Tuesdays are from God

Tuesdays are a God given day.  Today, it rained for the first time.  Not a light sprinkle, but a nice African downpour.  It was beautiful.  From the soccer field, you could see the clouds move in slowly.  The temperature dropped drastically, a good 10 degrees.  The wind circled around, causing the sand to pick up in a spiral.  A light sprinkle arrived.  And then, out of nowhere, the heavens opened and it rained a glorious rain.  It was exactly what I needed to make this day even better.

Somehow, I managed to get out of my big funk from yesterday.  The learners were competing in their internal sports competition and I went to watch and help.  The little things move me so much here.  Literally move me to tears.  As my 18-20 year old boys competed in the 3000m run, I sat predicting the winner.  I chose one based on appearance.  Athletic legs, and an owner of actual running shoes.  He was a strong runner, no doubt, but the amazing thing is, he wasn’t the winner.  He came in second.  The winner was an underdog if you based it on image.  He’s tall and skinny, but instead of running attire, he had on his uniform pants, a cut-off shirt, and no shoes.  To see this happen really can’t be explained.  The emotions are overwhelming and I was literally tearing up as he finished his last lap.  These children are racing barefoot.  They are running in sand that others throw glass bottles onto.  They are fighting to show they are capable of winning too.  They are fighting for a place in this world, and I can only hope that they know there is one for them.

With all of that being said, the week is moving by pretty slowly.  I keep thinking it is Wednesday and that I am halfway finished with the week and will get to see my Oshana friends soon, but in reality, it is still Tuesday, and I still have 16 more periods to teach.  So far, the lectures are going well this week.  However, the homework assignments are a different story.  My learners have a hard time thinking for themselves and understanding directions.  They are not good at forming opinions on their own, or even thinking creatively.  They are stuck in this rut, which is far from their own fault.  I am trying to slow the pace of the classroom down though.  I am trying to encourage them to think differently, to not just use their brains when they think, but their whole body and their heart.  It is hard though.  I find myself frustrated, and wondering what I am doing wrong.  I am asked to explain words that honestly are so simple that they are hard to explain without using the actual word.  It is a learning process though, and if I only improve a handful of learners’ grades, I will be satisfied.

I received a text from my dad today, which started my day off beautifully.  It’s from Parkway: “We are all asked to do more than we can do.  Every hero or heroine of the Bible does more than he or she would have thought is possible to do.  Keep the faith!”