Working and Playing Just a Little

The killing of the duck to eat...the kids loved it!

Mama Werema steaming the duck to get all the feathers off

Jeanette and I cutting up some veggies for dinner



The football team in their new jerseys looking so nice



The girls and I playing some football/soccer after the boys game...yes barefoot

The highest scoring student in each Form/Grade (1-4) and their gift from Jacob...
there were many jealous students as a result.

Me teaching our after-school English Book Club

Bronte (our Australian Missionary friend), Jacob, and I cruising on the Nile.

The stunning and treacherous Nile River



The first waterfall...I am in the middle and holding on for my life!



The first flip...I got stuck under the boat and had to be rescued by a safety kayaker.
I couldn't breathe for a little while and was absolutely terrified!

The guide for some reason does not look very scared in this picture

I am in the middle, and I think I was supposed to be paddeling but fell down
obviously in the raft

The rapids were so big and powerful. You think to yourself "How am I still alive?," but then you just want to go again...such craziness!

Every single day I think to myself, even now ten months later, how I got here. I cannot describe how fortunate and blessed I feel to be here, and to be doing what I have dreamed of doing. I posted so many pictures this time because hopefully all the pictures above will help to describe and explain my feelings and the incredible joy I find in my life and work. There are so many days when I think if I get another mosquito bite, or if another student does not stop doing other class work in my class while I am trying to teach, I might just have to quit. But, as always in life, there are those days that make up for everything bad that has happened; these pictures represent those days.

We have had these ducks waddling around the house for months now, and finally this past week we discovered why they are there. I had never seen anyone in the village eat duck before, but this week the family, especially the kids, had so much fun killing and eating one of the ducks. The kids chasing the duck and mama stuffing it in a pot to steam if before trying to remove all the feathers, brought so much joy to my day.

Mama Anna always gives her new baby Jeanette to one of her older children to take care of, and then they always come to the house to try and play with the rest of their brothers and sisters. This is okay, but Jeanette is always in the way because she is a baby. I love it because then she can stay with me and do whatever I am doing, which is usually cooking dinner. As you can see however, she mostly just sleeps the time away. It is such a sweet time though that I cherish.

Jacob was able to get jerseys, balls, and cleats for the school as well through a friend back in America. I cannot tell you how excited the teachers and students were about this. They maybe were even more excited about the soccer equipment and jerseys than the library and books…which is sad, but kind of hilarious I guess. We had a game to break in the jerseys between Form 4 and Form 2 and Form 1 and Form 3. Form 4 and From 2 won, barely though as Jacob scored a goal for the other team on accident. Let’s just say that soccer is not his best sport. The students loved it and laughed so hard though. I also got to play with the girls after the boys’ game. As a former soccer player, I absolutely loved it. However, playing in bare feet is rough to say the least. I had so many thorns in my feet after the game. Also, with fifty balls being sent we have been able to give them to other schools in nearby villages and use them as prizes for students. We gave the best student in each Form a ball for their hard work in having the highest average overall in all subjects on their mid-term tests. They were so proud of themselves that they wanted their picture taken. Although, one student asked Jacob how much the ball was worth. We think he wants to sell it to buy books maybe…too funny really.

Lastly, after mid-terms Jacob and I had a week off to rest. We decided to go to Uganda to raft the mighty Nile River. After seven daladalas over two days of travelling through Tanzania and Kenya we finally arrived with our Australian missionary friend Bronte in Jinja, Uganda. I cannot describe how absolutely beautiful it was. We stayed at a camp overlooking the Nile, it was just what I needed to refresh my mind and body. I had been rafting before in North Carolina or Tennessee, I cannot remember where really, but let’s just say this was extreme rafting. We even had to get out of the boat and carry it around certain rapids because they were too dangerous. It was so much fun though. When you first flip out of the boat and get stuck under it while still going through rapids, you think I am never doing this again if I make it through the rest of this, but then when you are finished, you just want to go again and again. Hopefully some of the pictures can better describe the incredible power and quickness of the river. I was terrified, but usually things that are hard are always worth it. It was incredible.

