This morning just after 1am, after 5 months of no rain, the clouds finally burst! The house we are living in has a tin roof, so I just lay there and listened to the rain pounding the roof. It is one of the best sounds I have ever heard. After it rained for a few moments the rain subsided and the thunder and lightning took over. It was a good morning!
At five thirty we got up and prepared for the day with the smell of rain on the air. By 6:45 we were at school praying for the day. (every morning the staff at the school gets together and prays for the day).  We prayed for Emmy, one of our 4th graders who is currently in the hospital sick with a mystery illness, and for John, the school’s founder who is travelling to the USA today.
Throughout the rest of the morning David and I worked on some of the new admin duties that we will be taking over. I worked on preparing visa applications for the new staff members, and David finished up the minutes from the last few meetings. At eight David taught the 3rd grade P.E class, and at noon I taught the 5th and 6th grade health class. The lesson today was on alcohol and the dangers thereof. The listened with close attention as many of them (if not all) come from homes broken by alcohol addiction. The theme for this term’s health syllabus comes from Luke and Corinthians, we are looking at how Jesus grew up, and how to keep our bodies as acceptable temples of the Holy Spirit, it has been a good term.
At 12:30 David taught the 4th grade P.E class, he is busy with soccer drills as we hope to start a soccer program next year.
At one pm we all have lunch with the students, yesterday we figured that CHS serves about 40 000 meals a year. We serve the kids breakfast, a snack, and a full lunch every day. After lunch I taught a dance class to the third grade class. It was amazing to be dancing again. I used to be part of several dance groups when I was a teenager. My legs burned as the kids and I came up with the dance moves, it felt great! That class lasted until 2:30, then the next dance class begun. From 2:30-3:30, I have six 5th and 6th graders who will be dancing shepherds in the play. The hour I spent with them was fantastic, these kids are so eager to dance and have fun. It seems that David and I are growing closer with the kids each day as they let us more and more into their lives. Please continue to pray for them!
After that we left to take one of the kids to the dentist. When we got to the office my legs felt like jello from the dance class, but when Jerry saw the elevator (elevators are called lifts here, and the lift company here is called “schindler’s lift”) he refused to ride in it. He said that elevators makes his skin crawl. So up the four flights of stairs we went! When we got close to the top we read that the only access to the fourth floor is by the elevator, so we had to take Schindler’s lift anyway. He hated it but did ok. At the dentist he was told they would have to pull the tooth out, Jerry seemed brave and just agreed to it. Then the shots to numb his mouth came, he was very brave. When the dentist left the room, I could see tears running down Jerry’s face. This broke my heart. Jerry is 15, and lives with his older sister. He used to live with his dad who runs a shebeen (ghetto bar) and a brothel. When he cries at home no one comforts him, there is no mother to make sure he is ok.  In that moment I could see how utterly alone he must feel at times. I rubbed his back and tried to comfort him, he seemed so stiff and unsure of himself. When the dr. came back in he pulled the tooth out with no problem, Jerry moaned a little bit. When he stood up to walk out of the office his face was wet with tears, and he seemed dazed. The tooth was rotten though, so at least now it is out. We drove him home, he sat in silence. When we got to his home he made us stop at the top of the street, I guess people make fun of him sometimes. I keep thinking he is going to be all alone tonight in their cold, wet shack, crying because of the pain in his mouth. Sometimes the task here seems unsurmountable.
As we drove home we heard tires squeal, and when we looked back we saw a taxi hit a toddler in the street. She was lying on the sidewalk crying and the whole neighborhood was around her within seconds. We saw the mother scoop her up, and the taxi drive jump out. As we watched they loaded her in the back of the taxi and the driver drove off to the hospital. She did not seem badly injured from where we were. The grandmother was furious though, yelling and motioning with her hands. Pray for her tonight!
The rest of the way home big drops started falling from the sky, and the clouds opened again. This time it rained for about an hour. It rained hard. We praise God for this rain!
Tonight we are watching a movie, and hopefully listening to some more rain falling.
Keep us and all the students and staff at CHS in your prayers!