Holiday!

Dear family and friends,
I'm off to Uganda for two weeks!  I'll return late on January 2, 2011.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Take some time to celebrate the best Gift of all this Christmas!
Love, hugs, and winter vacation,
Kerry :)

Pictures from the last month...

The beautiful sunset from our neighborhood, overlooking Kigali

Getting ready to learn to salsa dance with our friends!

One of my precious children at Fall Fest at KICS!

My adorable students as we were preparing for our Chapel
about Creation!

My favorite people with me at Fall Festival!
Micki, Douglas, and Hannah

The cake they earned made by a wonderful parent!

My class enjoying the ice cream cake!

With a thankful heart...

Imagine waking up inside a mosquito net, getting ready, walking to school (work) in the early morning sun (probably nearly 70 degrees by 6:30am) and looking out over the hills onto the city.  Then picture walking into school and seeing people who were born in 4 different countries before seeing an American. Next find yourself teaching at a Christian school with children from 8 nations in the class, none of whom will be eating a turkey dinner that day.  This was the beginning to my Thanksgiving!  In the afternoon I gave up the chance to bask in the African sun (it was 80 by then) so that I could finish the preparation of my delicious mashed potatoes (completed only with the assistance of dear Uncle John, all the way from Plymouth). 

After a glorious and needed nap we headed down the hill to a fellow teacher’s house.  She is Canadian, but her husband is American (although he’s spend the fewest years of his life actually in the States).  I think we had people from 5 different places around the world, and at least 8 individuals were celebrating their first Thanksgiving.  We had all of the traditional foods, including turkey which is expensive and hard to come by in these parts.  It was definitely difficult and emotional to be away from my amazing family at this time, but it helped to be surrounded by the people I love most in this country!  God has truly surrounded me with more than I could ever deserve or imagine.  My evening ended by skyping with two Thanksgiving parties: one at the Rogne’s in Ann Arbor and one at the Moote’s in Plymouth.  Technology is such a blessing and it was overwhelmingly wonderful to see the smiling faces of my family whom I’ve been missing in pretty intense ways! 

To go back a bit, I actually loved teaching on Thanksgiving and soaking up everything that we are thankful for.  I began the morning just singing praises to God for all that He has graciously given to us and had the remainder of the school hours themed around thanks.  One of many amazing parts about teaching in a Christian school is that I can chat with my students about the things that matter the most, without hesitation or dancing around talking about Jesus because of separation of church and state.  It is inspiring to witness my little ones proclaiming that they are grateful that God sent his son to die for our sins, not because they think it is the right answer, but because it is because what they believe in their hearts. Be sure to check out their answers in my blog entry from yesterday! I learn so much from them every single day.

Overall, although vastly different than any other Thanksgiving, it was an incredible day! 

On another note, this week I was teaching Bible and our story mentioned something about suffering.  One of the children asked about it, and so I gave the others an opportunity to enlighten us.  A boy said, “Suffering is when people are begging for money and they’re crying in their hearts.”  Crying in the hearts. Wow.  Ah!  It just blows me away how God is working in these kids and how they can offer such insight!  It is unlikely that this six-year-old’s parents sat him down and said, “Now son, this is what suffering is…”  But through the Holy Spirit working in his life, he GETS it!  I am in constant amazement.

So, if anyone was questioning why I am so in love with my life here, I hope I have provided a small illustration.  There are frustrations and sad times, but mostly I’m just one happy girl!

Thanks again for the prayers and financial support.  I couldn’t do this without all of you!

With love, hugs, and many thanks,

Kerry 

Happy Thanksgiving!

My first grader's responses to "What are you thankful for?"

I’m thankful for God, that He made the world. I’m thankful for my grandfather… he died and now is in heaven. I’m thankful that God made countries and continents.  I’m thankful for the whole world… and the class! I’m thankful that in December I’m going to get to see my Grandma.

I’m thankful for Jesus.  I’m thankful for Christmas, that Jesus got born, of course. I’m thankful for Jesus and God.

I’ve got a lot of things… I’m thankful for food, water, a family, friends, and Jesus. I want to pray for my uncle because he died and now is in heaven. I’m thankful for God and Jesus.

