school and songs

Thursday July 30
We built desks today. Or rather we took apart desks and put them back together. All shiny and new- as shiny and knew as rusty nails and new plywood can be. All we need to do now is put the locks on them and students can use them in the dining room, playground or classroom- wherever there’s room. There will be plenty of room starting tomorrow afternoon since school is closing for holiday. The kids have taken term exams all week, some of them doing well and others not so much (I got to mark some tests today.)
Mainly, the kids are exhausted, some are even falling asleep in class or so they tell me. How we’re all the same. I fell asleep in class, friends do the same. The reasons are different for sure. Homework, 5 nightly activities, facebooking, dinner, more homework and talking on the phone keep a North American kids up to the wee hours. African kids, however, do chores, cook dinner, finish homework, feed animals, walk 30 minutes home, fetch water, clean up after dinner, and care for brothers and sisters into the late night. Like most thing compared to American life, this reality of Africa is neither bad or good in comparison. Culture and opportunities are different. What strikes me as a main difference is the amount of responsibility most African children possess in comparison to a generally low amount where I’m from. Of course, there are the occasional children who raise themselves, learning at an early age how to make mac ‘n cheese and wash clothes. But for the most part, if left to their own devices, American children would have a hard time surviving if their parents died. I heard from an African friend that the main reason for the abundance of responsibility for these children is preparation. If a mother or father left, died, couldn’t care for the children, they would know the essentials in surviving. They could gather food. They could take care of each other. And they could pray until blessing pours down on them.

Tonight some of the kids (those that board at the school) came over to pray and say goodbye before they go home for vacation. It was an interesting time of sharing, singing and praying. There are some things that would take some time to get use to in this culture, one is the singing together in any key. But so long as God hears the song, the prayer, he can probably tune the dissonance. I guess he has to all the time just in general. The amount of times my prayers seem to contradict or fade or scream or wail. I’m grateful God has that skill.