Blog Notes 3
Well a ton has happened since I last wrote you guys including but not limited to:
Almost 2 weeks of classes (probably more by the time I actually post this)
A weekend hike up to the source of the Ganga (or Gangess) which just so happens to be a huge glacier
Realizing my need for more practice teaching
Lots of asking kids to be quiet
Today was kind of a rough morning of teaching then a nice afternoon sitting on the roof looking at the wonderful mountains and listening to things like Beautiful Day by U2.
I am currently grading a bunch of 7th grade math papers so I know if these kids are ready for their test…too bad if they aren’t I guess….
It just hit me today that I have almost been here for an entire month which means I will only be teaching for another three weeks. I need to really start loving those kids way more!
Today was a rough day in class a bit, but tomorrow I’m giving like 6 tests some of which will surely smoke out the kids who aren’t doing their homework. So needless to say right now I’m am working on creating several tests which will encompass ideas such as cloud formation, long division, algebra, and reflexive pronouns. Fun stuff! Actually it is fun. I just hope I am doing a good job.
I think I need to start dating these little bits of entries so here I go
11/7/08 I think the US needs to change into the day month year date notation as well as the metric system. I am trying as hard as possible during this time to assimilate myself into these systems.
Ok I’m not sure how well I am doing. I certainly failed several students on several different test today. Some of me says “good riddance they don’t listen anyway (some of them don’t” and some of me wants to cry because they aren’t getting it at all!!!!! Well I feel like the system here is a bit rushed but then again I’m only here in the middle of the school year and thus they have learned much of the basics already and should be able to move on now.
Yesterday though was wonderful I went into the next town down the road on the school bus and just relaxed with some good friends from that town. They are such a blessing and we just ate momos (spelling?) and danced to some Indian pop music. I also got to visit a partner organization of Compassion. You have all seen Compassion’s flyers where you can sponsor a child to pay for their education and food and all that. One of my good friends from this town works for them as an accountant. He’s so great and he showed me around. It was wonderful to see this end of the millions of dollars donated! Wow it blew my mind! I also saw a few of the letters that sponsored kids were sending to their sponsors with coloring pictures of Indian people in fantastic dresses. Ah it was unbelievable. Wow. Anyway it was exactly the day I needed to remind me why I am here and how wonderful a place this is.
14/7/08
The school just got the first half of their certification to teach through grade 10! They already have nursery through 8 now in a few months through 10! They still have much to do and one more big certification is needed please keep lifting this up! Hurray this has been a long time coming and it’s so so exciting for the school!!! HORRAY!
Oh I just realized I forgot the mention how the hiking trip was. It went wonderfully. It has been a long time since I’ve gone on a good backpacking trip. How ever short this was it was such a good time to relax and just realize how big the work I’m serving is. Ok for instance, in Colorado the mountains we hiked were usually just below 14,000ft…umm ok 4000 meters. This meant we were on the top and could look for kilometers around! Wonderful view and incredible peaks could usually be seen. Here in the Himalayas at the highest point of our hike we were about that high AND in a huge valley! Hahah wow that’s big my friends. This hight anywhere in the US is almost at the top if not at the top of something or in an airplane! We were in a valley! In this case we were at the foot of one of the largest glaciers in the world too! Oh man! Anyway it was wonderful I went with some really good friends and we just camped out and ate tons of good Indian camp food and drank lots of tea. Ahhhh…. For those of you who are unfamiliar with Indian culture they have tea, what we would call chai tea a lot! We hiked for like 4 hours the first day. Our guide, who just so happened to be a shepherd, grabbed wood and started making chai. Even in the middle of the woods these guys can’t live without chai! It’s crazy wonderful. Chai is like the answer to all things I’m pretty sure and I plan to serve it often when I am home so please come to my new house and get some chai! Those of you who are living with me in that house who are reading this….I may have to charge you….hahaha!
Oh man anyway well that’s a ton of good information so enjoy and I’ll try to write again soon!
14/7/08 Bastille Day!
Well today we celebrated Bastille Day by…ok just kidding we didn’t celebrate a French Holiday. Although I wish I would have gotten the history book I will teach from earlier because that is exactly where my 5th graders are in history. Oh man those fifth graders. They are a crazy bunch. Many of them are too smart for me and get board during my class. Oh man it’s crazy. I just need to remember how much I need to be filled with love. Ok it’s not so easy though. I’m having a hard time being in 4 classrooms throughout the day. I wish I could have my own grade, but that would be silly since I’m only here for 3 more weeks. I want to be able to invest so much in their lives, but I can’t even remember their names. I don’t know if you knew this about me, but I’m horrible with names especially ones like Aushutosh.
Note: India is apparently taking over the world. Please set all your clocks to Indian time to make this assimilation painless….
Check this out. I brought from a friend who came with us last time some tea for the principle and director of this organization, Good Earth tea. Today I was talking with the director and he was asking me if we had the huge Indian conglomerate Tata in the US. Tata is a huge wage earner for India. I said not that I know of except that they just bought Land Rover and Jaguar from Ford. He said “check this out!” He went grabbed one of those tea bags and pointed to the back. It said “A Tata Enterprise” AH!!! It was so funny! Anyway I just thought I would share that with you.
Anyway so another teacher has come whom I have not met. She’s great she’s a former principle herself and just loves to serve in this work. She shared with me some of how he Father has lead her big time! It was wonderful to hear and she and her husband are such an encouragement. Yay!
16/7/2008
Well it is the day before my birthday and I’m getting a little bit of a cold actually more than a little bit.
19/7/08
Well my 22nd birthday came and went and I failed to tell anyone it was my birthday. I was all excited to buy a bunch of good fresh sweets and give them to all the kids and staff, but my plan didn’t work. So I just decided not to tell anyone. But it started out pretty bad. I felt horrible in the morning, but my wonderful family called me up right as I was eating my breakfast and cheered me up big time. So all in all it was a great day.
