They say home is where the heart is.
I've been home for exactly a month now. I must admit, at first it was incredibly difficult. I came home to rest and be with family and to just wait. No thinking allowed. But as soon as I got on the plane, my mind raced and continued to race for two weeks.
I struggled to just be.
I couldn't stop thinking about going back to Africa and began planning for when I would go back, which was against what I had told myself. I wanted to come home and be at home and not think or make decisions.
There was one moment when it all changed. I was driving up north to Goodsoil, where my mom's side of the family is. I was driving my brother, who was ... under the weather. This was New Years Day. He was KO'd in the passengers seat and I looked over at him and just felt so happy to be home and be with him and be with the rest of my family. I'm so blessed to come home everyday to an incredible sister (who is the best mom in the world, by the way), a considerate brother-in-law, and two CRAZY cute and funny nieces that crack me up ALL the time.
I've started teaching, too. Well, I'm subbing. Teachers call me when they're sick. It's been a huge challenge. The students are usually big disasters for a sub. But even in this moment I definitely don't want to even think of being a full-time teacher.
And for some reason teaching has caused me to be unsettled again. Today I found myself thinking about getting another part-time job. I loved the idea of working at the library, serving coffee.. something mindless and different. Perhaps it's just a way for me to cope.
It's been strange because I recognize SO many things I can be involved in here. Young adults Bible Study (which I love), Outreach with my church (which is new and just opened up with my friend's father leading it. I'm meeting with him next week to dream and brainstorm), working with churches on reserves and getting my feet back into the Aboriginal community.
And today I found my mind wandering again to Africa. I was reading the stories and posts on the Hands website (www.handsatwork.org) and was getting hot feet (opposite of cold feet?). I was reading one of George's postings titled "Prisoners of Hope" and felt greatly encouraged by a prayer of St. Francis he included:
“May God bless you with discomfort
at easy answers, half-truths, and superficial relationships
So that you may live deep within your heart.
May God bless you with anger
At injustice, oppression, and exploitation of people,
so that you may work for justice, freedom, and peace.
May God bless you with tears
To shed for those who suffer pain, rejection, hunger, and war, so that you may reach out your hand to comfort them and to turn their pain into joy.
And may God bless you with enough foolishness
To believe that you can make a difference in the world,
So that you can do what others claim cannot be done
To bring justice and kindness to all our children and the poor.”
Monday, January 18, 2010
Monday, December 7, 2009
Eaten alive
So, as I sit here and think of a title to this blog, I am being eaten alive by invisible mosquitoes.
This past week I've spent more time in the communities. I focused mostly on the community schools, assessing the teachers and even doing teaching. It was the best! I don't remember if I wrote about this already. But it was the best. I love teaching. Love Love Love Love.
On Saturday I did a workshop for the teachers. Can you imagine? This little girl in Nigeria teaching teachers how to teach. The workshop included topics such as Assessment, Classroom Management (including intrinsic vs extrinsic motivation and positive vs. negative reinforcement), Learning Styles, Curriculum Development (short term to long term planning), Taxonomy of Learning (focusing mostly on Cognitive Domain), ... weeeeeeeeeeee.
My highlight has still been spending time in Badia with Pastor Chris and Faith. It's a community lined with brothels. There is a deeply ingrained culture of sex, drugs, and alcohol. And it's a dark community with major strongholds. On Tuesday we had a meeting with women from two of the brothels. We introduced ourselves and were asking how we could support them in caring for their children. After we felt like we spoke enough, we asked how many of them are caring for children, and emphasized either their own or a relative's. No one, not one of the women admitted to having children. The sad part is that most of them do have children. They can't admit to it because it's bad for business. So they hide their children in the deep dark corner of their shack somewhere within the slum. There is a free government school in the area but they won't even dare send their children because then people, even worse the government, will know. These community is so heavy on my heart. But Chris and Faith are doing incredible work. Some of the women came to us afterward in secret saying they have children and want help. We have hope that the women will begin to trust us and see that we don't want to condemn them or steal their children, but we want to love them. There are incredible visions of a care centre there, where children can come, where mothers can come to receive counseling, to just rest, to receive extra lessons, ... it's going to be awesome.
On a completely opposite note, yesterday Lize and I took a day out and went to the beach. The thought of Nigerian beaches is really not a pretty thought... but we were pleasantly surprised when we got to the beautiful white sand and crystal blue waters. That was cut short, though, due to the awful pestering of local people. "Come this way Owebo", "Buy this Owebo", ... all we wanted was peace. So we called a guy we had met recently from South Africa who's living in Nigeria and he picked us up in his sweet ride and took us to the Yacht Club. Yep, you heard it. The YACHT CLUB. It was surreal. We rode on a boat and hung out on the Yacht Club's personal beach.
