Friday's Photo Finish

Store Window New Orleans at night.

Wednesday's Walk Around Town

Traffic Jam & Politics

One of the main re-election strategies of the Kenyan government is to fix the roads.  In some places it just means grading the surface so it is smooth.  In other places it means repaving.  And in other places it means a total overhaul of the roadway.  Take Thika Road for example, it went from a 2 lane-dual carriage way to a 4 lane super highway. 

On a reconnoiter to see how long it would take me to get from my house to school next week, I discovered that the stretch of Langata Road that I will have to travel is now going through a complete overhaul and traffic in each direction is forced to travel in one lane.  The traffic problem is compounded by the stopping of matatus to pick up and drop off passengers in a one-lane road without any way for other motorists to pass.  I guess I have nothing to complain about since I will be one of those matatu passengers for the foreseeable future. 

Please continue to pray for peace in Kenya as we get closer to the election time, violence seems to just spring up around every corner.  Last week 50 people were killed over cattle issues in a rural area of Tana River, leaving 100 families without homes.  Politicians are doing what they do best....the blame game.

Monday's Musings

Mercy Were

Me with Mercy on Visiting Day.

Last year I put out the word that I was looking for sponsors for a young girl in Nairobi to attend secondary school.  Many of you responded and together were able to send Mercy to a private boarding secondary school near her mom's home.  The finances provided were able to cover the entire school year of 2012 (ending in November), uniforms and textbooks, and outfit for boarding school (trunk and personal items).  

Mercy's dorm room at school; bunks are three beds high with 20 beds in each dorm room!!!

She started her Form 2 (Sophomore) year of high school after missing the second half of her Form 1 (Freshman) year due to lack of funds; and has worked hard to catch up with her fellow pupils.  Currently, she is averaging a B- and is 14th in a class of 50 students.  Her best subjects are English, History, and Geography; while she is working hard to catch up a lost year in Business Studies.  Her teachers say that she is very disciplined and doesn't get into trouble, and that she is working very hard to improve in the subjects that she was weak in at the beginning of the year.  

Mercy (on left) with friends on Visiting Day.

We are now looking forward to Mercy's Form 3 (Junior) year, which is very important in Kenya.  It is when high school students begin focusing their studies towards the national exam at the end of Form 4.  This national exam will determine where a student goes to university or college.  Mercy's goal is to become a primary school teacher, and she will need to have a C+ or more on the national exam to be able to attend teacher's college.

Would you please consider sponsoring or re-sponsoring Mercy for her Form 3 year of school?  You can contact me by email to find out more details on how to help financially.  

Friday's Photo Finish

Another Bodie & Auntie

In  the process of moving and unpacking...will have a photo of the new place next week.

Thankful Thursday

Things I am thankful for this summer....

• God's grace and provision.
• The safe and healthy birth of my first nephew; Boaz Michael D. (Bodie)

• The family together for Allie's M.Arch graduation from Tulane.

• Not only getting summer job; but also getting a permanent job.
• Reconnecting with old friends.
• Air conditioning.
• The unconditional love of a dog.

Teacher Talk Tuesdays

Thinking about "The First Day".

Since I have no idea what my classroom is like...or if I even have my own classroom, planning for this day is turning out to be bit difficult.  I am a person who like to have a plan of action detailed out before whatever the event is, the plan has been revised, edited, adjusted for timing, and practiced a few times just to make sure it's seamless.  And I hate creating the plan at the last minute, rushing around, or having to make changes at the eleventh hour.  So you see my dilemma, sigh!

Of course we will have some class rules/guidelines; it doesn't matter if my classroom is under the baobab tree (which it is NOT), the rules will be the same.  There will be routines: routines to come in and get ready for class, routines for getting packed up to leave, routines for getting into lab groups, routines for fire drills, and some more that I still have to think about. (Any teachers reading this please feel free to add).  Those will be dependent on the classroom situation.  Then there is the learning stuff that should occur during that first week which should result in getting kids turned on and excited about science.  And I don't mean to hand out the textbooks during the first week, or even assign homework; there is the entire year for that boring stuff!  

