Graduation and Farewells

Thursday, Sept. 25, 2014

We finished our last  pieces of teaching and asked our teachers to fill out an evaluation form on the course. They also wrote for us what they had learned in the NTT training of 2014. We decided to do this in class rather than give it as homework. If they took it home we would get all the key concepts etc right out of their binders. This way our teachers had to write in their own words what they had learned. We're looking forward to reading their comments-- it will give us a good indication of how much they were able to learn or understand. It also gives us an assessment of how well we taught:)

Our closing ceremony was supposed to start at 2 pm right after lunch-- that is-- 2pm our North American time:)-- Ethiopian time is whenever everyone eventually gets in-- people strolled in 30-45 min later--:) no one is bothered-- it is just what it is! We were finally told to just start so we did:)

Our teachers performed a wonderful dramatic reading and song on loving children-- they even had 3 different languages-- Amharic, Ugandan, and South Sudanese--  interspersed throughout the presentation. Ike composed his own song as a farewell to the teachers called, " Father help us teach" and Jake gave a few inspirational thoughts  on  our theme in Romans of "being transformed by the renewal of your mind-"-  Our CH co-ordinator, Mitiku, prepared a slide show of Jake's photos -- the background song was " Ten Thousand Reasons"-- we were almost in tears seeing the photos of our teachers--  busy in class, at the market, in worship at church, the hike they did with Jake, the meals we ate together--- they are family to us!

For refreshments we had the traditional coffee ceremony, popcorn, sodas, and a type of bread-- made in a very huge pan-- with the colours of the Ethiopian flag and the words written on it --We love you!  

We said our farewells tearfully and joyfully at the same time! We returned home to pack our bags--- needless to say-- we were tired--  but it was a good and thankful kind of tiredness!---

The traditional coffee ceremony with the Ethiopian coloured bread and popcorn.

Our driver, cook, housekeeper,  tea break lady and our classroom cleaner---- all wearing an Edu-Deo t-shirt.

Definitely one of the tallest ladies I know:)

NTT trainers 2014--Praise God for their hope, joy, and keenness to make education better in SS!

Wrapping Up with Wooden Triangles, Maps and Storybook Bibles

Our day started with Jake and Ike teaching more about integrated curriculum and observing model lesson plans by various teachers. We have four more lessons to observe and then every teacher will have done a model lesson for the group. The teachers also enjoyed the discussion on community building in the classroom. We're slowly wrapping up the loose ends and are getting ready for tomorrow's graduation ceremonies.

After tea break in the afternoon we handed out our Jesus Storybook Bibles to each teacher. The look on their faces was priceless! Then our laminated maps were distributed and again their faces showed such delight! We brought assorted items like playing cards, children's picture books, a knitted scarf from my Mom, crayons etc. ankle socks, stickers etc. Each teacher had a number and could choose 2 items. It felt like Christmas:)!

Jake introduced the wooden triangle with pegs as a challenge to the teachers to try to solve the puzzle of having only one peg left. He asked a woodworker at CH if each teacher could have one of their own. After the Bibles and the maps, each teacher was given his/her own to take home! We were so blessed that CH made them and they looked beautiful! Now the challenge will be for our teachers to find or make pegs-it will be interesting to see how ingenious they will be!

Taban joyfully displaying his world map.

You can see the wooden triangle in Lomude's hand.

Good news indeed!!!

Our prayer is that the Good News will bring hope and peace in South Sudan!

Continuing to Learn

We're continuing to grow, learn, develop, and inspire each other in our class presentations and discussions. Ike touched briefly on the whole idea of formative and summative assessment versus evaluation only based on one test at the end of a unit. Our teachers agreed that they will have to start in very small steps due to the huge class sizes!

We were spoiled at break time with mini chocolate donuts!!! We felt like we were at Tim's:) Sarah brought out a bag of mini mars bars after supper tonight and it was so--ooo good:) You become so thankful for such a small treat:)--Our cooks have been fabulous-- but everything is fried-- cabbage, potatoes, beets, rice patties, fish and chicken are breaded and then fried. The coffee is great-- and I drink it with lots of hot milk-- fresh from the cow:)

I'm doing Superspeed 1000 with our Ethiopian teacher.

