It has been a hard week teaching everyday from 8am to 3pm, and then further preparation in the evening as well as marking assignments. It is difficult to fit everything in and to get to see everyone who wants to have a meeting. The students have been very friendly, and we have started to bond, and I am starting to learn their names. They have a volleyball net here, and so a couple of times during the week we played volleyball, although the cows also use it for grazing, so you have to clear the ‘cow dung’ off the field first, and hope that you don’t land in the remains.
They are quite good at sport, although very limited facilities. My team won the first game and then I retired to let someone else play, very sporting of me, but without my skill they lost the second game. The weather has been warm and sunny, but it rains every afternoon at about 4pm, just as I am arriving at Kericho to go to the shops or visit the internet café. The car played up again with the same problem, it is probably something to do with the petrol they use here, but again we had about six people looking at it in the rain, pushing one part, banging another, even looking under the car and the scratching their heads, but eventually the mechanic from the other day came, and he managed to fix it. The next problem was with the constant turning over of the engine, the battery was now flat! So it had to be charged up, so I decided to walk back to the hotel, even though it was raining, as it was quicker, and I had a lot of work to do.
The book of Romans has been interesting, but it is too complex to teach in one week, and there are a lot of issues the Apostle Paul raised, which we could only scratch the surface on, However it has given them a foundation on which to build any further studies. We also looked at the effect it had on Martin Luther.
The food hasn’t been too bad, we have had rice every day, but a couple of times chicken, and once ugli – which is a solid maize food. I have been eating at the hotel in the evening and most of the time I have had fish, as there is not much more on the menu. I spoke at the AIC Kericho church bible study on Wednesday night, and there was about 25-30 people there, and it seemed to be well received. I have been speaking in the college chapel everyday and we have been studying Philemon, and looking into his relationship with Paul.
I have been invited to visit some of the students homes, and will be doing this on Saturday, the local ones at least. The students who live further away, I am will try and arrange for my next visit. It can be quite complicated trying to fit all these visits in, as well as the other commitments I have.
The college students are very pleased with the hymn books (Mission Praise) that were donated by Eastwood Evangelical, it the first time they have had ‘modern’ hymn books. They have been using them during the chapel services. They were also happy with the pencils and pens the college has received. The college has given them all a few each, and the rest they will sell to them at a discounted price. This not only saves the students money, and they can get for their brothers and sisters, but also raises some much needed funds for the college.
The college students are very pleased with the hymn books (Mission Praise) that were donated by Eastwood Evangelical, it the first time they have had ‘modern’ hymn books. They have been using them during the chapel services. They were also happy with the pencils and pens the college has received. The college has given them all a few each, and the rest they will sell to them at a discounted price. This not only saves the students money, and they can get for their brothers and sisters, but also raises some much needed funds for the college.
They are all keen to read the English books I have left for them, as well as the study books I will leave. It will be interesting to see how they do in the final exam I will set them