yesterday.  I will probably be decidedly less grumpy in the next three weeks.  
• I am going back to Ethiopia in June and we have a meeting next Sunday.  Are you interested?  You should come.  It's great. 

October

Well, I bet you think our softball team must have won state by now because that is the only reasonable explanation as to why I would not have the time to update this.  Unfortunately, that isn't the case.  Softball has been over for a month.  In my defense, it feels like I'm just getting all caught up but that's probably just an excuse.  I'm out of the habit and I don't know if I'll ever pick it back up the place it used to be.  For now, I will catch up the last month.

The softball team lost in the regional championship game 5-3.  We had a chance but not the extra luck we needed to pull it out over the other team.  The highlight of the game was successfully pulling off the suicide squeeze and surprising everyone in the field and the stands.  Shoot, I even think we surprised ourselves that we did it so well.  It was a great year and I am really proud of our girls.

School is also off to a great start.  I have pictures of Kindergarten faces but they aren't on this computer yet and my camera is at school.  It's refreshing to have a group that listens, responds appropriately, wants to learn, and is eager to please.  They are a breath of fresh air and making our time together already go too fast.  I can't think of any funny or crazy stories off the top of my head but they are pretty cute and have me smiling most of the time.  If I could post their faces, you would know what I mean.

We took a field trip to a local apple orchard last Thursday and that was superb.  We had beautiful weather, lots of time to play, and donuts to eat.  Alas, I forgot to take my camera so there won't be pictures from this year's trip, but I captured them in my mind.  : )

Illini football is bad but I go to and watch the games anyway.  My new car turned 1 year old and tomorrow is going to get cleaned out and cleaned up for a present.  I got my hair cut to right above my shoulders and am planning on going back to Africa next June.  That pretty much hits the highlights of what's going on for me.  Hope your fall has been a blessed one!

Post Season Play

Some very significant things are happening for our softball team.

First, I got my best bruise as a coach.  It came while sitting on a bucket calling pitches and our shortstop over threw first base into my hip.  It looks a lot worse than it feels.  I'm actually pretty proud of it.  I expect it will be gone within the week.

Second, we are 10-4!  We've only been schlacked once and have done a pretty good job of putting it on everybody else.  We have far exceeded expectations.

Third, we got the second seed in the regional and have a really legitimate shot at getting to the Regional Championship game.  We will play Wednesday and Saturday this week.  If we win both, we will play next Monday for the regional championship.  All the games are in our town so hopefully we will have some home field advantage and got out with a bang.  Go Bulldogs!!!  

The dust has settled . . .

and my class is sitting pretty at 22 students.  15!!! girls and 7 boys.  No joke.  This is probably going to mean a lot of talking to curb but a pretty good class overall.  For the first 4 days it was been that way anyway.  I have a couple of intense parents but they have been kept happy so far.  There have been a couple of criers each morning from my room.  One has big old silent tears that roll for about 10 minutes before she forgets and moves on.  The other screams for a decreasing amount each day as we peal him off mom and carry him in.  Today he couldn't even sustain his tears from the time it took me to carry him from the front door to the gym.  I expect by Wednesday of next week he'll be fine.  He won't admit that he is having fun at school only responds with answers including the words "mom" and "home."  So isn't school fun?? Is answered with, "Is it time to go home yet?"  I think he's having fun though.  He just can't admit it yet.

Funniest story is also gross.  In the morning, we sit in the gym by class.  I'm standing in front of my class when I look to the line behind me and see a student sitting quietly with one hand patiently in the air and the other over his mouth/under his nose.  It is unclear as to whether said hand is full of snot or puke but it is clearly a bodily substance that is about to be all over him.  I take a moment to register the entire situation of all the kids talking and moving around him while he sits there biding by all the rules waiting to be helped.  I summon his teacher while moving across the gym for the Kleenexes and she moves him towards the trash can.  It is only snot so we wipe him up and put him back in line.  No hand sanitizer available.  Ever wonder why teachers have good immune systems? It's because of that.  Happy Back to Kindergarten!!!!