I hope you all are well, and as usual I miss you dearly. I cannot believe I only have a month left and will hopefully see you all soon. I cannot really think about leaving at the moment, but I know that God as he has always been will be faithful in my going as he was in my coming. Love you, Katie J

Fruits of Labor

Painting in the library...a quote from Nelson Mandela

After-School English Book Club

The classrooms after painting

Seeing fruit from a lot of labor is an amazing feeling. We officially opened our library almost three weeks ago! I cannot believe that it has been that long already.  I unfortunately and very sadly was not able to be there because of a little malaria issue but Jacob said that he was excited to be overwhelmed with student request for books on the first day the library was opened. He said he must have checked out books to two-thirds of the entire school. I was so happy to hear the great need and desire for books. Students are allowed to keep the books for up to three days, after which they may renew them for an additional three days or return them and choose another. Due to the limited number of books we have in the library (books are ridiculously overpriced here and made way too cheaply) students can only check out one book at a time, and we only have one copy of some of the books needed. We want to possibly purchase some more books before we leave in May, but for now we are working with the books that we have. We have elected two students to serve as school librarians, and they will help keep track of what student has what book, ensure books are returned on time, and that the books are taken care of.  So far students have done a great job renewing and returning their books. There are always a few though who don’t want to give up their book or just forget it at home. However, this is a huge improvement from previous years, as over 400 books donated by U.S. AID had been locked away in the headmaster’s office because of lack of teacher motivation to complete the work necessary to issue books to students and fear that students would steal textbooks. I worry that when we leave the library will be locked and students will not be able to have the books. I am trying not to think about it. Overall, the library is a great resource for the students and a great illustration of how generous people who love the Lord are. Jacob and I have also painted the outside of the classrooms cream and blue, and we are now working on painting the chalkboards. Most of the chalkboards are faded, have holes all over them, and are in generally bad condition. Another teacher has started to fill the holes with cement, and Jacob and I found some chalkboard paint in the town, so the chalkboards have become our newest project. I love seeing all the progress and the students benefiting from it. It brings such a different atmosphere to the school that it is valuable and worthy to be taken care of. Again, I will say thank you to you, because as you well know that none of this would be accomplished or possible without you. Please know that not only do I appreciate all your help and sacrifice, but so do the students and community!!! I love you and miss you as always! katie :)

Opening My Life



I finally painted and put books in the library!!!
It is getting there but I have a few more things to do.





Filtered tadpoles



Mwita, family member and student, gathering
firewood for mama to make the daily porridge

My Form 2 student, James Mwita,
hoisting the Tanzanian flag.

 

Our after-school English Book Club

For these past two months of January and February, as many have said before about their work, I have felt like I have been trying to empty the ocean with an eyedropper. I don’t know if everything about living in a third world country just caught up with me all of a sudden, but life has been rough. However, my wonderful mother sent me a book for Valentine’s Day entitled Kisses from Katie, and it couldn’t have arrived at a more perfect time. This other Katie, straight out of high school, moved to Uganda to teach kindergarten and care for orphans living in extreme poverty. As I was reading, I couldn’t help but think she somehow knew everything I was feeling and experiencing: every hardship, every disappointment, every challenge, and even every joy. Katie writes,

“My human flesh still sometimes wanted to go to the mall and spend a ridiculous amount of money on a cute pair of shoes. Sometimes I just wanted to turn off my brain and watch mindless television. Sometimes I wanted to hop into my convertible, go to the grocery store, and pick out any kind of food that my heart desired. Most days, I wished I could wake up under my down comforter in a house with my loving family, not all by myself. I wanted to go to the gym; I wanted my hair to look nice; I wanted to be allowed to wear jeans. I wanted to be a normal teenager living in America, sometimes. But I wanted other things more. All the time. I wanted to be spiritually and emotionally filled every day of my life. I wanted to be loved and cuddled by a hundred children and never go a day without laughing. I wanted to wake up to a rooster’s crow and open my eyes to see lush green trees that seemed to pulse with life against a piercing blue sky and the rusty red soil of Uganda. I wanted to be challenged endlessly; I wanted to be learning and growing every minute. I wanted to be taught by those I teach, and I wanted to share God’s love with people who otherwise might not know it. I wanted to work so hard that I ended every day filthy and too tired to move. I wanted to feel needed, important, and used by the Lord. I wanted to make some kind of difference, no matter how small, and I wanted to follow the calling God had placed on my heart. I wanted to give my life away, to serve the Lord with each breath, each second. At the end of the day, no matter how hard, I wanted to be right here in Uganda.

