New Accommodations

"Transitional Housing" for Bev and Marg.  These are rooms located at
Afex, a compound primarily for NGOs (non-profit).  Platform tents with
electricity 24/7 and running water.  Living large!

Bev and I have been caught up in a major cultural event here in South Sudan. Jacob's daughter, Agok, is getting married in December. This weekend/week is the cattle exchange. So Jacob and much of his family have traveled from Juba to Rumbek. The women arrived on Friday and spent the night at the house sleeping on mats on the floor. We aren't sure how many there were but there was much chatter! Apparently the women are expected to be present to support the bride but do not participate in the cattle negotiation. We understand from Agok that there are TWO men negotiating, a common practice which serves to increase the number of cattle exchanged, the excitement, and creates somewhat of a choice for the bride. Before a final decision is made Agok's parents will ask her if she has a preference. If we actually get to go to the cattle camp for the exchange we will take pictures and let you know how all of this works. We had planned to move from Jacob's home to the Catholic Compound (Pan Dor) but a room was not available. Then we considered a place called Canal. However, in the end we decided to stay at Afex, the place we go to nearly daily for internet. There are three levels of accommodations at Afex, most of them housing people who work for NGOs (non-profits). The high end are rooms made of blocks and bricks and includes a TV! The next two levels are tents on concrete platforms. We opted for the lowest level because of the prices. But we do have electricity 24/7, and running water including warm water at the shower head. The room has a fan and screens on the tent openings. We slept very well. We anticipate staying at Afex just three nights and then move to Pan Dor. We will be closer to the school (walking distance) and the rate is far less. Our director, Philip Nyumba, was at home in Kenya visiting with his wife and two children when he came down with malaria. He was very sick and it has greatly delayed his return. This has handicapped us in terms of connecting with other NGOs. Philip has been doing that for the past year so these are connections he already has and could help us with. We will do what we can until he comes and trust God will provide what is needed. Our understanding is that other established NGOs sometimes assist new NGOs. And we need all the assistance we can get! We have been able to change our return airline tickets. So we will leave Rumbek for Juba Nov. 9 and South Sudan Nov. 10 returning to the US Nov. 11 early morning. We have much to do before then. Pray for God to make a way, to open doors. When we get home we are availalbe to speak. Let us know if you would like us to speak at your church or group. Marg

Passing the Torch

Today was our last day of teaching. Monday the new teachers start. Two of them stopped by today to sign their contracts and get books and information. Speaking for myself (Marg), I have enjoyed teaching but am glad to turn it over as we transition into other work. Full time teachers here apparently teach just 10 classes a week. Bev and I have been teaching 25 which could explain our tiredness! The heat really makes a difference here, especially at our age. We may also change our living quarters this weekend. Jacob, who owns the house we are staying in, is coming this weekend. This means there will likely be several others coming with him. So we are hoping to go to the Catholic Compound. They are full but if Sister Maureen leaves tomorrow we can have her room. If not, we will see what other options are available. Life here is always unpredictable and interesting. Our director, Philip, has been late returning from vacation visiting his wife and children in Kenya and we have not been able to communicate with him for more than a week. We learned today that he had malaria, was hospitalized, and was unconscience. So we are very glad to know he is feeling better! He probably will not return until next week. It will take his body awhile to gain strength. Please keep us in your prayers as we meet with community leaders here. We are on some thin ice in terms of what all has to happen for this school to become a reality. Only God can make this happen! Marg

Passing the Torch

Today was our last day of teaching. Monday the new teachers start. Two of them stopped by today to sign their contracts and get books and information. Speaking for myself (Marg), I have enjoyed teaching but am glad to turn it over as we transition into other work. Full time teachers here apparently teach just 10 classes a week. Bev and I have been teaching 25 which could explain our tiredness! The heat really makes a difference here, especially at our age. We may also change our living quarters this weekend. Jacob, who owns the house we are staying in, is coming this weekend. This means there will likely be several others coming with him. So we are hoping to go to the Catholic Compound. They are full but if Sister Maureen leaves tomorrow we can have her room. If not, we will see what other options are available. Life here is always unpredictable and interesting. Our director, Philip, has been late returning from vacation visiting his wife and children in Kenya and we have not been able to communicate with him for more than a week. We learned today that he had malaria, was hospitalized, and was unconscience. So we are very glad to know he is feeling better! He probably will not return until next week. It will take his body awhile to gain strength. Please keep us in your prayers as we meet with community leaders here. We are on some thin ice in terms of what all has to happen for this school to become a reality. Only God can make this happen! Marg