Fast and Furious Updates

So I am going to do my best to quickly expand and update all the little teasers from my previous post.  It's amazing how so much can change even in a few days.

Kindergarten Academy was a success.  I had 11 kids in my class and they were there from 9-11:30.  If I haven't already explained it, it was a "boot camp" for incoming K students who needed a little boost for the start of the school year.  They were identified and asked to be in the program through the screening we did last spring.  There were two other teachers besides myself.  We split them up into small groups and I would have to say it was probably the easiest teaching I have ever had to do.  Something about having a 3-1 adult to student ratio makes teaching go exponentially smoother.  I hope it doesn't burn me out quicker this year but I doubt it will.  It was so unlike my usual teaching day that it can't really compare.  I have 2 of the kids from that class in my current class for the year.

The little bit about having only 14 kids in my class was only a ruse.  The district is switching data tracking systems and somehow a whole bunch of Kindergarteners got "lost" within the system.  So even though they were registered they weren't being seen as active students and not placed in classes.  In addition to that, there has also been a lot of confusion with the 2 different K-2 buildings and getting kids in the right building.  Kids have come and gone off my list so fast it's been nearly impossible to keep up.  We even had a short K open house on Friday night with parents coming who had students not even placed in a class.  It's been a hairy mess.  For example, on Friday at noon I had 14 students.  By 2, I had 16 but 2 were gone and 4 had been added.  By 3, I had 17.  By 5, I had 18.  And at 5:30, a parent walked into my room with my name on a post-it note telling me that I was her child's teacher.  She was very nice and calm about the whole thing.  I was starting to get more than a little frazzled.   It's not anyone's fault but it has been pretty crazy trying to figure out when I will write their names on everything.  For me, that includes no less than 8 labels, name plates, decorations, and other various items.  The dust has supposedly settled and my list has 21 students on it.  I anticipate there will be a couple more by the end of the week.  Yikes.  I will dream often of the 11 from K Academy.

The softball team was 5-0 but now we are 6-2.  We played in a double elimination tourney this weekend and won the first game but lost the next 2.  We are an average team more than anything else.  We have some really strong pieces but nothing that is going to blow anybody away.  We can soundly beat bad teams.  Hang in there with good teams.  And, get soundly beat by really good teams. Our schedule started out really easy so the next 3 weeks might not go as well as the first 3 but we are having a lot of fun with the girls.  The only thing I that drives me crazy is when they sing on the bus.  Someday, I will be a really mean head coach who demands silence on all bus rides.  I can already tell.

The additional job was more of a whim than an actual need for money.  I knew that I would be in town for K Academy in the morning and for practice in the evening.  I would have 5 hours in between with not much to do so I casually asked the volunteer softball coach if the city recreational department had anything I could do.  (He's the superintendent of the rec dept.).  He didn't at the time but the last week of the academy he asked if I was serious about that because 2 of his flower girls were going back to college and he needed someone to help out his 3rd person.  At that point, academy was almost over and I really kind of wanted to spend the last week before school started doing a whole lot of nothing all day but I couldn't really tell him no.  He does a lot for our team and only gets paid in free shirts so I figured I could help them out.  I weeded and watered flowers for the city which really wasn't that bad for a week.  It even rained enough on Thursday that I didn't have to go in Friday so I did get my day to do a whole lot of nothing.  I'll get paid have a summer job to keep me busy next summer if I want it.  Win-win.

This has gone on a little longer than I thought so I'm going to cut out for now.  I might get back to it before softball is over but that seems highly unlikely.  Maybe the next time it will be about being REGIONAL CHAMPS!!  

Whoops

First, Kindergarten Academy started. (But now it's over)

Second, softball started. (We're 5-0!!)

Third, I get another job. (Watering and weeding flowers for the city where I work)

Fourth, school starts Monday for me. (But K Open House is Friday)

Fifth, school starts Tuesday for kids. (There are currently only 14 kids on my roster)

Sixth, I completely forgot that I had a blog and was in the middle of posting about my trip.

