Flood 2.0

As a school and as a mission, we never wanted to relive this story again.  2012 was enough.  God had spared us in amazing ways.  He had helped us rebuild and come back to our compounds with safer walls that would protect us from the river's threat during rainy season. We were thankful that we could look back and recount all the ways that God had been faithful but had it been our choice that would have been a book we never reopened after the last chapter had been read.

But that is not the story that is being written. Instead we have had a very heavy season of rain and our team of guys watching the river kept seeing the water level go up and up, passing the level that caused the 2012 flood and going up.  They sandbagged. The dyke held. The water level went down and then back up. Our section of the dyke held.  But downriver from us water began pouring in filling the areas behind our walls, walls where a threat had not been anticipated in the past.

Sunday evening we sat on the steps of our Admin building trying to decide the best course of action.  We would give it one more night and reevaluate in the morning.  By 8 am on Monday morning the road to Sahel Academy was impassable by small vehicles and we were starting to enact our evacuation plan, going through the school and putting everything up waist high or more.  I worked together with our elementary team.

At 2:26, I took a moment to look out the window from the second story of our elementary building.  This is what I saw.

I could see all that water being held back by our wall and I could see houses in the distance where it looked as though the water was half way up the doors.  Honestly, it felt like it was only a matter of time, especially when we began to see water leaking through several of the seams.  We continued to work.

Around 4:15, the elementary principal came running around the building shouting that the wall had broken.  There were three of us in the same area and we hopped in one of our colleagues cars and we tore out of that area to one of the higher points on campus.  I didn't want her car to be under water.  I ran by the house of a family in quarantine to yell at them and tell them the wall had broken and then I ran towards my classroom where I had left my phone plugged in to charge. I grabbed it and my water bottle and waited for the principal who had run back to the area as well.  While I waited I watched the water pour in where the wall had broken.  This was not a story that we wanted to be ours and yet here we were again.  

When it was all said and done, we waded out to the front entrance in water that was up to our chests.  It is the first and the last time I hope to be taking a selfie in the Niger river!

I lay in bed Tuesday morning with a barely functioning brain.  Too tired to even open my Bible, God brought the words of 1 Peter 2:23 to mind.  I add a little more here for context:  "For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps. He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth. When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly."  As you can well imagine there are just SO MANY questions.  In the face of those questions, I have the challenge of walking the same road that my Saviour walked, one of continuing to entrust myself, my colleagues, this ministry and our mission to the Father.  He is sovereign and He knows what He wants to accomplish in this that will bring glory to His name.

Here are some things He has already done:

• In those last hours, He sent some strong young men who helped us move alot of things to our second floor where they are dry and safe.
• Just minutes before the wall broke, several men were standing in front of it inspecting the leaks.  When it broke, no one was there.
• He held back the water until the last bit of chemicals in our science lab were carefully stored upstairs.
• He gave one of our guys the foresight to turn off the electricity to the whole campus so that when water began pouring in we had one less thing to worry about.
• He sent some men in through the wall who stuck with us and helped us put up a bunch of last minute things in the elementary, computer lab and some colleagues' houses that hadn't had time to prepare.
• Passports, wallets and lost pets have been recovered.
• He has given us joy and laughter even in the midst of tears.

He is good and worthy of our praise.

School was to have started on September 1.  We are in the midst of trying to recover as much as possible from homes and the school and we need time to regroup and make decisions about the future.  We covet your prayers for wise decision making, for health and safety for those wading into the water and for God's provision of new homes and school buildings.  For several colleagues, this is the second time they have been through this.  Many of our leaders, including our SIM Niger Director, treasurer and the Sahel Academy Director and their families were all living on these compounds.  This means they are dealing with this loss and having to make important decisions about ministries simultaneously. Many of our Nigerien colleagues' homes are being threatened or have already been lost.  Please pray that all will know and experience the loving care of the Father. 

Make Plans to Immigrate

First Grade recently began a study of Mexico.  One afternoon this past week we were talking about the symbols in the Mexican flag and what they mean.  Then our conversation expanded to the flags of each of my students' countries and the meaning of the symbols on them.  When I got to my Indian student, he described the orange, white, and green bands on the flag quite well.  Then he declared, "And it has a wheel in the middle!" 

Of course, I asked what the meaning of the wheel was just to find out the extent of his knowledge.  "The wheel is there so the Canadians will come!" he said with great excitement.  "Oh really???"  I think to myself.  "Yes," he said, "And they will speak Canadian!" 

I'm not going to lie, I laughed out loud then.  "O__," I said, "Canadians speak English."

"No, they speak Canadian,"  O___ insisted.