Evolution of a School

We have taught for 3 weeks and already are in over our heads in terms of solar system, plant and animal cells, and more. Once division is conquered we will be stretching it in math. So it must be time to turn it over to the real teachers. Tomorrow we will meet with the "finalists" to schedule them to start teaching next week. We have found some of the best teachers in Rumbek. They know their subjects and have much experience teaching in this country. This will free Bev and me up to make some important contacts with other NGOs (non-profits) and government here. We have been told this could be valuable to us. Also, we have been here long enough that we have a reputation - a good one. Our students have told their friends about their school and new students come nearly everyday to register. (But we have closed registration so we can better teach the ones we started with.) And teachers keep coming with resumes because they have heard about our small classes, text books and quality plan. We are feeling very good about what God is doing through this project. Another "evolution" is taking place. The students are organizing, initiating some very positive endeavors. It started with volleyball (netball) tournaments. Then came the election of head boy/girl, secretary, committees, etc. Today they organized for debates, every Friday. They selected a topic and set up a process for two teams of 7 (for and against). This should be fascinating for us to experience! As part of their "reading-writing period" we divided them into groups of 3-5 and selected 7 health issues in South Sudan. Each group took a topic and they are in the process of reporting to the total class. Our plan was for 5 minute presentations but by the time they are done with all the questions and discussion it is more like 40 minutes so this "lesson plan" may take a little longer than planned! We give God thanks for you and your support through reading our blogs. Thanks for staying in touch.

Volleyball Break

This is a photo of the students playing volleyball during break.  They love it and are quite good. 

update and hunger

A new governor was appointed by the President so things are in transition including paychecks. The few that are working support whole extended families. This means that hunger is worse. One of the older women who stays in and around our compound asked us for help on Friday. She does not speak English so our driver translated for us. She is already nothing but skin and bones. It broke our heart. We could not find her yesterday but today on the way to church we saw her again so stopped and gave her 50 pounds (about $12.50). Hunger is just so prevelant here and people do not know from one day to the next if they will have food. It is true of the majority. Update. Bev and I believe this next week will be our last week of actually teaching everyday. We want to start the new teachers. They are really much better at teaching here than we are and we want to give our students every advantage. This will also allow the teachers time to organize the school, deciding on admission criteria, etc. And it will allow Bev and me time to make some contacts here in Rumbek with NGOs who may be able to help us, contractors, governement officials, and more. We have been talking to other volunteers and missionaries who have been working here for years. What we have been able to get done in just 6 weeks is a miracle. Some have been here for years and have been able to get very little done. Part of that is because we have not had to work much with government and also because our non-profit is so new and so small we have no beaurocracy. But mostly because God has made a way. There is still much to do but we are grateful for what God has already done.

Cattle Camp and Coming of Age

This is a photo of some of the young men and women at one of the
cattle camps.  The white in their hair and on their faces is from the
ash of the cow dung fire.  (Bev is on the left; Marg on right)

This is a party for a girl who had her first period - 

a great celebration here with much dancing!

