Talitha Kumi

As I shared in the last post, Namibia is certainly a beautiful country. Yet even more beautiful than the landscapes are the people- especially the precious children that I had the opportunity to teach for a week at Talitha Kumi Christian School. The Talitha Kumi students are primarily orphans whose parents have died from the AIDS virus. The children live in foster families throughout the community and are able to receive care and a quality education through Children of Promise Ministries and Talitha Kumi. 

On June 29th, I wrote, "Today Jill and I went to the school, met with come teachers and got to spend time in the classrooms. I loved that!! I'm going to be teaching 5/6th grade Math and Social Studies all next week! I'm so excited to get a real feel for what it would be like to teach here. I am amazed at how much this school is a real-life picture of the school I have always imagined in my mind that I would be teaching in one day. Crazy! I'm beginning to be able to see myself here for a season possibly- I don't know when or how, but I do feel You (God) doing something in my  heart." 

Here is the school and the students that have captured my heart... 

The playground... 

... in need of a fresh coat of paint...

... so we painted! 

My 5th and 6th Graders. Oh, how I miss them! 

Practicing skits in 5th grade social studies class. 

Performing skits!

6th Graders performing raps about natural resources. 

My sweet 6th graders! 

Jump rope was the favorite activity during break time! 

I gave it a try too! :) 

One morning our team performed a skit for the morning assembly. We acted out the story of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. 

My favorite time of the day was "HUG TIME" with the preschoolers.   I can't think of a better way to start out the day then  being attacked with 100s  of hugs from adorable, energetic preschoolers! 

I loved teaching at Talitha Kumi. On July 4th, I wrote, "It amazes me how normal life here feels. Teaching social studies, leading dance class... it just feels right... like I have been here forever. It seems like these students have been mine all year. I don't want to leave them in one short week."

It was indeed hard to say goodbye to these wonderful kiddos. Yet I am overwhelmingly thankful for the short time that I did get to spend with them. I am still amazed at how the particular need while I was there happened to be exactly what I am trained to do. God is so much bigger than I can even begin to fathom. He knew that for one specific week, the school would be in desperate need of a 5/6th teacher, so there I was, just at the right time to fill that need. I feel so richly blessed to have been able to be a part of the school and the students' lives, even for such a short time.

Love from across the miles!

Welcome to the Desert

Tomorrow marks the year anniversary of moving to Charlotte. What a year it has been! One of the highlights of the year was undoubtedly the time that I spent in Namibia this summer. I have been home for 2 weeks now, and I still miss it terribly. It has been fun to sort though the pictures and relive the memories. In an effort to share the trip with you, I have broken my pictures down into a few different categories that I plan to post over the next couple of days. I will let my pictures do most of the talking as I share this incredibly journey with you! 

Today's theme is "Welcome to the Desert". Whenever I hear someone tell about a trip that they went on, it always helps me feel more connected to the story if I can picture the place in my mind. So today I will try to paint a picture in your mind of Arandis, Namibia-  a small town in the middle of the desert that I was blessed to call home for 2 and a half short weeks. 

Jill and I looking fresh and chipper as we wait for our first flight out of Raleigh, NC. 40 hours later we would reach Arandis- not quite as fresh, but definitely thankful to have arrived safely at our destination.   

We made it! Here's a group shot of the team. 

Welcome to our home for the trip! 

Home Sweet Home

Walking though the streets and getting acquainted with the lay of the land. It was a small town and we walked everywhere, so it didn't take too long to become familiar with where everything was. 

A typical street in the town. The only thing missing is the kids that are usually playing  games in the streets... 

 

                                               

The flat desert landscape lets you see for miles and miles in all directions. 

A few trees lining the road, and my new friends posing for a picture. :) 

I did get made fun of for taking a picture of the dumpster, but what a perfect picture of the color palate of Arandis. A pristinely blue sky with a sea of desert gold stretching as far as the eye can see. 

Each morning as Jill and I walked to school we were astounded by the breathtaking sunrises. We had to start leaving for school 10 minutes early so that we could have plenty of time to stop and take pictures along the way. 

Another glorious morning view from outside of the school (more to come about the school...)

I hope you enjoyed your brief tour though the town of Arandis. [We also spent time in Swakopmund and Okahandja, but more on that later.] Thanks for stopping by. Stay tuned for my adventures teaching at Talitha Kumi Christian School! :)



Love from across the miles!

Jumprope Jes

Hello!

I have a quick moment to jump on the internet, so I thought I would share a few pictures of the past week here in Namibia! My time here is flying by! My days are filled with teaching 5/6th grade math and social studies in the morning, and helping lead dance classes in the afternoons. I feel so blessed by the work God has given me to do here! Two of my favorite things- teaching and dancing- just happen to be two of the big needs here! Praise the Lord that he equips us and leads us to specific tasks that use the abilities he has given us!

Here are a few quick pictures:

Jumping rope with my stuents at break time!

A few of my students- Melvin, Rachele and Rudy.

Jill teaching her 4th grade class. These are what the classrooms look like. 

Afrikaans class is almost finished, so I have to run and teach some math- division with length, here we come! I said I would be happy to teach Afrikaans... that got a good laugh out of us all!

Please be praying that God continues to build relationships amoung our team and the local people. Specifically that I will develop some strong connections with the teachers here and learn how to encourage them in their work.

Love from across the miles!