Halfway Between Here And There

Give unto the Lord the glory due unto his name:...come before him, worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness. - 1 Chronicles 16:29

6 months in, 5 months remain. We have been blessed in so many ways, yet this has not been without challenges.

The work of mentoring teachers continues to progress well. I have conducted two 3 day workshops for 4 different schools. The first workshop was an encouraging start, especially as I have never facilitated a workshop before. The topic - The 7 Laws of the Learner - seeks to impact many teacher skills, approaches and attitudes. This workshop is familiar to some of you who attended it in Sunday School.

Some feedback I have received have shown that hearts were touched, different ways of thinking were introduced, and styles were challenged. One of the best surprises has been how teachers have embraced the spiritual connections of the workshops. I have not been hampered in any way in sharing my faith and how it can have an impact on teaching. Schools have asked for more similar workshops. One teacher asked how they could contact me with questions as I finished a workshop in Batoka. He was excited to apply what he had learned but also unsure of the steps or direct application. He was also seeking someone to whom he could turn for advice on any topic.

All of the BIC schools that I came to work with have requested that I bring this workshop to them as well, and 2 other schools have also requested it. One heard about it from teachers who had already taken it, and the other school is a BIC high school. I had been asked to concentrate on the basic schools. I am excited about the interest!

I am also planning to take up the challenge offered by a school called Francis Davidson that wants me to teach an ESL class in the afternoons to Gr. 8 and 9 students. This will be fun, as I am missing teaching in the classroom. My hope is to spend time reading novels or short stories, lead informal discussions and teach them conversational English.

Most students really struggle to carry on a conversation despite having all Gr. 7 government exams in English. I have heard stories of students transferring to a school in Choma from deep in the “bush”, who finished Gr. 7 with good results, but could not say anything to the Principal in English. When questioned, the student explained that all of their teaching had been in the local language. This may not seem like a big deal, but the government policy is that all teaching from Gr. 2 and up is to be in English. Obviously this is not observed or monitored.

Another big item of news is that I have three local teachers who have retired and one current head master who are willing to take up the challenge of continuing and expanding the program of mentorship after July 28th when we return to Canada. This date seems to be so far away at times, when we are missing everyone at home, but when I look at the work to be done, it seems very close. I desire and need God’s empowering Spirit and guidance to know what to focus on in the 5 months remaining. These four people are talented, have proven to be dedicated to teaching and are respected by their colleagues. Yet there is a concern about how they will carry out the program once left to continue without my support. I do have confidence in their desire and ability, but not everyone shares my confidence. The next four months will focus on collaboration, choosing professional development topics, developing tests to track student progress so that we can measure the success of the program, testing and mentoring the mentors that will take my place.

Karlene is doing well, and has started to get involved in...you guessed it, radio! She has been holding back knowing that once she gets involved in the local station, it would take time that was dedicated to Keyana. Our little girl is now in school 5 days a week, so this has freed Karlene’s mornings to get involved. So far her involvement will include instructing radio personnel on Thursday mornings in how to make pre-recorded programs like Joyful Praise in format, voice recording, editing and mixing. They use an older version of Adobe Audition so it will take a bit of adjusting and learning for her to use it but she’s up for the challenge. She’s also been convinced by the program manager to DJ 90 minutes of praise and worship music live on Saturday mornings. She’s enjoyed getting back behind the mic after 6 months of not doing Celebrations Hour.

She is also considering helping out at the Macha Girls Secondary boarding school as a basketball assistant coach. This will help her to get to know some girls and might lead to mentorship opportunities. She’ll see if times allows. Karlene continues to keep busy making our house a home, helping Josiah and Keyana in the continual adjustment to life in Africa, recording Joyful Praise for CIAM, volunteering a bit at the school where Josiah and Keyana attend and singing with the BIC praise team, although that has hit a bit of a standstill the past two months for various reasons. She’s hoping that they will be back to having regular practices soon as she’s missing being able to sing with the group.