Nigeria has been an interesting experience. I've loved every second of being in the communities and helping to build the model, supporting and encouraging our people on the ground. There are a lot of things in Nigeria I won't miss. But there are a lot of things I will. This place is just so bizarre that in between fits of anger erupts fits of giggles. This place is just so bizarre.
This past week I've spent more time in the communities. I focused mostly on the community schools, assessing the teachers and even doing teaching. It was the best! I don't remember if I wrote about this already. But it was the best. I love teaching. Love Love Love Love.
On Saturday I did a workshop for the teachers. Can you imagine? This little girl in Nigeria teaching teachers how to teach. The workshop included topics such as Assessment, Classroom Management (including intrinsic vs extrinsic motivation and positive vs. negative reinforcement), Learning Styles, Curriculum Development (short term to long term planning), Taxonomy of Learning (focusing mostly on Cognitive Domain), ... weeeeeeeeeeee.
My highlight has still been spending time in Badia with Pastor Chris and Faith. It's a community lined with brothels. There is a deeply ingrained culture of sex, drugs, and alcohol. And it's a dark community with major strongholds. On Tuesday we had a meeting with women from two of the brothels. We introduced ourselves and were asking how we could support them in caring for their children. After we felt like we spoke enough, we asked how many of them are caring for children, and emphasized either their own or a relative's. No one, not one of the women admitted to having children. The sad part is that most of them do have children. They can't admit to it because it's bad for business. So they hide their children in the deep dark corner of their shack somewhere within the slum. There is a free government school in the area but they won't even dare send their children because then people, even worse the government, will know. These community is so heavy on my heart. But Chris and Faith are doing incredible work. Some of the women came to us afterward in secret saying they have children and want help. We have hope that the women will begin to trust us and see that we don't want to condemn them or steal their children, but we want to love them. There are incredible visions of a care centre there, where children can come, where mothers can come to receive counseling, to just rest, to receive extra lessons, ... it's going to be awesome.
On a completely opposite note, yesterday Lize and I took a day out and went to the beach. The thought of Nigerian beaches is really not a pretty thought... but we were pleasantly surprised when we got to the beautiful white sand and crystal blue waters. That was cut short, though, due to the awful pestering of local people. "Come this way Owebo", "Buy this Owebo", ... all we wanted was peace. So we called a guy we had met recently from South Africa who's living in Nigeria and he picked us up in his sweet ride and took us to the Yacht Club. Yep, you heard it. The YACHT CLUB. It was surreal. We rode on a boat and hung out on the Yacht Club's personal beach.
Nigeria has been an interesting experience. I've loved every second of being in the communities and helping to build the model, supporting and encouraging our people on the ground. There are a lot of things in Nigeria I won't miss. But there are a lot of things I will. This place is just so bizarre that in between fits of anger erupts fits of giggles. This place is just so bizarre.
Friday, November 27, 2009
A few things about Nig
-Nig=Nigeria
-On Eid festival they slaughter goats seriouly everywhere
-The traffic is unreal. Basically everyone has right of way no matter where you're coming from or where you're going. You just have to put your hand out to stop the car and point to where you want to go. Our driver tried it while merging onto a road but the car wouldn't give. They exchanged many aggressive words and our driver finished by screaming at him, "It's because you're with another man's wife! It's because you're with another man's wife!"
-I visited two churches today, each of them a kilometer long. YOu can't even believe it. They hold over a million people and Rex says it's full, sometimes over-full.
-They love the prosperity gospel. Basically to be rich is blessed and poverty is from some "ancestral demonic pollution". We are to inherit the riches of this world and so we must eagerly pray for them... this book I have even instructs us to put our right hand on our head and shout, "Let wealth change hands in my life, in the name of Jesus!" or "O Lord, make a hole in the roof for me for my prosperity!" or "In Jesus' name I command wealth to come to me now!" or "In Jesus' name, I command you devil to loose the wealth of this earth!" I'm ashamed that my Jesus is attached to that crap.
-Nigerian dance parties are sweet
-I realized I've been here only a few days and I'm going through major culture shock. I've been in South Africa for a year and have been dreading re-entry into Canada. It's going to be a huge struggle, but little did I know Nigeria would be like entering North America but much worse. Nigeria wants to be like America. Everything I hate about North America, Nigeria has amplified. Eish.
