Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Sunday, September 19, 2010
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
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
Sunday, September 12, 2010
Some pictures for you...
 |
At Akagera :)  Riding on the top to gaze at God's awesome creation.     First and third graders reading outside   |
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
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)
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)
Sunday, August 29, 2010
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
“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
Sunday, August 22, 2010
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.
Saturday, August 21, 2010
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
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
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