| Elizabeth had a couple of days to get used to life on the island before we left for Russian Bay. We had been blessed with the fellowship and sometimes we forget how much it means to visit with people who literaly speak the same language as well as have a spiritual depth and understanding. So, Elizabeth and I, Euphrasie and Norbert set off for Russian Bay early on Sunday morning and as is usually the case, with a lot of stuff, ranging from food to furniture. |
| Once again, we had the use of a friend’s house on the other side of the bay. One could call it rustic, but for us it was very comfortable compared to living in a tent. It rained so much the first night which was unusual for the time of year, resulting in the track over the hill difficult to navigate, especially the downhill part of it. The last time Thesi came to visit, we had a particularly challinging walk to school with me just about sliding down the hill on my behind. Therefore, Elizabeth and I decided to stay. Euphrasie and Norbert managed it though. |
| Euphrasie had simply laughed after I asked her how it went at school. She assured me that staying behind, was the best thing. No children showed up and Norbert went to the village and ordered the parents to school for a meeting. Well, to make a long story short, they had all kind of grievances which Euphrasie quickly nipped in the bud. The school’s walls needed repairs and I had sent a message ahead of time to have the wall panels ready for Norbert to fix. Of course, there were no panels to work with. They did not send the children to school, because they had no writing books and they also wanted a school uniform. Euphrasie became so angry that she simply told them that if the children were not at school by the next morning that we’ll close the school. By the next morning, the children showed up with their writing books which miraculously appeared from who knows where and some time later, so did the wall panels. Staying behind on that first day, turned out to be the best as I might have taken the first fishing boat home. It rained the second night as well. The next morning we made our way to school on what looked like a very small boat at first glance, but it got us there in no time. |
| The rest of our time at school was a blessing. Where the parents are often a disappointment, the children always want to learn and grow. And that is what keeps us going. We know that God wants to do a work in their lives. |
| A lot of time was spent on making new visual aids and generally just organising the classrooms. Ledesy, the grade 4 and 5 teacher has a new classroom, which is actually just a part of the veranda which we closed off. He also ended up with the new tables, so his students were very happy. |
| Elizabeth taught the girls how to play hopscotch and they played it everyday from then on. Norbert unpacked all the tools and materials in one corner of a classroom and I told him to please throw away all the junk. Well, one man’s trash is another woman’s treasure and Elizabeth showed the kids how to make music … or is it noise, by re-purposing some of the ‘junk’. How she ended up helping Norbert with the re-fitting of the walls, I still don’t know, but it all got done in the end. |
| Patricia, who takes care of the house, cooked for us over open fire every day. Euphrasie’s breakfast consisted of condensed milk and rice. And of course, we enjoyed eating fresh fish and my favourite as always, a pot of crabs. |
| We left Russian Bay with happy hearts. There are fifty-two children for the new school year. Some have never gone to school and need to learn to read and write at eight years old. Two of the older girls came from other towns on the main land. They haven’t been to school for two years and have a lot of catching up to do. So, as Euphrasie told the parents, “This little school in the bush is better than most schools on Nosy Be, so don’t ruin your children’s lives.” |
| Have a blessed week. |