Soooooooo, I've been too tired to do anything but come home shower and go to bed.  Someday soon, I will update about all the things above and the last few posts about Ethiopia.  Seriously.  I promise.

Crafts, Bajaj, Soccer

This is a Bajaj.  It's a small 3 wheeled vehicle that we rode around in most days.  It's supposed to fit a driver and 3 people in the back.  It's engine probably isn't more powerful than a large lawn mower.  We thought it would be fun to see if we could get all of our team in it.  We did.  We had 10 including Endala the driver.  It was pretty cramped but also awesome.  

 One of the afternoons, we went to Zion to see their women do "crafts." This is actually just a small group of women who work on and teach each other a valuable life skill.  While we were there, they were pulling and spinning cotton into thread.  It requires a very delicate and special touch.  We tried and were unsuccessful at actually making any progress.  It was fun to try anyway.

A native Ethiopian is called a Habesha.  Anyone who is white is called a Ferenji.  This includes us obviously but also Chinese, Indians, the Dutch and all other visiting nationalities.  On the day before our last days there, we had a Habesha vs. Ferenji soccer game at the school.  

Ethiopians take their soccer, which of course they call football, very seriously.  Most small children are much better than we could even pretend to be.  They kept asking us, "Why aren't you very good!?!?" Needless to say, even though it was kids against adults we didn't really stand a chance in the game.  We did however do our best to even the playing field by having an Australian who once played semi-professional soccer and Mussie who of course is one of those Habeshas who grew up playing soccer.  We also had the Tiatias and Bajaj drivers on our team.  In other words, we cheated by pitting the few adults who did know anything about soccer on our team against small children.  Mostly, it was Mussie, Glen, and the Tiatia kids running around, yelling at us, and trying to score while we stayed back and just tried to kick the ball in the opposite direction if it came near us.  We weren't always successful and Will even scored a goal for the Habesha team.  Despite our attempts, we still needed some extra "help" from the BCI principal who gave us the benefit of the doubt on at least 2 of our "goals."  They were definitely too high to be in but somehow it ended up tied anyway.  

 Penalty kicks ensued which is obviously what is going on in the pictures below.  You would probably think that we would of course try to make it fair and put one of the actual Ferenjis up against the kids, but we didn't.  Instead, we let Mussie and Glen plot together and then score the game winning goals.  Oh yeah, and I think I forgot to say that even our goalie wasn't one of us.  We recruited one of the 15 year old boys to be on our goalie.  And we STILL had to cheat to win.  Yeah, Americans might dominate a lot of sports this Olympics but winning the World Cup isn't going to happen anytime soon.  

Social Workers

 Tigist, Goldie, Getu, Nigist, and Goldie are the five social workers that work for BCI.  They all LOVE the Lord and kids.  They have 20-40 kids each that they are literally "on-call" for 24 hours a day.  If a family needs something, they call their social worker.  They spend many hours walking, Bajaj or taxi riding, and horse bugging around Debre Zeyit to visit their kids.  They help and then translate letters EACH month from kids to their sponsors.  BCI sponsorships are $90 and often divided up into thirds so most of time that's three letters per child.  They make home visits and pray with and for the families.  They keep an eye out for needs the family has and ways to help provide for them.  They help find new housing, jobs, clothes, and food.  They also constantly get stuck with tag-a-long missionaries like us who draw many stares, hollers, and small curious followers.  They answer endless questions and translate dozens of questions over and over again.  They know the stories, ages, family members, and situations of everyone on their caseload.  They serve in their churches on Sunday in the choir or teaching Sunday School.  They go to night school, study, and take exams to further their education.  They are wonderful people, and it was our privilege to meet and get to know them better.

 This is Nigist.  