I’m thankful that God gave us this time to praise him.

I’m thankful that my Mom comes back soon from America and that she will bring me gifts.  I’m thankful for friends and my teacher.

I’m thankful for a lot of things… I’m thankful for land and Jesus dying on the cross, and a family and food and friends.  I’m thankful that all the teachers are teaching well and I’m thankful that the students listen to the teachers.  I’m thankful for God and Jesus.

I’m thankful for my mom.  I’m thankful for friends and family.

I’m thankful for my family and I’m thankful that no one in my family is dead.

I’m thankful for my family and my teacher.  I’m thankful for our school and a book.

I’m thankful for my brother and my cousin.  I’m thankful that God gave us shelter.

I’m thankful for my friends and my teacher.

I’m thankful that it’s nearly December.

I’m thankful that my mom came back.

I’m thankful that my mom’s back is better.

My amazing kids

My students are the sweetest.  I mean, they drive me crazy on a daily basis, but their love and their hearts for God constantly overwhelm me with joy.  For the past few weeks I've had this silly cold/cough and my students are always concerned about me, requesting prayers for me each morning and showing compassion.  This morning one of my students came up to me and gently said, "Miss Dembowski, my mom said she can take you to the doctor so that they can help your cough and you can feel better."  Precious.  

On Wednesday it is the first graders' turn to do the program for chapel.  We are talking about Creation so today my kids were in groups around the classroom doing some art projects to prepare.  Four of my children were sitting on the floor in a circle cutting out flowers from construction paper (very hard to come by in Rwanda, but my roommate came very prepared) and they just started singing Jesus Loves Me.  I melted.


This weekend KICS had their fall festival which is kind of like a carnival/Halloween party (but no mention of Halloween).  Everyone dressed up and came to a beautifully decorated school and there was food, games, bake sale, etc., etc.  It was so fun to see my kids dressed up in their adorable costumes. It was funny to be calling it "fall" festival when, apart from the 20 minute downpour in the middle, it was sunny and 80 degrees.  No seasons here, except for rain.


Friday we celebrated Guy Fawkes/Bonfire Day which is a holiday from the U.K.  Lucky for us, we have 2 female British teachers and another British family so it gave us a great reason to have a party!  One of my friends had gotten marshmallows in a package, so we had make-shift s'mores.  We couldn't find plain chocolate, so we had to use the crispy kind!  Also, graham crackers are no where to be found in this country, so we used biscuits.  Anyway, they were delicious!


Yesterday was a great day at the orphanage, mainly because I got to feed mashed up banana to one of the tiny babies!  It is strange and perhaps pointless to try to describe my weekly experiences when I go to House of Hope.  I'm so joyful when I arrive because instantly I have children running into my arms craving love.  When we leave, they cry.  They cry because although the people there are wonderful, there is no way they could get the attention they need. Ah.  This Sunday was "Orphan Sunday" at church.  They showed this video and I encourage you to watch it, even though it isn't a "feel good" video by any means.http://vimeo.com/13888620

Well, that's all for now!  If you have questions, comments, news, or anything to share I encourage you to e-mail me.  I'm much better at responding to e-mails than I am at updating my blog.  Also, a lot happens that I don't necessarily choose to share with the entire world!


If you could be praying for my class's chapel performance on Wednesday that would be amazing!  We've been practicing a lot and so they're beginning to get a little bit bored.  
I can't stop praising God for the amazing friendships that have developed here!  The people in my life are just so incredible.


Well, friends, keep in touch!


Love, hugs, and dreams of fall,
Kerry :)

More later...

Dear family and friends,


More later, but click below to see some of my pictures from my beautifully amazing weekend in Uganda....


Lake Binyonyi Pictures!


Love, hugs, smiles, and prayers,
Kerry :)

Just a quick note...