Ok so it’s Saturday evening. I have just purchased from the market 1.8 kilograms of chocolate because I am about to start a chapter on fractions with two of my classes. And of course what better way to learn about fractions than by breaking up chocolate bars! I’m quite excited to do this I just hope the kids can handle it.
There is one class that I have which is just crazy and cannot follow directions and just constantly talks. There is another class which still can’t follow directions but instead of being very loud they just sit there and don’t answer questions that many of them know the answers to. AHHH!!! Ok don’t get me wrong I think I still want to be a teacher and all but this is so hard. Yet, slowly I am learning the kids names and I am slowly connecting with them more and more. With only 2 more weeks I guess I’d better get going and make these kids learn! The school is wonderful and the teachers are great. The system though is so so different from what I am used to. Some of me wants to just think that the systems used are barbaric and very old fashions, but I know I must curb this perspective if only to allow me to respect the administration and India as a whole.
Yet even in this system this school is a huge light! Today we had a staff meeting and we discussed a bit about a child who was caught cheating. Of course the parents were informed, but the response of the parent was the most amazing. This parent also a teacher and a government school thought there was no call to give the student a zero on a test for cheating. “It wasn’t that big of a deal” she claimed.
I have learned so so much about India psychology and I am slowly understanding many of the different things which are going on in my classroom as well as just on the streets of India. I am such a judger some times though and I keep on comparing India to my image of the West. Hahah its quite a battle in my mind. For instance today I went to town with some people and we wandered around and bought enormous amounts of chocolate. Afterward they took me up to a hill which overlooks the town. On our way in one of my friends mentioned to me how the mountain was falling. I said in my hear “oh man” but not like a huge “oh man!” because there are rocks falling on so many roads here it’s just kind of the way it is. Perceiving my lack of understanding this friend told me how it may not look like a big deal here, but we’ll look at it from a ways off and I’ll show you. So there we are looking at the town. Huge chunks of this mountain are missing and this friend told me how one chunk had fallen and buried a large part of the town knocking over many 5 story buildings. Under the current town…actually, I think were we stayed last time I was here…there are the remains of 5 story buildings. AGH! That’s scary I looked up to the top of the mountain and I see a part missing or at least what looks like all grey rock. My friend points out that that is all cement covering the mountain to hold it together. Millions of rupees have been spent to hold this mountain together and it is still falling apart. Scientists have even said this area, exactly where the city is, should be a buffer zone to allow rocks to fall and keep people safe. But this town is holy and that mountain is holy so people still want to live there. Ok I’ll tell you more about all that when I get back.
Ok so here is my point. We see a bit of the psychology and there is so much more that I didn’t even write. I was like “No way this would happen in the US we are safe!” And then I remembered my geo of US and Canada when we looked at LA. Many people want to live in LA so bad and land is at such a high premium that they live in on the edge of the mountains which are hard core prone to mud slides. And many of them live within 10 meters of a huge fault line where and earthquake will certainly happen soon. Ok so holy city Holly Wood. I guess we aren’t that different after all. Don’t get me wrong there are still many things that are different, but maybe not as much as I thought…
Well Andrew needs to sleep so he can hike up to a little village or two tomorrow to hang out with people there.
21/07/08
Well I had a wonderful time yesterday. I love hiking and when I am away from the town I feel so much freer to think. We went up to two villages with a few of the teachers and several members of the fellowship in the town which we hiked from. Oh man it was wonderful though. The people I was with were just a blast to hike with singing and dancing and all. It was like a Bollywood film at times or what I imagine them like anyway, when they are set in the Himalayas. Hahha Anyway on the way we stopped and has lunch. I swear these people never eat bad food. They all brought wonderful different dishes, that’s right not like sandwiches, but dishes, like rice and curry eggs and all kinds of goodness. Then in the village we were able to lift up many of the believers there just encourage them. All in all it was such a blessing. I’ll show you the pictures when I return.
If you read all that thank you if not…well then thank you…
Please keep lifting me up. I still have a bit of a cold and I just want to reach these kids. I have been reminded time and time again the impact this school has on the community and I am so glad to be a small part of it for a small amount of time. But I need to be a good part of it not just a pretty half white face. I want to have an impact on these kids. They are so wonderful but so different sometimes. So just lift me up in this area if you are able. Also ask the Big Man to show me His will for my life. I know He wants me here now, but what next.
Thank you so much for reading!
Monday, July 21, 2008
Wednesday, July 2, 2008
A new one! Classes are about to begin!
Note: I don’t have internet access too often so these are written on my lappy then put online so they are a little bit long and all kind of stuff. Unlike when you post regularly one section at a time these are all in one bunch so the top is actually several days ago and the bottom is the latest issue…
Well I’ve always wanted to know what it would be like to be an administrative assistant and now I am getting that experience. Before the school starts there is (I almost said “much paperwork to do” I need to read some good English literature and help my grammar recover.) a lot of paperwork to plug into a computer. It’s easy though and it’s wonderful to be able to help out.
I also just met one of the teachers who has taught here for only 5 months. He is a great guy and what’s more he is a he! Hahha! Majority of the teachers are women so it’s nice to have another guy around. He seems great and hopefully I can convince him to go on some weekend excursions to random places like the source of the Ganga or something sweet like that.
I walked down to the river yesterday and it was so beautiful down there. I thought I must be in New Zealand or something like that because it was wonderful! There were also several large rocks sticking out from the sand on the beach and the rice fields too. It almost makes me wish I had brought my 5.10s (to those of you not versed in the outdoor world, “rock climbing shoes” and yes there is such a thing) (Corwin if you are reading this hit VE for me!). Anyway all that is to say it was a wonderful refreshing walk. I am so excited to be here! Yay! There is so much wonderful work to be done with students and all kinds of people. I feel so blessed today!
I am writing this not by candle light since the power is no more for this fine evening. Well for a little while at least. ….that and my laptop does give off a certain blue glow (insert Zoolander quote here).
Thank you all for reading and I hope there will be more to add soon. More good stuff that is!
