Thursday, December 10, 2015

waiting and wondering....

"God moves in mysterious ways, His wonders to perform." So true - I always seem to be at a loss as to why God changes my travel plans without consulting me first. Of course if He consulted me first, His wonders probably wouldn't be as wonderful.

My Plan
Take a week to finish cleaning my house and classroom.  Drive down to Solwezi with Lina for a final road trip and time together. Fly down to Lusaka.

God's Plan
Allow Lina to get malaria so she is no longer able to drive me down. Arrange for a flight to be leaving Sakeji the next day with space on it and room at the Guest House in Lusaka.

Needless to say I didn't get all the work done that I had left to the last minute (serves me right) and got to spend very little time with Lina as she was too ill. Then I had to purchase the ticket for the new flight (why does it ALWAYS cost me extra!) and pay for 2 extra nights at the Guest House.

Normally I wouldn't be so upset about spending extra time in Lusaka but as I couldn't do much shopping (low cash and no space in bags) it made my time there rather boring! Thankfully some friends asked me to pick things up for them so I had some excuses for shopping! :) I also got a manicure and haircut to kill time, plus the price was right $24 for the whole deal!

Now I sit in the Lusaka airport departure lounge and wonder what to do with the last 2 hours of my time here in Zambia. It still hasn't fully kicked in that this is my last time. I'm sure that will hit me sometime after Christmas when I'm wondering what God has planned next for me.

I think I will post one more post once I am back in Canada. Maybe after Christmas. Then I'll shut this blog down.

Wednesday, December 2, 2015

Bitter-sweet

How do you sum up 6 years into one blog entry... I'm not sure I can. It had defiantly been an interesting adventure if nothing else. I'm not sure I fully knew what I was getting into when I first embarked on this journey; I'm not sure I would have followed God's command if I had!
I have taught 8 grades of kids in the 6 years I've been here at Sakeji and each group is so different and each student so unique and special. My first year here (2010) I decided to copy my JK teacher and put up footprints of each of my students. I've carried that on and now there's a path around 1/2 my classroom.





It's hard to believe that I've been an influence on so many lives in such a short time. I pray that I have been a good influence in their life and that they will remember some of the important things I have taught them in their time in my classroom. But mostly I pray that they will come to know Christ as their personal Saviour.
Today has been a hard day (and it's not over yet). There is much excitement about it being the last day, the kids are over the moon to see their parents (as it should be!) but it's also a day of goodbyes. Not just to me, but for the students who won't be returning next year. Some of them have been here for most of the school career and are moving on to high school - most likely another  boarding school, probably not a Christian one. They will have a whole lot of 'new and exciting' experiences to look forward to but they are also leaving behind their friends and 'family' at Sakeji. I usually skip breakfast on the last Thursday of the term, but I think I will make an exception this last time to say my final good-byes to the kids.