I was feeling very anxious about parent/teacher conferences.  Very.  Not only was this my first time, but I was going to have conferences with parents who are from a completely different culture (and not just ONE different culture, many!), some who have English as their second language, and some who don't even speak English (one parent from Belgium brought an interpreter).  Before they began on Tuesday, I walked into my friend Hannah's classroom (second grade teacher) and she said "Okay, well shall we pray then?" (Picture this with a British accent.)  This is precisely the reason I was going into her classroom, and she just knew.  I'm constantly overwhelmed with the supportive people God works through to reach me here.  Praying with her put me at such peace with the conferences and her kind, encouraging words gave me confidence to face the parents.  So, 2 long afternoons and seventeen conferences later, I can say that I've successfully completed my first round of parent teacher conferences! Ah, the relief! :)

As a reward, and much needed break, I am traveling north to Uganda this weekend.  We'll be going to an island by way of dug-out canoes, to soak up the African sun at the beach and enjoy a quiet, serene environment for two nights in a geodome!  Stay tuned for pictures!

So, Praise God for an awesome week of conferences (not easy, but they're over!) and the amazing friendships I have here.  Prayers for our adventure to Uganda via bus, which will probably be anything but comfortable.

As always, thanks so much for the constant support in all ways:  prayers, love, hugs through the moon, e-mails, letters, and packages.

Love and blessings,

Kerry :)

This is where I live... sunset from school.
Don't you just love God's beauty?

Some of my kids during reading group giving an
attitude face.  I love them!

Life in Africa

They tried to teach me to dance... :)

My roommate Kelly took me to this place called Ivuka... an artist colony where people create and sell beautiful African art!  She teaches some street boys English, and on Friday they practiced with their dance team after school.

  

Some more of the overwhelmingly beautiful art with bright, bold colors that scream out to any viewers!  It was all so incredible, I wanted to buy everything!

This baby belonged to one of the women who was making beaded necklaces.  Her name is Princess.  Note how I tied her to me with my scarf... just like an African. :)

Of course their gate is painted!

Amahoro

Delicious ice cream! :)

 This weekend we adventured to Butare (Huye) for a bit of a cultural experience.  First, we had a fairly smooth bus ride for a couple hours that led us to the place where the kings and leaders of Rwanda long ago rested their heads.  From the grass huts to the European-inspired homes, we gazed upon history.  Can you imagine touching the same artifacts as an African king or treading softly through the home of an entrusted milk maiden?  We continued our journeys onward to the well crafted 1959 home of the late King Mutara III.  In the spirit of artistic expression, we roamed through the halls of Rwandan artists pouring their lives onto canvases.  I recall one particular unique sculpture where a motorcycle was covered with plaster. Ah, the purposeful design of the helmet, shoes and license plate, revealed the craftsmanship of the artist.  In fact, the license plate proclaimed the motto of transportation personnel across the nation... Taxi For Peace.  (Amahoro means peace in Kinyarwanda.)  In desire to keep to our itinerary, we again crowded onto the bus with perspective in our minds and a deep love for Rwanda in our hearts.  After indulging in a packed lunch we strolled through the Rwandan National Museum.  On the left and right displayed images of this country's history such as the firing of clay pots in a homemade kiln and the process of extracting the metal from the Earth to ultimately form simple tools for everyday use.  The two hours flew by amongst the vast array of cultural heritage.  Our final destination was cool, sweet, and full of dreams.  For a little over a dollar I devoured a large bowl of coffee ice cream sprinkled with biscuits (cookies).  As you can well imagine, I was enthralled at the idea of having this delectable dessert in a tropical climate.  The three hour bus ride home, politely interrupted by goat brochettes from a roadside duka, proved not to be boring, but rather a time to remember the kings of long ago, colorful artwork,  scrumptious packed lunches, and glimpse of the country I am proud to call home.

In my classroom, this week has been full of humor, progress, and many frustrations.  As soon as I'm beginning to believe that my students are really understanding, they tear my confidence out from under me.  It sometimes makes me want to scream, but the love they pour out onto me always makes it better.  Next week reports go out and I'll have conferences with all of the parents on Tuesday and Wednesdays.  Thankfully, had the opportunity to run many parent/teacher conferences during student teaching, so I feel much more comfortable than I would have otherwise.  I would really appreciate all prayers for preparing and leading all of this.  Eeeek!

This week I lead devotions for the teachers on Tuesday mornings.  I used one of my favorite hymns, which is overwhelmingly applicable to being called to serve to teach here in Rwanda.  