The first page of The Big Story Booklet done by one of our teachers.

Rose came to class today in this beautiful dress-- don't you just love the headscarf too!

Full House

Jada playing Pictionary so his team can guess which through line he is illustrating.

Jake often talks to this group of kids on his walk home. They love having their picture taken.

We had a full house today at the CH centre. Judy was training pastors and lay church leaders in Sunday school curriculum. She had 65 trainees with her translator as an assistant.

It was fun at break time to mingle together with both groups. The only problem was the bathroom-- too many people and too few toilets :)-We were fortunate to be able to go back to the guest house at lunch time:)

Ike did some teaching on assessment and evaluation followed by a lively discussion on how many students failed in SS classes and why? The teaching of Math is a huge problem for our teachers. So many students do very poorly in Math and we discussed reasons why and possible solutions. I followed up with several dice games involving addition, multiplication etc. They loved doing the games-- I'll give them all my dice to take home but in classes of 100-150- you need a lot of dice:)

Jada taught us a new song " For whatever you do to the least of my children, you do it unto me"--our teachers asked to sing it several times. He tied it into his presentation of all of us being image reflectors of God. Very moving!

Lujohn did a model lesson on Domestic Animals-- incorporating the through lines and Christian worldview. We were impressed with his lesson plan and are looking forward to seeing other lessons.

I'm sitting at the kitchen table typing this in draft mode. We lost our internet at the house and the power just went out.  It is so touch and go here with the electricity. You never know when it will go out or for how long. We will probably be in bed even earlier than usual tonight:) -- which may not be a bad thing-- all of us have had a long day and a good night's sleep will be awesome!

Ethiopian Worship Service

Sunday-- a day of rest and worship and did we need it! It felt so good to have a leisurely morning breakfast because we didn't need to be ready till 10:15. Our teachers were picked up in their 14 seater van and we followed with Sarah, Judy, Jake, Mitiku and me. Ike stayed home to rest some more since he's been fighting a cold. We're so dependent on each other in our teaching team that we don't want to get sick and not do our part of our the day:) We covet your prayers for Ike to feel healthy and strong and for all of us to stay healthy and strong.

When we arrived at the church, the service was in full swing. They already had their first hour of prayers and now it was time for the worship team and choir to sing. That took at least an hour-- lots and lots of praise--all in Amharic. The children were called to the front for a blessing-- all 100 of them- and then they left for their Sunday school lesson. An offering was taken by the deacons-- all women 60 years and older.

This is the entrance to the church-- our SS teachers are walking on the rough stony pathway.

Judy presented her message with her translator, a former Muslim who converted to Christianity and is now a prominent leader in this church. Our SS teachers were following her every word in English and taking lots of notes. Just before the message, Jake started feeling oozy so he left to go to the back and get some air. I had flashbacks of him fainting in Juba so Mitiku went out with him to make sure he was OK. After some time he felt a lot better and while he was standing outside, the Sunday school teachers asked him to come into their classroom and help lead the lesson:) He taught the kids" My God is so Mighty-- My God is so big-- they caught on so quickly!

Sorry the quality is so poor--this little fellow sat with me for most of the service.

The service lasted over 2 hours but we were so glad to worship with God's people in Ethiopia, Africa-God can be praised in many many languages, cultures, and formats-- we felt the communion of saints--and the love of our brothers and sisters in the Lord.

The choir--lots of mikes and a good sound system ( very loud:)

Jake met this ' business man" on his walk home from church--literally a walking store:)

Sunday School Curriculum and Market Day

Lesson plans and Sunday School curriculum were given out today in class. We met from 9-12 and  Judy explained her lessons and development of her Children's Ministry curriculum-- a wonderful program in which she trains pastors and church leaders how to do ministry from ages 3 to adults. She does a lot with finger plays, music, drama, and personalization of the Bible stories. Our teachers loved it since many of them teach Bible classes at their local church or in the community as after school programs. Many elements of good teaching are the same for the classroom and the Sunday school class so her teaching dovetailed our training nicely.

After lunch, Jake, Sarah and I went for a walk to the river behind Michael's house. I'm always so amazed at how the donkeys can manoeuvre the narrow trails with huge loads on their backs! We found it very steep to go down--let alone go up again:) Today we didn't see any women washing their clothes in the water-- it did look like rain so maybe that was a deterrent. The scenery was so beautiful!