"O___," I said,  "I am Canadian.  Canadians speak English." 

There you have it, if you happen to be in the Canadian portion of my reading audience and you have felt a sudden desire to immigrate to India, you must be responding to the call of the wheel.  Make plans to immigrate now.  But before you go brush up on your Canadian, eh!

Learning the Books of the Bible

Part of the First Grade memory program at Sahel is to learn the first five books of the Bible.  For such big words, music is always the way to go.  I stumbled across this song and thought I would try it out this year mostly because I love the simple truth that is communicated between all the big names:

The Books of the Bible, 

Time tested and reliable.

Scripture has a power that's undeniable.

The Books of the Bible,

their wisdom's verifiable.

Scripture has a power that's undeniable.

Here's what it's supposed to sound like:

It has absolutely been a hit in the classroom.  So much so that if I would, they would have me play it over and over again.  When I stop playing it well they just keep on singing it themselves.  The evidence is all here.

So obviously, we haven't quite mastered all the names.  In fact, at one point they were singing about the book of  "Eccludiastes".  And of course, there are times when you get lost in all those big names so why not start all over again when that happens!  Don't worry if you never make it to the end!

Love that they are learning important truths about God's word through song!

Jumping Up to High School - The Visible Effects of this Transient Life

 

It was January 2012, I took a picture of my then second graders jumping off the sidewalk.  Then just because it was such a fun picture, I immortalized them in black and white as my blog header. 

In 2015 those second graders graduated from fifth grade and moved up to Middle School.  So just for fun I took another picture, same location, same order.  It was amazing that in such a transient community the core group of this class was pretty much the same.  Three years later and the picture looks much different.

In May of 2018 my friend Anne organized the graduating Eighth Graders for a jump shot in the exact same order.  You can see the group was significantly reduced in number.  Of the group of 9 moving on to middle school, only five remained for the shot.  Four of the students had returned to their home countries - two permanently and two for home assignment with their families.  So in reality out of that core class of 10 that I taught in Second Grade 7 students remain which I would say is still pretty incredible!  Not to mention that they have actually been joined by quite a few more students. 

And here they all are!  The Eighth Grade has adopted a Nigerien cultural practice of dressing up in a uniform to celebrate their graduation.  Nigeriens often do this for special occasions such as wedding celebrations or simply to show their identity as belonging to a certain group. 

One thing that hasn't changed - they are still a great bunch of kids!

My Grandmother and the Chocolate Pie

Since I have no teaching stories to share this year, I thought it would be fun to share a gem of a story that we ran across while reading some letters to my Grandmother, who was a teacher in a one room schoolhouse in West Virginia.  This story came in the form of a letter from one of her students.

Dear May,

In this world of growing up and going to school I am sure everyone has memories to treasure.  Some are fond and some not so fond.  Some are funny and others not so funny.  I have one that hinges between funny and disastrous. 

This little bit of memorabilia happened at High Rock School on Kesner Mountain.  I, being a growing boy and having an appetite like a horse, became hungry well before lunch time.  Knowing there was a fresh slice of chocolate pie in the top drawer of my lunch pail temptation got the best of me and I proceeded to remove it in preparation of an early snack.

No sooner had I secured it from my pail then I noticed my school teacher, namely May Kesner, proceeding my way.  In desperation, I put the slice of pie on the top of the school bench behind me.  By that time May had arrived and proceeded to park her backside smack dab on top of my pie. 
Needless to say, my slice of chocolate pie had become squashed and glued to the backside of her skirt.  After a few kind words to me stating that I had been a bit noisy, she walked back up front to her desk.  As she made her way back to her desk the chocolate pie was depositing itself on the floor in spatters.  Everyone in school was bursting a the seams with laughter - except May and I, who was scared half to death.  After our teacher asking numerous students what was so funny and receiving no answer, she finally gave us all two minutes to laugh at the end of which time total silence was demanded.  We didn't waste a second of it! 

Well, May, if you can forgive me for messing up your skirt, I can stand the loss of a delicious slice of chocolate pie.

From your friend,
Norman

Last Day of School

It doesn't matter what country you live in the last days of school are always filled with incredibly meaningful activities such as:

 

Seeing how many people you can fit on the same chair

Until everyone falls down in a big heap

 

Making silly faces

 

 

And making them with your teacher too!

 

One for the Language Learners

I had a moment of panic last night which has now become the motivation for this post.  You see, one of my students last year drew an amazing picture at the end of the year, full of detail and humour and I thought I had downloaded it and so I deleted it off my camera. But then I couldn't find it anywhere on my computer.  Thankfully, my external hard drive saved the day and I can share this gem with the world. 