-It's so freaking hot here. I sweat like mad. My skin is always so shiny. I never thought that much water could come out of my pores. I drink so much water, like over 2L a day but pee very little. It all comes out my pores. It's kind of sweet actually. The other day I was laying on my bed and Lize asked if I was crying. I just told her my eyeballs were sweating. Pretty sure they are.
-The communities here all have completely different stories. Yesterday I wrote about Ilaje (the slum on and off water), Ago-Okoto (the community with 419, or fraudsters) and today I visited a community lined with brothels. Most of the children are children of prositutes. It was a very difficult place to be.
-The internet is very fast and accessible (hency all my blogs and facebooking these days) and CNN seems to always be playing. I feel very up-to-date on Obama's appearance at the Copenhagen Conference and the surprise guests breaching White House security at his fancy supper.
-Lynn discovered his favourite church title thus far: "The Everlasting Settled Down Gospel Ministries Incorporated"
-I'm preaching on Sunday. I have no idea what to preach on and am quite nervous. Lynn says all I have to do is shout "Blessings! Power! Breakthrough!" and I'll be okay.
Much love from Nig!
-On Eid festival they slaughter goats seriouly everywhere
-The traffic is unreal. Basically everyone has right of way no matter where you're coming from or where you're going. You just have to put your hand out to stop the car and point to where you want to go. Our driver tried it while merging onto a road but the car wouldn't give. They exchanged many aggressive words and our driver finished by screaming at him, "It's because you're with another man's wife! It's because you're with another man's wife!"
-I visited two churches today, each of them a kilometer long. YOu can't even believe it. They hold over a million people and Rex says it's full, sometimes over-full.
-They love the prosperity gospel. Basically to be rich is blessed and poverty is from some "ancestral demonic pollution". We are to inherit the riches of this world and so we must eagerly pray for them... this book I have even instructs us to put our right hand on our head and shout, "Let wealth change hands in my life, in the name of Jesus!" or "O Lord, make a hole in the roof for me for my prosperity!" or "In Jesus' name I command wealth to come to me now!" or "In Jesus' name, I command you devil to loose the wealth of this earth!" I'm ashamed that my Jesus is attached to that crap.
-Nigerian dance parties are sweet
-I realized I've been here only a few days and I'm going through major culture shock. I've been in South Africa for a year and have been dreading re-entry into Canada. It's going to be a huge struggle, but little did I know Nigeria would be like entering North America but much worse. Nigeria wants to be like America. Everything I hate about North America, Nigeria has amplified. Eish.
-It's so freaking hot here. I sweat like mad. My skin is always so shiny. I never thought that much water could come out of my pores. I drink so much water, like over 2L a day but pee very little. It all comes out my pores. It's kind of sweet actually. The other day I was laying on my bed and Lize asked if I was crying. I just told her my eyeballs were sweating. Pretty sure they are.
-The communities here all have completely different stories. Yesterday I wrote about Ilaje (the slum on and off water), Ago-Okoto (the community with 419, or fraudsters) and today I visited a community lined with brothels. Most of the children are children of prositutes. It was a very difficult place to be.
-The internet is very fast and accessible (hency all my blogs and facebooking these days) and CNN seems to always be playing. I feel very up-to-date on Obama's appearance at the Copenhagen Conference and the surprise guests breaching White House security at his fancy supper.
-Lynn discovered his favourite church title thus far: "The Everlasting Settled Down Gospel Ministries Incorporated"
-I'm preaching on Sunday. I have no idea what to preach on and am quite nervous. Lynn says all I have to do is shout "Blessings! Power! Breakthrough!" and I'll be okay.
Much love from Nig!
Thursday, November 26, 2009
Beware of 419
I got into Nigeria early ... man I don't even know what day it is. We got in early Wednesday morning. The first thing I noticed was the smell. That and everyone was wearing pajamas. The men's outfits are too sweet. They basically look like pajamas. One big pajama party. The smell is dependant on where you are. I've never smelled so many strange smells. It varies from rotten sewer to oil/stale toilet.
