A trip to Uganda and The Nile

I recently returned 'home' from a visit to Uganda. I spent a few days in Kampala visiting a friend and seeing her new home and ministry. I enjoyed walking the streets of her area as locals would come out of their home to smile and wave welcoming the new mzungu (white person or literally white man who runs in circles-so glad I'm female). And, of course, we gathered a following of children and I claim that life can't get much better.

I also spent a day at The Sign of the Dove Church in Zana while they were having a revival and was blessed to spend some time with folks from The Sign of the Dove Church in Waukegan, IL! After experiencing enough excitement in Kampala we were off to Jinja, the source of the Nile and located on Lake Victoria. Water is a beautiful site and has always captured my attention and fear.....

I spent a day rafting the Nile with friends and someone said to me "You can now tell your children one day, 'your momma rafted the nile'" and Boy am I glad I'm alive to retell the story. :-) I believe I had done class 5's before but no where near the volume of water we delicately floated through. After flipping and being taken by rapids on the first class 5, I must have had this look of horror on my face, because the kiacker who came to my rescue kept asking me "what is your name", "is this your first time rafting", etc...and I'm pretty sure he wasn't trying to make new friends :-)

We survived a tsuanmi of a wave later in the journey and thoroughly enjoyed the scenery of the banks of the Nile. My favorite was the many people who come down to the Nile to bath, wash clothes, and watch us raft the rapids. Though, I enjoying being outside and thrive on adventure, there was more about this trip that impacted me than surviving the Nile, obtaining a new stamp in my passport, and traveling across Kenya and Uganda.

Was it the man who sat next to me drinking his beer chatting about his volunteer work across Africa while we watched the sunset over the Nile? Was it the young boy at the border of Kenya and Uganda who was begging, but had no voice or power to change the situation he has found himself in? Was it the small girl who walked hand in hand with me on the streets of Bunimaya and could not stop smiling? Was it the boda-boda drivers who stuck by me at the bus station for safety purposes late at night while I waited for a taxi and chatted about Obama, morality, life in Africa, and families? OR was it the realization of who I was missing at what is becoming home and who I missing from what has always been home?

I am learning that I am a people person and find my heart easily attached to people I bump into. A verse came to mind as I pondered this on our 10 hour bus ride through the beautiful western country side of Kenya. I will end with this thought: Jesus said "Let the little children come to me" and we often think of precious little ones around the world, but Jesus was beckoning us all to come as His precious little ones to rest in His arms and to enjoy the beauty of His presence. May you find joy in coming to Jesus this Christmas season!

Second Grade Highlights

Happy Thanksgiving from Kenya! I must admit it felt odd to wake up in Kenya on Thanksgiving morning...I am missing all the familiar people and events (though not the smells) of Thanksgiving at home. Surprising enough I am missing the fresh feel of the cold air that is most likely blowing around Chicago these days.

Our term ended yesterday and though I love my students and greatly enjoy the ministry of loving students who are away from their parents, I am so excited to read, rest, find some fun, be still, make my home feel like home, and catch up on sleep. I have plans to be in Uganda to visit some friends and to raft the Nile...crocs and hippos here I come!

Spending much of my day with 2nd graders I hear and read funny words all the time. My favorites often times are the inventive spelling and the spontaneous laughter just because we are in 2nd grade. In my opinion one student has come up with a much better spelling of pneumonia (which I had to look up on dictionary.com) Her rendition - nomoniya...not bad. sment for cement. And one student asked how to spell intendent...I stewed for awhile, asked some leading questions and he responded "you know, super intendent"...oh, you mean Nintendo!

Aside from the "stop picking your nose" pep talk, I have also been asking for and encouraging better listeners, showing me that you are listening with eye contact and responses, etc... One little boy who likes to space might have finally gotten my point. He looked intensely at me and said "Miss Crockett, I'm listening" as he proceeded to walk backwards (so he could continue to look at me) to his desk with a smirk the whole time...he knew what he was doing.

School just wasn't designed for little boys. Being in Africa I have more freedom to take my class outside to do school and we do a lot of moving, but with 7 boys and 4 girls next term I'm thinking I will need to get real creative in my approach to learning :-) any ideas are more than welcome!

Baptisms and Boogers

I do hope no one is offended by the title. I was struggling to be creative until I realized what I wanted to write about and it created an alliteration. It must the teacher deep inside me coming out. Or, I'm well on my way to writing 3 point sermons or whatever they teach you in seminary.

