My First Week of School

School is wonderful! I enjoy the beautiful setting, my coworkers’ diverse personalities, and my inquisitive fifth graders. If you’ve seen the Heritage website (see sidebar), it looks just like the pictures. It’s a tropical, resort-like campus, with palm trees and beautiful flowers growing throughout. Stone walkways and water channels flow through the main courtyard (David said he felt like he was at a miniature golf course). My classroom is approximately 9 m by 12 m and has cement walls and a tile floor. I packed my suitcases full of school supplies and some decorations so I spiced it up a little bit. There aren’t any hallways at Heritage, just sidewalks connecting classrooms that are accessed like motel rooms. My door and windows remain open during the day to let the breeze blow through. The windows along the back wall provide a view of nearby houses and hills (Kampala is called the “City of Seven Hills”). There’s no AC, but the weather has been quite pleasant.

Of course, having a classroom open to the outdoors allows all sorts of interesting critters to come wandering in. I can handle the small spiders and ants, and so far the wasps have not stung me or a student. I don’t mind the harmless geckos (they eat mosquitoes!) but the bats are rather unnerving. I’ve only had two and fortunately they were lying on the floor, barely alive. The room has been sprayed but I still see droppings. My morning routine involves me swinging the door open like I’m on a police raid and checking the room for perpetrators. I also keep watch for snakes, particularly cobras, since one was found last December. Fortunately, Josh, a reptile expert and our eMi intern coordinator, was called in to “take care” of it. (He showed me the skin of a different six foot cobra he found. But no worries, Sharon gave me a snakebite kit.)

Currently, I have one boy and five girls in my fifth grade class. It’s so neat to have such a variety of ethnicities in my class-one Ugandan, two girls from Korea, one Ugandan/Canadian, a Ugandan/American raised in Uganda, another Indian/American raised in Uganda. And of course it’s been amazing to only have six students! It’s a teachers dream! I have time to edit their writing, to grade papers on the spot, and to give each one the individual attention they need. The room is silent when they work; it’s almost eerie after teaching first graders!

I have a lot of planning time and I love it. The children have a 15 min. morning recess, 45 min. for lunch and recess, and a 15 min. afternoon recess. They also have two 45 min. specials a day! We are quite pressed for time when they’re in class-I teach Bible, Language Arts, Grammar, Spelling, Science, Social Studies, Math and Health! Needless to say, we don’t get to all these in one day so I alternate Grammar/Spelling and Science/SS/Health. The students have homework each night and are actually excited about it! (I didn’t give homework on the first day of school and they were disappointed!)

It’s freeing to be able to openly share my relationship with Christ to my students and to pray together as a class. My students are curious and have asked questions about suffering, dying, heaven, end times, and the origin of the earth, all within the first four days of school! I’m excited to restudy and teach how God’s redemptive plan is shown in the Old Testament. A verse I read recently illustrated this: “But you are a forgiving God, gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love.” Nehemiah 9:17b I’m also looking forward to studying the geography, history and culture of Africa. We have a whole text book devoted to it.

Because of all my planning time I don’t need to work too late. It’s nice having energy when I come home and not being completely exhausted! David works until five so I’ve started tutoring several Ugandan children after school. One of our guards here lost both of his parents and is now raising his 4 brothers and sisters. School fees are quite expensive so his youngest brother missed a few terms. I’m working with him and his two friends, who speak a little English, as much as I can. Most Ugandans speak Luganda or Swahili (or another one of 45 languages depending on their tribe). English is usually a second language so you have to speak slowly, enunciate clearly, and listen carefully.

Not having a car has its downsides but we’re making do. In reality, I would never want to drive here anyway. School is about a 35 min. walk--up a big hill, down a big hill, flat for a bit, and then down a smaller hill (David has been trekking along with me). On this walk we see chickens and chicks, cows, pigs and piglets, and goats. My favorite part of the walk is seeing all of the kids. They usually chant and scream “Mzungu! How are you?” which is probably the only English they know. If we say anything other than “I am fine. How are you?” they usually run away laughing and screaming. The cutest thing was when this little boy in a blue school uniform ran up to David and just started hugging his leg. I wanted to cry it was so precious. I started off walking but now that school has started I catch rides in the morning and pay for a boda boda ride home. Riding a boda is nuts because I never even rode a motorcycle in the States (not even David’s!) and now I’m riding them here without a helmet on bumpy, hilly roads. How ironic!

Well, that’s all for now. Thank you for the encouraging emails, prayers and support! We love you and miss you all. We are grateful for you sending us here.

-Amanda

I’ve come across this Psalms several times recently and wanted to share it with you:

Psalms 18

I love you, O Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge.
He is my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. I call to the Lord, who is worthy of praise, and I am saved from my enemies. 1-3

He reached down from on high and took hold of me; he drew me out of the deep waters. He rescued me from my powerful enemy, from my foes, who were too strong for me. They confronted me in the day of disaster, but the Lord was my support. He brought my out of a spacious place; he rescued me because he delighted in me. 16-19

As for God, his way is perfect; the word of the Lord is flawless. He is a shield for all who take refuge in him. For who is God besides the Lord? And who is the Rock except our God? It is God who arms me with strength and makes my way perfect. He makes my feet like the feet of a deer; he enables me to stand on the heights. 30-33

The Lord lives! Praise be to my Rock! Exalted be God my Savior! 46
Therefore I will praise you among the nations, O Lord; I will sing praises to your name.49