She is the wife of a pastor and the mother of 6.  She is also the social worker for almost 30 BCI kids.  She loves them like her own.  She tells everyone she meets about Jesus because that's what Jesus did.  One home visit, we were taking a Bajaj that we had hired off the street up a very steep hill.  The Bajaj didn't seem to be the most reliable of ones as it chugged precariously up the hill.  I had visions of the engine dying and all of us crashing backwards back down the hill into oncoming traffic from the main road.  I prayed that we would make it up safe and sound which we did.  When we got out, Nigist says, "I was telling him about Jesus. He knows a little but he needs to know more."  Wow, what a humbling moment.  There I was worrying and thinking about an iffy vehicle and she was caring for lost souls.  She wasn't worried about her own life but of the stranger next to her (and probably not because she was worried about it crashing down the hill.)  No, she was worried about his soul because he didn't know Jesus and he needs too.  Everyone does and it's our job as Christians to tell them and help them see his Love.  

Her husband's church is on the same street as many prostitute bars.  She has a broken heart for these women and their lives.  She knows them all by name and home.  She knows their children and prays for them daily.  She yearns for the day when their chains are broken and they are set free.  It is her hope and dream that these women can leave that street and job for something better.  She prays that they will come to know and understand Jesus' love, forgiveness, and grace through every circumstance and life so far.  Because of her, some have already done so.  She made that difference in their lives and I pray she has the chance to impact so many more.

Tiatia Family, Home Church, and English Church

The Tiatia's are from New Zealand.  Michelle, Asaua, and their five children Jamal, Kiera, Lydia, Matthais, and Wesley are long term missionaries working with BCI and have been since September of last year.  Michelle teaches art at the school and Asaua teaches sport or PE.  They were out of town the first weekend we arrived so we taught their classes Monday morning.  It was intimidating but a good way to just jump in and serve without worrying about it having to be perfect or planned ahead.  They are an amazing couple with an incredible faith journey that brought them to Ethiopia and Debre Zeyit.  They live just a few houses down from the guest house and, it seems like at least one member of the family was always around.  They just had their Visas renewed and are staying in Debre Zeyit for at least the next year! It is an answer to prayer and a blessing for anyone who gets to meet them.

Because the Tiatia's and Jonnette speak English and church in Ethiopia is a difficult way to have community when you don't speak the language, they started having a home church every Monday evening at the guest house.  It's been a blessing to them and any missionaries who are there as a chance to worship together.  We got to lead it the second Monday and shared how God was moving in our own lives while we were there.

The other thing their family has been working on for months is starting an English service in Debre Zeyit.  Through some homeschool groups and their own missionary contacts, they realized that their reasons for starting a home church at the guest house are shared by many others working and serving in Ethiopia.  They realized that having an English church service is a great need to so many living and working in the area.  They arranged to have it held at Zion church, and we were able to be there for the first one!  Will was an answer to their prayers for a keyboard player and was able to play for the service while Asaua and their girls led worship.  Another missionary from Australia was a pastor and had come in a few days before so they already knew he was going to speak.  I assumed any other English speaking people would be missionaries but I was wrong.  Our team were the only short term people and missionaries there.  There was a family from South Africa that had started a flower export business, a man from the Netherlands who owned a Dutch furniture store, and a couple of men from India there on business.  They hope to continue it and watch it grow throughout the next year.

I don't have any other good pictures of them because they didn't look to be in front of the camera.  Instead, they are just always there in the background.  They are helping paint faces, playing soccer, teaching school, laughing at our funny English accents, and welcoming us with open arms into their lives, house, meals, and service projects.  We had many great conversations hearing about how they ended up in Debre Zeyit and how God is working in their lives.  They are an easy family to miss but I'm thankful for Facebook and how we can still keep in touch so many miles apart.  

Activity Day

On Saturday, we spent most of our day doing activity day for all the kids in the program.  Usually, they go to two different church depending on their ages (HS or Grade school).  However, there was something going on at one of the churches they usually use so we were all in one place.  This was a bonus for us because it meant all traveling together and having the hang out time in the beginning to be with all the kids.

