Teaching

Day 5, Teaching Bible school

Invited to stop by & visit at the Methodist Retreat Center, we sat in on a session of the first regional pastors' conference which had been funded in part by our church. The man speaking at the time was particularly proud to be the second oldest, most experienced pastor in the region at 81 years old. He said that he and #1 joked about who was going to make it to heaven first. His topic was about learning from each other, especially from our elders, (a concept almost lost in American culture). Throughout my life in the work world, it was always helpful to have a mentor in my place of employment to listen, question, advise, introduce, suggest and support. In our spiritual journeys, I believe God provides us with guides along the way to help us grow in faith. I think he calls on all of us to also be a guide, what some church people might call being a witness or being a disciple.

After a short visit with this group of men and women, we went outside to admire the beautiful grounds that included papaya trees, brilliant flowers and an eye-catching cactus type tree called candelabra euphobia. Vans were then loaded and our trusty drivers, Sammy & Nicholas took us to the school at Kanondone. This location receives sponsorship from a church in Temple Tx called Foundation Methodist Church of which their pastor Ryan and 2 of their members, Matt and Kay Lenn, are along with us on this trip. Upon arrival we were greeted by the principal, Florence, who led us to a classroom that they had cleared and set up to serve us tea ( Kenyan people are very hospitable!) and work out the schedule for the day that included us teaching Bible School with some of the students. This was the schedule: whole school assembly (over 300 students PreK-8), students return to class for lessons while she gives us a tour of dormitories and classrooms, lunch/recess, younger ones return to class while we do Bible school with classes 7-8, then all students reassemble for final greetings/blessings. The oldest students were chosen to participate with us because they were better able to communicate in English.

 

 

 

 

 

 

My favorite African school assemblies are the ones where the children sing, and so far that includes all that I have attended! "World Music" live, their voices unify & blend, solo & chorus, rhythms from clapping & tapping. After the singing, a long time was taken with introductions and words from various church officials so, like in America, the children began murmuring and fidgeting. They were all crowded into the church with some standing. Like in America, the principal dispatched the teachers to sit & stand among the students to quiet their restlessness - it worked!

Walking the campus grounds, we visited first the new dormitory that funds from the Foundation church had built. Compared to all others I had seen, this one was beautiful! Bright colors, glass windows, good lighting, new blankets and mosquito nets, indoor bathrooms - next door, in contrast was the old dorm which was now all used for boys, dark & drafty, broken window panes, uneven floors, outdoor bathrooms. The new girls dorm was already filled over capacity with more than one child sleeping on a single sized bunk.

The classrooms were typical bleak African style, but this school had managed to still educate to a high standard. They had won awards for having top scores in the region in the 7/8 exit exams and a good number of their students had been accepted to a national high school. The younger age students that I sat with read to me very well in English!

Our "tea" room became now our lunchroom where we were treated to a delicious meal of rice, potatoes , bread, stew, salad and fruit. The students eat outside sitting on the ground and their tin bowls were filled with rice and beans. This school wants a new dormitory for the boys and a dining hall. God, please help here?

Joining the students outside for recess, they were playing rag ball games, jump rope & tag but the little ones just wanted to hold hands (like 20 all at once) and pat my hair. They asked why they had black hair and I had white hair? Well, I didn't want to admit old age so I just said that's the way God made us, alike but different.

Bible school began with songs and then we split 7 & 8 for rotating activities. Scarlett ( a lady from Houston associated with the Salado church) and I became spur of the moment co teachers for the Bible lesson. We had copies of a basic outline to follow using different colors to represent topics, gold was heaven, black was sin, red was the blood of Jesus, white was forgiveness & a clean heart, green was growth. This curriculum was brought by the Foundation church & I read the plan on the way this morning in the van. The colors used are also colors in the Kenyan flag. The lesson & prayers were followed by a craft where they made bead bracelets with those colors. I personally was not comfortable using black for "bad" and white for "good" so I let Scarlett talk on those points while I presented heaven, Jesus & growth. There wasn't enough time to discuss the curriculum before presenting and to change the flip books of color that they had prepared as visual models so I had to let that one go. I think we could do something to modify this lesson to make it more appropriate for our audience, actually for any audience. I did notice some of the 8th grade boys giving each other "the look" when she said black represented sin. One of the boys said black represented Africa. But overall, the lesson went well with plenty of student participation. When I talked with Scarlett about this afterword she agreed that the racial connotations didn't seem right and was receptive to changing. In a conversation with young Pastor Ryan he assured me that Kenyans were not super sensitive to race like in America and suggested if we wanted to change use words and scriptures about light and darkness. Jesus is the light of the world (white) and sin puts us in darkness (black). That worked just fine in the next lessons; Scarlett and I felt better about using the right words.

