Update!

I have been a bad blogger, but I have been a very busy with all the things that go on here. It is a new week, and it is a new school year! The kids came to school bright eyed in their shiny new shoes, and ironed shirts. They sat down eagerly to breakfast and all huddled into their new classes to find their seats. We now have over a hundred students! The new grade one students looked so cute in their over sized pants and enormous backpacks!
The day was full of glitches,  we spent a lot of time working on the schedule and trying to figure out where to sit all the kids down for lunch. Things should run smoother tomorrow! I have also been working on Visa applications for two new teachers. There so much pressure to get it right, even one mistake could meant that they do not get their visas!
The new teachers seemed to do well in their classes, tomorrow will be my turn to take on teaching a whole bunch of subjects. It is amazing to see where we are right now! When we graduated from CCCB I never thought I would be trying out how to teach the Bible in grammar class.

I am also still taking part in Project 52, I just failed to get the picture uploaded for last week. The theme for last week was “Illustrate a song” I was inspired by the sunset here, and one of my friends, you know who you are! So here is my picture:

 

Jessica.

I just heard that one of our kid’s mothers passed away. Jessica is in grade one. Her mom tested positive for HIV in March of this year. She had been on the ARV drugs. She was doing great. The last time we saw her she seemed as healthy and happy as ever. Jodie had been dropping of fresh produce and other food at her house so she could get the food she needed in order to take her ARV. This is absolutely devastating.
Jessica lived with her mom and dad n a room they rent from Jessica’s grandfather. The grandfather is a selfish man, and treated them harshly. Her dad has a job but never brings any money home to the family. He does occasionally buy them food.
When we visited their house I was impressed by how clean she kept their room, and what a good mother she was. She had pictures of Jessica up on the wall along with some drawings she had made at school. I have not seen anything like that in any of our other kids homes. It was one of the cleanest homes I’ve been in. She was an example to the families around her.
I am not sure what will happen to Jessica now.
Please be praying for them as we try to figure out the best thing to do.

Christmas in Namibia!

Christmas in Namibia has:

 

Wise men.

This is the last and most elaborate dance of the night. This is the fourth grade class playing the three wise men and their entourage. Keep an eye out for the camels and the wise men! Enjoy!
If you are watching this is facebook click here to see the video.

Angels we have heard on high!!!

This is the second dance in the Christmas play. It is my favorite one. The kids in this dance are in grades 5 and 6. They played the shepherd hearing form the angels. (The video begins with the second graders singing, you can see Adam in the background.)
Enjoy!
If you are viewing this on facebook click here to see the video.

In the name of love…

I finally have some of the Christmas play video to show of. There were three dances in the play. This one is the first of the three, it was preformed by the third grade class. They did great, there was some stage fright and a few of the kids seemed to be shy, but it was great fun! The kids came up with most of the dance, I coordinated them and helped them to put their ideas together.
Keep you eye on this space for the rest of the dances. If you are reading this on facebook click here to see the video.

Hope everyone is have a great weekend!

A Christmas cast of Characters…

Last night we put up our Christmas tree! We decided when we moved here in May that we would buy these little beaded creatures to decorate the tree with. It was kind of sad to not have any of our ornaments here, they are still at the Echols’ in Colorado. These animals are made by local Namibians, and they are sold at a craft market in town. Here they are:

 I know it might be strange to call an animal that will eat your face off “sympathetic,” but doesn’t the lion just look like he gets it? Barney the Hippo is named after the Simpsons characther, there seems to be a resemblance. My personal favorite is the penguin, some of you out there will know why more than others, don’t you just love his beady little eyes?
Merry Christmas season everyone!!

It’s like climbing Everest barefoot.

In a recent sermon the preacher said that sometimes faith does not move mountains, and it is then that we get on our boots and climb them. Another preached from James, it was one of the best sermons I have heard recently. He spoke about trials, about how faith is grown and stretched during times of pain and difficulty.
I think sometimes we as humans forget that God has a plan, that He is in control, and that all things will work out for the good of those who love Him.
Today I want to let you know that if you are in the middle of a trial, and if you feel like you are climbing Mt. Everest barefoot, you are not alone.
Keep going, you will reach the summit!

Glo–OoO-oOo-OoOreeeea!!

We are two weeks away from the Community Hope School Christmas extravaganza! That also means that we are two weeks away from this school year being over!! This past weekend we had the sixth grade dance group over to our house to put the finishing touches on their dance. It was a blast! The dance is coming together beautifully, we added the running man, a slow motion section, some Kwaito (like African break dancing), and the robot. It is pretty hilarious to watch. Did I mention that we are dancing to Relient K’s rendition of “Angels we have heard on high?”

We also had some lunch and the kids decided they wanted to watch “The lion, the with, and the wardrobe,” but after a few moments they decided to watch “Home alone.” It was great, the kids kept laughing and laughing and laughing, I think we could have cut out the rest of the movie and only watched the “action parts,” as the kids called it, over and over again. We had a blast.
That morning when we picked them up one of the little boy’s looked at me and said “I wish you were my mom, and I was your son.”

These kids really need someone to love them, and to show them the love of Christ. Please take some time in the next two weeks and pray for CHS, the Christmas extravaganza, the end of the year, and every one of the students that we work with.

Remember Christ has come!

Tuesday.

Tuesdays are known as prayer meeting day here at CHS. Every Tuesday night we all pile into the Hunter’s living room and we pray. We pray in small groups, we pray in a large group, we pray quietly and earnestly, we walk around the room praying out loud at the same time, sometimes we cry, sometimes we laugh, occasionally we eat cookies. The purpose of these meetings is for all of us to come together and cry out to God as a team.

Last night we focused on things that we are thankful for. David thanked God for His grace. I thanked God for the opportunity to teach. (Right now I am working on the syllabuses I will be using next year. So far I will be teaching Art, Geography, Science, and Grammar, more to come on this later.)
What is one thing that you are thankful for??