Nothing about living in Africa is easy. Just like the other Katie, some days I just want my hair not even to look nice but just be clean. Somehow frogs got into our well of rain water and had lots of baby tadpoles. So…we had to come up with a filtering system using a piece of thin cloth to catch all the tadpoles just so I could wash my hair. I feel terrible every time about killing all the little squiggling tadpoles left on top of the cloth fighting for their lives, but it has been them or my hair. It also has not rained in over a month at least, so you can just imagine all the dust generated from the dirt roads and fields. It is especially bad when the Dala Dalas fly by down the road leaving me in a storm of thick dust that settles right in my hair, on my face, and on my clothes. Then, there is the dirty tadpole water I have to fetch to wash it all off with. Also, like Katie, I am very grateful for the rooster that lives outside my window, but it doesn’t exactly crow when I want to be woken up; it starts much, much earlier. Sometimes, I just want to wear pants as well instead of ankle-length skirts and shirts that keep my shoulders covered. I want teaching to be easier with more resources. The problems with the school system in general are a whole blog in itself. Quickly however, I did kick over half of my students out of class after the first test to slash grass by hand because they all failed. I know you are thinking that may have been a little harsh, but I wanted them to know that they can do better than failing and to expect more of themselves, because I expect more of them. The grading scale for Tanzania is 0-20 F, 21-40 D, 41-59 C, 60-79 B, and 80-100 A. Ridiculous I know. Basically, you can pass with knowing 20% of the information taught. The government is basically telling the students that they don’t think they can succeed or do better than those expectations. I hate it.  I want to go to the gym. I want to bake cookies. I want to take a warm shower for just one day. I want to throw my clothes in the washing machine and dryer instead of hand washing them for hours. I want to sleep without a mosquito net. I want to wake up to something familiar. I want to watch TV to forget everything I am worried about just for an hour. But like Katie, I want other things more. I want my students to learn English so they have the opportunity to bring change to their country and families. I want the girls in my class to know that they too have a voice that needs to be heard. I want to be hugged, hit, made dirty, and smiled at with beautiful white teeth by my kids at home. I want to know that my life is not just for me, but that it is being spent for others. I want God to be the center of my universe. I want to say yes to His calling on my life. I want to be exactly where I am, challenged on every side, but full on joy

“God will never give you more than you can handle.” I am sure I have said it to someone, as well as heard it many times throughout my life. Although it is meant to be encouraging, I have come to feel that more often than not, God absolutely and intentionally gives us much more than we can or want to handle. Many times during these past eight months, I have definitely been given more than I alone could handle. I am sure God loved every second of it. He probably has many more obstacles planned. It is in these circumstances and places though that when we surrender to the knowledge that we can do nothing in our own strength that he takes over proving himself by doing the impossible in our lives. This occurs so we may have no doubt who is in control, that we may see his grace and his faithfulness in our inadequacies, weaknesses, and failures. There are many days that I think that what I am doing is ludicrous while my friends and family are in the states with so many comforts and jobs that actually pay money. I worry about how I am going to pay for food, or get into town, or try to give something to everyone who wants candy, money, pens, exercise books, ect. in my village and school, or what I am going to do when I arrive home. I cannot save my own life much less everyone else’s. Some days I am physically, mentally, and spiritually exhausted. Then, I read Matthew 16:25 that says, “When you try to save your own life, your own desires, you will lose. But when you decide to put aside your desires, to lose your life for me, you will find it.” I think I am only at the beginning of understanding anything about that verse.

Paul writes as well in 2 Corinthians 6:10-13 (The Message)

“People are watching us as we stay at our post, alertly, unswervingly…in hard times, tough times, bad times; when we’re beaten up, jailed, and mobbed; working hard, working late, working without eating; with pure heart, clear head, steady hand; in gentleness, holiness, and honest love; when we’re telling the truth, and when God’s showing his power; when we’re doing our best setting things right; when we’re praised, and when we’re blamed; slandered, and honored; true to our word, though distrusted; ignored by the world, but recognized by God; terrifically alive, though rumored to be dead; beaten within an inch of our lives, but refusing to die; immersed in tears, yet always filled with deep joy; living on handouts, yet enriching many; having nothing, having it all. Dear, dear Corinthians, I can’t tell you how much I long for you to enter this wide-open, spacious life. We didn’t fence you in. The smallness you feel comes from within you. Your lives aren’t small, but you’re living them in a small way. I’m speaking as plainly as I can and with great affection. Open up your lives. Live openly and expansively!