We visited Ilaje Wed afternoon. Ilaje means "Land of Witches". It's one of the biggest slums in Lagos. Lagos is a city of 13.5 million, the biggest city in Africa, and one of the biggest cities in the world. In fact, Nigeria populates 1/4 of Africa's population. Ilaje. I've never been in a slum before so I really had no idea what to expect. Walking through was difficult. It's basically walking on layers upon layers of garbage. The ground was very unsteady and almost squishy. And it was dry. Between the homes and "streets" are streams of human waste and just dirty dirty water. The water is black and it smells awful. Crossing over these streams one could almost vomit. I asked Lynn if he'd rather get hit by a car or fall into one of these streams. His answer wasn't easy. It depended on whether he got it in his mouth.. he chose the car. The most fascinating part of Ilaje is the separation of the community into off-shore and on-shore. Ilaje is right on the ocean and people actually live on the water. It's like venice, but a lot less glamorous. People travel through the streets with little boats. The biggest challenge is when the heavy rains come. The entire community floods, up to 3 feet in people's homes. Imagine what it means sanitation-wise for those little black streams and all that garbage when it floods. The entire community is extremely vulnerable. Children don't go to school and Malaria is very high.
There are a couple schools we've started up and I'm really looking forward to spending more time in these schools and working with the teachers.
I visited another community called Ago-Okota today. This. Place. Was. Fascinating. I walked in and couldn't imagine why we would even be working there. The houses were HUGE and the cars were very fancy. As we began walking the community I started learning about the 419. Section 419 in Nigerian law is dealing with fraud. Ago-Okota is entire community of these fraudsters. Everyone knows them as 419. They do major internet fraud all over the world. No giving out e-mail addresses I guess. But they make big money and build large houses in this area. They often watch a house and when the person goes out for the day, they'll take over the house. They will have already put ads in the paper and they'll show the house. Buyers will have to give down payments and then the 419ers take the money and go. All around Lagos and especially in Ago-Okota you'll see "House not for sale. Beware of 419" everywhere!
We began walking through to visit the children. I thought South Africa was a place of contrasts... this place is worse. There will be a big mansion with a tall secure wall. Against that wall will be a slummy shack with 4 or so rooms with 4 families. Often too there are big mansions the 419 start building but don't finish. Families squat in these unfinished buildings and pay rent. They're horrible conditions and definitely not safe.
The children are extremely vulnerable. Phillip is an incredible man overseeing the CBO in Ago-Okota. He says that children are in danger of being recruited by the 419 at young ages. They take the children in, train them, and send them with big guns to houses to collect money. It's a brutal situation. And these kids aren't going to school, are living in desperate situations and are surrounded by mansions and high-class cars. It sounds like a good thing to get into.
We met a family of 5. The parents are Alex and Gladys. We met them in their room in an unfinished mansion. When I say unfinished, I mean it's just a concrete structure with no doors and no windows. They used to live in a small house but riots broke out in the area three years ago. The 419 were trying to overtake the area. People were shot and killed, people were thrown in the canal. They had to escape so fled to this structure in Ago-Okota. They are beautiful people and are trying their hardest to get by. It's a difficult area to live in.
Tomorrow we go to another community called Badia. It's another large slum.
One of the hardest parts about being here is seeing what the Church is doing. Nigeria is home of the mega-church. I've never seen churches to this magnitude. There are many and they are large. Prosperity gospel is everywhere. To be rich is to be blessed. I just can't believe that. When I walk these communities and see the beauty of these children, cursed is definitely not what they are. They are in a situation they cannot control, but can be changed.
Please pray for us as we try to interpret and process this all. It's entirely different from South Africa (and many other countries we work in).
Much love.
We visited Ilaje Wed afternoon. Ilaje means "Land of Witches". It's one of the biggest slums in Lagos. Lagos is a city of 13.5 million, the biggest city in Africa, and one of the biggest cities in the world. In fact, Nigeria populates 1/4 of Africa's population. Ilaje. I've never been in a slum before so I really had no idea what to expect. Walking through was difficult. It's basically walking on layers upon layers of garbage. The ground was very unsteady and almost squishy. And it was dry. Between the homes and "streets" are streams of human waste and just dirty dirty water. The water is black and it smells awful. Crossing over these streams one could almost vomit. I asked Lynn if he'd rather get hit by a car or fall into one of these streams. His answer wasn't easy. It depended on whether he got it in his mouth.. he chose the car. The most fascinating part of Ilaje is the separation of the community into off-shore and on-shore. Ilaje is right on the ocean and people actually live on the water. It's like venice, but a lot less glamorous. People travel through the streets with little boats. The biggest challenge is when the heavy rains come. The entire community floods, up to 3 feet in people's homes. Imagine what it means sanitation-wise for those little black streams and all that garbage when it floods. The entire community is extremely vulnerable. Children don't go to school and Malaria is very high.