Day number 14! That means two weeks. Well my fly kill count is up to 21 as of this morning so I’m feeling good.
Oh man it is such a blessing to be here in this country and especially in this region. There is so much happening. One crazy thing is that there are tons of youth just pumped for the work here.
Wow! I just walked up an absolutely beautiful mountain trail to meet some wonderful families in a great little farming village. It’s so cool around here like within an hours hike in many directions you can get up to little villages where everything looks like it’s from a postcard or at least a National Geographic. And it’s not like they are simple dumb country bumpkins but that they are hard working wonderful people. And yes, many of them have cell phones. But seriously up there on the way it looked like I was in Dr. Seuss Land with these fabulous greens on the little step rice field and these crazy gnarly trees.
But the best part is up there we were able to lift up some family (The Family) members and just eat and talk and have a good Indian fun time. Also I brought a Frisbee up there and so I busted it out and played with a few kids for a while. They were really good. I taught them how to catch with one hand and they could do it. I couldn’t do that till I was like at least 13 and some of these kids were like 7. Hahha it was wonderful!
It’s hard though to hear about the schools in these areas where the teacher doesn’t show up so they will send in a bad report of her and get her transferred to a town in the valley with more amenities. Ugh! Well maybe someday the organizations here can change that.
It was a tough place though and from the wife of one family we heard about her husband who has been falling back into alcohol abuse and the like. Please lift this woman up in your time with the Big man.
(Next day…)
Today I was able to tutor a few kids in some math. It was so wonderful to be able to help them. The kids at this school will certainly be leaders in this area and all over the nation when they finish school. Wow I love kids and helping them learn. It’s a total adrenalin rush…is that weird? Anyway it was great there was one kid who was really struggling with integers and so I showed him this fabulous method I learned last year with colored tokens! I think he got it! Only tomorrow and time will tell.
School starts in 4 days! Oh man I’m excited.
Your friend (well I hope we are still friends) Andrew Lee
Well I’ve always wanted to know what it would be like to be an administrative assistant and now I am getting that experience. Before the school starts there is (I almost said “much paperwork to do” I need to read some good English literature and help my grammar recover.) a lot of paperwork to plug into a computer. It’s easy though and it’s wonderful to be able to help out.
I also just met one of the teachers who has taught here for only 5 months. He is a great guy and what’s more he is a he! Hahha! Majority of the teachers are women so it’s nice to have another guy around. He seems great and hopefully I can convince him to go on some weekend excursions to random places like the source of the Ganga or something sweet like that.
I walked down to the river yesterday and it was so beautiful down there. I thought I must be in New Zealand or something like that because it was wonderful! There were also several large rocks sticking out from the sand on the beach and the rice fields too. It almost makes me wish I had brought my 5.10s (to those of you not versed in the outdoor world, “rock climbing shoes” and yes there is such a thing) (Corwin if you are reading this hit VE for me!). Anyway all that is to say it was a wonderful refreshing walk. I am so excited to be here! Yay! There is so much wonderful work to be done with students and all kinds of people. I feel so blessed today!
I am writing this not by candle light since the power is no more for this fine evening. Well for a little while at least. ….that and my laptop does give off a certain blue glow (insert Zoolander quote here).
Thank you all for reading and I hope there will be more to add soon. More good stuff that is!
Day number 14! That means two weeks. Well my fly kill count is up to 21 as of this morning so I’m feeling good.
Oh man it is such a blessing to be here in this country and especially in this region. There is so much happening. One crazy thing is that there are tons of youth just pumped for the work here.
Wow! I just walked up an absolutely beautiful mountain trail to meet some wonderful families in a great little farming village. It’s so cool around here like within an hours hike in many directions you can get up to little villages where everything looks like it’s from a postcard or at least a National Geographic. And it’s not like they are simple dumb country bumpkins but that they are hard working wonderful people. And yes, many of them have cell phones. But seriously up there on the way it looked like I was in Dr. Seuss Land with these fabulous greens on the little step rice field and these crazy gnarly trees.
But the best part is up there we were able to lift up some family (The Family) members and just eat and talk and have a good Indian fun time. Also I brought a Frisbee up there and so I busted it out and played with a few kids for a while. They were really good. I taught them how to catch with one hand and they could do it. I couldn’t do that till I was like at least 13 and some of these kids were like 7. Hahha it was wonderful!
It’s hard though to hear about the schools in these areas where the teacher doesn’t show up so they will send in a bad report of her and get her transferred to a town in the valley with more amenities. Ugh! Well maybe someday the organizations here can change that.
It was a tough place though and from the wife of one family we heard about her husband who has been falling back into alcohol abuse and the like. Please lift this woman up in your time with the Big man.
(Next day…)
Today I was able to tutor a few kids in some math. It was so wonderful to be able to help them. The kids at this school will certainly be leaders in this area and all over the nation when they finish school. Wow I love kids and helping them learn. It’s a total adrenalin rush…is that weird? Anyway it was great there was one kid who was really struggling with integers and so I showed him this fabulous method I learned last year with colored tokens! I think he got it! Only tomorrow and time will tell.
School starts in 4 days! Oh man I’m excited.
Your friend (well I hope we are still friends) Andrew Lee
Far off land of India 2.0
Well it’s been a little over a week since I got here to India that fine ridiculously hot late Wednesday (last Wednesday) in Delhi. From there I took a taxi up into the foothills. Man it was way nicer weather there, although it was always raining. I had a wonderful first week just relaxing and learning with some friends there. They are westerners so it was a nice transition from the west to living in the east with westerners. I must say though it is hard to beat Indian food if not Indian culture. It was also great because half the time I couldn’t get things to work like my bank card and my computer so I just had to realize how much I just need to relax and let the big man take care of things here. There is so many crazy cool programs going on in that town and I’m so glad I had a little extra time to get over jet lag and see what is going on there. Oooh and did I mention that I
So as of yesterday (or something depending on when I post this or you read this) I have arrived! I mean NOW I am a big deal. I got the house the job the girl….ok just kidding. I mean I have arrived at my main location where I will spend the next month helping out at a local believing school. I’m really jazzed that I’m here! They have such a wonderful vision for their area and I am so excited to be a part of it.