My students were reflecting on how God had helped them in the past year and this is what this little guy had to say.

Note the towering stack of paper, the rubbish bin full of scrunched up attempts and the one about to hit the trash.  Clearly it was hard work learning to write in Korean! 

This little guy is Italian.  He came into my classroom with no English at all.  He had already begun to learn French so I could communicate with him through that.  I have to say I have never seen a student learn a language like this guy did. 

Flat Stanley Visits from Franklin, NC

May 25, 2017

Dear Ella and Friends,

My trip across the ocean took SOOOO long and then there was all that time to get sorted in the mail but I’m happy to say that I arrived in the mailbox of Miss Botheras here in Niger just yesterday.  You might be wondering where Niger is?  It is right in the middle of West Africa above Nigeria.  One thing is for sure…I should not have worn a long sleeve shirt because it is hot here!  At 7:30 am it was already 96 degrees Fahrenheit inside.

Miss Botheras is a First Grade teacher at a school for missionary kids here in Niger.  Her students come from all over the world like Korea, Italy, Kenya, Brazil, Nigeria and the United States.  I hung out with them on the playground and I thought you might like to see some of the things that her students like to do for fun.

Miss Botheras forgot to feed me anything for breakfast so my first stop was to hang out with some third graders who were cooking in their kitchen.  They were making spinach.  Not what I prefer to eat for breakfast but since I was hungry…I ate some!  

I was feeling super strong after all that spinach so I decided to go for a race with some first grade boys.

On your mark! Get set!      

         

Go!

After that it was on to the monkey bars,

slide

and parallel bars.

Hey!  Have you ever heard of an antlion?  What are you picturing right now?  A dangerous ant with a furry mane?  That’s not what an antlion is.  Antlions are insects that live all over the Sahel Academy campus. The kids showed me how to hunt one down.  First you have to find a hole like this: 

This hole is actually a trap that an antlion has set for ants.  They wait for an ant to fall in and then they eat them.  So if you want to find an antlion you have to flick a little bit of dirt into the hole to see if there’s an antlion waiting at the bottom.  If he is waiting down there he will think an ant has fallen in and he will kick sand up, hoping to cause the ant to slip even further into his trap.  Once you know he’s down there you quickly put your hand over the hole and grab the sand.  Then you sift the sand away to see if you have caught an antlion.  This is what an antlion actually looks like…

He walks backward and he is very ticklish to hold!

Well it’s been a full day and I have to get this letter off to you because I know school is just about over for you.  I sure do hope this letter gets there before summer break starts!

                                                              
All the way from Africa,

Flat Stanley

                     

The Blessing of Being One Among Many

Two weeks ago in our Bible class we were reflecting on the blessings that God has given us.  One little boy in my class drew a picture of our school - the sports court, Hope Hall, our playground platforms and even our brand new building with its detailed staircase.

 

It was in the middle of drawing those detailed stairs that I stopped to ask him about his picture.  He told me about the first day he came to school to be tested for Kindergarten and how he cried because he was so afraid.  How well I remember that day!  He was terrified and cried incessantly. The teachers were afraid that he might run away at any moment. "But now," he said, "I'm not scared any more.  I feel safe!"  What a sweet blessing to hear these words and to know that Sahel Academy is a safe place for learning and growing!

 

But what happens when our students have to leave? 

 

It was last year at this same time that I found out one of my students was leaving.  He had struggled emotionally and behaviourally all year.  I had worked with him diligently on some of those really difficult behaviours and seen some huge changes in him. But he was still struggling and needed a closer connection to his father.  His mother decided to return to the U.S.  It was a wise decision but I remember being so saddened because I knew that he was leaving a place where he was seeing and hearing about Jesus and he so desperately needed the healing that only Jesus can bring.  I had no guarantee that he was going to a place where he would continue to hear that good news. 

 

One year later and I just had another student leave.  Her father was transferred to Senegal. They have known since before Christmas that this move was coming.  Just after finding out, her mother came to me and asked me if I knew of any schools like Sahel Academy in Senegal.  What a joy it was to be able to recommend Dakar Academy, a Christian school serving the international community in Dakar! 

 

 

So on her last day at school we put her in the middle of a big group hug, prayed for her and joyfully sent her on her way, confident that she is going to a place where she will continue to hear the truth of God's love for her.

 

I'm so thankful that Sahel Academy is just one of many Christian schools serving the international community around the world.  It is truly a blessing to know that when our students leave here, God can take them to other schools where the good work He has begun in their lives here can continue there!

 

Would you consider praying each day this February for Sahel Academy and other international Christian schools like it?  These schools play a critical role in the building of God's kingdom in the hearts of their students and in the countries in which the schools reside.  We need God's provision.

