Do something crazy!

The craziness of this post (in addition to the 'being a missionary, working with kids, living in SA' aspect) comes from 1) writing this via stream of consciousness, rather than a developed structure, and 2) using a LOT of pictures PLUS a video. Hold on folks, it’s about to get wild!

Br. Rob’s departure hasn’t made too big a difference to my specific work responsibilities other than 1) being a more utilized driver for afternoon bus routes and 2) becoming the official bell ringer to signify beginning of school and the end of midday playtime. Our school staff is quite proficient in performing their tasks; as such, Holy Cross School has hardly missed a beat.

For the past two weeks, grades 2 and 1 have teamed up for movement class.

Br. Josias giving one-on-one help to a grade 2 student.

Grade 1 students practicing their reading, after learning the letter “b”.

The after-school clinic is going very well. We have 3 regular attendees, and they are becoming increasingly competent with their studies. When they have a technology-related task, they know how to navigate the internet and print information on their own. For written assignments, they usually only seek my help for the occasional spell-check or clarification of instruction. Remember how the clinic used to entail tedious instruction on computer tasks (I briefly mentioned it here)? Nowadays, I find myself less of an instructor and more of an observer; I credit this to the students becoming more self-sufficient.
I especially enjoyed this day, when two students (right and left) taught another (middle) how to copy & paste an image onto Word. Teach a person to fish, and they can teach others.

 During the school day: I’ve started using stories more frequently in English class, often focusing on a story for multiple days in the row. After reading a new story, we usually discuss it the following day, or act it out as a group (big hit with the kids!), and later have the students group up and arrange the story’s picture cards into chronological order. This is a GREAT way to get students engaged in learning. They are now quite knowledgeable about (among other stories) 3 little pigs, gingerbread man, and goldilocks!

Enormous Crocodile! First reading since it’s big success back in September.

Clifford the Big Red Dog. The books were a gift from a recent visitor.

side note: Remember how we occasionally watch movies on Friday? We recently re-watched ‘Shrek’, and the kids’ faces absolutely lit up when I pointed out the gingerbread man. I hope they notice even more characters when/if we re-watch it later!

Sequencing the 3 little pigs. The kids were troopers for handling smaller pictures this day.

Another (continuing) highlight has been laptop class. I give each student a typing activity that focuses on a new task (for example, practicing spacing between words). After completing the activity, they are free to play games. The latest popular ‘game’ has been a program that speaks your text.

 

 

 

Yesterday, after splitting the students into 3 groups, we created a morning rotation of 1) meeting with the head teacher for math instruction, 2) playing games on the school laptops, and 3) using my laptop to take/print pictures of themselves with the words “My name is [their name]”. I monitored stations 2 & 3. The stations were great not only for introducing them to a printer, but also to get extra practice time.

 

While talking about laptops, I’d be remiss not to show you this video of a child’s first experience with the computer camera. You can also witness another child’s victory dance in the background:
Fun times :)

I’ve eclipsed 700 words, so I suspect this is enough for now. Thank you so much for joining me on this journey, and thank you for all the ways you have shown support. The 5 minutes you take to read these posts (perhaps a little longer than 5 minutes this time), in and of itself, is appreciated.

Have a blessed week!!!
In Christ,
-Cameron

ps I have one last question for now: As you read this post, did any of the pictures appear blurry to you? Whether you noticed or not, I'd like to know!! I'm experimenting with picture sizes.

Sports Day!

There’s not much to report this week other than sports day! Diocesan School for Girls (DSG), a local school which has basically adopted Holy Cross, hosted a day of relaying, egg-holding, sack-racing, sprinting, and tugs of war for the kiddos. I’ll let the pictures do the talking.

Have a great week!
-Cameron

The treasures we receive

3 months ago, I made the following announcement:

Principal/priest/monk Br. Rob (a man of many hats) has been named Director of Formation for the entire monastic order. This means he will be moving back to West Park, NY come May. Everyone is excited about this development, albeit with a degree of sadness about seeing him leave South Africa. Rob first stepped foot in Grahamstown in 2004 and has provided counseling, stability, and stress-relieving comedy ever since.

Did you notice the words “come May”?

