Kayonza: Day 2 in the classrooms

Funny story first:

Janet, my roommate on the trip, told me that as soon as my silky red eye mask went on last night and I laid down, I was passed out and snoring breathing heavily. This is not the first report I've gotten from people I've traveled with. This is just what happens when I'm exhausted. :)

busy day + lesson planning = lists

• Watched a Senior 6 math class which is differential equations (12th grade)
• Watched a Senior 2 English class. They talked about idioms. (8th grade) "Killing a buffalo" in Rwanda is the same as "kick the bucket" in the US. I'm going to make "killing a buffalo" happen.
• I saw Cyusa today!! I talked about him here from last trip.
• I'm teaching vectors tomorrow (should be a great blog, but we'll see how it goes)
• Hanging with 6 other great teachers has been encouraging, challenging, and affirming
• Gave my testimony to the group tonight. The diabetes part makes me cry EVERY TIME with good reason, I suppose. Kinda over crying in front of people.
• We shopped some more.
• I had a hot shower this morning. It's the little things.
• I love our team.
• Judith, the guest house manager, is feeling better. Yvonne, the missions coordinator, is not. It's cold/flu season here.
• Three of us are teaching tomorrow...prayers please. We are trying to show them the excitement learning can bring. It's not all about repetition and copying notes.
• Heartburn is a little better, and I'm glad I'm not nauseous. Brightside.
• Taking a walk in Rwanda is almost as exhausting as running. Need. More. Oxygen.
• This is the third World Cup in a row that I have been out of the country. Other countries actually care, which makes it way more fun.

Thank you for bearing with my random, tired person thoughts from the day. XOXO

First Day in the Classroom

Random facts that no one will care about:

1. Spandex shorts are awesome. #lifesaver
2. I am learning to love showers that drastically change temperature every 10 seconds.
3. I love shopping and bargaining in the market.
4. My cankles are mostly bad to normal. 
5. African lunch was on point, except for it being entirely made up of carbs. This diabetic doesn't really care. 
6. Dinner was enchiladas. Also on point.

Random facts that you might care about:

1. I've had heartburn for 2 days, and I've had it maybe two other times in my life for about an hour. The devil is at work...please pray for my body to heal.
2. Kids are the same everywhere.
3. Education issues in Rwanda are quite similar to the United States.

Now for today:

We got to tour the school in Kayonza, where I saw some of the teachers I met 3 months ago. Our tour guide and the Headmaster is John Africa. Coolest. Name. Ever. for someone who lives in Africa. I also learned some new information about the school. New Life Christian Academy has been the number one school in RWANDA based on test scores. This school is also made up of primarily sponsored children, and many of them are orphans. That is very cool that the Lord is using this school in such an amazing way. They will also be graduating their first senior class at the end of the current school year. 

We were all able to observe some classrooms fairly close to our subject and level. I saw a Secondary 2 math class, which is the same age as 8th grade math, and a Primary 5 classroom, which is the same as 5th grade. One thing I noticed today was that the primary and secondary classrooms are very different. Primary had lots of activities and group work where the kids were talking to each other, and the students in secondary classrooms were falling asleep, bored, and not engaging their brains in anything that was happening. We have two more days in Kayonza to work with the teachers and help them to learn from other great teachers in their school. Sounds like I haven't left Northbrook...

It made me think about my own classroom and how it needs to change for next year. It is humbling to sit at the back of a room and know that I have done exactly what this teacher is doing, and I got a similar response. Challenge accepted for next year to be better than last year. 

Some really great things that I saw in their classrooms were vocabulary and understanding (those that were paying attention). Tons of mathematics vocabulary that my kids struggle with were understood without any problems. They could solve equations and knew what they were supposed to be doing. They could answer in complete sentences and knew what the units meant in each situation. They were willing to struggle through certain problems. Many of those things my children cannot do despite the demand for it in my classroom. Also, the Primary class thanked the teacher at the end. Don't have a clue what that's like. 

Lauren also had her home visit today. So fun. David is precious, and it is exciting to be a part of changing a family's life.

As usual, you can check out the other posts from the trip here.

A Day for Planning

Lots going on today, and we are all a little tired/jet-lagged, but ready to get in classrooms with some great teachers.