Last night and today we had two new experiences that I wanted to share with you. Yesterday evening Justin, our driver, took us around to some cattle camps. It was fascinating! We saw them before the cows returned and as they were returning. There are little boys, elementary age, teen boys and girls, and a few adults who live and work on these cattle camps. Early in the morning the young boys untie each cow and then drive them all out to the bush where they graze all day. The water is also in the bush, mostly streams. The camp consists of shelters than can be moved when grass lands are consumed. The cow dung becomes critical in these camps. It is the fuel for their fires. Certain people spread the dung around to allow it to dry in the sun. Then it is gathered up in a pile and set on fire. The smell is almost sweet, not something I would expect. The teens then use the ash from these dung fires to color their hair and "paint" their faces and bodies - almost like war paint. The workers at the cattle camps dress different. It is more like what we might imagine shepherds would wear, long dresses or wraps, with a long walking stick (staff). They tend to be very independent and fearless. Some of the children at the camps are able to go to school but many do not either because they do not have time or because there is no school even within walking distance. They tend to be a bit bulkier than the people in town because they drink milk and eat beef. However, bulkier simply means they have shoulder and chest muscles. I have to say that standing and watching these hundreds of cattle walking into the camp, going to the stake they are always tied to, mooing, content...there was a sense of peace and comfort that comes from order and predictability. So while these cattle camps create some violence with cattle stealing, etc. and means many children do not receive an education, I could understand why people choose to be part of them. We took some great pictures and I will send one to Mary who will post it for us. They loved having their pictures taken. One girl kept posing like she was getting her senior photos done. She must have seen some magazines. There were so many cows. I would guess one camp had thousands of cattle - probably $1,000,000 worth of beef! However, in South Sudan it is all about the dowry, not feeding the masses. In between visits to cattle camps Justin took us to Freedom Square (big open space in the "heart" of Rumbek) to see traditional dancing. Ok, that was yesterday. This morning we got a call from Justin that the car was at the mechanic and could we ride a boda boda. We had to get to school and there was no way we could make it before all the students left if we tried to walk the 5 miles so I said, "Sure!" A boda boda (which means border to border) is a motor bike. Here the women always ride side saddle so Bev and I climbed on one of the two boda bodas and hung on for dear life. I was riding behind Bev. One big bump lifted her a couple inches off the seat! By the time we got to school we were so gripped to the bike (and me to the shoulder of the poor guy driving)that we struggeled to get off. A number of students were already there and laughed hard when we arrived. Ellen Cummings had encouraged us to ride a boda boda. Well, Ellen we did! Fortunately, the car was repaired by the time school was over. We were so dusty/dirty from the dirt roads, all of it sticking to our sweating faces and arms. Just another day in South Sudan! Marg

Assembly

This is a picture of our students at Assembly.  It is held every morning.  There is a devotion one of the students does, their appearance is inspected, announcements are made, and we sing the national anthem.

Some Personal Updates

Bev is feeling much better. She was able to go to school on Friday and give her tests. Saturday Uncle Jacob flew into Rumbek for a funeral. He has been staying with us, sharing water that Rebecca brings in for us, and the car and driver. Several others came with him so our routine has changed significantly with house guests. Actaully, it is hard to know who is the guest since this is one of his many homes. He is likely to return later in the month as his daughter is getting married. Funerals here are generally 3 days. They slaughtered 18 cows to feed everyone during that time. None came from his cattle camp but he purchased them. They like to keep their herd large for the dowry. He must have many sons and nephews! Jacob has a nephew wanting to marry so there was some negotiating about cattle. Jacob has a cattle farm about 20 miles from Rumbek. He traveled yesterday to see how he can help his brother. This nephew is the older brother of our driver, Justin. Justin and Rebecca have a little boy together, David, however, they are not allowed to get married until Justin's older brother gets married. So this engagement/arrangment of the older brother was good news for Justin and Rebecca. They are a wonderful couple, not arranged by parents but in love with each other. They live separately now until they are married because they understand that is what their faith requires. Saturday Bev and I had her birthday dinner at Palm Tree, pizza! That evening I walked to the market in town with Rebecca. It is about 2-3 miles each way. I bought a couple of things for Bev and two dresses for myself. I wore one of them Sunday morning to church - very smart! I wanted a dress to wear when I speak to groups about South Sudan and our school. Last evening Bev and I walked around our "county" or the area we live in. We got a bit turned around, no roads just paths, but we found our way back before it got dark! For those of you who do not know me, I have 4 brothers and 2 sisters. Most live in PA. My youngest brother, Andy, was diagnosed with cancer back in the spring. His prognosis was very poor. I knew there was a possibility that he could pass while I was here in Africa and made the decision then I would not return. Andy, died early Friday morning. His memorial service was Sunday afternoon in Clarion, PA. My husband and children were able to be there. Angelo Maker also went to "represent me." It has been difficult to not be there. When you are praying for us please include this loss and God's comfort. Marg

Comboni Day

Today is Comboni Day in Rumbek. He is the Catholic Saint who came to Sudan many years ago to build schools. The school in Rumbek is named for him. It is a community-wide event, even the government was closed. They call the day 10-10 Day because it always falls on Oct. 10. We had "early release". Considering how far the students have to walk it was surprising that even 30 came today for such a short time. Many of them spent more time walking to school than in school. We reviewed some for their tests tomorrow. Several who have been absent stayed to make up some work. Bev did not go to school today because she still is not feeling well. So I had the group by myself and was grateful for a short day. We have no back up plan (substitutes) especially now that Philip is on vacation. Playing it by ear, for sure! Please pray for her and wish her a happy birthday today! Our driver checked with the local police about the possibility of Bev and I getting a driving permit. In South Sudan no one over 58 is allowed to drive. (Ok, I can hear your mental responses to that!) We will ask for an exception for these 2 months we will be here. We will let you know how it goes. Well, have a great 10-10, Comboni Day! Marg