There are a couple schools we've started up and I'm really looking forward to spending more time in these schools and working with the teachers.
I visited another community called Ago-Okota today. This. Place. Was. Fascinating. I walked in and couldn't imagine why we would even be working there. The houses were HUGE and the cars were very fancy. As we began walking the community I started learning about the 419. Section 419 in Nigerian law is dealing with fraud. Ago-Okota is entire community of these fraudsters. Everyone knows them as 419. They do major internet fraud all over the world. No giving out e-mail addresses I guess. But they make big money and build large houses in this area. They often watch a house and when the person goes out for the day, they'll take over the house. They will have already put ads in the paper and they'll show the house. Buyers will have to give down payments and then the 419ers take the money and go. All around Lagos and especially in Ago-Okota you'll see "House not for sale. Beware of 419" everywhere!
We began walking through to visit the children. I thought South Africa was a place of contrasts... this place is worse. There will be a big mansion with a tall secure wall. Against that wall will be a slummy shack with 4 or so rooms with 4 families. Often too there are big mansions the 419 start building but don't finish. Families squat in these unfinished buildings and pay rent. They're horrible conditions and definitely not safe.
The children are extremely vulnerable. Phillip is an incredible man overseeing the CBO in Ago-Okota. He says that children are in danger of being recruited by the 419 at young ages. They take the children in, train them, and send them with big guns to houses to collect money. It's a brutal situation. And these kids aren't going to school, are living in desperate situations and are surrounded by mansions and high-class cars. It sounds like a good thing to get into.
We met a family of 5. The parents are Alex and Gladys. We met them in their room in an unfinished mansion. When I say unfinished, I mean it's just a concrete structure with no doors and no windows. They used to live in a small house but riots broke out in the area three years ago. The 419 were trying to overtake the area. People were shot and killed, people were thrown in the canal. They had to escape so fled to this structure in Ago-Okota. They are beautiful people and are trying their hardest to get by. It's a difficult area to live in.
Tomorrow we go to another community called Badia. It's another large slum.
One of the hardest parts about being here is seeing what the Church is doing. Nigeria is home of the mega-church. I've never seen churches to this magnitude. There are many and they are large. Prosperity gospel is everywhere. To be rich is to be blessed. I just can't believe that. When I walk these communities and see the beauty of these children, cursed is definitely not what they are. They are in a situation they cannot control, but can be changed.
Please pray for us as we try to interpret and process this all. It's entirely different from South Africa (and many other countries we work in).
Much love.
Sunday, November 22, 2009
The Shoes.
So I have a pair of shoes, and they are my favourite shoes! I got them in the summer of 2007 on my way to Cornerstone Festival in Illinois. Some of my friends (shout out VJWC!) decorated them for me beautifully with a sharpee marker. They're my favourite shoes.
I've worn them out like crazy. Firstly, I'm not easy on my shoes. Secondly, Africa is not easy on shoes. I've included some pictures.
All year I've been hearing from numerous people in Hands, in the villages, everywhere, about my shoes. Community people say things like, "We may be poor, but we don't need to wear shoes like that" or Hands people say things like, "You look like a vulnerable child".
The problem is, I just don't care. I love my shoes and the trashier they get, the more I love them.
I decided, though, that it was time to buy new shoes. Not because I was planning on replacing my beloved shoes, but because in two days I'll be walking around slums in Nigeria and (please look at the pictures) bottomless shoes are not ideal.
I went to a store called Jet to find some cheeaaap shoes. I was looking for a pair of sandals (for Moz, which was incredible by the way) and a pair of shoes for Nigeria.
I took my beloved shoes off as I tried on different shoes. I walked around the store for about 20 minutes with different shoes on my feet. Finally, I found a pair of sandals (but no shoes) and began trying to locate my beloved shoes.
The aisles were clean.
I asked the lady working if she had seen my shoes. She gives me a strange look and says, "Oh.. those were your shoes." She began telling the rest of the ladies (in a language I do not fully understand) and they all had very surprised looks on their faces. They were shocked for two reasons: 1. A white girl had shoes like a vulnerable child; 2. The white girl with the vulnerable child shoes was looking for the vulnerable child shoes, as if she wanted them.
One lady began to leave the store and returned with my beloved shoes. She had thrown them in the garbage. Not the garbage in the store. The garbage outside the store. I proudly took them back as the entire store stared, mouths agape.
I'm really not sure what to do with my beloved shoes. I promised a few people I'd toss them, but every time I try, I hear the shoes cry a little and I swear I see a tear..