One more assembly was gathered for gift presentations & blessings and our vans left through a crowd waving goodbye. Just enough time at the hotel to brush off the dust & we were off to the home of Isaac & Florence for dinner. He is a lay leader in the local church and has travelled to visit in Grapevine. Lush living! Their home is on a small farm a short distance in the Meru countryside. He guided us through his barns of cattle, goats, rabbits, a compost system to enrich the soil and his terraced gardens stretching down a steep hillside growing onions, potatoes, bananas, tomatoes, cabbage, coffee and tea. Wow, what beauty, efficiency and productivity! Florence had prepared a huge feast to serve a large crowd and they arranged their living room to accommodate everyone perfectly, again overflowing Kenyan hospitality! Isaac even wanted us to all leave the hotel and come stay at their house.

Returning to home base, we spent time packing items for our visits tomorrow & then went our separate ways. Tired, but happy, ready for sleep, and then a new day.

Galatians 5:13 By love serve one another.

School Day

 

Day 4, Schools

Today was a giant lesson in humility and compassion. Amazing what is communicated through simple gestures:eye contact, a smile, a wave, a handshake, a hug, a nod, thumbs up, prayer hands. A lot of information, encouragement and emotion was transferred between people by words and by non-verbal motions.

Kambaru Primary School is hidden down a very dusty side road surrounded by fields of dried up corn plants, dense trees and underbrush. A bridge crosses a clean green river tumbling over rocks sided by lush natural landscape. The river scene reminded me of the river boat ride at Six Flags. The gates opened to a fenced compound where children were beginning to cross from their dormitories to the classrooms and others were entering from their own homes by walking some from distances that would be unreasonable to us- the start of their school day. The director of the school was absent due to taking a family member to the hospital so one of the lead teachers handled introductions, opening assembly and tour guide responsibilities. The pastor of the church which is also within the compound, Sister Mary, joined the group and helped with our questions. Entertainment was provided by the whole student body ages 3-16 who sang a song with motions. I could repeat this part for you: thumbs up, knees bent, turn around...this was a children's praise song where Cathy ( a lady from my church) and I kept hearing the words, Mickey Mantle. African accented English is often hard to understand ( probably especially to Texans) so I'm sure we heard wrong. Those of you who were church goers as children know about mixing up words to hymns. Did you ever sing Bringing in the Sheets? That would not make sense at all for an American child of today.

Envision your stereotyped mental picture of an African school and now confirm to yourself that it is real. Children do sit together 3-4 on a wooden bench and share books and writing materials. Small wooden shanty type buildings house their small classrooms which contain 1 black chalkboard and teacher made posters of geometric shapes and other educational topics, low lighting, some dirt floors - no color, no educational toys or models, no electronics/computers (are you kidding?), no library books, no globes or maps. Learning takes place through oral repetition & recitation, copying from the blackboard into paper notebooks and with use of workbooks ( but every child does not have a workbook remember?). This school had small classes for the youngest children in nursery school (about 10 students) to a class of 25 in 8th grade. In spite of their desolate surroundings, they were cheerful, respectful, helpful, inquisitive and polite!

Nadia, the mathematics teacher for grades 7/8 bonded with me and became my personal guide through the campus classrooms, dormitories, kitchen, chicken coops and playground. She asked me to speak to her 8th grade math class so I asked them how they used math in their life - stares but no verbal responses. so I asked them if they only used math when their teacher told them to do it. Some said yes & others laughed. I saw examples of proportions on the board so I told them how people in our group had used proportions to do our currency exchange from American dollars to Kenya shillings. They were preparing for required national exams of all 8th graders to determine where and if they would be accepted for continuing education in secondary school. During our visit, the younger children were summoned out of their classrooms to sit on the ground and eat their breakfast porridge which reminded me of "gruel" from productions of Oliver. They were chowing down & not wasting a bite! The cooks were also preparing the lunch meal cooking a stew in a huge pot over an open air fire in the school yard.

Nearing time to leave for the next scheduled school visit, I asked Nadia what would help her most in trying to educate her students, did she need any special books or supplies? What she wanted most was to take them on a field trip to Mombasa where they could visit museums and see the ocean. None of her students had ever been out in the bigger world away from their village or homes in the countryside. She wanted them to see and experience what they had only read about or been told of at school. Ok, God, please make this happen! Tell me how?

