30 March, 2008

AIDS Walk-a-Thon




The students spent the last few weeks looking for pledges and preparing. On Saturday, they gathered at the school track to walk laps to help raise money for AIDS. The walk lasted for two hours under the hot sun, but each walker persevered. Over $1000 was raised!

I am only one, but I am one. I cannot do everything, but I can do something. And I will not let what I cannot do interfere with what I can do. ~Edward Everett Hale

22 March, 2008

You Know You Are An MK When...

you think in two languages and cant tell right away which language you are thinking in.

you know what its like to visit five different churches in three days.
... and everyone knows you there - yet you have no idea who they are.

You have a passport, but no driver's license.

You know how to pack...

You wince when people pronounce foreign words.

You are asked if you have lions in your back yard.

You don´t know what to say when people ask for your address.

You prefer boiled sugar water and maple flavoring rather than real maple syrup.

You describe Americans as if you were not one yourself.

you have to think of what time it is for the person you are about to call.

you think in meters, liters and grams - just like everyone but the US.

You speak with authority on the quality of airline travel.

Going home can be used in both directions of flight.

You sort your friends by continents, then countries, then alphabet.

You tell people where you are from and they ask if you can say something.

You believe vehemently that football is played with your foot and a small round spotted ball.

You realize that it IS a small world after all.

Your mom gets excited over finding Doritos at a local store...and buys them all.

You have stopped in the middle of an argument to find the translation of the word you just used.

(011) and (001) are familiar area codes.

You read the international section before the comics.

The nationals say "I knew an American once" and ask you if you know them.
You aren't terribly surprised when you do.

You would be more afraid to send your kids to public school then on an unescorted plane trip.

You look at the Rockies and think "nice hills".

You hesitate before writing the date because you are unsure of whether to write day/month/year, month/day/year or some variation thereof.

You wake up one day and realize you aren't a foreigner anymore.

You wake up one day and realize you are still a foreigner.

You Know You Have Lived In Africa When....

...it doesn't seem right to pay the asking price on anything in a store. If you can't barter for it, it's not worth having.
...you find all the non-white people on campus so you can be a minority again.
...you call everyone older than you uncle or aunt.
...you'd rather be barefoot.
...every softdrink is coca cola or fanta.
...black outs for a week are nothing new to you.
...no running water for a day is just another ordinary thing
...50 degrees is cold, but 100 degrees isn't hot.
...you can do your monthly shopping on the pavement.
...four cars are driving parallel to each other on a one-lane road doesn't seem wrong.
...the smell of freshly rained on mud paths is comforting.
...being an hour late equals being "on time"
...you eat sugar cane as a snack.
...you can bribe a cop and get away with it!
...you have an over whelming urge to wash all your salad in milton (bleach)
...you know that the police isn't always the safest place to go when you're in trouble.
...cramming 7 passangers in a 4 passenger taxi is really not a big deal.
...you know never to question what you're eating (even if it does taste good), cuz sometimes you just don't want to know.
...you invite people for a get together at 7 and they all come at 9.
...everyone in your country plays soccer.
...you have showered under the rain.
...you have to think what race your friends are because you don't notice or care.
...someone riding their bike down the road with corrugated iron strapped width wise across the back of the bike and its taking up more than half of the road is not unusual.
...you know what true hospitality and generosity is...when those who have almost nothing still welcome you in with open arms and are willing to share everything they have with you - even though they barely know you!
...someone asks you how much your sister costs.
...you unwrap all your gifts carefully, so that you can reuse the wrapper.
...more than 90% of the DVDs in your home are illegal copies.
...you find it completely natural to have burglar-bars outside your windows
...you bought your cellphone through your car window
...chicken is a luxury
...you are not surprised when there is a herds of cows and goats walking down the street
...every white thing you own has permently turned a curious shade of brown
...you dream about Africa - a lot.
....you think of giving up trying to convince people of what it´s really like - even though they really do try, they often just don´t understand.
...you learn quickly that pedestrians DO NOT have the right-of-way
...you know that an umbrella is useless during the rainy season and simply accept the fact that you'll be wet for 6 months... and really don't mind either
...people bump into the car in front, check out the damage, hand over some money (maybe!) and then drive off!
...you are able to smell of the coming of the first rain signaling the end of the dry season.
...tears well up in your eyes as you read this list, either wishing that you were back in Africa or glad that you are still there.


Although I often tell my students, "just because it is on the internet, does not mean it is true!" I will have to admit, this (which I found on the internet) is most definitely TRUE! Much of it must have been experienced to be understood. I am sure there is SO much more that could be added...but this is a good start!

19 March, 2008

Snack of the Day





A mom dropped by a few bag of snacks for a group of kids who came to hang out for the day. In these bags were fried grasshoppers. For those wondering...they kinda taste like the crunchy part of Kentucky Fried Chicken Extra Crispy skin. Kinda.

15 March, 2008

Setting Down the Glass


A lecturer raised a glass of water and asked, "How heavy is this glass of water?" Answers called out ranged from 20g to 500g. The lecturer replied, "The absolute weight doesn't matter. It depends on how long you try to hold it. If I hold it for a minute, that's not a problem. If I hold it for an hour, I'll have an ache in my right arm. If I hold it for a day, you'll have to call an ambulance. In each case, it's the same weight, but the longer I hold it, the heavier it becomes."

He continued, "If we carry our burdens all the time, sooner or later, as the burden becomes increasingly heavy, we won't be able to carry on. As with the glass of water, you have to put it down for a while and rest before holding it again. When we're refreshed, we can carry on with the burden."

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Today is the first day of Spring Break. The rest is much needed so we can carry on strong through May.

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"I do not pray for a lighter load, instead I pray for a stronger back." -Phillip Brooks

09 March, 2008

Wedding Day Timeline





6:30 AM Jon, with upset stomach, leaves to pick up family of the bride (16 people in our 9 passenger van) from a village a few hours away. He is given pounded yam and a warm Maltina for breakfast by family. Women in van practice their notorious chants/yells all the way.

10:55 Julie arrives at church. (Church is under construction.)

11:00 Wedding starts without family. (About 30 in attendance at this point.)

11:15 Family (and Jon) arrives but not worried they are late.

11:45 Window frame falls out of church window.

1:00 Wedding ends. (Total of about 200 in attendance by end of wedding.)

2:00 Reception begins (Julie escapes.)

Mid Afternoon-Jon returns family of bride to village

Night- Jon begins return to Jos with a big batch of furniture for newly married couple (including a now-soaked mattress due to the unexpected rain)

8:00 Julie wonders if she should send out search and rescue when there is no Jon-sighting. Decides she doesn't know where to search. Makes a bunch of grilled cheese sandwiches for the dozen kids who are in the house.

9:30 Jon arrives-completely worn out. Julie is relieved he is alive and well.

11:45 Last student leaves the house after hours of eating, playing games, laughing, and lots of talking.

11;47 PM We fall into bed. (I think Jon is willing to offer $ to our own girls to elope!)

I Bless the Rains Down in Africa


We watched the clouds roll in on Friday, but thought, "nah...no way it will rain yet." On Saturday the temperature had dropped in the afternoon and as we enjoyed the basketball tournament our doubts of rain began to fade. By late afternoon, the rains came. Our first rain the year!

I had forgotten how nice the rain smelled, looked and felt. This rain last for a few hours---and it was VERY welcome. After waiting for the downpour to subside, we ran to the car and came home to a warm shower, coffee, grilled cheese and sweatshirts to play games and chill for the rest of the evening. We slept so well in the cool weather with the smell of rain still in the air.


"The same rain that wears down stone, can refresh each of us." -Risto Rein