Josiah is energetic, active and developing his artistic side. He loves to make others laugh, making funny faces, telling stories and building things. He is very creative and has quite the imagination! When it comes to bookwork he’s not as interested so we’ve decided to work more at home with him one on one and then have him attend part of the day at school for the social aspect. His interest in soccer has grown since that’s the main sport here. The other day found Anthony, Keyana, Josiah and Bocklay (a student in grade 10 who helps us with yard work) enjoying an impromptu game of football in the back yard. He never tires of playing, making lego creations, digging holes in the back yard or building sand castles in our pile of sand.

Keyana is loving kindergarten! Yes, she’s only 4 but ready and eager to go to school! She just started in January and is loving it! It allows her to socialize, colour, play and learn; all things she loves to do in her spare time. It seems like school is designed for her personality. She comes home with new poems or songs almost everyday and loves to sing them for us. She is excited to show off her papers or artwork and is excited to have homework! (Can you imagine?) Which she promptly sits down to do immediately when she returns home! I wonder if that will continue when she’s older! :-) This week she was excited to be both the line leader and prayer co-ordinator for her class, responsibilities she doesn’t take lightly. Last night when Karlene was talking with her after prayers, she said, “Mom, I think we have to stop talking now because I have to be up early for school since I’m line leader. I need to get my sleep.”

Both Josiah and Keyana have made good friends, which we are extremely thankful for. Most days they are glad to be living in Zambia and are happy we came. There are those days when they miss their Nana and Papas, family and friends back home, and Starlight too (our cat). However, adjustment continues to be ongoing, not just for them but for all of us. So we appreciate your continued prayers!

We had a wonderful time with Karlene’s parents. We were able to tour South Africa together, visit Melvin and Kari Peters and their family in Lesotho (definite highlight), see Victoria Falls, celebrate Christmas in our home in Macha, re-connect with friends of ours whom they had met when visiting us previously in Choma, see the reading room still in operation, visit with street kids and former street kids who are now grade 12 students at Choma Secondary School (Christopher and Forsta) and relax as a family among God’s beautiful creation in South Luwangwa National Park for 5 days where we enjoyed seeing God’s awesome African wildlife, something that never tires for us and was a first for Josiah and Keyana! Mom and Dad were a great help in every day activities and household chores, grouting our tiles and setting up our shower so it was useable, hemming and fixing numerous clothes and sewing curtains. Josiah and Keyana enjoyed many moments of Grandparent/grandkid time which they are greatly missing now! Enough that they both wished they could have gone back on the plane with Nana and Papa! We were blessed to have them spend 7 weeks with us, are so thankful they came and were so sad to see them leave!

I have tried to keep active, though my knee has been giving me some problems. We had some former students bring a club team to Macha to play a handful of guys that got together here. I joined the team that was thrown together, and we did our best to give the club team a challenge. I still try to play soccer with the local team as well, but have been injured or away for workshops in the last little while.

We have started a Bible Study group in our home. We have had a great time learning and encouraging each other. We struggle to get to bed at a good time on those nights as we don’t seem to want to end the discussion or visiting. I have been asked to preach at the local church as well on the Children’s Sunday, and need to find time to prepare for that. So with Sunday School and the other commitments, we have found ways to get involved in the community.

We appreciate your support! Please continue to pray for us; Satan continues to prowl and we must remain on guard, vigilant and strong in the Lord. Your prayers are a fortress and strength to us. As July looms ahead, we have some important decisions to make on many different fronts. We desire to do God’s will even though it can be difficult. Please pray for God’s wisdom, direction and discernment. Pray that our choices will be in line with God’s will and that they will be the right ones for all involved. We value your prayers as we seek and serve God! Thank you again for partnering with us in reaching children, teachers and others for Christ in Zambia!

Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit says the Lord of hosts. Zechariah 4:6

Prayer Requests:

• Please pray for wisdom, direction and discernment as we make decisions regarding our future.
• Pray for Josiah and Keyana as they attend school, that being here this year will be a good experience for them. Pray for us as parents that we will be able to help them adjust and deal with everyday issues in patience and love.
• Pray for continued health and safety. God has been so good!
• Pray for Anthony as he holds workshops, works with teachers and head masters and now meets with other potential teacher mentors who will take over for him when our time is finished. Pray that they will be excited, passionate and motivated to take up this role. Pray that teachers will be challenged and revived through the workshops.
• Pray for Karlene as she volunteers at the radio station and helps to train radio personnel in program making.
• Pray that more rains will come! It is vital that the rains return otherwise there is fear that the harvest will be poor and people will go hungry.
• Pray that we will serve in His strength, recognizing that He called us here to serve and that He will enable us to carry out what He’s set before us to do. Pray that we will live Holy Spirit filled lives, moment by moment, day by day. Pray that we will recognize the spiritual attack of the enemy and stand against it in the Holy Spirit’s power.

