Mapping It Out

This was the third day of training. On Monday, only half of the students were there to start. Several came later, two came the next day and one more today. We must work with them on the importance of coming at the beginning and staying throughout the meetings. One didn’t show up today and no one knew why.

On Monday, the training went well although the students had not done their pre-assignments mostly because they did not receive them in time. It is difficult to distribute the assignments when no one has mail service or email. We will try to give out the assignments for the next training at the end of this one.

It is quite hot and humid here and the students lose their ability to think well by mid afternoon. We have had to adjust the schedule to present more interactive materials in the afternoon and thinking materials in the mornings. This is par for the course in cross cultural training, always adjusting to the circumstance. We covered the topic of world views on Monday and Tuesday and it was a real struggle for them to understand the concept but I think we finally got through.

Today, Wednesday, was especially frustrating. Several factors contributed. Our main translator brings her 2 year old boy with her and he is a typical 2 year old. He runs all over, gets into the markers, books, notebooks, etc., and cries, pushes chairs around, etc. all during the teaching. At times she nurses him during translation. It really is a challenge all in all. Today lunch was two hours late, throwing the schedule all off. We couldn’t find the marker so the students took forever to write out their presentations. In general there seemed to be a lot of confusion and their work was disappointing. I think it is partially a warfare issue so we talked and prayed together about that. It is really a pleasure to have Eric my partner to talk to and to strategize with. Our Kenyan leaders also are very helpful. In the end, after a very hot and frustrating day, I think we accomplished a lot in the last session. We are cancelling one topic tomorrow and adding a new exercise to help with an area they are struggling with. I trust the Lord to help us make progress tomorrow and Friday. Thanks for helping us in your prayers as we battle for God’s purposes here.

Al