One of the beautiful sights at the river.

At 3pm we went to the market to do some shopping. I bought some Addis tea and a small coffee set ( and a KitKat chocolate bar:) Judy and Sarah bought gifts for their Compassion Child ( and chocolate bars too:)-- but the taste is not quite the same as in NA-- we probably have loads more sugar in ours:)

Jake just stood and watched all the people, animals, traffic, shoe shiners, coffee stalls, --you can't believe how much is going on anywhere on the streets let alone the market area!

At one of the little stalls jam-packed with goods!

One of the many interesting sighs that Jake saw at the market.

We look forward to a day of rest, worship, and fellowship tomorrow!

Creativity and Curriculum

We finished our week with a packed day full of content and creative activities. Ike led the teachers through some of their SS curriculum units and they worked on integrating their Christian worldview into the units that they taught. Jake did some teaching on intrinsic and extrinsic motivation for students. We had a great discussion/ debate on whether every child wants to learn--stories were shared from various teachers with examples from their classes.

We did a drama called VIC-- very important creatures and I had the teachers improvise props for the owl, lion, fox, hippo, bluebird etc--loads of fun and they did an amazing performance. Their story booklets were due today so we shared them in groups and a few presented their stories to the whole class. One advantage of sharing is that they learn from each other and receive a host of new ideas!

Our teachers were all interviewed by Sarah, a young journalist from Chicago who works for CH Global. She videotaped the class first and the teachers were delighted that she was filming them!

Sarah--our videographer-

The VIC drama

The booklets were lovely-- many different versions!

Jake taught the class in devotions the song "One Thousand Reasons". We played it on the computer to have accompaniment--and he also related how our six year old grandson sang this song to us in our car while on a trip. His elementary school had this song as their theme for the year so he knew it very well:) The teachers learned the song quickly!

Continuing to learn and grow.

The week is going by quickly and our teachers are continuing to shine in their studies and homework assignments. Every night they write in their journals a response to the Essential Question of the day as well as three things they learned in that day's class, two questions they had about the day and one thing that they enjoyed in their day. Two teachers are also responsible each day for devotions, which they take so seriously! Usually we get a lovely inspirational " sermon" :)

Tomorrow they have a mini-project due called the Big Story--I gave out coloured construction paper, title page covers, markers, glue etc. We're looking forward to their results which they will share in groups.

The temperatures are definitely cooler than last Sept and we've also had more rain this time too. It gets dark at 6:30 already and we are usually in bed by 8:30 :). We're up at 6:30 and start class at 8:30-- we end at 4:30 and get home close to 5-- wonder why we go to bed so early:)?

The car wash at CH global-- the van is tilted and water is poured right into it--

Jake with a fun challenge for the teachers to figure out( which my mom taught him:)

Another fun activity-- look at the teacher with the pink shirt:)

A typical scene on Jake's walk home-- the gutters are for the heavy rains

Elephant, Monkey, Palm tree

To break up the sessions of Ike and Jake's teaching, we often will do a tribes activity or an energizer.Our teachers love these and today was no exception. We stood in a circle and had to be an elephant, a monkey or a palm tree if the person who was it pointed to someone and called one of the three names. The person on either side of the teacher who was picked had to be part of the elephant, monkey or palm tree. The object was to get someone out who responded too slowly- it was hilarious to watch our group get so involved and animated!

Taban and I were supposed to be the monkey with Michael, but I messed up:)

We also did a "bingo" game using science definitions and again they loved the challenge of calling the word bingo first. It is so neat to use these varied activities because it expands their repertoire of the English language. We have seen much progress in their reading, speaking and writing of English.

Michael ( our CH Global representative) visited the class and officially welcomed the teachers. He told of some exciting news about increased aid for development of education in SS. There are several agencies ready to help SS make education a top priority.

I am wearing a SS shirt given to me by Jada .

Rose and Margaret wanted their picture taken with me.

Jake taught one of our teachers how to use his camera so he wanted to take a picture of us.