Rift Valley Academy (RVA) had their baptism service a week ago. We do this outside and are gathered as a whole school. It was such a time of celebration of the work God is doing in our students hearts. The testimonies shared were evidence of God's faithful work in the hearts of those He has called His own.

We had Spiritual Emphasis Week about 6 weeks ago and witnessed a fresh work of the Lord in the hearts of students and staff alike. Even though, many of our students were raised as missionary kids much of their life they still have to sort through what is truth, they still stumble into sin, and God is still faithful to work redeeming works in their hearts. Praise God for the hope we have in Him!

As I watched baptisms, I looked around and saw numerous kids high in trees during the service. We climb trees here a lot and have almost no broken bones as a result, but I was reminded of the unique culture of missionary kids (my target ministry) as I watched tree climbers, listened to testimonies, and observed The church here that day. I am blessed!

And the boogers....I'm sure my kiddos have been picking their noses since before I got here, but I've noticed an increase of activity in this direction recently and needless to say I'd like to see the activity slow down. So, I've given a pep talk at least twice about spreading germs, washing hands, etc.... because I've gotten sick a few times - I like to blame it on the boogers.

Strategically included in this pep talk is direction to STOP picking your nose and eating and spreading your boogers! With that said, it seems to be perfectly normal in African culture to pick your nose, even while in the middle of a conversation and I'm wondering if this has some influence upon the excessive booger picking. No worries, though, I don't think I will catch the trend.

A scattered update

I have been faithful to try to connect to blogger to put an updated post, but not as patient to wait for it to work properly. We have just over 2 weeks left in our term before we break at American Thanksgiving and students don't return until early January. The push is on as the activity does not slow down and our bodies don't seem to regain much of anything.

Though, I continue to see God's grace pour forth in and through a bunch of imperfect people. One such moment that I am now referring to as a treasure of a gem, happened as I was humbled by a student and some mistakes I had made as a teacher and the way in which I had interacted with this specific student. Needless to say, the tearful conversation with my precious 2nd grader ended with hugs and forgiveness. My learning curve is high in 2nd grade!

After 3 weeks of limping, great pain and slight pain, and playing ultimate frisbee and running one day, the doctors reviewed my x-ray's and found 2 cracks in my bone. I have joined the ranks of people who can say they have broken a bone and am stuck in an incredibly gorgeous boot (basically a cast I can take off) for 3 weeks. If they really didn't want me running on the broken foot, they should have put me in a cast I couldn't un-velcro. I am being careful, but am excited to remove the restraint and run freely, hopefully pain free in a few weeks.

If you, by any chance, have access to a Chicago Bears football game from the last few years in which there was great excitement and a win for the Bears, send a copy to me! Thanksgiving without a football game will just not be the same. I did bring my football and will probably rope some friends into throwing it around, but most folks around here go for Rugby well over American football. American football is somewhat of a girlie sport when put up against Rugby. Who would have thought?

Laryngitis and Lessons Learned

I went to bed Monday night with slight scratchiness in my voice and woke Tuesday morning sounding more like a man than I would ever wish for. Wednesday morning I woke with no voice which makes teaching...well creative or complicated depending on you look at it.

I had just taught my kids the alphabet in sign language this week so that came in handy. I did a lot of pointing, extreme facial expressions, and waiting patiently. Through friends and subs second grade continues learning this week. :-)

I don't actually think I have laryngitis...it was suggested to me and I looked it up on the internet. Basically it's a hoarse voice caused by virus or yelling. My big symptoms are fatigue and lack of working vocal cords - presumably not from yelling.

I knew I would have many new experiences in a foreign country, but didn't think my body falling apart would play such a huge role. Someone said to me "You're not even 50 yet. What's going on?!!"

Heavenly Perspective: This body will fail and break and cause problems here, but one day God will restore my body to the perfection He intended in His presence. What a day that will be! And as I walk still with slight pain in my foot still and am unable to fully express myself with no voice I am reminded to pray for people who suffer physically to have eyes to see and ears to hear the love our Savior has for them.

Laughter is good medicine

I've found that I laugh a lot here. It might have something to do with being with kids much of the day and they can't help themselves but be entertaining for others. Allow me to share a few examples from everyday life.

A 2nd grade student of mine graciously brought me 4 M&M's during lunch recently. She plopped them on my table and took off for school. As I followed, she turned around and said "I only dropped 2 of them, but I dusted them off!"

I was trying to make a point of something in class and turned around as I said something (the specific details have escaped me) and a student proceeded to tell me with a smirk "Miss Crockett, you looked real cute just now when you did that" and everybody in 2nd grade graciously concurred with her.

