Last night was another no-internet evening. After giving up on it, I started to read in bed before going to sleep. Around 9:30 the electricity went off. It came back on in a few minutes, but I decided that I was too tired to read anymore by that point. I am reading Miracle at Tenwek, which is a book that Megan gave me last Christmas. It is about the life and impact of Ernie Steury, a medical missionary to Kenya. So far it has been amazing, and I am enjoying reading this in my free time when I am not too tired. The book addresses a lot about the specific call that God placed on Ernie’s life and how even through obstacles, times of uncertainty, and discouragement, God carried that through to His purpose and plan. It has been encouraging for me as I am seeking God for the specific calling He has on my life.
I am not sure if it was the week off of school and relaxing or what, but I am feeling very tired and am not up to doing much. This is a prayer request of mine because it is easy to be very consumed in planning and teaching things and not soak up the culture and people around me. The school itself is a completely separate community. It is wonderful, but it is very different and removed from the rest of Burkina even though there are Burkinabe students who attend. Most teachers and students return in the afternoon and evening to either plan or attend some activity. This is a great thing; however, you must be careful to not let it consume you.
Yesterday I went to church with Alice and the kids. Pete was away on a trip, so it was just us. Once a year the women are in charge of the service, and it is located at the central CMA (Christian and Missionary Alliance) church in Ouagadougou. Yesterday was that day, so we went to this church that is very modern compared to the Pat Twah, the other church. The prime minister, whose children attend my school, was invited and ended up coming. The church was packed with probably close to 1,000 in attendance. There was a band and tons of music that was fun and energetic. Several woman were up front dancing around in a circle. This reminded me of church when I came in 2006. Our team danced around the church with the people for three hours…for two nights. It was hot but so much fun. This is how I got to know Marie (who I have not seen yet) and Elizabeth. During the service, Alice translated for me which was so nice to know what was going on. The message was about peace. The woman talked about how we often let interruptions and discouragement get in the way of the peace of God. It was a good service…all three and a half hours!! :)
Today was back to the grind, waking up at 6am. Since I went to bed early last night, I did pretty well at being awake this morning. My tea with Digestives helped! :) The kids were so well behaved today, even though I thought they were before. I think that the break was well-needed. Today was my first lesson on the letter “P.” It went pretty well, but the kids finished a lot sooner than I had anticipated. Thankfully, I thought of another activity on the spot. As I had imagined, it was really difficult to keep the attention of the kids when two of them only know a few words in English. I sometimes get bored when I hear a long conversation in French, and I have a lot more self control than these kids. Tomorrow’s lesson should be fun along with the rest of the week because I have a different theme for each day. Penguins are tomorrow, followed by pigs, picnic, and popcorn party. At the end of the day the kids usually have free time. They all love the alphabet people “Go Fish” game. I cannot tell you how many times I have played this in 6 days! Today was really rewarding because one of my non-English speaking students asked me to play with her. She was finally able to say, “Mrs. Marshall, do you have Mr. fill in the blank.” I was really proud of her!
Tonight for dinner we are having pizza from the Burgs, missionaries that I knew last time. Their older son and a friend had started a business, but they are now in the states for college. I guess it is a family recipe, because they are still making them. I remember loving them last time, so they should be good. Well, hopefully, I will be able to post this online tonight, and I am also hoping to talk to my family. Another prayer request…even though I am so glad I am here, I am struggling knowing that my family is all together for a month since Eddie is on vacation and at home. Not talking to them as much and feeling so far away makes it harder for me.
Well, I hope that your week is off to a great start. There is now a five hour time difference between us since we don’t have Daylight Savings. The election is tomorrow, so I am planning on going to bed early, since I will want to be up late tomorrow evening. I think Sheila and I are going to be glued to the TV, even though we have different hopes for the outcome.
FYI…Clicker is back to his normal spot behind the hot water tank in my bathroom. He has been missing for a few days, so I am glad to have those big familiar eyes back! :)
No comments:
Post a Comment