This morning visit was followed by tours of three more schools. I thought I had seen all the possible sad conditions at Kambaru, but no! Individuals, sites and events continued to add more to my heavy heart at Thura, Kithare and Ncunguru. I can't pour out all the stories here just now- save those for later. Ending our day of touring, Bishop William took us to one of the churches in his synod to meet adults from all over the area who were serving as caregivers to orphans, bringing them to live in there own homes. Many of them took turns speaking about their hopes and dreams for the future, thanking us & thanking God! We brought gifts for them to share with the children that they keep - knitted hats, pencils, rubber bracelets, toothbrushes, balls, toy cars and yarn dolls. Before leaving for home (our temporary home is the Westwind Hotel in Meru) some of the ladies served us British/Kenya style late afternoon tea - breads similar to sopapillas and naan with fruit, watermelon & bananas. That revived us for the drive back. Passing through the rutted roads in dimming twilight, I could not stop the tears from flowing again. Looking out the window, I saw misty mountains in the distance with lush foliage in the foreground and felt like I was in a scene from Lion King. Peace surrounded me, God's peace.

 

 

 

These are street scenes looking out from the hotel parking lot in Meru:

 

 

 

And this was my room:

 



 





Galatians 5:22-23 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.

Kenya Journal, the 3rd Day

Day 3, travel from Nairobi to Meru

A plan comes together at breakfast (this story goes back a few months): attending to the hospitality sign up table for the GCISD retired educators group, I spotted a friend, a former coworker that I had not seen in about 10 years. "Suzanne good to see you! Fill me in on where you've been and what's been going on in your life?" She reported that she had been working the past year at a Christian boarding school in Kenya called Rift Valley Academy. That immediately increased my interest because I was signed up to go on our church mission trip to Kenya and I had heard of a new book by Steve Peifer written about his experiences at this school. (A Dream So Big). We were leaving the meeting and headed our separate ways but agreed to meet soon for lunch; she wanted me to take items to her friend, who had worked as her housekeeper while she lived in teacher housing at RVA. I said yes but i did not know if I could work it out. Kenya is a large enough country that I knew little about.

An email from Suzanne invited me to lunch and she gave me directions to her house. I knew exactly how to get there because the address was in my same development. We had been neighbors for 8 years and had not known it! So I walked to her house and we enjoyed talking, eating and looking at pictures and artifacts from her year in Africa. She told me her housekeeper's personal story that includes many struggles with health, single parenthood, caring for her aging mother and 2 daughters, low income, a tragic death in her family and basic living in a place of beautiful patches overwrought with extreme poverty and rampant government corruption....but she keeps a great attitude, hopes for children's futures and firm faith in God. Suzanne wanted me to take some items she would gather - shoes for her very large feet (size for women not found in Kenya), lithium batteries that are long lasting ( not found in Kenya), pictures, trinkets, letters of encouragement, a book about the Johnson's ( the Born Free story) and cash (always needed)! Again I said yes but had no idea how it would work out. Our mission group was not going to Rift Valley, we were headed to Meru.

Over the passing time in June & July the mission trip itinerary was being set by leaders in the African Methodist Synod that we support and Lisa Kumani's life was moving along through the problems listed above while also enduring a more extreme cold and rainy season than expected. During this time God was also working out some timing of events in her life to bring her to travel to Nairobi at the time I was to be there. The RVA is between school terms so she was allowed some time off. The public education strike had just ended so her daughter returned to school. Her sister lives in Nairobi and provided her a place to stay. She used the public transportation system to make her way to find me at the Methodist Guest House. (I could write an entire post about kenya's transportation system and noticeable common driving habits!) Today I had breakfast with a new friend and delivered a needed care package. She is even more beautiful in person than I had seen from pictures. What a blessing to meet a lady with such dignity, elegance, grace. She gave me hugs and a gold beaded bracelet that her daughter had made and left me with a small package of gifts to deliver to Suzanne & family.

 

 

I am so grateful that God let me to be present to see him at work in our world!

Romans 8:28 and we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

And this was just the beginning of the day. I will write more later about Kenya state police, highways, monkeys, a tree house, ox and donkey carts,a curio shop, people walking, flowers & crops, Nanyuki spinners & weavers, crossing the equator, the burial place of the Boy Scout founder and a little girl named Winters.

This is the Methodist Guest House where we stayed overnight in Nairobi before traveling by vans to our home base of Meru.

