Newsletter From May

This is a newsletter I typed up in May and is currently posted on the PC(USA) website (you can find the link on my page...above...to the right). I wasn't sure if you all knew that it was there so I thought you'd like to see it :)


Hello Friends!

I have broken into a new world. I came from a Ghanaian school within a Ghanaian community, where I seldom saw a light-colored face. When I switched to my second placement for the year, I went through a bit of a culture shock. I am now living on the other side of Accra, where I am teaching at an American International School. We have about 100 students that attend this pre-K through twelfth-grade facility. Including the staff and teachers, we represent over 20 different countries! I am living with four other ladies that are in their twenties and are from various parts of the United States. The environment in which I am living might be completely different from where I started, but it is just as enriching as the first.

My daily teaching schedule goes something like the following: From 8:00 to 11:15 I am working with a 16-year-old-student who has autism; from 12:00-12:45 I teach an eighth-grade Spanish class, and after lunch from 1:25-2:10 I teach a seventh-grade American history class.

In the beginning, working with my student in the morning was a very large challenge. I have had little to no experience with children with autism, so it was a jump in and swim type of experience. However, after a few months on the job, I’m swimming laps! I have received suggestions and help from all over the world, while I was also doing as much of my own research as possible on the subject. It was amazing to see how God answered my prayers for help immediately and with gusto! I feel very comfortable with the progress my student, his family, and I are making together. He and I have developed a relaxed atmosphere that really seems to suit him. I now recognize when he is about to be stretched too far and also when I can continue to challenge him. His mother and I are corresponding daily in a notebook that he brings home every night, which really helps to inform each of us with how he is progressing either in the home or at school. Suggestions are made from both sides and seriously considered by both parties.

My other two classes are going very well. Each of my students finds a way to make me laugh at some point during the day. I am so grateful that I have been blessed with them to start off my teaching career. They challenge me, but also accept my mistakes when I make them.

Every other Tuesday at our house, three of us, girls, participate in what we call “Kids Club.” For approximately an hour, we invite into our compound about 30 children from the neighborhood who are 11 years old or younger. We invite them to listen to a story from our big book of Bible stories, sing songs together, and play a few fun games. After a full day of kids at school, it is sometimes difficult to come up with the energy for 30 eager and excited Ghanaian children. However, when we have spent the hour listening to laughter, then watch as they walk away with a bag of pure water, a cookie in their hands, and a huge smile on their face, we realize the temporary fatigue was all worth it.

So, my switch in placements has been big, but it is a positive change and I have recently signed a contract to stay on for two more years at this American International School. God brought me into this situation for a reason, and I take comfort knowing that He is in control of what will become of my future.

I try to update my personal blog at least once a month, so please feel free to visit it at himandmeg.blogspot.com. Thank you for your interest in my discipleship!

In Him,

Meg