On Tuesday, the excavation team moved their equipment to the new dam site in Teselema. Their big machines made big changes to the landscape in the area designated for the fish pond. The teachers took over their classrooms and quickly realized their evening would be a long one requiring many adjustments to their well-laid plans in order to suit the children they were just starting to get to know. The construction team got settled in with all of their tools and equipment as the mason team continued building the walls, and the carpenter team built windows and trusses.
On Wednesday, Joyce was called to do more than engage her 40+ JK/SK students when a group of government representatives walked into her classroom under the mango tree! The group then continued over to the build site to introduce themselves, complimenting the team for the work we were doing to encourage health through hygiene training in the school, education through the many tools we brought to the students and teachers, and development in the community with the church and latrine.
Back in Teselema, Glenn and Phil’s excavation work has been greeted with excitement, and hundreds gathered throughout the day to watch them work. They managed to get the pond about one-third completed by working a long 10-hour day, stopping only for a brief lunch and to receive gifts of yams, a rooster and a guinea fowl from the community.
“By the grace of God,” as David would say, a woman’s life may have been saved today because of the serum that NEA stocked. She lives in a nearby village and was bitten by a snake there but, as of dinner tonight, she was reported to be in stable condition after receiving the serum to contradict the snake venom. After dinner, while Braden led the kids of Carpenter in song with the guitar and others played soccer, a few team members gathered with David and the Ghanaian pastors to pray for the woman and other loved ones who need healing. It was a wonderful way to end the day.
May each one of you experience the same joy and blessing we feel for having supported us and this project in so many ways. Your love, support, and prayers are so valuable to each one of us. Please pray for continued physical, emotional, spiritual and relational health and strength to serve well as a team!
Thanks,
Kim
Luke says
Hi Phil, we are all very proud of the journey which you have decided to take. Its always a great accomplishment when you know your hard work has helped and touched so many people in a positive way. See you soon.
Margaret Salem-Matthew says
Hi Kim:
I absolutely love reading you emails. Praying for the woman you talked about that had a snake bite & for all of you doing great work.
Take Care, Margaret
Carol Peterson says
Teaching under a mango tree sounds wonderful to me, but 40 JK/SK’s sounds more challenging than my BPS K colleagues with 28 little ones each. Every day I remind myself that I am teaching children first, curriculum second and… FLEXIBILITY is the operative word in Project Overseas for sure.
I just read a note from the supply teacher who taught in my room yesterday while I attended a math PD session in Cobourg. It seems the greatest problem was that R. and T. reported that D. had stolen a candy cane out of my desk…Joyce is not likely to have the same problem teaching under the mango tree!
In Uganda we had our teachers doing drama about washing after using the latrine- men were holding hands in a circle(the latrine) as another man acted out walking into the latrine and using it, with sound affects!!! Yes, it was very entertaining and memorable with one act being what you should do and the other what you should NOT do(ie., forget to wash hands after). This was Primary 4 fyi. Using the ARTS to demonstrate learning is always enjoyable- even if it’s just tableau-frozen silence is lovely anytime.
I love the way you ask for prayer in relational health as well as all the others- just as important away from home as at home, and at least as important as the others!
Carol