 

 

For a link to Sahel Academy's specific staffing needs click here.  One of those needs is someone who will cover for me while I am away on home assignment next year.  Thanks for praying for teachers!

When the Magic Happens

There comes a point in every First Grade classroom when the magic happens!  The magic of reading that is.  This year and more specifically, the last couple of weeks, I have been tangibly seeing it happen in a way that I don't think I've ever seen before.  It just kind of feels like we're all taking off together whereas usually it's a more individual thing as each reader gets it and starts zooming ahead.

Everyone has been engrossed during independent reading time.

But the thing that I love and that has been putting a smile on my face is the story time that this one table has initiated when we are packing up to go home.  Everyone has been taking turns reading their little book to the whole table.

I can't even begin to tell you how sweet it was to hear the lowest reader in my class, the one who has been struggling to sound words out and having his tongue get all twisted, read to his little buddies and to see them all sit and listen and then clap for him as they had done for all their reading friends.  That, my friends, put the cherry on the top of my week!

The Faithfulness of God in the Empty Hallway

Just about two weeks ago, I stood in front of a bulletin board I was decorating thinking about the mountain of work that needed to be done around the school before we would be ready to welcome our students back.  This hallway was a particular concern as it was full from one end to the other of furniture, cupboards, appliances, chairs and who knows what else that had to be moved out of Hope Hall in order for retiling to happen in that building over the summer.  I can't install a kitchen or move a refrigerator on my own and even if I could have, the other building wasn't ready yet.  But I can stress and pine for things I don't have! 

So there I stood thinking about how nice it used to be in public school when the janitors/facilities people just came along and took care of the junk that inevitably fills the hallway in the days leading up to the start of school.  "God,"  I thought, " why can't I be teaching in a school that has one of those amazing people to help move the mountain of stuff and get us ready?"  Almost immediately I felt the Holy Spirit speaking to me, "That would be nice, Beth, but then you would miss the opportunity to trust God to help move the mountain even though it looks humanly impossible."

Convicted, I committed it to prayer seeking to trust God when what I really wanted to do was worry...especially when it was the day before students were arriving and the hallway was still filled! In 13 years of teaching I have never once begun the first day of school with junk in the hallways.  My 14th year is no different except that this year, I see the faithfulness of God in the empty hallway.  He brought the right people along at the right time to do what was needed.  And somehow, little by little, the mountain of stuff made its way back to its rightful home.  He is faithful!

Please do pray with us that God would call someone to the ministry of caring for the Sahel Academy campus.  We want to be faithful with the facilities that God has given us and we need someone who is skilled and knowledgeable to help us keep our campus safe and functioning so that we can better serve our students and their families.

How to Make a New Friend

Tomorrow is the first day back to school for us here at Sahel Academy.  Back to school always means that there are many new friends to be made.  What better time to get some advice from a Second Grader about how to best go about making a new friend!  So with out further ado, I give you a short "How To" on making a new friend.

1.  First you say hi.  Then shake hands.
2.  I think you should play with your friend if you want to know him better.
3.  Then your friend will have to leave.  But don't be sad.  He or she will come back tomorrow!
4.  Then you can play with your friend after you to to sleep.

5.  Later at school in recess, I recommend you play soccer with him.
6.  You can teach your friend how to spell April, Saturday, January, May, backstroke.  (All words from the Second Grade Spelling book...too funny!)
7.  And that's how you make a new friend.  The end.

There you go, my friends, get out there and play some soccer and spell some words.  Today is a day for making new friends!  And by the way, if you happen to meet and make friends with Xopop be sure you tell him he's got quite the cool name!

Happy First Day of School!

Love is in the Air

Just a month or so ago, Miss Schmidt and I were reviewing our weekly Bible Verse.  It just so happened that the week's verse was Matthew 4:19, "Come follow me," Jesus said, "And I will make you fishers of men." We were discussing the context a little bit and Miss Schmidt then posed the question to our First and Second Graders, "Am I the one that's going to teach you how to fish for men?"  Of course, we all had a good laugh at the silliness of that, knowing full well that it was Jesus talking.  One little First Grade Girl piped up and said, "Yeah, Miss Schmidt's going to teach us how to catch boys!" Since then I've been telling Miss Schmidt she will have to write a little book entitled, "How to Catch Boys."

In January, that little First Grade Girl might have needed such a book but the month of February has been a good one for her.  The marriage proposals have been pouring in, the little boys lining up for the privilege of writing their name beside hers and then today, the first love letter arrived. (All names have been blotted out to protect the innocents.)