January Update - Traveling All Over

The last 3 weeks we have enjoyed a close connection to La Crete through Mom and Dad who have been with us for their Christmas Holidays. It is always a blessing to hear news of home and to be present with friends or family. This letter is going to be a bit of a what’s new update since our last letter in October.

Anthony’s Work - Since October, I have continued to get to know the schools and staff in the area. I am working with 3 in particular, but did go to visit 2 others in November. Both of those schools are eager to see me extend the work I am doing to their areas. I will never work as closely or continuously with them as they are too far away, but am planning on duplicating workshops that are done in Macha with the further schools.

One-on-one mentoring, observations and planning sessions have continued, with some going well, others not seeming to work out as well. Even so, there is an overall hunger to learn how to teach reading and writing more effectively in all the schools. This continues to be a challenge for me since I come from such different curriculum and resource backgrounds. They have very little in these schools to read, so it is difficult to prescribe reading exercises. Many of the times, students must listen to what is read rather than read it for themselves. Another difficulty is the lack of libraries. None of the schools have what I would call a library. They do have 5 sets of small paperback booklets that all the grade levels share, but it would not take a student long to get tired of these same 5 booklets. Three of the booklets are about AIDS awareness as well, so I would imagine most Gr. 3-7 students are not interested. (These books were donated by NGO’s)

What I am looking forward to is the first workshop that I will be facilitating. I had planned for it to be Jan. 4-6, but it has been post-poned to the 26-28th. Please do pray about this workshop called The 7 Laws of the Learner produced by Walk Thru the Bible. This workshop may reawaken or develop a passion for teaching, really making a difference in the lives of students and become more intentional teachers. It has a spiritual emphasis that the teachers need, just as we all do. I am excited and leary of this opportunity, having never led a workshop in my life. Actually, I did lead two sessions just before Christmas at our MCC retreat in Johannesburg on Education in Africa, but that was more of an informal discussion than a teaching workshop. My prayer for this workshop is that teachers would be challenged, energized and awakened to a deep personal responsibility for the development of their students.

i had a really good visit with a teacher workshop trainer for Walk Thru the Bible in Jo’burg, who is looking for someone in Zambia to train teachers with 3 different workshops they have geared for teacher development. I managed to get workbooks, the DVD series for all 3 workshops and some other resources. I am hoping that this may develop into more future training for the BIC schools in Zambia.

Karlene’s Work -

Our Kids Work - Keyana is busy colouring and workbooking up a storm. She loves to play school and can’t wait for the new year when she can start kindergarten. She is learning quickly, and despite being 4 and a half, is very ready to go to school. In fact she has been begging to go since we moved here. She is still struggling to find friends she can connect with regularly.

Josiah is glad for the holidays, not being as excited about school as Keyana. After all, there isn’t a bus to ride and only one recess per day; those were his highlights when in La Crete. But he does feel he has lots of friends and has been gaining self-confidence. We have been working with him a fair bit at home to compliment the schooling; it was not challenging him enough, or been giving him as much practice and repetition that he needs.

Our Holidays - We left for South Africa Dec. 3rd. Getting there was a bit of a challenge. We do not have a vehicle for our own family, it is shared. So we got a ride to Choma from an MCC volunteer, then were going to take a bus to Livingstone. The buses, 3 companies, told us they were booked for the next 2 scheduled buses, but thought there may be a chance we could hop on the midnight bus. We decided to take a taxi, so after being quoted anything from 100 to 250 dollars, we jammed our bags into the trunk of a car and headed out. We then had to search for a guesthouse that was affordable, which took us two tries. It was clean and friendly though a few too many flies during breakfast. We had a wonderful visit with a former student at one of the fancy hotels, who managed to get us a free buffet supper - a real treat!

