So this week has flown by with teaching. Today was a great day teaching. Teaching has gotten a lot better. I'm not exactly sure why but maybe its that we now know what exactly each class is on by grade-level. Now we know how to communicate to them and for them to actually understand instead of glaring at us with the "whhhat" face. The past couple of days have made me laugh because I have been playing soccer with some of the Nigerians at the village and the children's home. The woman director Kempme, her husband, coaches a soccer team and the other day one of the players came by and she introduced me and said "now this is a girl you need to play soccer with ..she is very talented". Made me really feel special considering every time I play I'm dying of breath because I'm not fast enough. However, I do believe they run faster here. When we went to the village we played soccer with some of the guys and by far I was the only girl and then it rained and it was a great highlight to be in the middle of Africa playing soccer. Today, was an exciting day teaching because today the kids got to draw their animal. I was dreading this day because I am a horrible drawer and if these kids can't draw I was hmm well I guess we will just stick with stick animals but I was impressed by their skills of drawing. One of the things that interns are trying to accomplish this week is to let these kids see imagination. These kids are raised to only understand "black and white" situations. We want them to see beyond that! So its hard for us to teach that because how do you teach that? That comes from the child just being silly and thinking up weird things in their minds but they have impressed me by their amount of trying to do their best in these acitivies. After school we played a couple of games like Freeze Tag, Red/Green Light, and Red Rover. Red Rover was a great game and the kids enjoyed it so much that at the end the winning team(which was all the kids) ran around screaming that they had won. Pretty cool to see them all exciting over something so small. We then came back the house and had another wonderful tasting PB & J sandwich. After that we went to a hospital that B2B has been trying to build relationship with. The hospital is small but cares for all things such as HIV/ TB, and other sicknesses. Its somewhat of an orphanage as well. There are about 9 kids there. Ages from High school to 2 months old. These kids are great but for some you can just tell they have something wrong with them. We got to see some of the babies and one of the babies was 7 years old but just never grew and now will stay in a crib for probably the rest of his life. We met a wonderful girl named Abigail who suffered from polio and is now in a wheelchair with not a lot of access at all but just her fingers. She made me laugh. She thought I was 32 years old which I am still trying to figure out if she meant as a joke or not..hopefully it was a joke. She was great though and hopefully I'll get to see her before I leave in a week. It's sometimes sad seeing these kids but I always try to not think of it like that but rather hey me being here is a sign saying to them that they are loved and with me being here, with B2B helping out, there is a future for this child. So looking at a child's future is more exciting then looking at what they have right now.

It's crazy to think that I've already been here for almost 4 weeks. Time flies. Ive done so much here physically, mentally, socially, and everyday I'm learning something new about God. One of the interns is reading this book called "Crazy Love" and the very first quote made me bite my tongue when I read it because it was so true of my life in so many ways. The quote defines what some of us Christians view our faith and why so many non-christians think we are fake or unreal in our walks.

"To Just read the bible, attend church, and avoid "big sins" --is this passionate, whole-hearted, our love for God? " Francois Fenelon

Ouch. Wow how many times do we think we are being the "Right" or just "doing what Christians do" ..it really made me think of what exactly I value in my faith and what exactly is Jesus calling us as Christians to do everyday? I believe if you look deep enough at Jesus you realize that he never walked in the easy, calm, safe zone so why do we as Christians think its best do that? Does it make us feel safe with God by just going to church, read the bible here and there, and dont break some of the rules in the big 10? Safe? I made a thought to myself that I do not want to be safe...I want to be a Christian who gets questioned, who gets criticized, who fights for whats right, and at the end of the day I look at my hands and feet and know Jesus would be proud.
So this quote takes me back to these kids I'm teaching everyday. Are we seeing our faith as Christians as just black and white? Are you looking beyond what is right there in black, white, and red in the bible?

Look at your own life whether or not you are a Christian is your life too black and white?

Looking for deeper meanings and not just reading the words but reading in between those words? This one quote really makes me want to start acting on my faith everyday..not when I'm in Africa being a missionary but everyday when I am driving in my car, at school, or more importantly when I meet a stranger.

Just a few thoughts of what has been going on in my mind. I think that quote really sums up what Christians and non Christians believe our faith to be. I think its time for us as Christians to make it more, let people see what and who Jesus really was, and finally showing in our everyday lives.

One of my favorite verses comes from Isiah and it talks about how we just need to say "okay here I am"

Isiah 6: 8 "And the Lord asked whom shall I send? and they responded "Send me Lord..I'll go"

Just food for thought! Anyways, tomorrow we are teaching again and then hiking around the new B2B property. 300 or something new acres ..wooh gonna loose some weight fo sure tomorro! haha

have a great day!

James 4:14
“For your life is like morning fog--its here for a while and then gone..”

Love,

Tinnna