The Summons

Will you come and follow me if I but call your name?

Will you go where you don't know and never be the same?

Will you let my love be shown? Will you let my name be known,

will you let my life be grown in you and you in me?

Will you leave yourself behind if I but call your name?

Will you care for cruel and kind and never be the same?

Will you risk the hostile stare should your life attract or scare?

Will you let me answer prayer in you and you in me?

Will you let the blinded see if I but call your name?

Will you set the prisoners free and never be the same?

Will you kiss the leper clean and do such as this unseen,

and admit to what I mean in you and you in me?

Will you love the "you" you hide if I but call your name?

Will you quell the fear inside and never be the same?

Will you use the faith you've found to reshape the world around,

through my sight and touch and sound in you and you in me?

Lord your summons echoes true when you but call my name.

Let me turn and follow you and never be the same.

In Your company I'll go where Your love and footsteps show.

Thus I'll move and live and grow in you and you in me.

Back by popular demand... :)

Down our hill looking into Kigali. 

Dear friends,

Hello!  As per request by my little sister, I am back!  My apologies for not posting for such an extended period of time!

Yesterday after our Bible lesson, I asked a student in my class to pray.  Part of her prayer was this, "We are sorry for all of our sins.  We hope you can come into all of our hearts--even the bad guys." I am constantly amazed at how profound my first graders are!  They ask for exactly for exactly the right things!  Often in class, they ask if we can stop to pray if they're having trouble listening, or if they're preparing for P.E., anytime, really!  I do explain to them that if we ask God for strength, He will provide, and then we need to use the strength He is giving us!  

This weekend was the third time that I sang with the worship band at church.  The lady who is usually in charge this week (a singer) was sick, as well as the other experienced female singer.  This left me with a very talented high schooler from KICS, but neither of us are really used to leading.  We rehearsed on Saturday, upstairs in a small youth room because they had set up for a wedding that was taking place downstairs.  It was hard to hear our voices over the instruments (drums, 2 guitars, bass, and keyboard), it was hot, and slightly disorganized.  I left just praying that practice would be more productive in the morning.  Sunday morning came quickly and although we arrived at 8:30, we didn't begin with music until about 9:00 (standard African time).  We finished running through the songs by 9:50, and put all of our faith in God, because none of us were exactly pleased with how they sounded.  But oh, how God surprised us!  Our first few songs went smoothly (we came in at the right time and everything!) and then we played the African songs.  I have never felt MORE like I was in an African church.  Christ's Church in Rwanda is VERY international, but on Sunday the entire congregation was rocking and dancing and it was just an awesome thing to help lead and watch from the stage!  What a blessing it was to be apart of it!  

Also, during the communion part of the service I looked up (I sit in the front row, since I sing), and there was a man named Shawn there holding his newly adopted Rwandan daughter!  He had gone on the safari in Akagera several weeks ago, and told us the stories and struggles (LOTS of struggles) of trying to adopt this little girl in this country.  After having no success in the U.S., he left his wife and sons at home for a few weeks, and set off to get his daughter!  God worked his miracles and after only a month (this is quick!) he was holding her at church!  Things weren't looking very positive last time we talked to him, and so when I looked up and saw him holding little Grace, I immediately started crying, and was overwhelmed with how awesome God is.  Through Him, all things are truly possible!  She is precious, a miracle, and he even let me hold her!

Here I am taking a picture of myself on the moto!

After church I went to the orphanage that I go to every week (same place from which Grace was adopted).  Some Sunday afternoons I feel tired, and it takes a little motivation to walk down the hill, catch a moto, and go the orphanage.  Immediately when I walk through the gate I am bombarded with the reason that I continually go back.  They need so much love and that is all they want!!  I am so glad that I started going there right from the beginning.  

School is going well.  Progress reports went out last week, which seemed VERY overwhelming, but I managed to get through it.  It is nice to see that my students are indeed improving!  A few parents requested conferences with me and those are going well.  I am blessed with supportive parents who are concerned for their children.  