I want to live openly and expansively. I didn’t exactly mean to open up my life to so much difficulty, but at least it is open. I am literally living on handouts, but hopefully they are enriching many. I do have pretty much nothing, but I have it all at the same time. I am working hard, but for God’s children. God is faithful and good, and it is these traits about Him that allow me to trust him with my life, allow me to make it to the next day, and literally just breathe.

I love you and miss you all, Katie

Christmas in January

Concrete floor being made...African style
with concrete mix, sand, water, and a shovel

Fundi Yohanna constructing the bookshelf

Still constructing...



Books purchased for the library



Rhobi loving her headbands

The sunglasses were a real favorite

 



Some modeling their Christmas goods :)



Sweet Eliza with her new baby

Troublemakers Werema and Mengani

Mama Anna and growing Jeanette

Everyone anticipating what is coming next

Chacha posing for the camera 

Rhobi and Ghati in their matching
dresses and accessories

It has been way too long since I have written, and so much has and is happening. January has been exciting but such a busy and draining month. We had Christmas with all the kids, school has started back, and the library is finally getting built. I am going to write more, I promise, but I just wanted to post some pictures of Christmas and the under-construction library while I had a minute. Please know that I love you all and am so thankful for all you have done to help me accomplish everything from Christmas to the library to just teaching. The children have not stopped wearing their new clothes everyday or playing with their toys. The students loved receiving a pen, notebook, and pencil to start school, and will not stop asking when the library will be open for them to use. So again…thank you for your generosity and love for Christ and his children. Love you, Katie.

Seeking Christ at Christmas

     I cannot believe it is already time for Christmas! This is true… 1) Probably because it is summer here and so very hot 2) I don’t have a TV here to show me through all the commercials what I need to buy this year 3) there is no Black Friday shopping day or any stores with sales for that matter 4) and Wal-Mart does not exist to sell decorations, lights, trees, etc. It is actually a very weird, uncomfortable feeling as I have never been away from home for Christmas before. To be truly honest, it has given me this feeling of loneliness and isolation. Growing up in America where every holiday has candy, decorating materials, and all you could ever need and more to celebrate at least a month before the actual holiday, I find myself in the most unusual, but somehow enlightening situation. I realize that in America there are many people who have started to say Happy Holidays instead of Merry Christmas, and there needs to be a constant reminder that Jesus is the reason for the season when we start to buy too much or are unsatisfied with what we have bought or been given, but even with these issues everyone still knows it is Christmas. Unlike ever before in my life, I have had to genuinely seek Christ at Christmas. I know that sounds crazy, but it is so true.

In my seeking however, like my entire life, Christ was just waiting to be found. Just as Jeremiah in chapter 29 says, ^“Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.” I just had to call upon the Lord…which always makes me think about all the times I don’t or haven’t! I usually go straight to the Gospels to read about the coming and birth of Jesus, but I somehow got stuck in the book of Romans…the Lord loves to instruct his children. There are so many verses that spoke so much life even though I had read them a hundred times before. I guess I will start with Romans 8:1-4, “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.” Seriously, just read it one more time. God sent his own son in the likeness of sinful flesh for sin that we might not have to walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. I don’t know about you, but I find so much hope in this verse and therefore in Christ. But I think that is how Mary, Joseph, the shepherds, the Wise men, etc. must have felt as well. A savior was to be born to set his people free from the strongholds of not only the world and unjust rulers they thought, but of sin and flesh. Then again Paul writes in Romans 5:17, “For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ!” Christ’s birth meant and still means everything. Without his life we wouldn’t have our life that is full of grace, freedom, and righteousness instead of condemnation, bondage, and fear. We have so much to rejoice in for “Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God” (Romans 5:2) To stand in God’s grace only through the man of Jesus brings great peace, and therefore hope. I have always loved the hymn Before the Throne of God Above, but still every time I hear or read it I am overwhelmed with gratitude for the love of God in sending his son to the earth for our sin. Because of Christ we are accepted before the throne of God as pure and forgiven children of God whose names are graven on his hands that Satan will never be able to erase.

