Greetings from Africa!

Hello again!

 Thank you all for reading this, and praying for me! There is so much to tell you, I'm not sure where to start. Maybe I'll work my way from bigger news to smaller news.

We are officially starting the school on Monday! 

Our session will begin at 8AM and end at 11AM. We will have between 35-45 students, depending on how many show up, and how many of the local teacher's children attend. We will open with songs, and greet them. Then we will take attendance and have a Bible (Ebaibul) lesson, taught by George, one of our translators, and the head teacher. We will start with Creation and work from there. Then we will split the children into inside groups for language and number instruction, and outside groups for physical education. After another group session for a story or health lesson, we will switch groups, so that the children (ngidwe) who were outside, can come in, and those who were inside can go out.

Another great thing, we are studying the book of Hebrews during Wednesday night Bible study, which is also what Pastor Shishko is preaching through back in Franklin Square. That's very exciting for me!

One of the many things I am grateful for is the fellowship that is here on the mission compound.

It is so good to be with family in Christ, no matter what continent we are on. We meet for lunch, are often invited over for dinner, gather for Bible study on two days, and for singing and worship many times! It is such a blessing to have such sweet fellowship.

Smaller, but still great, is that I have been sleeping well, and waking feeling rested, which I am very grateful for! The altitude and heat are still taking some adjustment time, which makes the cold showers feel refreshing, ususally, instead of chilly. By evening it is cooler and easier to sleep. Even during the day, my banda doesn't get much above 75 or so, which is quite comfortable.

I know I told you all that my new name is Nalem Anna, which several of the Karamojong I have met call me now, but today I found out that as a teacher, the students will call me Madame Nalem, which is exciting.

This blog post is getting a little bit rambly, but I also need to tell you that the bees have either died or moved on from their home under my container near my banda! I am very grateful not to have to worry about getting stung as often, because the first one really startled me!

It still strikes me as strange that I get to walk through Africa on a daily basis, learning new plants and animals! Today I held a baby chameleon that Erika pointed out on the side of the road. I took a picture, which I will try to upload sometime. I have a friendly gecko that lives in my banda, and eats any bugs that make it past my screen. I am learning what the birds sound like and look like; the one that sounds like a mourning dove looks like a pigeon, and the one that sounds like a park swing looks like a sparrow with a tail three times it's size!

That's all for now! If you can think of anything I didn't update you all on, or if you have any questions, let me know, either here or on Facebook.

I'll talk to you all soon,
In Christ,
Taryn