I've worn them out like crazy. Firstly, I'm not easy on my shoes. Secondly, Africa is not easy on shoes. I've included some pictures.
All year I've been hearing from numerous people in Hands, in the villages, everywhere, about my shoes. Community people say things like, "We may be poor, but we don't need to wear shoes like that" or Hands people say things like, "You look like a vulnerable child".
The problem is, I just don't care. I love my shoes and the trashier they get, the more I love them.
I decided, though, that it was time to buy new shoes. Not because I was planning on replacing my beloved shoes, but because in two days I'll be walking around slums in Nigeria and (please look at the pictures) bottomless shoes are not ideal.
I went to a store called Jet to find some cheeaaap shoes. I was looking for a pair of sandals (for Moz, which was incredible by the way) and a pair of shoes for Nigeria.
I took my beloved shoes off as I tried on different shoes. I walked around the store for about 20 minutes with different shoes on my feet. Finally, I found a pair of sandals (but no shoes) and began trying to locate my beloved shoes.
The aisles were clean.
I asked the lady working if she had seen my shoes. She gives me a strange look and says, "Oh.. those were your shoes." She began telling the rest of the ladies (in a language I do not fully understand) and they all had very surprised looks on their faces. They were shocked for two reasons: 1. A white girl had shoes like a vulnerable child; 2. The white girl with the vulnerable child shoes was looking for the vulnerable child shoes, as if she wanted them.
One lady began to leave the store and returned with my beloved shoes. She had thrown them in the garbage. Not the garbage in the store. The garbage outside the store. I proudly took them back as the entire store stared, mouths agape.
I'm really not sure what to do with my beloved shoes. I promised a few people I'd toss them, but every time I try, I hear the shoes cry a little and I swear I see a tear..
Sunday, November 8, 2009
Went to the chapel and we got ma-a-arried
Prag and Levy got married on Saturday and it was a great day! It was such an honour to be a bridesmaid and loads of fun too. I can't say that I got much work done the week before the wedding, but being a bridesmaid is Kingdom work too, you know. On Friday I got my nails done: toes and fingers. You should SEE my nails. Spiffy. And on the day of the wedding I got my make-up done. She wasn't too bad for an Afrikaans lady. If you've been to South Africa, you'll know what I mean when I hint that Afrikaans ladies make-up is not the most natural looking, so I was a bit scared. She did it nicely except I did have to wipe off the dark lip liner... it was sick. I did it when she left because I felt bad.
It was a very short wedding. (In comparison to my family weddings which the party starts around 4 and usually ends around 3am). The ceremony was at 10 (more like 10:30) and ended just after 11. Then the reception started around 2 until 4. The dance party was minimal but epic with a room full of Africans. It was a really nice wedding. Prag looked stunning, as usual. I'm sure pictures will be up soon.
On the beach, in the bar, on the beach in the bar
Here's my itinerary for the last month. Why am I writing it to you? I'm just excited.
Nov 9-13 Wrapping up Bushbuckridge, with a 2010 planning meeting on the Friday
Nov 16 Richard Brown is coming to see Bushbuckridge
Nov 17-20 Going to the BEACH in Mozambique. NOw this is exciting for me because I haven't been to a beach of ANY kind since Summer 2007 in Canada. I haven't even seen the ocean in South Africa yet, which is quite sad.
Nov 24-Dec 8 Going to Nigeria (Kano&Lagos) to visit the community schools and do workshops with the teachers. Most time will be spent in Lagos.
Dec 9-14 Packing, visiting, chilling, relaxing all-cooling shooting some bball off the side of the school
Dec 15 Flying home
Dec 16 Arriving in Calgary laaaaate
Dec 20/21 Road trip with Alihaha to Lloydmonster
Please pray for me as I wrap up Bushbuckridge and move onto Nigeria. I'm excited for Nigeria but struggling to finish up Bushbuckridge. Pray for strength and perseverance. We're tired.
Note: "On the beach, in the bar" ... anytime I think of going to the beach, this little phrase pops in my mind and usually out of my mouth and further directly translating into the stomach action. My Father Part 1 (Tom) used to always sit us on his stomach and say over and over "On the beach, in the bar, on the beach, in the bar, on the beach, in the bar, ..." and would make his stomach flat when he said "beach" and push his belly out when he said "bar". It's sort of stuck with me.
It was a very short wedding. (In comparison to my family weddings which the party starts around 4 and usually ends around 3am). The ceremony was at 10 (more like 10:30) and ended just after 11. Then the reception started around 2 until 4. The dance party was minimal but epic with a room full of Africans. It was a really nice wedding. Prag looked stunning, as usual. I'm sure pictures will be up soon.
