Dispatch No 5 - First Week of the New School Year

Jennifer leading the Gr 1-3 devotional.

Brian leading the gr 4-6 devotional

Morning break - the `lunch room'

Dispatch No. 5

First Week of the New School Year

The first week of the new school year is over! Wow! It went by so fast I cannot believe it. I am very thankful to be on the main campus so to speak. It is quite different and I feel more a part of the school now. The sights and sounds are all different and I have recouped 15 or 20 minutes of time which was previously spent going up and down the hill to my class. While the classroom is not yet completed, it does have a roof, plastered walls and a blackboard. Plans are in the works to paint the walls within a few weeks and maybe even finish the floor during the mid term break. We are also hoping that the needed desks and chairs arrive before next week as we have been making do with stools all this week. My class has reduced numbers as a few families are not able to afford the school fees so are sending their child to the government school which is free up until grade 7. The remaining students are quite eager and are throwing themselves into their work.


Jennifer was busy leading up to this week and has been kept more than busy all dealing with school fees, uniforms and more than a few parents in wanting this and that. I looked out of my class on a number of occasions only to see Jennifer racing across the courtyard to a classroom for one thing or another. She has not even had the time to do all of the work at school and has been spending several hours after school getting all of the `action’ recorded and ready for the following day. By Monday evening she was ready to collapse and was rewarded with a big bowl of popcorn. Of course ice cream would have been better but we are fresh out : (
Both Jennifer and I did the grade assemblies (bible study/ devotional) this week to get things started. Jennifer had the tougher time as she did the grade 1-3 with 85 or so students. Both groups are doing the big stories of the book of Genesis starting with creation. I was able to challenge my group to think more deeply, eg. What does it mean that the earth was formless?, How could there be light on day one if the sun is not `made’ until day 3? I hope to show them that by questioning and thinking about such things they will develop a greater trust in God and a better understanding of the Bible.

Saturday was another day at school but is time to pick up the construction work. I am hoping that I can get the ceiling completed prior to the end of the semester so it can be primed prior to the floor being completed. I will do the first bits myself as I will need to work out the layout and make sure I have things setup correctly prior to slapping up the rest of the strapping. Just to top things off for this hectic week (or to get a head start on next week’s hecticness?) I am doing a message at Chapel on Sunday night. Please do not worry though. Despite this hectic pace we are being careful not to overload and have each other as sounding boards and to make sure a balance is kept.

We continue to thank you for all of your thoughts and prayers. We know we would not be functional nor actually be here without your prayers.

May God bless you and keep you,
Brian and Jennifer
PS It is now the end of the second week and the desks have arrived! Still no water though.

Brian's new classroom

Brian's new classroom