Buba Milking School Cows

Learning from the Fulani

School has finished and now are boarding students will go home tomorrow.
My boys are leaving. Yesterday as we climbed the hill behind the house
out into the bush they tried to instuct me on what makes a good piece of
firewood, clearly I choose pieces that are too big or too small or too
green but I'm trying. Just one of the many lessons I've picked up in my
time with them. In Burundi I am always forgetting to shake hands so I'm
thankful that the Fulani, as a whole are not as formal, shaking hands
doesn't seem to be first nature for them either. They always run to
greet visitors though, all 23 of them sprinting across the field to
greet arrivals, old and new. They are so hungry to learn. They value
time and touch and community. Yesterday we gave them each a folder, you
know the kind you buy at Wal-Mart for 10 cents. They were over the moon,
"Yes!" they said as they ran the the assemley hall to decorate them in
Ben's Star Wars stickers with pictures of the "Old Man" we know as Yoda.
They broke out the markers and began to write their name and their
school location and their A B C D's. All the things they have learned
since starting at Hope Academy. It is like magic to watch them, to see
them take something so little and make it so important. Now they will
report to their fathers not only their impressive exam scores but in a
folder that is all their own. Three of our boarders took 1st, 2nd and
3rd place in their Primary Two class. They are so proud, of course we
are too, to have our boarding students, our friends, Fulani ranking high
in their class. They are eager to begin Primary Three. On Holiday our
boarding students will spend time with family and follow cows, an event
they speak of with much joy and expertise. I will miss seeing life
through their eyes, where everything is new and exciting because not
only are you still a child but your world grows with each book you read
and each conversation you have and in all the ways you are learning
without even knowing it. I wonder if that's how it is with the Lord,
that he finds joy in the things we enjoy. That even though I've played
Candy Land 100 times in my childhood, the 101st is somehow exciting
again, because going all the way back to Candy Cane Forrest really is a
dramatic event.

Spell it

Quiet

There was a rare moment this morning when all I could hear were the
birds outside. The power was out, the fan was off, the boys weren't up
and around yet, no one was in the breezeway, it was grand. And yet
really odd. There is a main road parallel to our compound, not so near
where traffic is an issue but near enough you can hear the hoot of large
trucks passing by. Living on a compound which serves as a school for
300+ kids and a clinic and a church can often be a place of organized
chaos but for a few moments this morning there was calm, there was a
stillness I didn't know I had been missing. A hush had fallen over us.
Sometimes things are so busy that I don't remember to be quiet or there
aren't many opportunities to find it but this morning it was there.

Wenatchee Free Methodist Church

WFMC left the first week in July after two great weeks of intensive
ministry. Health clinics, teacher trainings, pastor training, classroom
visits, AC repair, Fulani camp visits, trips to down, 12 hour drive
cross-country, visits to the beach and more! No wonder they left tired.
But we praise the Lord for his provision, we can look back and clearly
see how he designed the team, 4 families and MY FATHER! There were times
when things could have gone sour or when the enemy tried to intervene
but God is always faithful to take care of his children. We (I mean
someone on our team) knew how to fix our car, we pushed thieves out the
door when they tried to gain control of the truck, we kept our cool in
stressful, new, awkward, intense times and I praise the Lord! Thank you
WFMC for your support, for caring about the broken and lost and for
coming such a long way to show the love of Jesus.

Math

Math was never one of my favorite subjects. I remember many nights being
up late crying as my dad would walk me through my math homework. So it
seems so odd to me that many of the boarders love math, or as their
teachers call it 'maths' (we are working on that one). They love it,
they cheer when it's time to study it in class, they are content if you
simply sit with them and give them problems to work through. I'm not
sure if it's the challenge or the enjoyment of being good at the subject
but they find joy in it nonetheless. Today I was sitting in the assembly
hall with some of the boarders and we went from playing tic-tac-toe to
math facts- not sure how that change came about but I rolled with it.
Soon it was me against them, they used my phone to come up with
outrageous equations for me. One boy in paticular is very intelligent,
loves his numbers and has a contagious laugh. Each time he gets an
equation right he laughs, this full heart, giggle cackle mixture. I'm
not sure who he laughing at, me or himself but I love it! Even if I have
to be quizzed on my math skills I would do it just to enjoy his
happiness. These boys, and Aisha, are so anxious to learn, I'm not sure
that as children they can fully grasp how education is going to change
their lives but their families must. When we visit Fulani camps across
Nigeria there are hardly any boys around, they are all off following
cows, an important job that ensures the camp's livelihood and
well-being. So when we see our 22 boys and Aisha here as boarders we
know their family must value education, and value the change that can
happen because of this school; their sacrifice speaks volumes to us.
These are the warm fuzzies, the things that God is bringing about for
his glory, the positive change, the justice for this tribe, the
opportunity and future. Knowing this I will gladly sit in the hot sun,
with 22 bodies packed around me, practicing math equations.

News from Nigeria

Now that I'm here in Nigeria, instead of so far away planning about what
will happen, I have a better picture of what the next few months will
look like. What I will be doing, what will occupy my days, who I will
work with. I think it's going to be better than I imagined. I have
started this week to observe the primary school classrooms. The goal is
that I can then offer the teacher advice about classes, listen to their
struggles and see for myself what would best serve the students and
teachers. I might even get to aid in the actual teaching, which I'm
finding very hard not to do already. As I'm observing everything within
me wants to take over but who would that help? The students when I leave
in two months and they have to adjust again? The teacher who wouldn't
learn by someone else doing their work for them? No, so I'm trying
really hard to practice self-control and watch, wait, listen and then
react. The school session will end in 5 weeks, I'm confident that change
can happen in that time, even if it's small, even if it just reinforces
what they already know. I also get to enjoy some time with the kids who
are boarding here at Hope Academy. 22 boys, 1 girl- full of energy and
curiosity. I'm looking forward to sharing life with them.