We started the morning at New Life Bible Church, where Rogers chatted with us about evangelism in Rwanda (and anywhere really). We learned/were reminded that building relationships that share the love of Christ is ultimately the best way to evangelize. Revivals and expecting people to come to church no longer works in Rwanda and in the United States. He challenged us to intentionally pursue relationships with the purpose of loving them as Christ loves them and to share how Christ has changed your life.

Later in the morning, we spoke with Johnson, who is the new HR manager for Africa New Life. He has been working closely with Wes and the headmasters at the three schools to plan our time here. We were all feeling a little less on edge after hearing a more in depth plan for the next few days. The rest of this week will be spent at New Life Christian Academy in Kayonza, the very first ANLM school. This weekend, we will be assisting with the spiritual and leadership conference in Kigali with all of the ANLM teachers. Next week, we will spend 2 days in Bugesera and 2 days in Kageyo. Our time in the schools will be spent helping teachers move their teaching from memorization to applying and thinking critically. It's going to be great. We are all really excited (nervous too!).

We spent some time planning as a team after lunch. We decided that we wanted to get a small gift for the teachers coming to the conference. We thought having a notebook and pen would be beneficial for all the teachers as they learn new things. We also decided to make them a sheet with Bloom's questioning to help them plan lessons that move the kids past memorization. We've been really conscious about buying things in country and trying to encourage activities that don't require a lot of materials. They don't have materials, so giving them lots of activities where they need paper, markers, sticky notes, crayons, etc. just won't be helpful or used. It's been really challenging retraining my thinking about a classroom.

Next, we got to visit the daycare (second time for me). Love seeing the precious babies that are being cared for while their mommas attend beauty school or sewing classes. We also learned that these women are preparing them for school better than most other daycare programs. I love seeing how the Lord is transforming Rwanda.

Janet had her home visit in Kigali today, too. She sponsors both the sister and the brother in the same family. She came last year, so this was the second time she's gotten to see them. Blaise, the little boy, loves praying. His older sister, Sandrine, loves school and will be moving on to secondary (7th grade) next year, if she does well on her national exams. Child sponsorship is the bomb, people. Also, pray for their sweet momma who has been suffering with typhoid since December.

We shopped for some supplies in the crazy busy market downtown. It is a little overwhelming having people, cars, buses, and moto-taxis all over the place. While downtown, Lauren and Wes decided we needed to get some ice cream. I decided, like a good diabetic, to get some delicious sugary treat. My numbers are fine...don't freak out.

Fun things from the day:

1. We played Bananagrams before lunch. I am really good at spelling 3 letter words.
2. The ice cream/coffee place had some amazing signs about how we cannot live without coffee. Sent them to my roommate. 
3. We found a shop with soccer jerseys...I might have to get one to add to my collection. Bonus: World Cup year
4. Chatting about missions and teaching with the team has been fantastic. Lots of challenging things in my walk with the Lord and my school life and how those things mesh together.
5. I ran in Rwanda (The Land of A Thousand Hills) where there is no oxygen. I am still alive and I feel pretty good about some exercise.

Love to you all! XOXO

Check out the other posts here. Feel free to share my stories (click the links below).

It's a Small World After All

Today was great!

We went to church this morning at New Life Bible Church and sang some old and new songs about God's holiness. Definitely struck me how we don't treat him with the fear, respect, and reverence he deserves. Good reminders. 

Lunch at Heaven, which was the same place we went last time. Still delicious! I did some more shopping at the gift shop. Hi. My name is Connie, and I'm a shopaholic. At least I can admit it. 

While we were at Heaven, Jean-Pierre, the brother of a man who attends Grace Bible Church, met us there. He is from the Congo, and he and his brother, Emmanuel, have been separated since 2006 because of strife in their country. They didn't know if the other was alive or dead and had no way of ever knowing. Emmanuel is now in the US and Jean-Pierre is in Rwanda. Enter: Facebook. (Facebook changes lives people.) Last year, some mutual friends thought they saw a photo with Emmanuel and told Jean-Pierre about it. After some messaging, the brothers were reconnected. We brought a laptop, some English tutoring books, and some clothes to Jean-Pierre that his brother had sent from the states. So fun to see the Lord's plan unfolding in front of us. 

