Kitale Forest PE Day!

Today was PE day again at Kitale Forest Primary...Last week was one of the best days Ive ever had so I was really excited to go back.



Last week they put class 5 & 7 together, for a total of around 130-140 students, which was just WAY too much, so they gave me another class, for a total of 4 PE classes...



This week we did some physical fitness classes, consisting of how may sit-ups and press-ups the students could do in 1 minute...They've never done anything like it before so it was kind of difficult to explain.
Joseph was working hard


I was surprised for how strong they look, hardly any of them could complete a minute of press-ups, as they call them, or sit-ups...
Jonah


My helpers, the baby class


We also had relay races, the 100-meter dash...A girl won the whole thing


Thank god for this teacher, she was able to translate and help the students understand


The teachers room, so much like an American teacher's room, talking about the students, gossiping about personal stuff...the usual


For lunch I went to house 2 with Steward and Joseph. I thought it was going to be a long walk, but they know a short cut so it wasn't bad at all...It was actually a nice walk...


It was just the 3 of us because the class7 boys stay at school to eat and Stew and Jose' are the only ones in class 6... It was great though because we talked the entire time about so many things. Oddly enough the American economy, money, school, a bunch of things..


The boys are so smart and curious, we always love having conversation with them, its as if they don't have a filter when they ask questions




After lunch, I went to sit in with class 6 on their Swahili lesson and when they were done they wanted to ask a bunch of questions so for about 45 minutes I answered questions about our economy(which I is not so great right now), where we keep our "mad" people (A.K.A. insane), our weather, marriage, abortion, and so much more...they really are inquisitive buggers...But, i have to say i love it because it pushes me and I think there is nothing more important than knowledge, so if these kids want to learn, I want to help...

Another Thursday

Today was thursday, so that means 2 things...
1.) It's pool day!
2.) Great picture opportunities...
So here you go

Ester felt she needed to wash Elia, look at his hair...hes so close to having a fro!



Gail pitched a fit about getting into the water...


Until she decided she loved it, what a baby


Al & Moses


Im sorry but he's the cutest little man, such a poser




Morgan & Moses


Jaci is so tiny she's really cold quickly and has to bundle up, can you believe she's 3 and still that small?


Bet you didn't know we get to do this on our way to work...




Tomorrow is PE at Kitale Forest, so I'm super amped. I bought a bunch of sports equipment to use for their class.
Then on Monday we're going to Lodwar and Kakuma up in the Turkana region of Kenya to visit some IDP (Internally Displaced Persons) camps with Ben from Gilgol. Im really excited for this trip, but I know its going to be a challenging experience. The people in these camps are refugees from Kenya, Sudan, Ethiopia, Somalia, and even the DRC(Democratic Republic of Congo)
We'll be up there for a week, so you might not hear from us, but we'll definitely have some stories to tell from that...Goodnight!

Gilgol

This afternoon was my 2nd class at Gilgol High School. It's supposed to be Geography but somehow it has turned into a Geology class. I wasn't as nervous today, but Im still getting used to it
Photo Credit Allison



After my class we had a great discussion time. They asked about all kinds of things including Kenyan Economics and politics and we actually got onto the subject of AIDS/HIV...
I talk about this everyday with one of my jobs back home and it was so surreal to be standing in a classroom in the middle of Kenya talking and listening to a discussion about this same subject, but it's actually affecting THESE people.

After that it was time for Chris to teach PE...






I taught some of the kids how to catch and throw a baseball...I was surprised by how none of them knew how to...Again, another assumption on my part









Newton reading his newspaper


I just love Clinton, he is the sweetest kid. He is one of the orphans that lives with Ben & Christine, who run Gilgol.


This is Caleb, Allison and Chris love to torture this kid,but in their defense, he makes it waaayy to fun not to...



Tomorrow is Pool Day!

Yesterday

Yesterday was church and again some of the boys borrowed my camera and this is what I found afterward...Its actually one of my favorite things now because they've actually become pretty good photographers....

Timo holding Geoffrey and his wife Olivia's baby Charlotte


Heres Martin entertaining her...



After church was study time at the coffee shop for some of the Oasis boys who have exams coming up.

Justuce and Evans


Moses on the way to the coffee shop


Martin & Johnstone working hard...



Since Im no good at anything other than elementary math, Allison tutored the class 6 & 7 boys and I focused on times tables with Evans



Allison was so proud, they did so well. We're still waiting on the results...

This morning we did more interviews with the kids from Oasis that are enrolled in school to update their progress. I love getting to conduct and be a part of the interviews because we get to know the kids better, but sometimes Im not prepared for what Im actually going to hear from them... There were some incredible stories this morning that broke my heart to think of these amazing kids having to go through. A couple of girls I interviewed couldn't even talk about their past it upset them too much. They didn't even want to think about what their life used to be like.

Unfortunately, I had to leave early to go teach my first Geography class. I was glad to go because I really enjoy the high school, Gilgol, but I hated having to leave in the middle of the interviews...


Today was the day for my first high school geography class, that actually ended up turning into a Geology class...I can't say that I was all that confident in my ability to teach Geology since I hadn't studied it since I was in 8th grade...

Some of the students from Gilgol...


This is Ben & Christine who run the school...They and their ministry are truely amazing


This is Silas and I think he's just great



Christine loved taking this picture, she said its like "opposites with the whitest standing next to the blackest!" Hahaha



Some of the members of the Gilgol High School soccer team...