Thank you so much to those who are continuing to support me financially.  If you are interested, and don't feel comfortable donating online, or just have questions in general, please email me at kerrydembowski@gmail.com.  Also, please e-mail me anytime, as I choose not to post everything on this blog for the world to see!  It is nice to know who is reading and I'm always thrilled to answer questions or just to connect with people in the United States!

Thanks for all the prayers-- I can feel their power!  Prayer works and miracles happen.  Please continue to pray for me as a first year teacher.  Also, I am leading staff devotions on Tuesday morning, so I would appreciate prayers for wisdom in that.  Praise God that I have an incredible life here, amazing friends, and that I can feel peace about being so far away from home.

Peace, love, and fried chicken (I had fried chicken on Friday!!),

Kerry :)

Quote of the day...

"Miss Dembowski, I think my head is going to pain because I out my tooth!"

God provides.  God always provides!


Today was amazing.  


This morning I sang at church with the worship team!  We sang in English, Kinyarwanda, and Swahili... which proved to be quite a challenge.  I had a wonderful time though! :) I also learned some awesome new worship songs! 


This afternoon I went to the orphanage, Home of Hope, that I've been going to every week.  Last week when I got there this little girl came up to me and started singing "Na na na na na na" from the song "Every Move I Make!" which is the song I sing with them a lot.  It made me so happy that she remembered me and the song I taught her!  


After I got home I got to skype with The Colburns!  I talked to Becca for most of the time, which was wonderful.  I also got to see Jared and Evan, talk to Anderson, and watch Annelise crawl toward the computer screen.  Seeing and talking to people via skype really helps me to feel connected back home... so if you're interested, let me know!


That's all for now!  More to come soon!


Peace, Love, Hugs, and Pie,
Kerry

Some pictures for you...

At Akagera :)

Cape buffalo!!

Riding on the top to gaze at God's awesome creation.

Just a picture from the safari...

Waterfall on the way to Kibuye

View of Bat Island from Kibuye

First and third graders reading outside

My class :)

Of course I'm going on a safari...

Tuesday, September 7, 2010
8:46pm

Here I am! Still teaching and it really does get better each day. I’m reminding myself to find joy in every situation and to thank God for everything!
Each morning our class prays together and I take prayer requests or praises. Last week one of my precious six year olds said, “Praise God that it’s September!” It made me so happy because why wouldn’t be thank God for the simplest things, such as the changing of the month? Awesome!

I am currently in the process of locating my camera cord, but when I find it I will upload some pictures of my classroom, school, etc.

For now, I have pictures from someone else’s camera of our safari that we went on on Saturday! A KICS parent drove a group of teachers to Akagera National Park where we saw giraffes, zebras, impalas, baboons, water bucks, cool birds, a wart hog, cape buffalo, other deer-like creatures, and some cool butterflies too. It was incredible!

I had my second language lesson today in Kinyarwanda. We move really quickly through everything, but Joyce, our teacher, is really good and if I can remember, I have lots of people to practice with. The guards at the gates at school are always happy to talk to us and teach us new things, as well as the workers who clean our rooms. Fani, the lady who tidies my classroom, is very patient with me, as I’m horrible with pronunciation and she has to repeat things many times.

Tomorrow is back to school night for parents at our school. They’ll get to come around to all of the classrooms and learn about their child’s school life. I’m a little nervous to be dealing with a group of parents on my own, but I’m sure it’ll be fine because God will be with me. I know many of the parents already, so that is helpful.

The day before I got here was the presidential election in Rwanda and Kagama was re-elected. Monday was a public holiday for his inauguration, which meant no school for us! In the open field in our neighborhood there was a band playing music and a bunch of people were all dancing around in celebration! Many of us teachers went over to someone’s house and had grilled hamburgers, which were delicious. Then we played crazy uno, which I’ve never experienced before, but I loved it!

On Sunday I signed up for the worship team at my church, Christ Church in Rwanda. I had been thinking about it since before I got here, but wanted to wait until I could be committed to a church. Then I was encouraged by people during the car ride to Akagera that it would be a way that I could contribute my gifts. I’m excited because often they sing in three languages: English, Kinyarwanda, and Swahili. The worship team is made up of people from all over so it will be a way to get involved, meet more people, and glorify God.