 

 

 

 

Embarking on a Spiritual Journey

Trip journal, day 1-2, travel to Kenya

7/20-21, woke from a peaceful sleep after intermittent worries all week, worries for Timmy , Alyce, Randy, Stevie, Sam; worries for my eating, drinking & health in a strange place, worries for the unknown,I feel like I am taking a spiritual journey like Billy Jack or the old woman in The Stand, I remember Duana the psychic predicting this journey on my own to a far away place, I thought she was wrong at the time, wish I could remember her exact words, but I do remember she said it would be good, our group met at the church to ride together in the church van to the airport, we met the people joining us from Temple & Salado, my heart must have been overflowing because when i received hugs and sweet words from Kenda & Emily Diehm i burst into tears, so much love, memories & emotions in that moment, we had some encouraging words from people who had been on this mission trip before, speaking about openness and life change, my friend's husband who had loaned me his electrical adapters said that he hoped that we would have spiritual protection, that struck the worry chord in me, what does that mean? Why do we need it? Guess I will find out.

While I am passing through the air on two long plane rides, I am thinking of loved ones at home. Darrell's text said he had been shopping for a fold up cart to haul gear to our relocated boat slip and then watching the Rangers in a poor performance. I'm still leaving on a jet plane and I bet he is by now watching the British open hoping for an American to win. Bonnie, Alyce and Lea are celebrating their birthdays. Former high school classmates are celebrating our 40th reunion. Nana & pawpaw are in Austin helping Jonathan care for Keller while Erica is in Maine enjoying a girls trip. Travis & Chelsea are recovering from a motor home trip with her family to Montana and planning a party/baby shower. Gail & Mary are patiently waiting to progress through tests & doctor appointments hoping for healing to come soon for Mary's painful back problems.

I am not really on my own as the psychic said, but I am with a group of people that I barely know so that is sort of like being on my own, and at the same time i am meeting some lovely new people, on the bus to our plane in London chatted with a man carrying a mandolin , the conversation lead to him telling of beginning a new job tomorrow as a missionary in Nairobi through the African inland church, I had heard of this group through my friend Suzanne who had spent last year teaching at Rift Valley Academy, he said his wife taught at RVA for the last 3 years, this family was sitting near me on the plane (the Saums) and I met the wife and children, she knew Suzanne, had spent time in her home & taught 5 previous years at Silverlake Elem in Grapevine where I volunteer each week during the school year, God gives us so many connections in his world!

(Sorry this picture of The Saums is so blurry, taken from the plane while passengers were somewhat jostling to unload.  Bless this family!)

 

One last observation for this entry: I've noticed that babies all cry and babble in the same language:)

Galatians 3:26. For ye are all the children of God.

Fort Worth Tradition

Cause good memories don’t fade so easy
Does Fort Worth ever cross your mind – from the words of a great song from George Strait

And Fort Worth's such a wonderful town to disappear into
On the muscle of my arm there's a red and blue tattoo
Says, Fort Worth I love you – and more lyrics, these from Michael Martin Murphy

Don’t ya love this Texas town? Embracing its roughneck history, Fort Worth preserved the brick streets and notorious buildings in The Stockyards while also promoting the fine arts in the renowned museums and performance halls. Downtown has a vibrant and safe environment for nightlife.  Classic restaurants, such as Joe T.’s and Riscky’s, have survived the tests of time and long established neighborhoods and parks coexist comfortably with the inevitable new. My true Texan husband was born here. Our aunts, uncles and cousins have called this laid back city home.

 

Something deep in my brain likes semblance of order and tradition.  It gives me balance, connection to the past and hope for the future.  A great experience in the regular Fort Worth calendar is The Colonial, the yearly local PGA tournament.  Throughout our years of living in the DFW area Darrell and I have attended the golf festivities several times and this year once again lived up to our highest expectations.  Many in the crowd, I suspect, are weekend golfers coming to the show of their pro heroes.  They are thinking or wishing, “I could do that”, as they watch great shots as well as mega flubs.  Some are just there because their parents brought them to enjoy the outdoors (or didn’t get a babysitter):  little ones in parents’ arms or toted in strollers.  Others are there to accompany family who has golf interests:  women in their lawn chairs reading books and drinking wine.  Some are there to work in concessions raising money for special groups:  Nolan Catholic booster club, Arlington High Orchestra, Knights of Columbus, etc.  Others are there to earn their pay in sports related jobs:  Randy Galloway, Landry Locker,etc. I found myself there in an imaginary field trip (the teacher/student life does not really leave you when you retire) where lessons were evident demonstrating math, science, history, literature, sociology, logistics, marketing, psychology and fashion. Ah, what a great setting to be schooled!