Sorry it has been awhile since I have posted. School days are very full for us, often 12+ hour days. It feels like we never retired. We did some major organization over the weekend and it is paying off this week. There is still more to do but we will get there. The students are patient with us. Philip, our Director, has gone home to Kenya for two weeks so we are on our own. So far so good. Most of the students are in their 20's so we do not have a group of 15 year olds who would like to take advantage of their teachers. That is a great help! Bev is not feeling well today so please pray for her. She appears to have a fever and is taking some antibiotics she brought from home. Tomorrow is her birthday and the students made her cards. You can wish her a happy birthday as well. Tomorrow is also St Comboni Day. The Catholic School here is named for him because he was the first Catholic missionary to this area and his dream was education. It will be a big celebration! Because we are on their property we thought we should honor their day by ending school early. So we will meet for about an hour and then students can stay longer to do make up work, etc. We also plan to have a wee party for Bev - mostly just give her the cards and wish her a happy birthday. We continue to have many student absent due to malaria. I would guess out of our 50 students we have already had 10 have to leave for that reason. Some are out for a few days, others for more than a week. It is hard to help them keep up. When we know about a long absence ahead of time we may be able to take work to them or send it with another student if there is one who lives near them. Some of the students live 5 or more miles from the school. Last night the boys/men who live in our compound told us about a girl who lives just behind us. She tried to hang herself yesterday. Fortunately, the rope broke and she was spared. Her brother would not sign for her to go to school and she was so upset that she just wanted to end it all. She is 21. It is hard for us to understand the importance education plays in the lives of the people here. One student completed his work early today in one of my classes so I took the opportunity to talk to him about his own life. His father died in an accident when he was very young. His only sibling is a bother who is in the military. This student completed primary school but could not afford to go to secondary school. But after 3 years of "just doing nothing" he heard about our school, no fees, and decided to come. He believes God has done this for him. Every day we are blown away by the people here. They have nothing but are so full of joy and hope. The one subject in which they truly excell is CRE, Christian Religious Education. At some point I will share with you some of their faith stories - amazing! Enough for today. Keep us in your prayers, especially Bev. Marg

Abukloi Starts Classes

Hi from another sunny terribly hot humid day in Rumbek. Teaching went fine today, I believe the students began to understand me today. They actually opened to the correct chapter. Hooray!  Agriculture is a trip to teach, since they have no farm equipment except for the very old tools (hoe and slashers). They have Nomadic Pastoral farms which means nobody owns the land and the cattle roam all around and eat wherever they wish. Nomadic farming as the textbook says is seldom done today, but in Rumbek it is the main type of farming.  Today I tried to explain Horticulture. You should have been a fly on the wall. If we just had pictures of farms and equipment etc. it would make teaching much easier, as the students have very little experience with the modern world. I think the closes to the United States is the Rap music they all listen to. Beyonce (spelling may be wrong) is a big hit here, even some posters of her smiling face. So long for now, hope we can figure out how to fix our generator so we can have a couple hours of electricity tonight, which enables to see when we are bathing our of cold water pans. Talk to you all soon. So Long from Rumbek, Bev and Marg. 

Abukloi Starts Classes

Today was quite an interesting day at school. The students took charge of organizing a student conference which included the teachers and Philip the director. It was quite informative, as they wanted to elect a headboy/girl. This student would handle student concerns and be a go between from teachers to students. One student took the lead and gave a political/leadership pitch on the qualifications of a leader. His name is Abraham and he was leading and politiking for the position. He allowed each student to introduce themselves by giving their name and the area they live in. It is amazing how far students walk to get to school by 8AM.  The election will be next Monday.  The students' only request is for the secondary school to have a separate volley ball net from the primary school. Seems like a small request. The students are getting to know one another and 32 students out of 36 came on time to school. The four that were late had to slash the weeds and go to the bore head for water. Maybe 36 students will be on time. They are really abiding by the rules and those who could not have not returned, dropping our numbers from 48 to 36. The 36 seem quite serious about studying to take the exam to enter secondary school in January. To begin the school day there is an assembly time, one student reads scripture and expounds on it and another student prays. This devotion time is followed by announcements.  It is surprising how many volunteers we have to read Scripture and pray. They are really quite good, very well spoken. New students came to day, but I said "no more students, I am too old to cope with new students each day that cannot understand me or vica versa. Plus their skills are so low and I must get them up to par before December. So a meeting of director and teachers, decision was no more new students.  Things otherwise are going well, as we learn to cope with Scorpions and huge grasshoppers (Biblical proportions) in our washing room and bedroom.  We have entertained more bugs in our house than we have ever seen.  This weekend will be one of grading tests and trying to figure out every students name. Maybe we can make name tags. The names are very hard to pronounce.  Well so long for Friday. Thank goodness it is Friday, I will sleep good tonight. The heat was unbearable today. I am wishing for a hard rain to give us some cool.  Bev and Marg