Day 4

Day 4 started with another beautiful devotion by Lomude, who teaches in Juba.  He based it on Mark 1:16-20- and said that God was calling each one of us--even though at times we weren't sure we wanted to follow his call. It was inspiring to say the least! I always look forward to our opening of class-- the enthusiastic singing and sincere wish to love the Lord is so uplifting.

We had wonderful discussions in class on building communities in our schools and learning to be servant workers in them. Our Ethiopian teacher related how there are over 80 different languages in Ethiopia and how hard it is for people to respect each other's language and customs-- especially if you are in a minority. 

I did another literacy activity called the ABC's of teaching. Each teacher was given a letter of the alphabet and they had to write a sentence beginning with that letter involving something about teaching. We had a few hilarious results. The teacher who had the letter V wrote: Ventilated and improved pit latrines need to be kept clean at school.:) The one who had X wrote: Xmas holidays may be coming but hard work still needs to be done:)

African hamburgers for supper-- couldn't believe our cook Sisay made them especially for us! She even made "fries" ! We have been so spoiled by Sisay-- she is trying to cook American food just for us--no Ethiopian dishes:)

There must have been a pound of beef in each burger:)

Notice the beautiful African print on the wall.

Ethiopian Humor or Wit

Monday, Sept.15,2014

I happened to find a book called,"The Chains of Heaven" ( an Ethiopian Romance) by Philip Marsden on one of Michael's bookshelves. ( We are staying at Michael's house--it's his home when he is here and is used as a CH Guest house too). It is a travel narrative of a young British man who explores northern Ethiopia by walking. Many interesting proverbs are scattered throughout the book. One proverb stated" Step by step the egg starts walking"--meaning that one should persist through very frustrating times and eventually one will get there! When the author told his Ethiopian friend that he wanted to walk from Addis to Aksum, the response was," Farenji ( foreigners) don't walk--only Ethiopians can walk"!

There are some buses here for public transport and they have numbers from 1-10. One of our Ch support staff asked me if I knew what the Ethiopian's favourite bus number was. I didn't know. The answer-- no. 11 of course--it is the "bus" of our two legs:)! It is so true-- most Ethiopians walk everywhere since often it is their only option!

Playing the Superspeed 1000!

We did some heavy duty work in class on Christian perspective and curriculum planning. To provide some "fun" literacy work as a diversion from the "intellectual material", I introduced a game called Superspeed 1000-- a list of 1000 basic sight words in English. It is played with a partner and each one reads as many words as you can for one minute. You try to beat your record each time-- the class loved it!!! It is so good for their own growth in their second language-- English.

Power outages are very frequent here. Our teachers had no lights from 6pm till 7am- on Sunday --- total darkness-- due to a massive blow-out at the CH guest house kitchen. A generator was brought in till the problem was fixed, but the generator only ran for a few hours. When they arrived in class this morning they announced-- sorry no homework done--no lights:)

A Worship Service and a Hike

Sunday, Sept.14, 2014

Rose-- wearing her traditional Ugandan dress-- so lovely!!

Lots of spirited singing!

We had a wonderful time of worship with our teachers at our training centre. The teachers were in charge of the liturgy and we had some awesome singing, prayers, and scripture readings. Ike brought a video of a sermon by Andy Stanley called, "Not in Vain" and the teachers understood his main points really well ( in spite of the fact that Andy spoke very rapidly:). We were so happy that the power stayed on till after he was finished.

Jake met 9 of the teachers at 2 pm for a hike to see the Rift Valley. Everyone agreed that it was so beautiful and our SS participants were amazed at the lush green vegetation, the rocky terrain, the river and its falls, and all the farming they were able to see along the way. They came home with muddy shoes but felt a renewed sense of the majesty of Creation and the Creator.

One of the beautiful falls seen on the hike.

The hikers with a few tag-a-longs from the village:)

Curriculum and Challenges

Saturday, Sept. 13, 2014

We hope to focus more on SS curriculum this session so Jake started the day with a discussion on what is curriculum, who should write it, how should it be put into units etc. Ike concentrated on looking at the SS syllabus with the teachers to see how the Christian worldview could be integrated into all the subject areas and not just in the CRE ( Christian Religious Education) section of the curriculum. Good discussions followed and lots of interesting questions were raised by the class.

Wani did our devotions today and we were so inspired!

