The Hoppin' Masters

We’ve been kept hoppin’ in the last two weeks! I could fill pages with the details, but because I know you have a life outside of our blog I’ll keep it as brief as possible. But really, who needs a life when you can read our blog? Just kidding :)

Craft time is never void of the odd hassle (I expect nothing less when I’m planning for over 100 students!), but I never leave the classroom without a smile. And, the students are still as enthusiastic as they were the first time I entered their rooms. To add to the screaming and dancing, I even had a Class One student hug me when I walked into her classroom this week. It was so cute! So, our Valentine’s crafts were a huge success, and we have now moved on to a two-week project which entails the students creating a poster illustrating how they would like to make the world better. At the end of next week, the posters will be displayed and judged, and prizes for the top male and female in each class will be awarded. I’m so excited to see their craftwork!

P.E. is still as fun (and crazy) as ever! This week I decided to give the Class 1-3 group (and the baby classes usually tag along, for a total of 75 kiddies!) a break from the regular routine, and so I showed up to class with a bag filled with jump ropes, Frisbees and an assortment of balls. Oh boy, they were happy! I especially enjoyed teaching the girls new jump rope techniques! And for the older classes (Classes 4-7; about 60 students), I had them rotate between activities: two classes went to the field with the bag of goodies, one class played volleyball, and another class played basketball. As you can probably imagine, it’s a bit more than one person can handle – I feel as though I’m in a circus trying to juggle many acts! But, I’m doing the best I can to teach the students new things (and the proper rules) and to also inspire the teachers to create a P.E. program of their own when I leave (which will hopefully involve smaller classes and more teacher involvement).

I also had the pleasure of showing off the new children’s library to the boarders last weekend. They joyfully and very purposefully selected a book and filled out the sign-out sheet I created. And a couple have already made me aware of their eagerness to exchange their books this weekend. (Again, thanks go out to our January Harbour Team!)

I’m also in the process of sorting through the boxes of books and materials that were removed from the children’s library. At the moment, I’m organizing theology materials in hopes of hosting an Open House for pastors, so that they can collect materials for themselves and for their congregations. Yesterday, I was shocked when two young students left their playmates and helped move some very heavy boxes for me. And, it gave me an idea. During this morning’s assembly, I reminded the students that we are called to serve others as Jesus did, and so these two individuals - Daniel (class 6) and Ayub (class 5) - were the first recipients of PACE’s “Helping Hands Award”. I’m hoping this will kindle a renewed sense of servanthood amongst the staff and students.

Last week I also had the pleasure of taking part in a baby shower for Methenge’s (academy principal) baby girl and Joseph’s (dressmaker teacher) baby boy. The highlight for me was experiencing a Kikuiu tradition where the entire group of about 30 people sang and passed around the babies. And after that, the entire academy took part in a talent show with singing, dancing and joking, and it ended with an eating contest. What a hoot!

We had a very busy weekend. In Joanie’s absence, we took over movie night for the kids on Friday. We spent Saturday evening visiting with Wachira’s brother, Ben, and his wife, Mary, and then we attended church with them the following morning. We returned home just long enough to change, put away some groceries, and rest for a few minutes. And then we were off again - we spent most of Sunday afternoon and evening visiting with our friends Njenga and his wife, Lillian, and Jackson. Before you gasp in shock that Njenga has one wife named Lillian and another named Jackson, fret not … I couldn’t think of any other way to structure that sentence to make it make sense. We thoroughly enjoyed our time with them – and we have also been asked to pick a plot (which Njenga will reserve for us) where we will build our house!

We have done our fair share of hosting in the last couple of weeks as well. Last week we invited Methenge and his wife, Cecilia, and two teachers, Ndegwa and Lucy, into our home for a time of fellowship. This week we invited a couple members of the office staff - Frederick and his wife, Josephine, and Mushina. We’ve been exposing them to some our own home cooking, which has received raving reviews by all so far. In fact, Mushina told me the following day that she didn’t want to take lunch from the kitchen, but rather wanted some more of the foods I had cooked the night before. Most importantly, though, these visits are a time for us to get to know our new friends on a more personal level.

And last but not least, we finally made it to the hospital today. Our friend, Jackson, is the head of the pharmacy and so gave us a very thorough, 1.5-hour tour of the hospital. We were introduced to all of the department heads and most staff, and even had a chance to interact with some of the sick children and chat with the newborn mothers. Already I am planning another visit where I can drop off some toys and books for the children’s ward. Another interesting thing is that the laboratory head gave both Ryan and I Kikuyu names. At first I was a bit jealous because Ryan got the name of an elder while I was given the name of his young child. However, I later found out that when translated the name means, “traveler”. Yes, I like that.

Wow, I’m impressed…I kept it relatively short.

We’re attending a marriage seminar – hosted by a team from Chicago – tomorrow, but hopefully I’ll get some free time over the weekend to post some more pictures.

Oh, Ryan is still alive too. He has been busy working with Wachira on a new/updated website for PACE. They will be updating all of the site’s information and adding pages with lots of information for those looking into short and long term missions with PACE. So anyone who has an inkling to do missions will want to keep an eye out for this in the next month or so!