On the beach, in the bar, on the beach in the bar
Here's my itinerary for the last month. Why am I writing it to you? I'm just excited.
Nov 9-13 Wrapping up Bushbuckridge, with a 2010 planning meeting on the Friday
Nov 16 Richard Brown is coming to see Bushbuckridge
Nov 17-20 Going to the BEACH in Mozambique. NOw this is exciting for me because I haven't been to a beach of ANY kind since Summer 2007 in Canada. I haven't even seen the ocean in South Africa yet, which is quite sad.
Nov 24-Dec 8 Going to Nigeria (Kano&Lagos) to visit the community schools and do workshops with the teachers. Most time will be spent in Lagos.
Dec 9-14 Packing, visiting, chilling, relaxing all-cooling shooting some bball off the side of the school
Dec 15 Flying home
Dec 16 Arriving in Calgary laaaaate
Dec 20/21 Road trip with Alihaha to Lloydmonster
Please pray for me as I wrap up Bushbuckridge and move onto Nigeria. I'm excited for Nigeria but struggling to finish up Bushbuckridge. Pray for strength and perseverance. We're tired.
Note: "On the beach, in the bar" ... anytime I think of going to the beach, this little phrase pops in my mind and usually out of my mouth and further directly translating into the stomach action. My Father Part 1 (Tom) used to always sit us on his stomach and say over and over "On the beach, in the bar, on the beach, in the bar, on the beach, in the bar, ..." and would make his stomach flat when he said "beach" and push his belly out when he said "bar". It's sort of stuck with me.
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Save the cheerleader, save the world!
It’s been far too long and I apoligize. It’s not easy to blog. Sometimes I don’t think what I write would be of any interest to anyone. But here’s an update.
Since Zambia I’ve found myself incredibly busy with the office in Bushbuckridge. We did a Pastor’s training, countless workshops, and much planning for 2010. We had a team from the UK for 10 days and it was a very positive experience. Right now I’m hosting a team from First Assembly Church in Calgary and praying it is positive as well. There are two people that began working with our Bushbuckridge team, Pontso from Lesotho and Kennedy from Zambia, and I’ve spent a lot of time helping them to understand Hands, involve them, and training them up to take on some roles of their own. It’s been incredibly exhausting but the fruit will be very impacting and probably really juicy and delicious.
It’s been confirmed! I’m going to Nigeria Nov 24-Dec 8. I’m so so excited! I’ll finally be doing community school work. There are three areas we work in: Lagos, Kano, Ibadan. There are multiple community schools that we’ve started up in each area within the slums. I’ll be assessing the schools and then doing a workshop for the teachers based on what I see. It’s really strange going through teacher training manuals and reading up on assessment & evaluation, teaching methods, learning profiles etc. It’s been a while since I’ve even thought about being a teacher, so this is really exciting. The other day I did a workshop with one of the communities and felt so much like a teacher and was SO excited and realized how much I LOVE teaching. Nigeria will be an interesting place though. Basically it holds ¼ of Africa’s entire population and they really want to be like America, so… it’ll be interesting.
On the note of teaching, I’ve reactivated my subbing contract with Holy Rosary and am already getting booked for dates upon my arrival home. I’m pretty excited about that too.
I organized Canadian Thanksgiving once again this year and it was a HUGE success. There were approximately 50 people there. We even found turkey this year, so that’s a plus. Will and I baked a butt-load of pumpkin pies (made out of carrots). They were delicious but it honestly took us until 10:30 pm, which was unfortunate. I also organized Halloween this year. We didn’t do it last year. We bought lots of candy, made popcorn balls, and rented movies. We rented this one movie called Trick’r’Treat. It was kind of scary, kind of awkward, and kind of a lot of things. But perfect for Halloween, I guess. I dressed as Peter Pan. Classic. But my tights were too itchy so I really only resided in Neverland for 30 minutes. Other people dressed as Simon Peter (not bad), Granny (pretty good), a recreational golfer (laaame Jed), a missionary (bruuuutal Brooke). There were a ton of people. [Insert Canadian sarcasm] Not the best party I’ve ever put together. Need to seriously take this one back to the PPC.
I stayed in BBR all last week and it was great! But I somehow came down with something. I haven’t had a voice since Friday. Greasy.