If you can it would be great if you could lift me up in these areas:
Learning: I need to keep practicing my Hindi and I need to learn the proper way to approach this school thing. Also as I read and hear stories that I would take to heart what is being pounded into my head.
Health: I feel pretty good, but it’s easy for something to go wrong with foods and all I’m not used to. Also that I would get enough sleep. Right now I’m doing very little since classes haven’t started so I’m good but soon it will get a little hectic.
Protection: There is so much going on here on so many levels.
So as of yesterday (or something depending on when I post this or you read this) I have arrived! I mean NOW I am a big deal. I got the house the job the girl….ok just kidding. I mean I have arrived at my main location where I will spend the next month helping out at a local believing school. I’m really jazzed that I’m here! They have such a wonderful vision for their area and I am so excited to be a part of it.
If you can it would be great if you could lift me up in these areas:
Learning: I need to keep practicing my Hindi and I need to learn the proper way to approach this school thing. Also as I read and hear stories that I would take to heart what is being pounded into my head.
Health: I feel pretty good, but it’s easy for something to go wrong with foods and all I’m not used to. Also that I would get enough sleep. Right now I’m doing very little since classes haven’t started so I’m good but soon it will get a little hectic.
Protection: There is so much going on here on so many levels.
Monday, March 26, 2007
We're Back. (Now give me a salad!)
We made it back yesterday about noon. Many were torn as to if we wanted to leave or not, but once we got to the airport and on the plane, we were all grateful to be headed back. It was a very long flight. And our four hour layover in Chicago didn't help. Once you're in the same time zone, you're really anxious to get a move on. However, our flight ended up being delayed in Chicago.
Everyone had big smiles once we hit the Chicago airport though. I heard many comments about the blessings we have by living in America; Not the least of which was that we didn't have to use Purell on our hands every few minutes, the toilets all take toilet paper, it doesn't smell bad here, and everything just looks cleaner. The best probably was that we got to have ice in our TAP water, we could brush our teeth without using bottled water, and soap and water meant our hands were clean, not just that we had knocked the dirt off and we still had to sanitize. We all went out for breakfast at Wolfgang Pucks in the airport and posed with our ice water glasses. We're happy to be home.
I have never been so happy to see salad in my life. Over there, if you can't peel it you can't eat it raw. So other than the occasional orange the only raw fruits and veggies I've eaten has been bananas – lots of bananas. So last night rather than the steak I thought I would crave, I went and had soup and salad. Lots of salad. Today for lunch I also had salad. Tonight, I may just have more raw veggies or fruits or both – probably with more salad. And come to think of it, I might have to throw in some Haggen Daz - black raspberry chip. Mmmmmm. My trainer is probably glad to hear all of that (except the Haggen Daz!)
I've also never been so happy to see my own bed in my life. the three inch thick matress pads on top of a board didn't do much for me when I was gone. I did not sleep that well while I over there (until sheer exhaustion took over), so my first night home I slept somewhere between 12-14 hours. Six hours later, I'm already yawning. I also had my first shower without wearing flip flops in more than two weeks. With LOTS of hot water. And I had a real cup of coffee today at my local Dunn Bros. It wasn't instant coffee and it was delicious. It's funny the things you miss and the things you appreciate when you're gone!
We all made it back safe and sound. Thank God for that one. We're all happy to be back and I'm sure you'll hear all the stories in person. And since I think the group took a total of some 20+ Gigabytes worth of images, I'm sure you'll be seeing lots of photos, too.
Thanks for all the prayers and support! And God Bless.
-smc
Everyone had big smiles once we hit the Chicago airport though. I heard many comments about the blessings we have by living in America; Not the least of which was that we didn't have to use Purell on our hands every few minutes, the toilets all take toilet paper, it doesn't smell bad here, and everything just looks cleaner. The best probably was that we got to have ice in our TAP water, we could brush our teeth without using bottled water, and soap and water meant our hands were clean, not just that we had knocked the dirt off and we still had to sanitize. We all went out for breakfast at Wolfgang Pucks in the airport and posed with our ice water glasses. We're happy to be home.
I have never been so happy to see salad in my life. Over there, if you can't peel it you can't eat it raw. So other than the occasional orange the only raw fruits and veggies I've eaten has been bananas – lots of bananas. So last night rather than the steak I thought I would crave, I went and had soup and salad. Lots of salad. Today for lunch I also had salad. Tonight, I may just have more raw veggies or fruits or both – probably with more salad. And come to think of it, I might have to throw in some Haggen Daz - black raspberry chip. Mmmmmm. My trainer is probably glad to hear all of that (except the Haggen Daz!)
I've also never been so happy to see my own bed in my life. the three inch thick matress pads on top of a board didn't do much for me when I was gone. I did not sleep that well while I over there (until sheer exhaustion took over), so my first night home I slept somewhere between 12-14 hours. Six hours later, I'm already yawning. I also had my first shower without wearing flip flops in more than two weeks. With LOTS of hot water. And I had a real cup of coffee today at my local Dunn Bros. It wasn't instant coffee and it was delicious. It's funny the things you miss and the things you appreciate when you're gone!
We all made it back safe and sound. Thank God for that one. We're all happy to be back and I'm sure you'll hear all the stories in person. And since I think the group took a total of some 20+ Gigabytes worth of images, I'm sure you'll be seeing lots of photos, too.
Thanks for all the prayers and support! And God Bless.
-smc
Thursday, March 22, 2007
Last Chance for Posting Here
Hey everyone, sorry about the long time no posting, but as you can imagine, internet access has been limited while we're here. This is the first chance and the first computer I've made it to in awhile. I'm at a public PC, so I'm taking extra precautions, so please read between the lines where appropriate.