In what seems like no time at all, Br. Rob has reached the end of his Grahamstown tenure. He left on Thursday, and is probably arriving in JFK airport as I type this (Friday AM, EST). Rob’s final three months were as inspiring and Christ-glorifying as always, and I look forward to seeing what comes of his journey back in the states.

Rob’s last school day was Wednesday. The school threw him a surprise party.

After 3 group performances, the children all sung a Xhosa hymn entitled “God be with you till we meet again”.

I agree with Br. Rob in that Holy Cross will only get better from here. Barring a huge setback, I wouldn’t be surprised if the school truly becomes an even brighter ‘beacon on a hill’; a well run, authentic, loving community where children truly cross the gap and exceed expectations -emotionally, intellectually, and spiritually. I’m already making guesses on which of our current students will be future stars (and to be clear, they already are), and I can hardly wait to see what happens long-term. It is a blessing to be a part of this organization.

Now, it’s about to sound like I’m completely changing the topic, but these are two sides of the coin that was this wonderful week.

I’d like to introduce you to a man I had met before, but got to know much better this past week.

Pictured in this 'Bishop and YASC sandwich' is Stacy Sauls, a man who is passionate about serving the poor and vitalizing the church. This Christ-instilled passion eventually led him to his current role as Chief Operating Officer of The Episcopal Church. I was touched that Stacy would take time to visit us at the end of his trip to South Africa, and that he would truly consider it a highlight of his journey. His insight on mission, serving the poor, finding your treasure (see next paragraph), and self-identity were all gems to receive…not to mention his ability to make people laugh.

Stacy defined the work of the Church as finding what your treasure is and giving it away. It occurs to me that this describes the overarching story of the Monastery and school, in addition to being a proverbial compass for future endeavours. 

Stacy also reemphasized something I’ve become quite aware of in recent years: The church should be mission-focused in all it does. A Christian, by definition, is a person on a mission. We should be far more passionate about living out our beliefs. I believe such dedicated, inspiring, and ruthless leadership would do a great deal in breathing life into the church. I encourage you to be more embracing of the terms “mission” and “missionary”, and for you to discern what your treasure might be. In the act of giving your treasure away (notice the word “act”?), I have faith you will further grow into the full stature of Christ.

Have a blessed day, everyone :)
-Your friendly neighborhood missionary

Hope in Africa: Inkululeko

Over the past 9 months, Stephen Smith and Matt Kellen (remember Matt?) have helped develop a non-profit organization catering to underprivileged youth in the Grahamstown townships. Last month, the organization officially welcomed its first cohort of students. 

I was fortunate to be able to attend their Friday program, and it became a highlight of the week. 

Say hello to the 501(c)(3) Inkululeko! (“in-ku-lew-lay-co”)

Quick description: 11-15 students (who applied months ago and demonstrated sincere potential and drive) meet 5 days/week from 3:15-5:00pm. Each day has an assigned topic. The program’s goal is to strengthen their academic skills.

It is still an emerging project, but if Friday was any indication, it is a worthwhile endeavor to be sure.

Friday’s topic was poetry writing. With Matt’s guidance, the group made an acrostic poem for “Inkululeko”. Students then wrote their own acrostic poem using whatever word they desired. Afterwards, students either worked on homework or read a newspaper/magazine.

Side note: In the above collage, one of the students is using Matt’s iPad to research information for homework. Many township families do not have internet access, making students at a loss when tasked with researching a topic. I suspect this simple gesture of letting her use the iPad for a few minutes was a big help. This is common at the Monastery’s after-school clinic; students might not need your instruction per se, they simply desire internet access.

The Friday afternoon ended with some good ‘ol fun and games. As anyone who remembers their childhood can attest, the value of play is instrumental to youth development; not to mention, it’s fun :)

I had a great time. I consider 8th grade a crucial time for personal development, and it was a deep treat to support this program for a day.

The hope is for Inkululeko to become further strengthened through public awareness and support, thus further investing in these students’ lives. Future plans include weekly community service projects and a possible science experiment or two.

Thank you for your wonderful support of me throughout this year -and for years before, too, to those of you whom it applies :) I wish you all a WONDERFUL day.

In Christ,
-Cameron