I LOVE HEROES! I just discovered how awesome the show is. I crushed season 1 and 2 recently. It’s the kind of show that you feel like you’re in and even though you stop watching it, you look around and wonder what kind of powers everyone has and feel like you could just start flying or stopping time.
Speaking of shows, I just finished Season 5 of the Office. Congrats Jim & Pam!!!
On Saturday is Levy and Prag’s wedding. I’m pretty excited. I’m a bridesmaid and if you know anything about African weddings, it’s not an easy task. We’ve been rehearsing for over a month now. You don’t just walk up the aisle, you dance, so we’ve been learning all the steps. We got Zambian outfits made and it’s going to be the party of the year. But Prag is making me grow my nails out, straighten my hair, wax my legs and wear make-up. Barf.
Lastly I’d like to give a shout out to my brother, Rob, for running for mayor of Lloydmonster. I heard you did well and spoke well and I was rooting for you! I’m sorry to hear you didn’t make the cut.
Love and miss you all! Only 6 weeks!
Kristal Dawn
Since Zambia I’ve found myself incredibly busy with the office in Bushbuckridge. We did a Pastor’s training, countless workshops, and much planning for 2010. We had a team from the UK for 10 days and it was a very positive experience. Right now I’m hosting a team from First Assembly Church in Calgary and praying it is positive as well. There are two people that began working with our Bushbuckridge team, Pontso from Lesotho and Kennedy from Zambia, and I’ve spent a lot of time helping them to understand Hands, involve them, and training them up to take on some roles of their own. It’s been incredibly exhausting but the fruit will be very impacting and probably really juicy and delicious.
It’s been confirmed! I’m going to Nigeria Nov 24-Dec 8. I’m so so excited! I’ll finally be doing community school work. There are three areas we work in: Lagos, Kano, Ibadan. There are multiple community schools that we’ve started up in each area within the slums. I’ll be assessing the schools and then doing a workshop for the teachers based on what I see. It’s really strange going through teacher training manuals and reading up on assessment & evaluation, teaching methods, learning profiles etc. It’s been a while since I’ve even thought about being a teacher, so this is really exciting. The other day I did a workshop with one of the communities and felt so much like a teacher and was SO excited and realized how much I LOVE teaching. Nigeria will be an interesting place though. Basically it holds ¼ of Africa’s entire population and they really want to be like America, so… it’ll be interesting.
On the note of teaching, I’ve reactivated my subbing contract with Holy Rosary and am already getting booked for dates upon my arrival home. I’m pretty excited about that too.
I organized Canadian Thanksgiving once again this year and it was a HUGE success. There were approximately 50 people there. We even found turkey this year, so that’s a plus. Will and I baked a butt-load of pumpkin pies (made out of carrots). They were delicious but it honestly took us until 10:30 pm, which was unfortunate. I also organized Halloween this year. We didn’t do it last year. We bought lots of candy, made popcorn balls, and rented movies. We rented this one movie called Trick’r’Treat. It was kind of scary, kind of awkward, and kind of a lot of things. But perfect for Halloween, I guess. I dressed as Peter Pan. Classic. But my tights were too itchy so I really only resided in Neverland for 30 minutes. Other people dressed as Simon Peter (not bad), Granny (pretty good), a recreational golfer (laaame Jed), a missionary (bruuuutal Brooke). There were a ton of people. [Insert Canadian sarcasm] Not the best party I’ve ever put together. Need to seriously take this one back to the PPC.
I stayed in BBR all last week and it was great! But I somehow came down with something. I haven’t had a voice since Friday. Greasy.
I LOVE HEROES! I just discovered how awesome the show is. I crushed season 1 and 2 recently. It’s the kind of show that you feel like you’re in and even though you stop watching it, you look around and wonder what kind of powers everyone has and feel like you could just start flying or stopping time.
Speaking of shows, I just finished Season 5 of the Office. Congrats Jim & Pam!!!
On Saturday is Levy and Prag’s wedding. I’m pretty excited. I’m a bridesmaid and if you know anything about African weddings, it’s not an easy task. We’ve been rehearsing for over a month now. You don’t just walk up the aisle, you dance, so we’ve been learning all the steps. We got Zambian outfits made and it’s going to be the party of the year. But Prag is making me grow my nails out, straighten my hair, wax my legs and wear make-up. Barf.
Lastly I’d like to give a shout out to my brother, Rob, for running for mayor of Lloydmonster. I heard you did well and spoke well and I was rooting for you! I’m sorry to hear you didn’t make the cut.
Love and miss you all! Only 6 weeks!
Kristal Dawn
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)