Just me, Teacher Kelly, and 19 five year olds

I’ve been living in South Africa for just over a month now. How beautiful and fun life here is!

X squad arrived to Jeffrey’s Bay South Africa on January fourth and moved into the missions house on the Global Leadership Academy campus. Four days later we promptly packed up again to move down closer to the beach.

For a few weeks ministry looked different everyday. Our day could look anything like cooking meals for the squad in the kitchen to prayer walking on the beach. It was a blast but we were very excited when we got assigned our consistent ministry.

We are now teachers assistants! We work at a school that has grades R, RR, and RRR. I am in a R class with my new friend Teacher Kelly. Grade R is the oldest group and our oldest kids in the class are six. We currently have 19 five and six year olds running around our classroom everyday. Recess is mixed grade level and let me tell you, chaos is a gentle term. You know that scene from Toy Story three in the caterpillars room? It’s like that.

There was definitely some culture shock when we first got to the school. The way that this school is run is very different from how schools are in America. The teachers are very intense and the kids have so much autonomy. Teachers leave the classroom unattended without thinking twice. Three year olds wipe down tables and take bathroom trips by themselves. My kids move tables around to allow Teacher Kelly to sweep. And the childrens’ style of play is very similar to dogs. I’m still learning the difference between a real fight and kids messing around at recess. I’ve had a few instances where I’ve broken up a fight only to be given looks of confusion that said “why did you stop us we were having fun”. The other day there was a child sprawled out like a starfish on the ground at recess. I said “Ashton what are you doing?”. He yelled “fighting!” and flung himself onto the nearest kid. That was his way of telling me that he was ok. It’s wild out here.

I finally have all of my students names down. And I’m at the point where I feel like I’m being legitimately helpful in the classroom and I now know where all the kids stand in their comprehension levels. I’ve been cranking out making worksheets for different kids based on what they need practice in.

They have also recently learned my name! Well some of them call me Sophia, but I’ll take what I can get. And they have been doing this fun little game where they call out my name but as soon as I turn around they go back to their work and pretend like nothing happened. They find it really amusing. Their little personalities have been coming out more and more with each day. And day by day I’m discovering that they do in fact speak English, but only when they want to. I love these kids though and it makes me really sad when I think about leaving.

On a happier note, our free time here in South Africa has been nothing short of adventurous. There is never a shortage of activities to do. When we lived down by the beach we frequently visited a restaurant called The Mexican for hot chocolates. We made friends with the local convenience store owner. We saw him at least once but usually two or three times a day. The cupcake lady was another friend of ours. Beach time often was a must. And the billabong and ripcurl outlets were a five minute walk when we needed retail therapy. Now that we’re back at GLA, we spend a lot of time at McDonalds. And fun fact the gas station has Dr. Pepper so we journey there often as well.

The connections we’ve made within this community are so special. Jeffrey’s Bay is starting to feel like home.

Continue to be praying for me and my team as we prepare to leave South Africa in two weeks. Be praying for continued health and that we would expect great things from God. Be also praying for Teacher Kelly and our students.

Love you all! Thanks for reading!