We've had a busy week. We spent lots of time traveling between the various towns, some by train, some by jeep. Mom probably wouldn't have approved of the luggage rack ride on top of one of the jeeps on what is considered a two-lane road here. The roads are really more like one lane with shoulders to dive off on when you meet a vehicle larger than you, like the many trucks on the road. Oh well, it was fun, and suprisingly the best cure for motion sickness. One of our days was spent entirely driving up the mountain. We've had a few cases of what would be considered "tourista" if we were in Mexico, so the Immodium and Pepto have been passed around liberally. However, everyone has been pretty healthy, so we praise the big guy for that.
Today we're back in a mountain town. It's sort of a transition day between towns where we get to a litle shopping and a little debriefing. Earlier this week we got to spend some time at one of the other schools and played games with the kids. They were much less disciplined than the first school, but just as enthusiastic and bright. It was a wonderful time. My co-"instructor" and I, felt like we didn't do very well at first, but we warmed up the second day. All in all it was a great time, and we got to see many interesting things, including a place where they make wool handicrafts. It might be a litle itchy, but don't be suprised if you get handmade wool gloves, hats, or socks. We spent little, but helped the local economy and the local outreach here much, by the few things that we bought. It was well worth it.
The hardest part about the trip to a local village was the walk. You feel like you need to be part mountain goat to live here. There was what must have been a 40-45% grade that went up one of he the hills to an area we visited. It was so steep, and these people commonly walk it with large HEAVY objects strapped to their backs or their heads. It's amazing! I actually laughed when I saw a sign for a local gym. Who needs it here? There is no stairmaster required, beleive me!
We did spend Sunday afternoon taking an "easy" hike up to one of the mountain lakes here. It was a beautiful trip and we had wonderful views of the mountains, but since we were at 8,000-9,000 feet, this "prairie girl" had a little trouble adjusting to the altitude. I wouldn't have missed it for the world though. Beautiful flowering trees throughout the forest, and stunning views of snow-capped mountain peaks.
We'll spend the next few days traveling back down to the city for our flight out. The roads up at higher elevations can be as time consuming to traverse as the city roads. The mountain roads have hairpin turns. If you see a green sign similar to a U-turn sign, (but not really), they aren't kidding, you better be going slow and honking your horn around the turn because you're about to head back the other direction. In the city, the traffic is just clogged and as I've mentioned in a previous post, lanes are really just a suggestion in this "conversational driving" style. I'm really going to have to work to keep my hand off the horn when I get back home!
It's been a fun trip, and there are too many stories to post here. I'll be sure and tell you all about them when I get home, or I'll post more. I've taken tons of photos, so beware those of you who ask me to see them.(It might take awhile!) This has been the trip of a lifetime and I've been truly blessed to be able to come. Thank you to all of you who made that possible. You have my sincere appreciation.
See you back on the other side of the world in a few days! Keep all of us in your thoughts and prayers.
-smc
We've had a busy week. We spent lots of time traveling between the various towns, some by train, some by jeep. Mom probably wouldn't have approved of the luggage rack ride on top of one of the jeeps on what is considered a two-lane road here. The roads are really more like one lane with shoulders to dive off on when you meet a vehicle larger than you, like the many trucks on the road. Oh well, it was fun, and suprisingly the best cure for motion sickness. One of our days was spent entirely driving up the mountain. We've had a few cases of what would be considered "tourista" if we were in Mexico, so the Immodium and Pepto have been passed around liberally. However, everyone has been pretty healthy, so we praise the big guy for that.
Today we're back in a mountain town. It's sort of a transition day between towns where we get to a litle shopping and a little debriefing. Earlier this week we got to spend some time at one of the other schools and played games with the kids. They were much less disciplined than the first school, but just as enthusiastic and bright. It was a wonderful time. My co-"instructor" and I, felt like we didn't do very well at first, but we warmed up the second day. All in all it was a great time, and we got to see many interesting things, including a place where they make wool handicrafts. It might be a litle itchy, but don't be suprised if you get handmade wool gloves, hats, or socks. We spent little, but helped the local economy and the local outreach here much, by the few things that we bought. It was well worth it.
The hardest part about the trip to a local village was the walk. You feel like you need to be part mountain goat to live here. There was what must have been a 40-45% grade that went up one of he the hills to an area we visited. It was so steep, and these people commonly walk it with large HEAVY objects strapped to their backs or their heads. It's amazing! I actually laughed when I saw a sign for a local gym. Who needs it here? There is no stairmaster required, beleive me!
We did spend Sunday afternoon taking an "easy" hike up to one of the mountain lakes here. It was a beautiful trip and we had wonderful views of the mountains, but since we were at 8,000-9,000 feet, this "prairie girl" had a little trouble adjusting to the altitude. I wouldn't have missed it for the world though. Beautiful flowering trees throughout the forest, and stunning views of snow-capped mountain peaks.
We'll spend the next few days traveling back down to the city for our flight out. The roads up at higher elevations can be as time consuming to traverse as the city roads. The mountain roads have hairpin turns. If you see a green sign similar to a U-turn sign, (but not really), they aren't kidding, you better be going slow and honking your horn around the turn because you're about to head back the other direction. In the city, the traffic is just clogged and as I've mentioned in a previous post, lanes are really just a suggestion in this "conversational driving" style. I'm really going to have to work to keep my hand off the horn when I get back home!
It's been a fun trip, and there are too many stories to post here. I'll be sure and tell you all about them when I get home, or I'll post more. I've taken tons of photos, so beware those of you who ask me to see them.(It might take awhile!) This has been the trip of a lifetime and I've been truly blessed to be able to come. Thank you to all of you who made that possible. You have my sincere appreciation.
See you back on the other side of the world in a few days! Keep all of us in your thoughts and prayers.
-smc
Friday, March 16, 2007
Day 7
It's hard to believe that we've been here a week. The last few days have been intense and we've all dropped into bed exhausted at the end of the day. It's a "good" tired though. We've met so many fabulous people and have seen how hard all of these people work, and their amazing faith in the Lord.