 I was able to incorporate several literacy mini-lessons during our day, and helped to assign a visual aid project called The Big Story ( the Creation, the Fall,  Redemption started,  Redemption finished, and  Restoration or Renewal) using coloured papers, markers etc. We stressed using as many creative ideas as possible so we're looking forward to see their finished results next Friday.

One of our drivers who begged us to take his picture:)

Two new guests arrived at the CH guesthouse from Chicago, Illinois. We had a great time over dinner  finding out about their work in Ethiopia training Sunday School teachers. It is wonderful to know that there are so many people and organizations who are willing to come and help their brothers and sisters around the world.

Jake had a ride home in this cart-- said it was so much fun!

Friday,Sept.12,2014

We started our first day of the NTT training with an inspiring devotional by Ike on "hope" based on Isaiah 11. The teachers could really relate- their hopes for South Sudan as a peaceful and "prosperous to be" nation had been severely limited by the war in their country. The death of one our teachers also represented a big loss-- he was becoming a promising educational leader in SS schools and now they need to replace him. We spent several minutes talking and remembering this teacher and the class put together a lovely card of memories and collected funds from all of us to give to his children.

The teachers love all the handouts and materials!

We are so blessed to use this wonderful teaching facility again.

An evaluation of last year's training was discussed as well as the challenges our teachers face in implementing their training in their classrooms. Because of the war, the educational system has had very little money for new teachers let alone materials etc. Class sizes are even bigger than before due to the high influx of displaced and refugee people. Many classes have 100-160 students! It defies comprehension to be able to try to teach that many pupils ( as they call the students) let alone get to know their names!
We left for "home" with a feeling of hope despite the hardships and difficulties that our SS teachers face daily. They are so convinced that they are building for the future of their country through education. They want to do their job in the best way that they can with a Christian worldview and the best teaching practices.

Ethiopian New Year

Thursday, Sept.11


We were unable to start our classes on Thursday because it was a national holiday in Ethiopia. We celebrated the Ethiopian New Year with our teachers by having a lovely lunch at the CH guest house where all of our teachers are staying. The menu included Ethiopian dishes like Doro Wat, another spicy stew, injera, goat, lamb, rice, and a salad of tomatoes, oranges, and lettuce and of course lots of soda ( Coke, Sprite, etc)

Sisay and Mulu-- our cook and housekeeper-- preparing the traditional Ethiopian coffee ceremony

After lunch we were treated to a "concert" of young Ethiopian dancers dressed in traditional costume. Eight girls and eight boys wowed us with their movements, rhythm and passion. We also lit a huge fire in the courtyard--everyone dances and sings around the fire and then they go to various people to ask for blessings or money. Traditionally the fire is lit on New Year's Eve but we were so tired that CH decided to do the fire on the next day. Our South Sudanese teachers loved the festivities. Their Ethiopian hosts are treating them like royalty:)

The dancers were so awesome-- the boys even did some Michael Jackson "moves"-- didn't know that one could move so many body parts at once:)

Over half of the dancers live at CH Global in their orphanage.

The traditional New Year's fire--accompanied by lots of singing and dancing afterwards with requests for money and good wishes for the New Year.

Excited to start our course tomorrow at 8:45 sharp!

Joyous Reunion

We arrived in Addis after a long but good flight. We met many interesting fellow travellers  on board and were surprised at how many people were flying to Africa on all sorts of aid and development work. Thankfully the Ebola virus hasn't stopped everyone from coming here.

In Addis at last!

Wednesday, Sept.10


We immediately met our teachers at the CH Global Guest House. They were waiting for us to arrive and what a joyous reunion we had! Lots of African hugs ( 3 times each person:) and greetings. We wondered how they would look after all the war and hardship in South Sudan, but each and everyone was healthy and well-- thank God! Of course the stories of the war that followed were very sad especially for the people in the parts of the country that suffered the most fighting.

A TV crew from the Gideon organization interviewed and filmed the teachers about the war, and the tremendous need for Bibles in SS. The Gideons plan to bring 100,000 Bibles to the Sudanese people. Our teachers were so happy to hear that news.

Our teachers being interviewed-- they took it so seriously!

The TV crew and the Gideon's representative doing the interview.

Went to bed very very early :) to try to catch up on our lost night of sleep.