Over Halfway There

Mornin-O! I had to come to use the internet to email something for my school, so I thought I would write a little blog update. Term One is in full swing now and despite the bumpy start, classes are going well. I have been put in charge of making the master schedule for my school, and that has been pretty time consuming and stressful. Hopefully it will be finished soon, as long as the teachers make up their minds about what they want to teach everything should work out. Even though it has been really annoying to spend so much time on it, I was able to give the teachers their own individual schedules which makes the chances of them actually showing up for class a little better. In addition to that I have been working on this science lab grant. We are in the last stages of it, but I’m not sure if it will get approved because of the fact that I only have 10 months left in country. I have been trying to communicate the urgency of the project, but BMT transfers to all aspects of life here, and the going has been a little slow. Hopefully it will be up and running soon. Things in the library are going well. Kids are coming in, reading, asking to take out books. We started a library committee so another teacher and I are going to really focus on the library this year, making it operational, so that next year when I go, the next volunteer can focus on something else. It’s really great to see the kids coming in and researching for assignments, taking books home, looking at the awesome posters Mom brought, and just taking pride in the fact that their school has a functioning library. I’m really excited to start working with my colleague teachers so that we can make it fit best to the students’ and staff’s needs.

Community life is going well. Last night kicked off a weekend spent entirely in Kamabai. I got out of school at noon (I don’t have any classes Friday afternoons, one of the perks of making the master schedule J ), cleaned my house, cooked and hung out on my porch the rest of the day. One of my best students in JSS 3 moved to Kamabai so he could be around for the extra classes they hold after school hours (he lives in a village 8 miles away and was commuting to school every day) and we had a great conversation. He is so incredibly smart and wants to be a doctor. Hearing his story about growing up with his grandma in the village while his parents are in Freetown, being the only one of his siblings to go to school, walking 15 miles round trip every day to go to school the last two years, and now moving away from his family to stay with strangers just so he can study more, reaffirmed why I am here. Now that I am past the half way mark of my service I have been thinking a lot about the future, being back home, seeing my loved ones, and I haven’t really been present in my work. Dennis made me realize that I still have 10 months to really work hard and try my best to be a great teacher, even if it’s not the easiest thing to do . He is a perfect example of someone who despite all of the hardships he has had to endure, believes that God will provide as long as he continues to work hard. He is an inspiration to me and I am so thankful that I have the opportunity to meet amazing people like him every day. It makes up for all of the not so great things that I have witnessed since being here. Thank you Dennis for showing me what it means to be a true believing Christian, one who trusts completely in God’s plan, even if it is not easy. This week you brought me back to the reason I am here, and for that I am grateful.