Two days ago was probably one of the highlights of my life, let alone my trip. It was our first day of teaching at a one of the schools here. Our team of 15 was greeted by 150+ children all telling us “good morning” and clapping upon our arrival. While my partner for the day and I thought we were prepared for class, we got a slow start as neither one of us is a teacher. It gives me a new appreciation for what my mom does, walking into a class cold and having to go with the flow. It's much harder than you think it would be.
The kids here are really well behaved – they stand up when you enter a room – and they say "sir" and "Ma'am" to EVERYTHING. I've never been called "ma'am" so many times in such a short span of time. I was teaching 5th grade, and all of our kids were great. They were conversational in English and actually were much further along than we prepared for. Oh well, we've learned to roll with such things. The kids worked hard and performed an entire program for us at the end of the school day. They sang songs, recited verses, performed skits and danced local dances. They were fantastic!
After the school day ended, we then went on a "safari" of all the other amazing ministries that are going on here in this area. It is incredible how hard the people here work to help make other's lives better. Our first stop of the day was at a settlement of what is essentially the rejects of society here in this country. There were a massive amount of stick huts that these people had constructed to live in. The huts were made of sticks lashed together, sometimes with black plastic or tarps to help keep out the rain.
They welcomed us, but were a little hesistant at first. We thanked them for allowing us to visit and told them how wonderful we thought it was, and they warmed up. We saw two of the outreach programs there, one is teaching basic health, things like not setting dishes on the ground inside their huts, and basic hygene principles. the other is a "nursery" school.
The term "nursery" is used very lightly here, because there are children in this school up to 10 years of age. However, they have nowhere else to go and learn, so the kids stay in “nursery” as they have no where else to learn. The people here have been working for years to help this class of people, and slowly they are making progress.
The contrasts here are incredible. The settlement is next to a dry riverbed where the people pick up rocks and break them by hand for other uses. This is their meager existence. Across the dry riverbed are beautiful buildings and entire development that looks out over this vast poverty. Such are the way things are here. Poverty is not defined neatly by neighborhood like it is in the U.S. Here, they coexist and people turn a blind eye to it as neatly as they would a homeless person on the bus in the U.S.
The people were amazing and kind. And never has my digital camera made me so many friends. I quickly discovered that kids LOVE to see their picture taken. And as these children live without the benefit of any electronics save maybe an occasional cell phone, a camera with a screen where they can see themselves was a big hit.
Our second stop was an amazing micro-business program supported here. One of the ladies helps others learn skills to help support themselves. The woman is handicapped and the ladies sew beautiful pillowcovers, make wall art, macrame hangers and bags. We bought the few items they had there. Once it was all said and done, after we left, we realized that between all of the stuff that we had purchased (around $60 worth) we handed over more money than the teachers at the school make in a month. It's heartbreaking and yet enlightening how much these people do on so little. They are all amazing, happy and grateful for what they have. This mirco-loan program is touching lots of lives and making it possible for these women to make a living. It was incredibly touching.
Our third stop of the day was to a Gypsy church. This fellowship of people were amazing. it's hard to describe the area where they live. It's a bunch of buildings, yet many of them don't really have all four walls, or are fairly open to the outside. We rounded a corner and were overwhelmed with color. The awning for the church was in bright pink and green, and everyone was sitting in a red plastic chair. The women all wear brightly colored outfits and head scarves, so it is a swirl of color.
One of my teammates made faces at a young boy, probably 2-3 years old, for most of the service. She taught him to make eyes at people, and then he spent the rest of the service honing the skills on others. It was precious. The women were all very beautiful. It was incredible. The more I looked at them the more amazed I was, dark eyes piercing through you surrounded by brightly colored scarves.
After the service was over, we were able to spend a little time with the people there. One woman made a beeline for me, grabbed my arm and didn't let go until she had taken me to her home and showed me her children. She didn't speak a word of English, but we seemed to communicate just fine. The children here were very funny. I also made a lot of friends with them. They would rush to get into a photo and then wait for me to turn my camera around so that they could see their faces. They would actually fight for a spot near the camera. One mother asked me if I could giver her a picture of her child. I assured her that I would give a CD of my images to someone here so that hopefully they could give her some photos. There is more to tell, but they day was just too much.
Besides this, we've seen amazing places of pagan strongholds here. Places where children beg as a way of life, and places where people feel they have to come and take a dip in the river to have their sins cleansed and must come back to honor their dead and come again if they have sinned. The idol worship here is intense. People worship statues. Most of their "gods" are worshiped because they are afraid that they will do bad things to them. It's a different way of thinking, and we're all trying hard to get our head wrapped around it.
Yesterday we finished teaching at the first school and then were the guests of honor at a prayer room dedication service. We were able to hear amazing faith stories, and the stories of what the Lord is doing in all of these people's lives. We were able to pray and worship with an amazing fellowship of believers. These people are on the front lines. They are persecuted for their faith often. Yet they still choose to follow Jesus. It's wonderful to see how dedicated they are. And it's also difficult to realize how good we have it in the U.S.; No one would beat me up if I decide to attend church or get baptized, so their faith seems strong because it HAS to be if they want to believe.
Their worship service is the closest I've ever felt to God. We sang songs in a language I don't know, (and some in English) we prayed, we gave thanks, and we listened to each others stories. The translations were arduous at times, but everyone was so into hearing what was happening in others' lives that it was always worth the wait. At the end I was able to share a devotional about foot washing and why it is important. And we held a foot washing ceremony for their church planters. Amazingly, they turned around and did the same for us. I have new friends here now, and many new people to pray for.
We have also heard several other people's faith stories in the last few days. One of them was an amazing story of a man who came to know the Lord because his mother, who had been possessed by demons for more than 15 years, and at various times tried to kill her children and her husband, was freed from her demons. And also later, this same man was attacked by a brain tumor, given three months to live and within days was miraculously healed. He had a vision where he fought a demon in his dreams who told him he was going to kill him because too many people would become believers because of him. He called upon the Lord to heal him that night. In the morning he knew he was healed, went to the doctor and insisted upon a new brain scan. When it came back clean, his doctor was amazed and asked him how it was that he was healed. When he heard the answer, the doctor too became a believer.