Before the throne of God above
I have a strong and perfect plea.
A great high Priest whose Name is Love
Who ever lives and pleads for me.
My name is graven on His hands,
My name is written on His heart.
I know that while in heaven He stands
No tongue can bid me thence depart.

When Satan tempts me to despair
And tells me of the guilt within,
Upward I look and see Him there
Who made an end of all my sin.
Because the sinless Savior died
My sinful soul is counted free.
For God the just is satisfied
To look on Him and pardon me.

I hope your Christmas is filled with joy, celebration, and giving, just as God gave his son for each of us! I know things are never perfect in our lives, life in general is never easy or fair for that matter, and Christmas can be an especially hard time for some, but just knowing that we have a loving God on our side that sent his son for our pardon and freedom is the most comforting and revolutionary fact we can know and believe. I love you all and miss you heaps! Merry Christmas!!! Katie J

Rice, Cabbage, and Goat Party

 P

Home of future library :)

Our newborn lamb :)

Mama who sweetly helped me cook for the party!



White rice, cabbage, and pilau(rice with spices and meat) for the 100 students

My Form 1 boys toasting their sodas

My lazy but sweet Form 1 Girls



Form 2 and 3 enjoying the party!





Most of my Form 1 Boys showing off for the camera

 


Some Form 2 girls who helped cook by fetching water and firewood

 

Okay…so I am finally writing! Like I said quickly in the last post, most of the photos are from our end of the year party at school. Usually with end of the year parties, like in my 5^th grade class in America, there is pizza, ice cream, and maybe a movie or something entertaining. Well…our party definitely had none of those things at all, but we did have lots of soda, rice, cabbage, and goat meat! Enticing, I know! I have actually ate quite a bit of sheep and goat meat this year…I think I am getting used to it. Sometimes though they take the tail of the sheep, which is just chunks of fat, and parts of the liver and other insides and mix it with the meat. You have to be very careful! However, it was such a treat for the students because if we ever have events, such a graduation, they usually have to pay if they want to eat and they especially have to pay to get into the dance party afterwards that always follows. This in turn leads to some students not coming at all or working extremely hard to set up for the event, serve food to the adults, and then clean up afterwards with no food and begging through the doors and windows of the classrooms where it is being served. I hate it…I always want to sneak food to them, but the other teachers of course are always watching me. Anyway, so for one day all they had to do was bring a bowl and eat. I did have a few of the girls help me fetch water and firewood to cook, but I gave them extra food. They are so smart though anyway, because they took the sweet potatoes that Jacob and I thought we needed for the pilau (rice with spices, potatoes, and meat) and cut them and fried them for themselves. The whole day was crazy though, because I had to give both my final exams in the morning and then cook in the afternoon. This meant that Jacob had to do a lot of the preparation, which I felt bad about as many things did not go as planned…such as the potato situation. One mama told us we needed sweet potatoes for the pilau, but that mama failed to show up to cook of course. Therefore, while I was giving my tests, Jacob found two different mamas that were willing to help, which was desperately needed. However, the two new mamas said we needed regular potatoes instead. Jacob had to walk 45 minutes home and 45 minutes back to get the regular potatoes from the house. I felt horrible…but not too bad because the mamas kept yelling at me to cut the cabbage much smaller. I told them I needed practice as my mama did not teach me to cut cabbage that way. They just laughed and shook their head. There really is much more I could say about the party and everything that went wrong and right, but in the end, the students were so appreciative and after demanding so much from them in the classroom, it felt great to give them a little something back. Therefore, again I really just want you to know that all the food, drinks, transport for the food and drinks, and paying for the mamas to help me cook for the 100 students came from you...so thank you very much! The students were so excited and grateful and I told them all it came from you alone!

I have also bought lots of books for the library that I am really excited about. The students don't know about them yet, but I cannot wait until we build the shelves and finish the room so they can use them! I am going to take a picture of them all when I get back to my house in Kongoto so you can see them, but they are going to be such a help to both the students and the teachers. I also bought a globe, Pakoima the Geography teacher really wanted one and I couldn’t tell him no. My dream is that the students will go in the library and read when they have time and even be able to check out books like in America. The students always ask me to make copies of books they have borrowed from the teachers, so I am excited for them to be able to learn as much as they desire and read to their hearts’ content.