 

Those who know me know I am definitely NOT a golfer!  I took lessons along with my friend Cassandra with the goal of playing with my husband and sons.  This never lead to a full round of golf, though I tried.  Something lacking in my brain, hand, eye, body coordination!  Darrell and I did recently participate as guests of our friends, The Leases, in a charity golf tournament for GRACE.  It was a fun night at Grapevine Golf Course with BBQ dinner, Lexus Lemonade and glow in the dark balls.  It was a scramble and my shots were never used in the team score.  Farewell greetings ended the night with, “Darrell, you are a good golfer!  And Susan, you are a good sport!”

Now, back to the Colonial:  Thursday is the first day of qualifying where all the registered players are hopeful of a good showing.  The scene is being set, the characters introduced.  Many names are recognizable – VJ Singh, Justin Leonard, Davis Love III, Rory Sabbatini, Zach Johnson – and some clothing is recognizable – John Daly in wacky chevron plaid, Rickie Fowler in his Puma neon brights.

You might even speculate that Daly’s girlfriend was hopeful of a long term relationship – her shorty shorts matched the wild fabric of his trousers (fashion statement/commitment?). The contestants are playing out some of the classic themes of literature, man vs. nature as they battle the wind, the trees and the lie of the land, man vs. self as they manage their game within the environment knowing their own past strengths and weaknesses. Viewing from the shade trees bordering #1 fairway and then later from #9, we kept cool with sheltering breezes and enjoyed the unfolding stories.  Local Colleyville man, Ryan Palmer, ended the day in the lead.

Friday was a full day for us at home so we kept up with the proceedings through TV and internet as we continued with other activities.  I attended the hospitality room set up by first grade teachers for volunteers at Silverlake Elementary School so they would know that I appreciated their appreciation. Rains came and cut short the golfing going on so it turned out to be a good day not to be there anyway.  We prepared the boat to go out on the lake with friends for the first fireworks night of the summer, but again the rains came so we watched from the dock – all good!

 

Saturday at The Colonial:  We arrived on the transport bus from Farrington Field in time for the previous day’s play to be finished and the final cut to be announced.  Handed the new pairing sheet that was hot off the press, we headed to a spot on #9 near the tents and facilities in case we needed to run for cover from threatening weather.  There were a few showers but nothing causing mad scramble.  Attentions turned to the leader board and literary themes expanded to include man vs. man in battle of the birdies. Although I doubt anyone there was sitting and working on math problems related to quadratic functions, I could see their examples in results of combined operations of force, velocity, trajectory, distance and gravity. I’ve gritted my teeth at the T shirts and bumper stickers that proudly proclaim “I did not use Algebra today!”  You don’t personally have to use it yourself, just recognize that it underlies forces at work in the natural world that surrounds us ;)  Matt Kuchar, a likable crowd favorite, ended day 3 in the lead.

 

Sunny day on Sunday:  Wearing our red for Red Cross and dropping our meager contribution into the bucket for the recent victims of tragic events, we reclaimed our favorite spot in the trees lining #9 and met the surrounding families from Stephenville, Ft. Worth and Lewisville.  Leaning over so my head was under the ropes, I craned to see Boo Weekley make his birdie and take the lead.  At this same time a course marshal came to warn me, “Be prepared to move your chair.”  The next golfer had landed way left and was planning a desperate Tin Cup shot to try to hit the green.  He and his caddie conferred in serious planning but the miracle did not happen.  By the way, Boo ended the days with cheers of “Boo!” as he won the tournament awards of a big fat check, a nice silver trophy and an audacious plaid jacket, his first win in 5 years.  I bet his wife and children were happy to welcome him home after weeks on the road and the long drought of winning finally ended.

 

Great golfers from the past have walked in these same places, Mr. Ben Hogan and Mr. Byron Nelson, who both have great life stories as well as sports acclaim.  The Colonial Country club and surrounding neighborhood carry along Fort Worth history that includes the Leonard family of Leonard’s Department stores.  Darrell and I both remember visiting the old Leonard’s in downtown Ft. Worth during our childhood Christmas outings with cousins. If any of you would like to experience the intersection of Ft. Worth charm, spectacle of sport and the microcosm of life field trip, get your tickets to next year’s Colonial.

 

And what are the life lessons out of all this? Be observant and appreciative of the beautiful world around us.  Persevere through times when things may not be going perfectly your way. Keep pursuing your given path to contribute to our world.

Galatians 6:9 Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.