These tales of demons and demon possession many times would sound ridiculous when told in the U.S. but here, they are very much a part of everyday life. The places here are strongholds for demons and mystical activity. It is not uncommon here to hear stories of this nature. Only 0.004 percent of the population of this area believe in Jesus. Most believe in other gods that they think control everything from the water to the rocks. Those are the gods they worship and they do it out of fear and appeasement. One of our guides told us that "If Satan were ever to need a vacation, this is the area where he would come - He would run into no trouble here." Not to say the people here are evil. In fact, they are wonderful and amazing. Most just don't know any other way of life. Many are trapped in a cycle of poverty, and others are just trapped in a cycle of fear, worrying about gods or demons that do hold some power here, but are nothing compared to my savior, Jesus Christ.
Today I feel blessed to be an American and even more blessed to see what God has in store for us here in our second week.
God bless and keep us in your prayers!
I hope to blog more in the next few days. We change hotels again tomorrow and it sounds like we may (fingers crossed) have internet access tomorrow.
-smc
Two days ago was probably one of the highlights of my life, let alone my trip. It was our first day of teaching at a one of the schools here. Our team of 15 was greeted by 150+ children all telling us “good morning” and clapping upon our arrival. While my partner for the day and I thought we were prepared for class, we got a slow start as neither one of us is a teacher. It gives me a new appreciation for what my mom does, walking into a class cold and having to go with the flow. It's much harder than you think it would be.
The kids here are really well behaved – they stand up when you enter a room – and they say "sir" and "Ma'am" to EVERYTHING. I've never been called "ma'am" so many times in such a short span of time. I was teaching 5th grade, and all of our kids were great. They were conversational in English and actually were much further along than we prepared for. Oh well, we've learned to roll with such things. The kids worked hard and performed an entire program for us at the end of the school day. They sang songs, recited verses, performed skits and danced local dances. They were fantastic!
After the school day ended, we then went on a "safari" of all the other amazing ministries that are going on here in this area. It is incredible how hard the people here work to help make other's lives better. Our first stop of the day was at a settlement of what is essentially the rejects of society here in this country. There were a massive amount of stick huts that these people had constructed to live in. The huts were made of sticks lashed together, sometimes with black plastic or tarps to help keep out the rain.
They welcomed us, but were a little hesistant at first. We thanked them for allowing us to visit and told them how wonderful we thought it was, and they warmed up. We saw two of the outreach programs there, one is teaching basic health, things like not setting dishes on the ground inside their huts, and basic hygene principles. the other is a "nursery" school.
The term "nursery" is used very lightly here, because there are children in this school up to 10 years of age. However, they have nowhere else to go and learn, so the kids stay in “nursery” as they have no where else to learn. The people here have been working for years to help this class of people, and slowly they are making progress.
The contrasts here are incredible. The settlement is next to a dry riverbed where the people pick up rocks and break them by hand for other uses. This is their meager existence. Across the dry riverbed are beautiful buildings and entire development that looks out over this vast poverty. Such are the way things are here. Poverty is not defined neatly by neighborhood like it is in the U.S. Here, they coexist and people turn a blind eye to it as neatly as they would a homeless person on the bus in the U.S.
The people were amazing and kind. And never has my digital camera made me so many friends. I quickly discovered that kids LOVE to see their picture taken. And as these children live without the benefit of any electronics save maybe an occasional cell phone, a camera with a screen where they can see themselves was a big hit.
Our second stop was an amazing micro-business program supported here. One of the ladies helps others learn skills to help support themselves. The woman is handicapped and the ladies sew beautiful pillowcovers, make wall art, macrame hangers and bags. We bought the few items they had there. Once it was all said and done, after we left, we realized that between all of the stuff that we had purchased (around $60 worth) we handed over more money than the teachers at the school make in a month. It's heartbreaking and yet enlightening how much these people do on so little. They are all amazing, happy and grateful for what they have. This mirco-loan program is touching lots of lives and making it possible for these women to make a living. It was incredibly touching.
Our third stop of the day was to a Gypsy church. This fellowship of people were amazing. it's hard to describe the area where they live. It's a bunch of buildings, yet many of them don't really have all four walls, or are fairly open to the outside. We rounded a corner and were overwhelmed with color. The awning for the church was in bright pink and green, and everyone was sitting in a red plastic chair. The women all wear brightly colored outfits and head scarves, so it is a swirl of color.
One of my teammates made faces at a young boy, probably 2-3 years old, for most of the service. She taught him to make eyes at people, and then he spent the rest of the service honing the skills on others. It was precious. The women were all very beautiful. It was incredible. The more I looked at them the more amazed I was, dark eyes piercing through you surrounded by brightly colored scarves.
After the service was over, we were able to spend a little time with the people there. One woman made a beeline for me, grabbed my arm and didn't let go until she had taken me to her home and showed me her children. She didn't speak a word of English, but we seemed to communicate just fine. The children here were very funny. I also made a lot of friends with them. They would rush to get into a photo and then wait for me to turn my camera around so that they could see their faces. They would actually fight for a spot near the camera. One mother asked me if I could giver her a picture of her child. I assured her that I would give a CD of my images to someone here so that hopefully they could give her some photos. There is more to tell, but they day was just too much.
Besides this, we've seen amazing places of pagan strongholds here. Places where children beg as a way of life, and places where people feel they have to come and take a dip in the river to have their sins cleansed and must come back to honor their dead and come again if they have sinned. The idol worship here is intense. People worship statues. Most of their "gods" are worshiped because they are afraid that they will do bad things to them. It's a different way of thinking, and we're all trying hard to get our head wrapped around it.