My favorite part of this letter has to be the pregnant pause before the "BIG" declaration..."You are the prettyiest girl in class."  I'm equally amused by the last sentence, "and did you know I love you better (than) best friend's name?"  Let me just tell you that these two best friends are tighter than tight so that's a big declaration!

Well, there you have it.  It's February and love is in the air!  We'll try to keep the dating to a minimum though.  After all, it is only First and Second Grade!

What's a Little Bug Between Friends?

 

About a month and a half ago, I found this big bug going into a restaurant.  He was deader than a doornail so I decided to pick him up, wrap him in a tissue and put him in one of the little compartments between my car seats.  I planned on showing him to my students when we talked about insects.  We have yet to talk about insects so there he sits all wrapped up in his tissue - at least that's the way it was until this morning...

He happens to be sharing a compartment with my school gate pass.  This morning my friend, Bev and I drove up to the school gate.  Someone was in front of me and someone behind me.  I reached down to grab my pink gate pass and couldn't find it.  Feeling pressured because of the car behind me I began searching a little bit more frantically.  I grabbed the tissue for some reason, thinking to search every possible place the card could have gone. I unwrapped it quickly having completely forgotten what was inside. 

When I saw the bug I freaked out (just a little bit) and yelled, "What is that?"  Being the thoughtful, nice friend that I am I then proceeded to throw the bug away from me and onto Bev's side of the car.  As you can imagine, I wasn't the only one freaking out any more.  Bev yelled louder than me, "What is that???" and started dancing in her seat.  By this time it had registered with me that it was just my dead bug and I was laughing hysterically.  I don't think Bev had the benefit of that knowledge...

However, she is still speaking to me so I say, "What's a little bug between friends?"

Some things to be noted:
1.  This kind of experience will get your blood pumping in the morning.
2.  This might have been the best laugh I have had in a long time!
3.  Bev's crazy eyes are pretty CRAZY!

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year

It's the most wonderful time of the year...Report Card Time!  Did I just say that?  I'm kidding really but I do enjoy report card time because it's when I discover these awesome little writing treasures in my student's writing folders.

First here are some of my little writers being very serious about the business of writing.

 

 

Now for the treasures!

The back story for this one is that one day my electrician (designated student to turn the lights on and off) went into our second classroom where he was to turn the lights on.  Sitting right below the light switch  was a big black spider.  He screeched and immediately went to the other side of the room where he turned on the lights.  Meanwhile, I killed the spider and teased him that one day he was going to have to be brave enough to kill spiders for his wife.  A day or so after this incident, we went into the room again and he crossed to the other side of the room to turn the lights on.  He didn't want anything to do with the scary spider light switch!  So after all of that I found this little gem in his writing folder. 

Telling it like it is, I would say!  I'm convinced there's a brave guy in there somewhere.

This second one just makes me laugh because of his plans for the terrible creature of which he writes...not to mention the way the incorrect spelling of "like" changes everything. :)

"Why I don't like cockroaches they are ugly."  And the little guy says, "Down the toilet!"

No argument here, little guy.  You've definitely got the right idea!

Sahel Academy Spirit Week 2015

Every year before the annual NUTS softball tournament here in Niamey, Sahel Academy celebrates spirit week.  We break out our nuttiest costumes and our most amazing cheers.  Here's a peek into 2015's Sahel Academy Spirit Week.

Monday was Sweets Day.  I loved this little guy's fruit salad and then there is the most refreshing sweet of all - Coca-Cola!

I thought the bottle opener was an awesome touch.

Tuesday was Fanatic Day so the kids all dressed to show what/who they cheer for.  Here's a picture of my whole class minus one student.

Wednesday was class theme day.  We chose to be Minions. I made myself into GRU and even had a bald head.  What!!!!


Better than that though was the Benji Minion pictured beside me in this photo.  His costume was awesome.  He had a bit of a hard time seeing through it which provided some very entertaining moments as he stumbled here and there and tipped from side to side.  It was great fun!

Before school started that morning, I could hear my students all the way down the sidewalk and into my classroom yelling, "Banana! Banana! Banana!"  You know you're in for it when....

And here's the whole bunch of Minions together.

Thursday was Futuristic Day.  For all you saggy pants haters out there - this one cracked me up!

Friday was Sahel Spirit Day and that, of course is when all the fun goes down.  For example, First Grade won an ice cream party for being the best dressed elementary class for class theme day.  They were over the moon excited!

Then there were the cheers/dances.  These guys had been practicing a dance choreographed by one of our seniors for over a month.

And this year the girl's kept the Sahel Academy Haka alive.  Go girls!  You were awesome!