Well, that’s all for now. I got more financial support from another person this week, which is always so exciting. I am so grateful and overwhelmed whenever someone decides to contribute in that way.

Thanks so much for the love and prayers!

Love, hugs, and geckos (did I tell you there are little lizards and geckos? I love it!)
Kerry
Miss Dembowski/Miss Bowski/Miss Bowso/Kerry Bear (as my British friend calls me)

Fun little things about Rwanda…

“Thank you too”
There is no phrase for “you're welcome” in Kinyarwanda so often Rwandans respond “thank you too” after we thank them. This especially happens with the guards at our school, and it makes me smile every time!

Motos
To get around town, we most often ride on the back of moto-taxis… small motorcycles that usually want to overcharge us since we’re white. It is pretty fun because usually they go quickly up and down the hilly roads of Rwanda! We can get most places by paying 700-800 francs. (592 francs = $1)

Airtime
Cell phones in Rwanda are all prepaid. You buy a scratch off card with “airtime” and type the number into the phone. It takes off a certain amount of money for each phone call, text message, and also when you use your phone number to pay for wireless internet. Also, once I figured out how to change my ringtone on my phone I set it to the Mission Impossible theme song!

Cash power
Electricity in our home is also prepaid. There’s a little box outside our front door that tells the amount of money we have left. Again, you have to go to the store, buy a card that has a code on it, and punch it into the box to get more power. So, when you don’t do this early enough (this happened to us in the second week), then the power goes out and there’s nothing you can do about it!
Also, sometimes, well often, the power goes out randomly for a minute or a few hours. On Thursday it was out for 8 hours. It doesn’t make much difference to me during school, but it does make things more difficult after dark. After dark means after 6:30.


This week was a great challenge, but it ended positively. My students are wonderful and full of energy! On Tuesdays we have devotions with our staff which is a peaceful way to begin the day. At the end of day I was so exhausted, then I realized that I started the school day worshipping with my staff and I finished the day praising God with songs with my students. It was an awesome reminder as to why I’m here! My roommate Emily reminded me that more importantly than teaching first grade, I am here to live like Christ and shine His light on others! It was a comforting and crucial for me to be thinking of that always!

Well, friends and family, thanks for reading this brief post!
I would really love to hear from more people via skype. Please look me up… my name is kerrydembowski. I’d love to set up a time to talk!

Thanks for the prayers and support!

Love, hugs, and beans & rice,
Kerry

Today I...

ran in a very high altitude, experienced a power outage, attended a new church that lasted 2 and a half hours and heard an annoucement in 5 languages, ate pizza, got a ride with a stranger, went to an orphanage, heard little kids try to copy my songs despite the fact the dont speak english, bought my first chocolate bar in rwanda, rode home on the back of a moto, sat on the curb to get free internet, and saw a cat.

I am a real teacher. EEEK!!

Saturday, August 21, 2010

12:00pm

The first week was a success!!
I am also pretty official because my picture is on the staff part of the school’s website: www.kicsrw.org. Thanks, Aunt Kathy, for letting us know! For those interested in what I eat every day, check out the school menu because I eat what the kids eat for lunch each day.

Everyone has been asking for picture… so here are a few….


This is my bedroom at my house! We got lucky and got the house with everything GREEN so it is perfect for me! They accidentally ordered us king sized beds so I sleep on about a quarter of my bed.


This is me and one of my roommates, Emily at the lake we went to for some orientation things the first week. It was beautiful and so was the drive! And, this is the place where I first tried goat.


It was also my first bus ride in Africa, where we went off the main roads into Kigali and onto unpaved roads with lots of potholes (kind of like Michigan! Haha).



Here I am in my first day of school outfit in my calendar corner of my classroom.

There is no carpet in this country, that I have seen, but last year in first grade they had this awesome blue shag carpet, so now I get it! The kids love it, although it is quite distracting because it is fun to play with. We spend a lot of time in this area, doing math meeting, reading stories, and singing songs. They LOVE singing and dancing so I’m glad I have so many children’s Cds on my computer (Thank you, Ingrid Schwab!)! So far their favorites are the chicken dance and the freeze.