What can I say, but that success in the classroom is when you have a bunch of 2nd grade admirers. I don't think it takes much to find that :-) I will try to post pictures soon.

Gimp vs. The Body of Christ

About a week ago I sprained my right foot better than I've ever had hurt a foot before. I spent the weekend prior participating in some hiking through fun terrain and yet while carrying a 4 year old piggy back through my yard I stepped in a hidden hole wrong and sent my foot and leg into extreme pain.

Went for x-ray's after 24 hours and found no fracture. The foot doesn't look that bad, but looks can be deceiving. Weight baring has been incredibly painful for me and I'm anxious to start running again. Gently walked a mile yesterday and am now paying the price. :-) Stubborn me....

Though this could potentially be a frustrating and discouraging event, I've decided it is a marking stone in my life. 1) With all my adventure seeking activities I've never actually hurt a foot this bad before BUT more importantly

2) I've experienced and seen the Body of Christ function as Christ intended it and been so blessed to experience God's grace through a bunch of imperfect people. I've learned to let people love and help me. I've had meals brought over, rides to school events that are actually a 45 second walk away, friends stopping by almost constantly, company at the hospital, and a package from the Lakeland's women's retreat - Thank you!!!

All a reminder to me of how God so preciously takes care of us and uniquely demonstrates His love to us in circumstances in our lives!

Here is newsletter #2 in case you couldn't open it. Though it doesn't look as cool, you are getting the information.

New beginnings of grace and love

I have given quite a bit of thought to newsletter #2 and now that I’m finally sitting here writing it is difficult to sum up 2 months as I’m sure it would be for you if you sent me an update.

I had humble beginnings here, as most people do. RVA has been incredibly stretched this year being short-staffed in many areas and having a large number of new staff. Many folks were filling in roles they are not trained for or prepared for and yet God has clearly led us forward.

I often found myself feeling inadequate for the tasks ahead. Our theme for the year is grace and I’m studying Romans in Bible Study with 4 couples which fits quite nicely with the theme of grace. With our staff being so stretched to fill roles and meet the needs of our students and ministries we have often found ourselves needing to offer extra grace and love to each other. I found myself thrown into a beautiful display of God’s grace working among imperfect people. Many times I have found myself cared for in ways I didn’t even know I needed. :-)

Rain is an integral part of life here. Rain causes crops to grow so people can eat, feed their cattle, and make profit. The rainy season didn’t produce as it should and left people hungry because their shamba (garden) wouldn’t grow. As we prayed and prayed, God sent quite a bit of rain in this last 2 weeks which is unusual timing. I’ve prayed that the people of Kenya would see God’s faithful provision. In the midst of the US economic issues I was reminded that we have nothing to worry about as God will answer our call before we cry to Him and He will care for us whether the need is rain, monetary resources, a hug, a friend, or a reminder that our God reigns. Love, Sarah

Life in second grade is great!

Some of you knew that I had planned to teach 4th grade and in fact headed to Kenya because the position I was initially being offered in the states was 1st or 2nd grade and I had my heart set on older kids. Well, the journey here was patiently led by God’s gracious hand as I learned to be obedient.

We probably have too much fun in 2nd grade! I have 10 students all of whom are pictured with me above. We have spent much time participating in activities in and out of the classroom to foster quite a unique community including tie-dying t-shirts, hiking, reading C.S. Lewis, singing songs, praying, and laughing a lot!

I think I have to attribute my enjoyment and ‘success’ thus far to the amazing group of kids I inherited. I might be learning more than they are, but I count it a treasure to spend each day with them.

Many times I will get a light knock on my door or see a small head peeping through the window. The uniqueness of our community here is that we live an arms reach from our students and often times I have kiddos sitting in my living room. Life doesn’t get much better! :-)

Quotable Kids

“I’m African-American!” - said by a student who is quite white. This shows very well how third culture kids think as they may be citizens of their parents home country, but are being raised in a foreign culture and often times create a culture unto themselves.

“Did you take your shirt off?” - said to me by a female student after I shared with my class about hiking with the 5th-6th grade boys dorm and the boys taking their shirts off to swim. Needless to say I lost it in laughter and had no idea what lesson I was attempting to teach.

“God, help us be patient, even when the computer doesn’t work” - prayed by a student. Our computers/internet are slower than shifting sand!

Girls just wanna have fun

Though life is busy with school and ministry responsibilities here at RVA we certainly find time for lots of fun! I have enjoyed playing many games of Settlers, hiking, hanging out in the dorms with high school girls, having students over for pancakes and cards, and of course getting my daily dose of chocolate!