We went back to the Kigali Genocide Memorial, which was still tough, but helpful in clarifying some of the history that I had forgotten. The graves had flowers laid on them from family members. I also had more time to look around the gardens outside that I wasn't able to appreciate last time since I was so overwhelmed.

We went to the money exchange, which is cool because they have these money counting machines. Technology...

When we came back to the guest house, my friend Kelly from high school came over. I know what you're thinking...a friend from HIGH SCHOOL is in RWANDA?! Yes, yes she is. We weren't able to work it out last time I was here to meet up, but this time we had some more time to plan. That was pretty cool too. 

Dinner. That's always amazing...I am going to come back as big as a house. Pastor Fred came over to eat with us. (He's the pastor of New Life Bible Church.) Having some fellowship time with him was really fun and I love listening to him talk and answer our questions.

Today, we had lots of teacher conversation. There's 2 of us from each level, 4 different states, and all different teaching styles. I have already learned so much and shared so much. It's only been a day. God is teaching us all great things. It's going to be an amazing 2 weeks. 

Also, technology is awesome...

Let me know what you think of the trip so far in the comments! If you missed any posts, there's a Rwanda tab at the top. Hugs!

The 24 Hours of Travel

We've made it to Rwanda! It feels like home. <3

Now that I have traveled for 24+ hours in a row three times now, I feel like a pro.

This is how it’s done:

• Red satin eye mask
• Bright orange earplugs
• Hot pink neck pillow
• Hot pink slippers
• Neon pink jacket
• Stolen blanket from the first flight

I’m a sight for sure. Don’t care. I slept GREAT!  :)

All the flights were fine. No glitches, delays, or cancelations. Thank you Jesus!

Interesting things from the day:

• The Lego Movie is awesome.
• The sweet little French man flight attendant on plane 2 called trash “rubbish”.  That was amazing.
• I made a friend with a 10 year-old boy who had a Darth Vader t-shirt on.
• There’s a strike going on in Brussels with the catering company for the airlines. We were worried we might not get our VERY important “pick-me-up” ice cream on plane 3. We did…no worries.
• I only had 1 pat down today. (although she was thorough…fun times)
• John and Yvonne from trip 1 picked us up from the airport. It was like being reunited with family!

People I’m doing life with for the next 2 weeks:

Wes: Wes is the missions pastor at my church and the official leader of the trip. He has been to Rwanda a couple more times than I have and pretty much travels all the time. He taught 7^th grade math and was a Teach for America teacher for two years. He likes to leave us to get good wifi in the united premier club. He’s “working”. I’m kidding. He’s great!

Janet: I sat next to Janet on plane 2. She’s from Idaho. Her travel time is 36 hours. (not jeal jeal) She teaches Government and 9^th grade social studies, Common Core.  In a matter of hours, we had discussed some of the lowest points in our lives and how the Lord overcame them and used it to make us love Him even more. Cool stuff people. Can’t wait to spend two weeks with her!

Lauren: Lauren and I were Biology partners and we did a project together in World Geography our freshmen year of high school. We also agreed to take a stand against evolution on our test in Biology. Now, Lauren teaches 4^th grade in Katy.

Jessica: Jessica teaches 3^rd grade in my district, a mile down the road, so she and I definitely understand each other’s struggles in the classroom. She just finished her first year of teaching, and she’s going to be the bomb on our trip.

Zach: Zach is from Portland, is married with 3 kids, and teaches middle school social studies. This is the longest time he’s spent away from his kids, and they wrote him sweet notes. 

Emily: We just met up with her in Brussels and immediately got on the plane. She’s from Chicago, and she teaches 8th grade special education.

So now you can be praying for each of us by name…not just me.

New prayer requests now that we are all together:

We are all feeling a little uneasy because we don’t know what situations we are walking into. Will it be one-on-one with teachers? Will it be each of us alone with a group of teachers? Will we be teaching a lesson? We’re just uneasy, feeling inadequate, and fearing the unknown. Pray for the Lord to calm our fears. Seriously, we have no reason to be afraid, but we’re human.

Love you guys! XOXO