Abukloi Starts Classes

Today was quite an interesting day at school. The students took charge of organizing a student conference which included the teachers and Philip the director. It was quite informative, as they wanted to elect a headboy/girl. This student would handle student concerns and be a go between from teachers to students. One student took the lead and gave a political/leadership pitch on the qualifications of a leader. His name is Abraham and he was leading and politiking for the position. He allowed each student to introduce themselves by giving their name and the area they live in. It is amazing how far students walk to get to school by 8AM.  The election will be next Monday.  The students' only request is for the secondary school to have a separate volley ball net from the primary school. Seems like a small request. The students are getting to know one another and 32 students out of 36 came on time to school. The four that were late had to slash the weeds and go to the bore head for water. Maybe 36 students will be on time. They are really abiding by the rules and those who could not have not returned, dropping our numbers from 48 to 36. The 36 seem quite serious about studying to take the exam to enter secondary school in January. To begin the school day there is an assembly time, one student reads scripture and expounds on it and another student prays. This devotion time is followed by announcements.  It is surprising how many volunteers we have to read Scripture and pray. They are really quite good, very well spoken. New students came to day, but I said "no more students, I am too old to cope with new students each day that cannot understand me or vica versa. Plus their skills are so low and I must get them up to par before December. So a meeting of director and teachers, decision was no more new students.  Things otherwise are going well, as we learn to cope with Scorpions and huge grasshoppers (Biblical proportions) in our washing room and bedroom.  We have entertained more bugs in our house than we have ever seen.  This weekend will be one of grading tests and trying to figure out every students name. Maybe we can make name tags. The names are very hard to pronounce.  Well so long for Friday. Thank goodness it is Friday, I will sleep good tonight. The heat was unbearable today. I am wishing for a hard rain to give us some cool.  Bev and Marg

Hi Everyone, today ends the first week of school and I am ready for Friday. These bones are a little tired getting up before light with a flash light and returning home just as the night sets in.  We had several teacher interviews, now 5 and meetings with contractors for bids on the new school building. Prices have increased in Rumbek, as all supplies have to be transported into the area. We will have to do some serious fund raising when we return.  Finally today I felt I could understand more students and they could understand me. It is amazing the difference in vocabulary and word meanings from the British to the American.  Today in Agriculture class I was trying to explain the art and science of crop and livestock production to a group that knows only to scatter seed or broadcast and hope it grows. They have very few tools and the cattle and goats roam freely all over the residential areas, paths, and roads. interesting to explain that a goat that eats everything and lays in the middle of the road, may not be a very healthy goat. The goats are very malnourished, thin, and scrawny looking. The government needs a lot of help in the area of Agriculture as very few know how to plant crops by planting.  Clearing land, tilling, fertilizing are foreign concepts. We teach with no teacher aides, like pictures, reference materials, libraries and of course no video because there is no electricity.  Fun Fun Fun!  One must really use your imagination and creativity with no art supplies etc.  Tomorrow is the first test, so I will beable to assess if they have learned anything.  Talk again soon, Bev and Marg

