Your prayers are working :). I have had an internet connection for the last 4 days. That is really great news. I have been trying to catch up with my e-mails and now I am going to post a few updates for you.
Women's course - the teaching that I had to do last week went very well. There were about 30 people present. About five men snuck into the gathering, so it wasn't all women. Anyway, the women seemed to enjoy the teaching on how much they are loved by our great God. I also encouraged them to overcome their fear of doing things in the church based on the knowledge of that love. They seemed encouraged and asked me to return sometime to teach again. So, I guess that means it went well. I was really nervous about this teaching, but God is good and he helped me figure out what to teach. I was reminded how dependent we all are on God's guidance for our everyday lives - even if we don't acknowledge it.
English class - My class is going well. We met at the beginning of this month for the seventh time. The students still need more time to practice their English skills and to hear good English spoken. I teach again next week. We will be learning some food words this month. I will also be reviewing what they have learned this year. This will be the last class of the year as there is no class in December. I will be trying to use a movie based ESL program for the first time this month. There is a movie that tells the story of Jesus in simple English and has some exercises to help the students understand the words. This may be a bit too advanced for my students, but I am going to see how they do. I have to adapt many parts of it as it is designed to be used with several computers. I am going to see if it will work. I'll let you know how it goes.
I am also looking into getting some small solar powered mp3 players that they could use at home. It would have the Bible in English. It is too expensive to get the machine to give a new text each month of the current lesson. Even so, I think these little players will help them to speak English better if they use them to practice speaking. It might also help them with memorizing English verses. They have problems because they cannot remember how to pronounce all the words. They are an aural culture, so have really good memories if they know the words or at least the sounds. These players are a bit expensive, but I think they will be really helpful to my students. I am hoping to have them sometime early next year. So, if I get them I will keep you updated on how well they are working.
TBTI - We will be having our Turkana Bible Training Institute's 4th annual graduation on November 14th. I am helping a bit with the logistics of making sure this goes smoothly. We will have about twelve students graduating this year. Pray for these students. Pray that they would be good leaders in their churches and be able to use wisely the things they have learned. Pray also for the leaders who will be choosing the next group of students to come for training. Pray that they find solid young men and women who desire to serve God and his church!
RAIN - Keep praying for rain! We had a few sprinkles today. I had to use the wipers on my windshield as I went to town. Only twice, but that qualifies as a sprinkle. We really need some good rain for this parched land!
I guess that is all for now. Have a great rest of the week!