Lusanda and her new little girl!

Grown Aya and me at Ithemba

Lastly, I am not sure if many of you remember Lusanda, or Mama Aya, from South Africa when I lived there and worked at Ithemba, but I got a chance to travel to South Africa and check up on her, some of the other ladies I worked with, and of course all the children who are still there. I cannot tell you what a blessing it was to reunite with her and her son Aya. I felt like it had been forever, but just yesterday all at the same time. The situation with her husband who gave her HIV is the same, not good at all, but she has a new baby girl who is so precious and Aya has gotten so big and handsome. Lusanda is doing really well herself as she has been able to gain weight and stay healthy. I had a KFC party, yes Kentucky Fried Chicken, with all the mamas while we watched a movie and caught up on the last four years since I have been there. We laughed so much about the past, they told me how much Ithemba has grown, about the new orphanage next door, and of course made plans for me for when I would return. I love them so much. I also bought Aya some new shoes, diapers for the new little girl, and gave Lusanda some money for food or whatever she needed. It was truly a blessing to see them, but it is always rough when there is limited time and you have to say goodbye again not knowing exactly when you will see them again. If I could just put everyone I love in one place my life would be so much easier, but I guess as everyone says, you have to experience loss or sadness to understand and be thankful for gain and joy. It is just not easy, you know?

As usual, I miss you and love you more than you know. Your emails are such a blessing, and again I couldn’t do any of this without you. Thank you for giving to me so I am able to give to others. Katie :)

Help Please!

Mama Ana and all her children including the new little girl!

Three of Mama Werema's kids (Eliza, Werema, and Rhobi) and one of Mama Anna's

The classrooms we want to paint!

Me and little Jeanette

Anna and her little sister!

Hi!!! I know it has been quite some time since I have written, but the headmaster finally consulted someone about the work Jacob and I want to complete on the school and developed a budget for the materials to finish the floor in the room we want to make the library, wood to build shelves for the books we will have to buy, a window for the library, transportation to bring all the materials to the village, and labor for the floor and book shelves. With everything included, the total came to 541,000 Tanzanian shillings, which is around 340 US dollars. There is much more Jacob and I want to do such as paint a mural, fix the chairs, and replace the chalkboards, but this is a good start we think. I was going to post pictures of the room we want to make the library and the wall we want to paint the welcome greeting on, but I of course forgot to take them, and my computer is currently unusable as my battery died and my wall charger...so sad :( I am sharing this information to update you, but also to ask for your help of course. I would love to pay for everything myself, but as we all know, my money supply is sadly limited to nonexistent. Please do not feel any pressure to help, but if this is something you would like to contribute to, I, as well as Jacob, the students, the teachers, and both villages of Kongoto and Buswahili would really appreciate your generosity. Please email me at hyman.katie@gmail.com, and we can definitely work out a plan. I am so excited to be able to help my school and community!
I love teaching and my students, although the recent addition of teaching math in basically a foreign language has been rough. However, I am still struggling with: the small amount of girls that get the opportunity to attend school as the boys in the family are more important, the students who are enrolled in school, but never come because they are helping their family cultivate corn or sell vegetables at the market, the students who have to dig and build toilets in the hot sun with no water during class hours, and the students who constantly get sent home because they cannot pay the added school fees. It continually breaks my heart. I know there are more important things than education, but I hate that the kids don't even get to make the decision whether they get one or not. There is no difference in the value of a farmer and a doctor, but there is a difference in having the opportunity to choose between the two. Okay, okay...I will now quit letting out my frustrations. A few things that I have loved these past weeks is seeing and hearing the farmers and their cows and plows every morning walking on the way to school (farming without tractors looks like a lot of hard work I will say), and showering the kids every night in our shower. The kids absolutely love it as they are so used to buckets in the yard. They love the body wash and they scream so loud because the water is freezing when I spray them down. You would die if you saw how much dirt came off these kids on a daily basis! Anyway, please know as usual, maybe more than usual, that I miss and love you all very much. Also, please don't forget to email me if you want to or can help in any way with the school!
love you more, katie :)