At a 40th b-day party the other night we broke out the karaoke and I was privileged to do the twist with my students (it was much more of a full body twist). I have spent 2 days during this 5 day weekend on intense hikes. Along with 3 others I climbed to the highest waterfall of the famed Kijabe waterfalls and the men enjoyed the bush-whacking that took place to get to our destination. I just followed gathering scraps and bruises along the way. Yesterday I hiked the dormant volcano (Logonot-look it up online) across the valley from us. It’s quite a dusty climb and provided beautiful 360 views of the Rift Valley as we walked around the rim.

One of my favorite moments was in the midst of many days full of activity. A group of 7th grade girls had just left my house. We had made pancakes, played Dutch Blitz, and laughed until our abs hurt. My house was a complete mess, I had to leave in a few minutes, and I thought “an un-kept house is a lived life”!

On Sunday mornings I walk streets full of garbage, broken glass, and animal droppings holding the sticky hands of street children who gather to hear that Jesus loves them. Even after all the hiking I participate in the most beautiful sight in Kenya has been these precious children who come running to shake hands and greet me with huge smiles. I’m so grateful that the international language of smiles and physical touch speaks volumes more than my inability to speak Swahili.

Please be praying for:

· Stamina for the next 6 weeks of school and ministry

· Forming of many new relationships

· A heart at peace with where God has me and what He has me doing

· Safety in travel and with health

· Upcoming holiday season (this will be my first one away from family)

· God’s continued provision in monthly support

Everyday life in Kijabe, Kenya

I know there is a 'ginormous' black spider living underneath my stove, because I saw him. He moved much too fast for my feet to stomp and I was barefoot, so the likelyhood as me actually touching my bare skin to him was slim to none.

The name of the game out here is 'home-making'. Ok, not really, but everyone can cook and can cook really well. I've been fed so much since I got here, but probably shouldn't count on it forever. On the home-making scale, I'd rate low. Contrary to what some folks back home think I can not cook. I can bake, but one can only survive so long on baked sugary goods.

So, I guess my learning curve must increase as I try to learn to cook in Africa at 7,500 feet elevation. I must light my stove with a match (holding fire in my hand is not a favorite) So, when I finally braved up to light my stove to hard boil eggs and simultaneously get hot water to wash dishes (multi-tasking, the language of women) the match sparked back at me and just about lit my shirt on fire, so I'm not off to a good start making friends with my stove.

Making friends with people has been a joy and delight as I've tried to maximize in that area before school begins this Tuesday. There are many wonderful folks out here, particularly women who are a blessing to me as they set a beautiful example to me of living daily for their Savior as teachers, moms, wives, friends, cooks, secretaries, dorm moms, etc... What a treasure!

Off to bed to stock up on sleep before the craziness of school begins. I imagine most of you are in the chaos of a new school year whether you have children or not. The verses I camped on today were Isaiah 26:3-4 which were wisely shared with me as I embarked on this new phase of life.

You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you.
Trust in the LORD forever, for the LORD, the LORD, is the Rock eternal.

So long suburban Chicago-land…

Well, hello! Today has been the day of packing, last minute details, packing, goodbyes,and more packing!I’m taking a much needed break to write you and I’m excited to have you as part of my support team!

I fly out tomorrow (Saturday the 16th@ 5 pm) and in the midst of the chaos today I’ve begun learning (or relearning) an important lesson. I had grandiose plans of organization and put togetherness to enable myself to be able to hit the ground running. I’m currently feeling the weight of a to-do list mostly unchecked and a heart feeling inadequate for the tasks ahead.

And yet, my God is reigning and He is good and He is faithful! He has provided in many ways even before I began this journey to get myself to Kenya. He has taken care of the big and little details to show Himself powerful. And I know He will continue to do so, even as I step on that plane tomorrow night with a crumpled list of unfinished to-dos in the garbage and many unknowns just across the ocean my heart is at peace and trusting in the one who has redeemed me and given me joy to share with others!

It has been a delight to practice living Hebrews 10:23-25 with you. And I am so blessed to have had so many of you respond with timely encouragement,hugs, pray, support, laughs, and listening ears as I journeyed to Kenya! It is an honor to have you in my life!

I will arrive in Kenya late Sunday night and will embark on the adventures the Lord has prepared for me on the dusty roads of Africa.

Blessings to you all! I look forward to keeping in touch! Love, Sarah