I have made it back to Africa! This month T-squad is working with El Shaddai orphanage. So far our ministry has been awesome and varied. We have done a good bit of manual labor: painting, digging trash pits, cleaning a school, and filling potholes with gravel.
I have focused most of my time with teaching. I have a 5th grade class of 8 students that I teach everyday for 30 minutes. We focus on reading and writing. The education system in Swaziland is not very good and a lot of children aren’t really taught how to read. Many teachers just tell them to open their books and start reading while they sit on the Internet. Beatings also take place on a daily basis when the children do anything wrong. The 5th grade children I am teaching read and write on a 3rd grade level.
Another cool thing that we have been able to do this month is be partnered up with a specific orphan. My girl is 9 years old and has lived at El Shaddai since she was a baby. Since she has been at El Shaddai so long she doesn't remember much about her biological family. She has a sweet spirit and is typically shy. I am going to be sad to leave her at the end of the month.
It has been fun living at an orphanage during Christmas time. We have been able to do lots of Christmas activities with the children. I think that because we are fully embracing Christmas and trying to do lots of activities with the children it has made being away from home easier than I thought it would be. It would be hard if we tried to pretend that Christmas wasn't happening.
I love and miss you all!
Merry Christmas from Swaziland!
I only have $752.00 left to raise until I am fully funded! Thanks for all of your support!