I was recently reminded by one of my previous boss's of this important time to grab students' attention with the concept of "Discrepent Events."  This is an attention getting, thought-provoking approach to initiate inquiry, a thing that puzzles the observer, causing him or her to wonder why the event occurs as it did.  An example of a DE is something like the "AntiGravity Bucket".  Put some water in a bucket, swing the bucket around in a large upright circle.  We expect the water to fall out when the bucket is upside-down (the law of gravity must hold true), but the water does not.   WHY?  Inquiry!!!  So now, its just to figure out what DEs will I demo each day to the classes.  

TIME TO GET BUSY!  SO EXCITING!

Friday's Photo Finish

Presenting.........

Boaz Michael D. a/k/a Bo or Bodie; who has made me "Aunt Elisabeth".
Born on the 10th of August at 9:46pm, 6 lbs 12 oz, 20 inches. 

Wednesday's Walk Around Town

So what's been going on in Nairobi these days?

Well, major political moves going down with the presidential election coming up in March 2013.  Alliances are being made and then broken and new ones made; just typical Kenyan politics.  Two of the potential candidates have pending cases at the ICC for inciting violence in the last presidential elections in 2007.  If one becomes president how will that work out I wonder?  Also on the political front, MPs just opened a newly renovated Parliament, where each of the 350 chairs cost $3,000; you do the math.    Meanwhile the Kenyan people who have actually paid for the chairs can barely buy food for their families due to the rising cost of staples like rice and maize.
 

In a year-long drama, a probe into the conduct of the Deputy Chief Justice of the Kenyan Supreme Court has determined that she should be fired due to misconduct.  In the wake of small scale terror bombing, security at many public places has been stepped up.  The DCJ refused to have her bag checked, pinched the nose of the security guard, and threatened the guard with a pistol she pulled out of her car. Needless to say the DCJ is appealing the findings.  And so the drama continues.

On a more sober note, the Kenya Defense Force has, for the last year, been pushing the Somali terror group known as Al Shabab (who apparently have links to Al Qaida) away from the Kenyan boarder.  KDF has worked their way from the Kenya-Somali border to just before the port city of Kismayu; the Al Shabab stronghold.  As they continue to work with other African Union forces, Al Shabab has been creating havoc in refuge camps in Dadaab & Wajir and in the city of Nairobi by bombing public areas.  The sad thing is they have recruited discontented Kenyan youths to kill their fellow citizens.  Parliament is in the process of implementing an anti-terrorism bill into law.

Poaching of elephants are on the rise with orphaned baby elephants being reported daily to the elephant orphanage.  The increase in poaching coincide with the arrival of Chinese investment and the huge influx of Chinese in Kenya.  It is a common pattern in Africa; where Chinese investment go, poaching follows.  Additionally, lion killings are also on the rise; this is due to human-wildlife conflict over resources as human populations spread into previously untouched areas.  Perhaps someone should remind Parliament that the tourism sector is the backbone of the Kenyan economy.  I’m just sayin’!

What to pray for?  

• Against impunity and corruption in Kenyan government.
• A wise, godly man or woman to win the Kenyan presidency.
• The campaign against Al Shabab to be resolved swiftly.
• Justice done for the security guard who appeared to be too unimportant to matter.
• A fair and transparent presidential election.
• Safe roads, improved traffic laws and less corruption in the police force.
• Reduction in food prices and fuel prices.
• Peace in Kenya.

Monday Musings

Traveling Again

Getting ready to leave for Kenya this Wednesday.  I've got four suitcases each weighing 49.5  lbs, a carry-on suitcase weighing 30 lbs, and a backpack for my books and electronics.  Do I have enough stuff?  The joys of travel!!

So here's a list of things YOU can pray for me as I go:

• Safe travels, all luggage arrives in Nairobi with me and intact.
• No problems/inspections going through customs with 4 large suitcases.
• Moving day will go smoothly (18th August) and I settle in quickly.
• I get into a good quiet time routine and also find a small group Bible study in my new neighborhood.
• I will enjoy orientation at the new school (27th - 31st) and be comfortable with my new colleagues.
• I will be prepared, professional and unsmiling for the first day (4th Sept, I think) with the students.
• The wireless internet at the house will work.
• I have peace, go day-by-day, and trust the Lord.