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!