When we first got there, we spent a lot of time just hanging out with different groups of kids.  There was a group playing soccer, volleyball, Ethiopian children's games, and playing on some playground equipment.  We let them show us how to play games, hang out, and clumsily play some soccer.  After most of the kids arrived, we split up into our groups and headed into a small room for stories and songs.  I was with the younger kids group.  We sang several songs together in English.  Since most of them go to Sunday School and church, they know several English bible songs.  They sometimes throw in their own variations like adding "nanananananan Oh!" to the end of Jesus Loves Me.  This video is "I Have Decided to Follow Jesus" first in Ahmaric and then in English in the room where we did the songs and story.

Then, we told the story of Shadrach, Meschach, and Abendago with the help of the kids and social workers.  I told the story in English while Nigist translated and Getu played the part of King Nebecanezzer.  We had three kids playing the parts of the S, M, and A while the others in our group were Babylonians and the angel.  It was a pretty darn good skit.  We even had costumes and props.

After we were done asking a few questions about the story, we split up the kids again and tried to do 2 games and 2 crafts.  It worked for 2 rotations before everyone just started running wherever and doing whatever they wanted.  I taught freeze tag to 2 groups that went surprisingly well.  They each got to color and take home their own coloring book and cross necklace.  They loved the crafts, and we had to be pretty smart to make sure that kids didn't get 2-3 necklaces.  They try to take you for fools by hiding them or hitting up different adults so that they can get more.  The older kids split up into girls and boys and did a bible study lesson and some games of their own.

They only do these activity days once a month and it's a highlight for program kids.  They make sure they can come to hang out with missionary groups and have kind of a 1 day VBS.  After all the activities are done, they have lunch for all the kids.  For most of them, it is the best meal they will eat that month because it actually has meat in it.  They cannot afford meat in their meals at home.  They are extremely polite as they wait for their turn and eat together.  We chose to bring our own PB&J sandwiches because injera and Dora Wat is not my favorite.  They use the whitish bread you see to pick up the food and eat it.  It's usually very spicy and the bread stuff (injera) is very bland and almost sour.  I for one am glad we didn't eat a lot of traditional Ethiopian food.  When they were done eating, we gave every kid a hygiene pack with a washcloth, toothbrush, bar of soap, toothpaste, and a few pieces of candy.  It only lasted from 9-1 but by the time we got back to the guest house we were WIPED out.

Face Painting

 On one of the first afternoons we were there and before we started home visits, we had the foster home over for dinner.  Before we got dinner, Jonnett had face paints that a sponsor had sent.  We decided there was no better time than the present to have a face paint party with the kids at the foster home.  We had serious painters and not so serious painters.  No one was exempt and even the guard got in on the action!

Joy very patiently let me paint hers and I graciously returned the favor.  She was very proud of her masterpiece (my face).

Home Visits

Starting on Wednesday, our days we very similar.  We got up between 7 and 7:30 unless we were on the schedule to make breakfast.  If we were making breakfast, we were up about an hour before that to fix whatever is we had planned to fix.  We had several good cooks amongst us; and as we found out, there is not much that we can make that tastes bad.  We had eggs, french toast, baked oatmeal with fruit, muffins, banana bread, and even pancakes.  At 8:15, the social workers would show up and someone would lead us in a short devotion and morning prayer.  Then, we would split up into groups of 3-4 and go visit families in their homes.  

Home visits are hard to describe and sound a lot more difficult than they really are.  We could take several modes of transportation to get to the home.  Our options included walking, Bajaj, taxi, and horse buggy.  Once there, the social worker would tell us the family history and some of their story.  Often times, the child or children were living with guardians because their parents had died.  Sometimes, the moms had jobs but most of the times they didn't.  Several families were affected by HIV either in the parents, kids, or both.  They have experienced much heartache, sorrow, and scary circumstances.  Many times, a family would be split up with children living with different relatives because it was too hard to care for all them in the same home.  Small children are forced to grow up quickly because they need to take care of younger sibling or sick parents and guardians.  We only visited one home that had a 2 parents but both had HIV.  However, despite all this they were not broken people.  They are beautiful, courageous, strong, God loving, and Christ praising individuals.  We tell them the bread is good and they praise the Lord. We ask them for prayer requests and parents ALWAYS talk about their children and not themselves.  They have nothing but offer us coffee, tea, and bread anyway.  They trust in Him for their basic provisions and know that He will provide even when they give their last piece to strangers.  

