I'm turning into my mother.

It's started. The process of me slowly becoming like my mother has begun. A lot of you probably know that my mother is a teacher. If you ever forget you will quickly be reminded when you open in conversation with her. If you don't hear a story or something about her school in the first ten or even five minutes of conversation with her, you're talking too much. My family has endured stories told multiple times about her school. Mom, I love you, don't think this is mean. My mom loves her students and when she comes home, she just wants to relay the joy they bring her to everyone else.

This is the problem I have run into. I am now helping the English teacher and I am the Composition teacher of grades 6 and 7 at Ezulwini Catholic Primary school. I came home from my first day and the morphing began. All I could talk about was my students and the school. Suddenly my whole team, whether they liked it or not, was going to know every detail about my school. Then after about a solid 7 minutes of ranting, I paused and realized what I just done. Since that enlightening, I have been trying to make a conscious effort to reverse the process, but I think my efforts may be in vain.

But since this is my blog, you guys are going to hear about my new school, get over it. The school has been the biggest culture shock in Africa so far. For the first three days most of the students just sat in their classrooms while the teachers did who knows what in the lounge. We don't have a headmaster, we are expecting one any day now. The teacher I am working with explained that because not all the students have paid their fees they can't pass out the books and they can't teach yet. According to her, they will get cracking this upcoming week. I couldn't sit in the staff room doing nothing so I started to work with the kids.

The education system here is very, very different from the States. I was trying to help them with their multiplication and unless it was in a line, they way they've memorized it, they didn't know it. A lot of what they learn, including in writing, is imitation. They learn how to produce the end result, but they don't know why or the process of getting there.

Don't get me wrong, these kids are very bright and intelligent, they work hard and pick up on new things quickly. They are also a lot of fun, they love laughing at my pronunciation of their names. You try to remember 60 new names that you've never even heard before and the majority of them have a click or two. 

The teachers are nice as well, it's just a different teaching style that I am getting used to. They do however hit the kids with a stick here. They asked me if I thought I could hit a kid and I just said that it's a very different culture, trying to avoid answering. I really do love going to the school and God has opened a lot of doors to talk about Him in and out of class. The students still aren't used to having a white person around.  All the little kids play the game of who is brave enough to go and talk to the white lady. On Friday I went out and sat on the ground under a tree for lunch and all the students were staring and laughing at me and I couldn't figure it out. I mean being white isn't that funny. Then finally one of my students, who is also in the youth group, told me that I was sitting on the dirt and they don't sit on the dirt, they sit on the grass. They thought it was the weirdest thing in the world.

Besides teaching I'm continuing to work with the International Church. One of my teammates, JB and I run the junior high Sunday school and then my high school girls Bible Study starts tonight. We also help with youth group on Friday nights and the student ministry team. I'm starting to build some great relationships with the girls and am really excited for this semester.

This week has been slightly hard just with starting teaching and we've had busy nights, so I'm tired, but I wouldn't change anything. God is really challenging me to seek Him and just press in more and more every day. Oh by the way, it was a no on the Mozambique trip. It's actually good because we have more time to press into the kids here. I'll try to post more pictures as soon as I take them.  Thank you again for all your support and prayers. I hope everything is well at home! OH Congratulations Uncle Dale and my soon-to-be Aunt Donna!!!! 

Prayer Requests:

That God will continue to build and stretch our team as we grow as a family and do life together

For the kids and teachers at Ezulwini Catholic Primary school, that God will continue to open doors to minister to them and that they will just meet Him in a new way.

For the youth at the International Church, that God will help me build relationships and just pour into them. And also that God will lead their youth pastor, Pastor Raymond, in giving him direction and wisdom.

That God will continue to stretch me an challenge me as He is already doing.

Praise Him!

With love,

Chelsea