Yesterday we finished teaching at the first school and then were the guests of honor at a prayer room dedication service. We were able to hear amazing faith stories, and the stories of what the Lord is doing in all of these people's lives. We were able to pray and worship with an amazing fellowship of believers. These people are on the front lines. They are persecuted for their faith often. Yet they still choose to follow Jesus. It's wonderful to see how dedicated they are. And it's also difficult to realize how good we have it in the U.S.; No one would beat me up if I decide to attend church or get baptized, so their faith seems strong because it HAS to be if they want to believe.
Their worship service is the closest I've ever felt to God. We sang songs in a language I don't know, (and some in English) we prayed, we gave thanks, and we listened to each others stories. The translations were arduous at times, but everyone was so into hearing what was happening in others' lives that it was always worth the wait. At the end I was able to share a devotional about foot washing and why it is important. And we held a foot washing ceremony for their church planters. Amazingly, they turned around and did the same for us. I have new friends here now, and many new people to pray for.
We have also heard several other people's faith stories in the last few days. One of them was an amazing story of a man who came to know the Lord because his mother, who had been possessed by demons for more than 15 years, and at various times tried to kill her children and her husband, was freed from her demons. And also later, this same man was attacked by a brain tumor, given three months to live and within days was miraculously healed. He had a vision where he fought a demon in his dreams who told him he was going to kill him because too many people would become believers because of him. He called upon the Lord to heal him that night. In the morning he knew he was healed, went to the doctor and insisted upon a new brain scan. When it came back clean, his doctor was amazed and asked him how it was that he was healed. When he heard the answer, the doctor too became a believer.
These tales of demons and demon possession many times would sound ridiculous when told in the U.S. but here, they are very much a part of everyday life. The places here are strongholds for demons and mystical activity. It is not uncommon here to hear stories of this nature. Only 0.004 percent of the population of this area believe in Jesus. Most believe in other gods that they think control everything from the water to the rocks. Those are the gods they worship and they do it out of fear and appeasement. One of our guides told us that "If Satan were ever to need a vacation, this is the area where he would come - He would run into no trouble here." Not to say the people here are evil. In fact, they are wonderful and amazing. Most just don't know any other way of life. Many are trapped in a cycle of poverty, and others are just trapped in a cycle of fear, worrying about gods or demons that do hold some power here, but are nothing compared to my savior, Jesus Christ.
Today I feel blessed to be an American and even more blessed to see what God has in store for us here in our second week.
God bless and keep us in your prayers!
I hope to blog more in the next few days. We change hotels again tomorrow and it sounds like we may (fingers crossed) have internet access tomorrow.
-smc
Sunday, March 11, 2007
We're Here!
We made it to the other side of the world! We actually got here yesterday and spent the night in a YWCA. The first thing you notice when you get off the plane are the smells. The cooking that you just can't quite identify, a little bit of incense thown in and exhaust. Lots of people and lots of cars.
You can hear the traffic well before you ever see the street. The cars honk almost incessantly. In fact, if the horn isn't honking, there's probably no one in the car. And let's just say traffic lanes are just a suggestion, not necessarily a rule. It looks like chaos, but our American friend who lives here assures us there is order beneath the chaos. I'm not that convinced yet. Until then, we've been advised to not cross the street, or make sure we do ONLY when locals do. It seems more of a matter of just suggestion. It appears to be a good idea for survival.
Tonight we're staying in a very nice hotel, a Hilton, near a large tourist destanation. For those of you who know where we are, you can probably guess which one I'm referring to. This will likely be the most luxurious stay of our whole trip. Hence the Internet access. We'll head up in the mountains tomorrow sometime and start going to our final destinations. So far the trip has been a whirlwind. Since we got here at night (and for once I managed to sleep on the plane) I didn't really sleep much last night. So I'm not acclimated yet, and neither are most of my traveling companions. Tomorrow we assemble at 5:45 so we can go catch the sunrise over our tourist spot before coming back for breakfast and checking out. Then we'll start with the real work of the trip.
This morning we had a few hours to do a little local shopping. Local attire was suggested wear for the ladies, so we picked up a few things to make sure that we're appropriately dressed when we get to the mountains. The food is delicious here, but already a few people are craving things like pizza, cheeseburgers and Haggen Daz. I'm sure by the end of the trip, we'll all be ready for some local TC fare.
That's all for now! It doesn't seem like we'll have much continued access, so it might be a few days before you hear from me again. We thank the Lord that everything has been going well. Please keep praying for us and I'll keep you posted. - smc
You can hear the traffic well before you ever see the street. The cars honk almost incessantly. In fact, if the horn isn't honking, there's probably no one in the car. And let's just say traffic lanes are just a suggestion, not necessarily a rule. It looks like chaos, but our American friend who lives here assures us there is order beneath the chaos. I'm not that convinced yet. Until then, we've been advised to not cross the street, or make sure we do ONLY when locals do. It seems more of a matter of just suggestion. It appears to be a good idea for survival.
Tonight we're staying in a very nice hotel, a Hilton, near a large tourist destanation. For those of you who know where we are, you can probably guess which one I'm referring to. This will likely be the most luxurious stay of our whole trip. Hence the Internet access. We'll head up in the mountains tomorrow sometime and start going to our final destinations. So far the trip has been a whirlwind. Since we got here at night (and for once I managed to sleep on the plane) I didn't really sleep much last night. So I'm not acclimated yet, and neither are most of my traveling companions. Tomorrow we assemble at 5:45 so we can go catch the sunrise over our tourist spot before coming back for breakfast and checking out. Then we'll start with the real work of the trip.
This morning we had a few hours to do a little local shopping. Local attire was suggested wear for the ladies, so we picked up a few things to make sure that we're appropriately dressed when we get to the mountains. The food is delicious here, but already a few people are craving things like pizza, cheeseburgers and Haggen Daz. I'm sure by the end of the trip, we'll all be ready for some local TC fare.
That's all for now! It doesn't seem like we'll have much continued access, so it might be a few days before you hear from me again. We thank the Lord that everything has been going well. Please keep praying for us and I'll keep you posted. - smc
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)