My students are quite wonderful, but surprise: they act like a bunch of 6 year olds, so I am quite exhausted. We are getting into more of a routine and I’m pretty good at gauging enough time for everything. Eight hours is just a long day! We have about 25 minutes where the whole school has recess (chai break!), where I am on duty once a week. I have one or two 20 minute specials (P.E., Music, and Art) a day, except on Fridays, so those are really my only breaks. The kindergarteners and first graders eat lunch together first, and the teachers are the main supervisors at this point. Eventually Gerda (from the Netherlands) and I will take turns watching them at lunch, but until everyone is in the routine, we are both there.

Everybody here has such huge hearts!! I am so blessed to be surrounded by so many amazing people all the time. I have already made some great friends, especially my roommates, Emily and Kelly, and some of the other teachers. It is awesome because people are from nearby states (Micki and Doug are both from Indiana!) and then I have a friend named Hannah (second grade teacher) from England! I love it.

Last night I went over to a family’s house for dinner and we had HOT DOGS (with Heinz ketchup from Kenya!), potatoes, fruit salad and cupcakes. It was quite delicious. Tim Brubaker was the first person to contact me about this job, and he helped me set up my first interview with Trevor, the headmaster of KICS. Their family feels responsible for me being here, and had been praying for me for months and months. It is pretty awesome how God works, because I had been praying for this opportunity for so long and now here I am! Their family is so welcoming and Jessica is going to help out in my classroom (their son, Martin is a first grader), so I am grateful that I have them!

After dinner I watched a movie with some friends, fell asleep for part of it, then we sat around and one of our friends played guitar and we sang and hung out. It was comforting to me for the simple reason that I love that and it is so familiar to me-- just like home! God provides me with these types of friends in every stage of my life. What a blessing!

I will try to be more consistent about posting pictures and I’ll include some from school as soon as I take them.

Thanks for reading.

Love, peace, and delicious cupcakes,
Kerry

First day of school!

Tuesday, August 17, 2010
10:36pm

The first day of school was a success! It was only a half day so school went from 8am until 12pm. Sixteen of my twenty students showed up and I just found out another girl will be here at the end of next week when she returns to the country. I have students from 5 continents and many countries including the U.S., Rwanda, Ghana, Belgium, South Korea, Australia, South Africa, and more!
We started the day with a meeting of the whole school, and I found all my first grade friends and we headed down to our room. Overall it was a great day going through procedures, playing get to know you games, and singing songs. It is a really great class! During morning prayer I asked for prayer requests from students, which were so precious. We prayed for one girl’s baby brother who has been crying a lot at night and keeping her mom up at night, another girl’s grandma, and several of the students wanted us to pray that we would have a good day at school and obey the teacher.

All in all, the students were very well behaved and we had a really great time! Tomorrow will be my first full day of teaching in my own classroom, so that should be exciting.

On Sunday I went with my roommate Emily to the Mother Theresa Orphanage in Kigali. It was beautiful, fun, and heartbreaking all in one. I had never actually been to an orphanage and it was an awesome experience. I would say there were about 50 children ranging in ages 2-4 and maybe ten younger than that. Mostly the kids were just excited we were there and they wanted to be held and played with. I plan on going back on Sundays whenever I can.

Mostly, I spend a lot of time at school, working in my classroom and doing lots of planning. Today I came home and took a long nap, and went back to school for a long time!

The best time on weekdays for me to skype is between 4pm and 9pm my time so between 10am and 3pm in Michigan! Please e-mail me and we can set something up!

Also… since I’ve been here I’ve tried sheep and goat!

Okay, it is getting late so I need to get to bed! I will try to put up some pictures this weekend

Love, hugs, and happy first days,
Kerry

Friday, August 13, 2010
11:30pm

Good news! I’ve made it through the first few days. Somehow I have experienced little to no jet lag and have been sleeping on a regular sleep schedule. Praise the Lord! I’m basically moved into my room, but mostly I spend my time at school setting up my classroom. We have lots of textbooks, mostly donated by American schools. It is nice to have so many resources, but the challenge will be to figure out how I’ll incorporate as much as I can into being hands on.

