Thank Goodness!

Another school year is underway in Swaziland. 

In fact, our first term is almost over. I can't believe it! This school year has been different than others. The biggest difference is having a tiny sidekick. For a couple hours each day, Avery joins me at school. She gets absolutely giddy when I strap her into the baby carrier and we head toward school. She brings much joy to all the students and teachers. 

Before school starts she plays a few games of peek-a-boo, is jostled and bounced, and of course her outfit is thoroughly inspected by all of her friends. 

Another positive change is the addition of a competent, cheerful, and loving teaching assistant. Her name is Goodness. She has been such a blessing to me! She encourages and works with struggling students throughout the day. She marks almost ALL my papers. She stays after school to clean up, close up, or meet with students when I have to run home. She has made my transition to a working mommy SO much easier, and I am so thankful for Goodness! 

She has become a good friend and her daughter and Avery enjoy spending time together, too. 

Although she's not formally trained as a primary school teacher, I'm praying that Goodness will feel confidant enough to take my place next year. She has all the qualities of a good teacher, and I'm working with her on adopting additional techniques and teaching strategies. Please pray with me! 

I have 14 students this year, and a wide range of talents and abilities. Thank you for praying for their growth: academically, spiritually, and socially. 

A Cultural Adventure

Things have been a bit of a whirlwind lately, but having just finished our last school day for a few weeks, I (Mandi) find myself taking refuge from the chilly weather and finding time to finally get an update out.

We took a school trip this week to the Swaziland National Museum, King Sobhuza Memorial Park, and Cuddle Puddle Hot Springs (yes, that's the real name). We had a great time, and here are some pictures to prove it!

During part of the tour, our guide told the kids that Swazis believed in ancestors and pray to them. Lihle asked the guide, "Do you believe in ancestors?" The guide responded that she did, and then posed the same question to Lihle. Lihle responded, "No, I'm a Christian so I pray to Jesus Christ." I was pretty proud of my bold little student!

 The students were able to sit in the late King Sobhuza's classic car.

My growing belly has been a constant source of curiosity and in some cases, concern. Upon donning my "swimming costume" the kids exclaimed, "But you're too fat!" I assured them that my entrance would still leave a *little* bit of water in the pool.

It's been a long week at school, and I had a particularly frustrating encounter with one of our teachers today. Dealing with conflict in an open way is very counter-cultural here. However, I feel like it was resolved and I continue to pray that the teachers we work with would understand we are for them, yet we will still hold them accountable to do excellent work.

Thank you for praying for us. Stress has been higher than normal lately, and we really appreciate your commitment to pray that we would receive the wisdom, patience, grace, and joy we need on a daily basis!

Backpack Blessings!

Last week, the children of New Life Homes returned to school after their 7-week summer vacation. As a teacher, the beginning of the school year involves long hours spent at school preparing, but also involves excitement and anticipation. For young students, there’s also a great deal of excitement, which was confirmed by daily visitors peeking through windows to monitor the progress of school preparations.

The children at New Life Homes also had something extra to be excited about this year—new backpacks! While home in the US, University Covenant Church organized a backpack drive and was able to provide each of the 42 children with a new backpack filled with school supplies. 

A few days before school started, we gathered together and gave the children their new bags. They were so excited! Not only were the bags “cool” (boys) and “beautiful” (girls) they were also much better quality than the backpacks we can find here in Swaziland. They marveled at the contents, which were completely above and beyond what they anticipated receiving.

A few days later I was at one of the houses watching a movie with the kids. One of the boys, KK, was sitting on the sofa with his bag in his lap with his arms around it—for the whole movie! What a perfect illustration for what a precious gift these bags were! 

The gift also communicated an even more important truth to the children—you are loved. People around the world, who have never even met you, care for you and love you just because you are a child of God. Now THAT is a generous gift! On behalf of the kids, we share a sincere thank you for this special gift.

Please continue to pray for our school as we proceed as a private organization. The Ministry of Education has been neither cooperative nor communicative. We are praying to keep our government-assigned Siswati teacher for the year. Tommy and Peter are also adjusting to their increased involvement in the classroom. Despite some of the challenges, we feel much affirmation that we are doing the right thing for the long-term sustainability of the school. We do value your prayers in this area!

Keeping Young Minds Busy

Our greatest goal is to see the children at New Life Children’s Homes come to know and love Jesus Christ personally.

Secondly, we desire to prepare the children here for a brighter future. We place a huge emphasis on education, which extends from New Life Primary School to individual tutoring sessions, a robust library, and learning practical skills on the farm. We are in the middle of a countrywide 3-week long school break. We know from experience that kids tend to get into more trouble when they are less busy, so we try to provide ample opportunities for the kids to stay busy. This week, we hosted a daily science camp.

The goal of the camp was to enrich their school-based science experiences with hands-on experimental learning. All the New Life Homes missionaries pitched in to teach students about simple machines and weather. Mandi organized the daily activities and curriculum, while Tommy taught sessions on agricultural machinery and the water cycle (one of his favorite topics). We had 22 children attend each day, including a few from the community. 

 

The kids provided some feedback at the end of the workshops.

“Was it too long?”

“NO!”

“Was it fun?”

“YES!”

Several students made specific comments, but I think 12-year old Mnelisi said it perfectly:

“We kept our minds busy all week!”

Wanted: A Few Good Teachers

A new school year has begun! Our small school, located on the farm, provides education for all of our preschool and elementary-aged students and approximately 35 children from the community. This year I will continue to teach a third and fourth grade combination class. Let me introduce my students.

I am really enjoying my class this year. The fourth graders are an exceptionally gifted group, and the third graders are eager to learn. The students enjoy coming to school and are enthusiastic about most subjects.

Four days into the new term I received disappointing news. The young woman who had served as my classroom helper last year, Zanande, would be transferred by the government to school in a different community. I had spent a substantial amount of time and energy training Zanande last year. Our hope was that Zanande would be my replacement when our term here is complete. This was a significant setback.

The past two weeks have also been disappointing in another way. The vision for the school has always been for missionary and Swazis teachers to work side-by-side. The educational culture in Swaziland (generally speaking) is not excellent. Teachers may show up five minutes before school starts and they leave five minutes after. Sometimes they don’t show up at all. At some schools students are beaten regularly for minor infractions, such as not completing an assignment quickly enough or having their shirt untucked. Teachers aren’t committed to pushing their students. They teach the government issued textbooks, period.

Currently we have one missionary (me) teaching at the school with four Swazis. Two of these teachers are not credentialed. Our head teacher (principal) is also a Swazi. Since the school year started several weeks ago, I’ve noticed a big change in the attitudes of our teachers. I’m wondering if we’ve lost enough critical mass (two missionary teachers and Peace Corps volunteer are no longer teaching) that the culture of the school has shifted. The commitment to excellence seems to be fading. It has been a very discouraging few weeks.

Please pray for New Life Primary School. We need guidance and direction. We need wisdom to know when to push and when to let go. We also need help. 

Are you an experienced teacher that would be willing to join us in Swaziland? We need you.

Please pray that God would send the reinforcements we need to provide a quality education to the children at New Life Primary School.

Swazi Math

I thought you might enjoy a sample of Swazi math. It's certainly practical, but makes us go "huh?" sometimes (or in this case "ugh!").