Before we left for South Sudan we were told to bring more than one of anything that we must have. So I brought 3 pair of eye glasses (one sun and the other two for inside, reading and distance). Just two weeks into this three month stay the screw came out of the pair I was wearing and I could not find it. No problem, I still had another pair. Today I decided to "bond" with the students by playing a little volleyball. I served and actually got the ball over the net. But then when I was to return a volley it smacked me square in the right eye! There was no damage to me but the lens came out of the glasses. Once the students knew I was not hurt they laughed and told me I was not a very good player - no kidding! I was able to get the glasses repaired this afternoon at an optical place at the market for just $12. Now that I know there is such a place I will have to take my other glasses there to be repaired - just in case. But no more volleyball for me:) Time management is a big issue here - people are always late. So today we started turning students away who were late. Others were "punished", they were made to "slash" the grass for about 15 minutes before they could go to class. It has greatly reduced our numbers because so many are late but it will establish the rule and in the long run benefit everyone. Apparently, when it rains people are more likely to be late. Well, it rained a little last night so that was the excuse. But it does not work for us. Even so we continue to have new students - still a moving target. There is no photocopying here so everything goes on the board - chalk dust everywhere. But we are getting the hang of it and going through a lot of chalk. It was suggested today that we might try dictating rather than having them copy from the board. I may try that tomorrow. It will help everybody get the information in their exercise books at the same rate. Today one of the students asked to go home. He looked very sick and told me he thought he had malaria. That disease is as common here as the flu is in the States. There are injections for it for people who can afford them and it seems to pass quickly for them. Others suffer longer and some die. All in all things are good here. Thanks for reading our blog! Marg

Hunger in South Sudan

This is Marg. Before I came to South Sudan I only knew the Lost Boys and Girls of Sudan. Most of them are tall and all of them are very slender. I mistakenly thought it was their genetic makeup to be tall and thin. What we have discovered here is that height varies and tall is valued. Men still pay dowries for a bride. A tall woman gets more cows than a short woman. I figure at my height I might get a goat! But the weight is not as much genetic as it is related to hunger. Most South Sudanese are very slender, some emaciated. The ones who are not thin either work for the government in a high position or an NGO. The government appointees and NGO folks are the only ones who have enough money to eat well. Eating one meal a day is very typical, especially here in Rumbek. This means that 99% of the people are considered to be suffering from food insecurity. There is no complaining, just accepted as a way of life. Food is very expensive here so most people eat what is in season. Some have small gardens. However, most eat what they can afford at the market. The three "nice" restaurants (have food available without calling first to reserve food)are part of centers for NGOs and near the airport. Without electricity other restaurants cannot refrigerate anything so they only prepare what they know they can sell. The food at the "nice" restaurants (outdoor settings) is twice as expensive as the other restaurants. They are also the ones who serve more western food like pizza and apple pie. NGO are non-government organizations, non-profit groups. It gives the impression to the people living here that NGO's are wealthy. The folks traveling with us have had to explain to people that Bev and I are not like other NGO. We are paying our own way and do not have alot of money. That doesn't not seem to have made a lot of difference. Alas! Well, day three of school went a bit better than yesterday. Students and teachers continue to learn to work together. Some students who came yesterday did not come today. We had a couple of brand new students. Nailing jello to a wall:) But God is good and we just work with whoever sits before us - all precious souls!

We had a full day of classes today and Bev and I are feeling it. We had (I think) 48 students total, so about 24 in each class. We started with "Assembly". Phillip, the Director of Abukloi, led this part because we were not familiar with it. The students stood in two straight lines outside the school. He read from the Bible and talked to them about being Ambassadors for this school and the faith and what that meant. Then he asked for a volunteer to lead in prayer. One of them stepped forward and prayed the Lord's Prayer with the prayer to Mary at the end. He reviewed some of the rules and admonished them to tuck in their shirts - a real must, apparently. We have trouble getting boys to keep their pants above their knees in the US but in South Sudan it is about "tuck". Then we started in the classrooms. Bev gave a math test to evaluate what she needs to teach. I taught English by telling about myself using pictures our daughter Jennifer, had put together for me. Then they were to write 3 sentences about themselves so I could get to know them better. Most of the students' fathers have multiple wives and many children. It was interesting to read about them. Then Bev and I moved on to Geography and Agriculture. We ended the school day with reading a chapter from a book on Florence Nightingale. They were then to write some sentences in response. The students here are very good at copying things from the board into their exercise books and then memorizing all of it but they are not very good at doing anything else. They can do multiple choice and fill in the blanks but not writing their own sentences. One of the things I could use some help with from any of you English or language teachers out there is verb tense. What are effective ways to teach that? Email me at margkutz72@gmail.com We are both really tired. Both yesterday and today are at least 12 hour days and in this heat it is taking its toll. We should sleep well tonight, after we correct exercise books and adapt lesson plans!