Tomorrow (Saturday) afternoon is the meet and greet at the school. This is just a time where the parents and some of the students come to meet the staff. I’m very excited and I’m just praying that it goes smoothly and I make a good impression! Eeek! I have already met several parents who are connected to the school. One is the daughter of the chair of the board of KICS (father) and a high school teacher (mother). I also have the librarian’s son and the little boy of the missionary family who first contacted me about this opportunity via mission teach. They are especially excited that I came, since they had a part in it, so they invited me over for dinner on Sunday evening.

Things have been very busy but overwhelming. First year of teaching and moving to a foreign country… yikes! I do think it is wonderful here and the staff and headmaster are nothing but supportive. It is a place of great love.

Please do keep in touch and let me know what is going on in all of your lives. (kerrydembowski@gmail.com) If you’d like to send mail I heard it takes about two weeks, and packages could take up to 3 months (but often a month). I would love to hear from you.

Love, hugs, and first moto rides,
Kerry

Oh! Fun fact we discovered today… I am the youngest member on the KICS staff!

I made it!

This is a sunset I saw on the plane on the way to Brussels.

And a few hours later... the sunrise! So beautiful!

This is the boy who sat in my empty seat for a few hours of the flight to Kigali. He is Jonathan and he's four. And adorable.

Wow! I really can hardly believe I actually made it here! I arrived last night into Kigali around 7:00, walking out of the baggage claim to a group of people calling out, “Kerry! Kerry!’ to every single white girl who passed by. They rushed me when they saw me and I was introduced to the headmaster, several teachers, and some families, including one of my students-- Grace! It was a wonderful welcome.

I was driven to my house with a family and one of my roommates, Emily. She is a second year KICS (Kigali International Community School) teacher from North Carolina and she has a great southern accent! Along with some years of teaching in the U.S., she also taught a year in Kenya before coming to Rwanda. Upon my arrival at my new house I also met my other roommate, Kelly, who has already been in this country for 6 months or so with the Bridge to Rwanda program. They are so nice, easy going, and fun and immediately made me feel comfortable here. We spent the evening unpacking and talking and then I was actually able to get a fairly good night of sleep!

Our house is very nice, with the three bedrooms upstairs, each with a king sized bed, which is kind of crazy. Most things are decorated in green, which is extra nice for me. We are at the top of a hill and my view is of the city! We have a bathroom upstairs with a shower/bathtub with hot water, which is exciting. It is a handheld shower head so that will take a little bit of getting used to. Downstairs we have a small kitchen, living room/dining room, a storage room, and another bathroom with a shower and a toilet. Right now we can only use the upstairs shower and the downstairs toilet.

I write this as I lie in bed, but we don’t have internet at our house so I’ll post it once I get to school. We’re meeting there at 10:00 for orientation. Tomorrow we are going to the genocide museum, and although it’ll be very sad, I’m anxious to go to learn about their history and how much this country has overcome.

I’m stoked to see what everything looks like in daylight since I arrived after dark last night.

Oh! My flights all went very smoothly. From Detroit to Washington D.C. was a quick and easy flight and I got to my next gate with fifteen minutes until we had to board. From D.C. to Brussels (7 hour flight) I sat next to an 80 year old Croatian man who had moved to the U.S. when he was 32 and started a family. He had 2 children (his daughter graduated from Harvard Law!) and 2 grandchildren. He spent most of the flight reading financial newspapers and shared articles with me that I would find of interest: one about recent college graduates and another about Africa. He had actually been to Rwanda (of course) so he could tell me a little about it. When he stood up he always asked me to hold his cup (he drank lots of tomato juice!) and then told me, “Old people are like old cars--they require lots of care.”

I had a few hours in Brussels where I met a Ugandan man named Peter who has been living in L.A. for several years but was traveling home for his brother’s wedding. I also met some pastors from a church in Nashville who were traveling to Uganda because their church is working with two orphanages there. When I told them what I was doing they prayed for me, my safety, and my trip.

Saturday is a meet and greet type night where I’ll meet all of my students and their parents, so it is my goal to have my classroom all set up by then. Tuesday is the first day of school-- a half day. Eeeek!!

Well, thanks for all of your support. I could not have made it here without the love and encouragement from all of you.

With love and hugs from Rwanda,
Kerry