We always took gifts for the families.  The social workers would tell us the ages of the children and pick out some of the shoes that would fit.  We would take balls, toys, clothes, hats, coloring books, crayons, pencils, and children's books.  We would share them with the kids and spend time playing with them and laughing with them.  There was language barrier, but it doesn't seem to matter when you kicking around a soccer ball or playing monkey in the middle.  

Many times, neighborhood kids would try to peek in and see what was going on with white people.  They usually weren't too intrusive and the kids were always nice to share.  We had to be careful because one you gave something to one you had better have enough for everyone and then they would just keep coming.

It's amazing how much families and neighbors will look out for each other.  Often times, a child's guardian would be someone from the compound who took him or her in after the parent's death.  Or if a parent had to be at work, the neighbors would take a child to the doctors and watch out for them at home.  Without smartphones, internet, TVs, and computers, they are dependent on real human relationships to pass the time.  Conversations, friendships, and games with sticks and ball are how they pass their time.  It's something we should try to do with more purpose because it's what really matters but is too often overlooked.

Tuesday

Whoops.  Sorry for the long break.  I was in Michigan and then in Wyoming avoiding this oven that is Illinois.  Now that it's cooled off to more reasonable temperatures, I'm back for the long haul.  Hopefully, I can finish this up in the next two weeks and haven't forgotten too much already.

On Tuesday morning, we got up and took a hike up Couch Mountain.  This mountain overlooks the city of Debre Zeyit.  It's not a huge or extremely difficult mountain to conquer but the thin air did get to us pretty fast.  We made it to the top and spent several minutes looking out over the city while Mussie pointed out a few landmarks.  We saw a pig farm and I think the main road.  It was hard to really understand when we had only been there 2 days.  There were skinny cows grazing along the side and a few skulls being bleached in the sun.  After catching our breath, we took some time to prayer over the city and our upcoming time there.  It was a really neat and special way to start the trip.

After we made the much easier climb down the mountain, we went on a church tour.  BCI works with 5 different churches.  There is a social worker that works through each church.  The churches are all fairly big well established churches in the city.  Many of them have outreach churches and church plants throughout the city.  The one below is one of the nicest buildings of the five.  It was built with money from a Dutch missionary.  The rest are mostly open air with tin roofs and canvas sides.  They all have wood benches and most have rock or gravel floors inside.  However, it doesn't stop the people from filling the aisles and pews every Sunday.  The church we spent the most time at was one called Zion.  It is located on the same street as "prostitute row."  It is across the street from the many bars where men can go in and order a drink and woman.  The pastor and his wife have been there from the very beginning and have a very strong sense of purpose in where God has put them and their church.  They have several outreaches there including a bible study, healing service, teaching crafts, and a cafe.  They are serving Christ just as Jesus did among the "least of these"and making a huge difference for Him in a place most people would avoid.  It's a special place to visit.  The first picture is the inside of Zion and the second two are the inside and outside of Misgana.  I didn't have pictures of Emmanuel and there will be more of Lem Lem and MKC later.  

After visiting the churches, we had lunch at the Ethiopian Air Force officers club.  It was on a really pretty lake and was considered very upscale.  After we ate, we went down to take a few more pictures of the lake and some Ethiopian teenage girls came up and wanted pictures with us.  We were white celebrities. Haha!

They laughed and laughed and laughed at us as we used our 2 days worth of Amaharic to try to communicate with them.  Mostly we just kept saying "Konju" or beautiful trying to tell them how pretty they were.  Teenagers in America and Ethiopia really aren't that much different.