The next day we flew to Joburg, then met Karlene’s parents the next day. We had an interesting start to our trip when their flight was delayed by 1.5 hours, then our phone would not work til we bought a different SIM card, so we got out of the airport at the time we had hoped to be in the Drakkensberg Mountains. The trip their became more interesting as we stopped to eat, potty breaks and a missed turn that almost put us into northern Lesotho finally found us knocking on the pre-booked guesthouse door at 10 PM - 8 hours later than we had hoped. They had given up on us and went to bed, but were gracious in letting us in.

More about that wrong turn - we had been doing well following the directions to get to Bergville, but the road started to get less traveled, narrower and more mountainous. This we had expected, but it kept going on and we were not seeing any signs for quite some time. The speed limit slowed to 60km/h, and we entered a park. That was a bit of a surprise, but when we got to the other side of the park and it was dark, I asked how much farther it was until we reached Bergville. I was told we needed to go back the way we came for about 1.5 hours, then turn off to reach it. As we were heading back in the dark I caught up with a car moving slowly, so I checked my rearview mirror to see if Karlene was close behind in the other car, she was, so I pulled out to pass. As I pulled up beside the car, I heard some honking. I did not think too much of it, wondering what their problem was, but then saw lights flashing behind me. There was a car centimeters from our bumper flashing his lights and honking. I pulled over after completing my pass, and this crazy driver zoomed by waving his fist at me. He then cut me off, braked until I had stopped, then sat there in the road in front of us. I expected someone to jump out wanting to pound me or waving a knife, so was ready to drive away. After 10 seconds, he drove away squealing the tires. We drove off as well. Karlene told me later that I hadn’t been at fault, that I had just started to pull out and pass when this car came ripping down the road at about 150 km/h passing her and did not slow down until he was right on my bumper. She had been sure I would be hit.

Soon after this, a truck piled high with household items and mattresses on top came zipping past us, then about 50 m in front of us zigzagged, almost losing the mattresses. He pulled over, and as I got close I saw he had hit a small animal. I did not have time to miss it and ran over a dog. He had stopped, so I kept going and let him take care of the dog. The rest of the drive was less stressful!

Another fun adventure was when we drove to Durban to visit sea world. Again the drive got interesting when we went through a light that changed red before the second car could get through. So we drove a bit until we found a bus pullout where we could wait. Well we waited 10 minutes, and no car came. Karlene got quite worried, wondering what we should do now. I suggested we go ahead to the destination, but Karlene thought we had not even mentioned the destination by its official name, that dad and mom would not be able to find it. She let her imagination go and was close to tears, as we had heard Durban was a very dangerous city, but we did find our way to the Sea World. We waited at the car park for a little bit, then found out there was more than one entrance, so Karlene camped at one, I went to the other. I found Dad there waiting for us. They had made a U-turn after the lights, so had not seen us, and followed a different road to get to the destination.

We had a good time watching the kids enjoy the seal and dolphin shows, look at the shark and fish tanks, and the four of us went into the water park as well. Josiah thought it was very neat when I came back with a shark tooth I had been given by a fellow scuba diver 2 days later. He couldn’t get over that it was a real shark tooth we found on the bottom of the ocean in the sand.

We also had another vehicle incident when we were at the MCC retreat meeting. They offered an afternoon Lion Park expedition, where there were about 60 lions in captivity. Cubs could be petted, cheetahs taken for a walk and a small game drive to see zebras and impala. Keyana loved petting the cubs, went three times to the cage. A giraffe got out of its fence and walked amongst the visitors, though one of the caretakers nervously told us to give it plenty of space. Then we went to drive through the lions fenced areas. These were fairly large, and lions were grouped into family prides. When we got to the second group, one large male seemed to really take an interest in Dad’s truck, placing its paws on the back bumper and walking along behind it as Dad slowly drove by. It finally went right beside the window and peered in. Then Dad drove further and our vehicle, an SUV, came beside it, and it did the same wheelbarrow imitation. Only this time it thought the spare tire on the back looked yummy. I was driving slowly, but when it bit down and we heard a loud PSST sound of air escaping, I went a bit faster to escape the rubber eater. Then Dad had another lion who liked his pickup and jumped on the back, on top of the leather box cover, tore it and then jumped off. We tried to keep our distance from the lions after that.