Teacher Appreciation Day

Recently ACTION held an appreciation day for the teachers that we work with. It included some time of singing and praising God, a tour of the ministry center, a powerpoint presentation of the year (the teachers loved seeing their pictures on the "big screen") and lunch. Mariko Walters, a teacher from the States, was finishing her year commitment and heading home so the teachers gave her gifts and shared how much she meant to them.

The ministry to church-based schools in the poorest areas of the city is one of my favorite things that ACTION does. We are finding illiteracy a major barrier to evangelism and discipleship with adults. In fact, many of our Zambian friends are functionally illiterate. They can not read their own Bible and are dependent on a pastor or friends for their understanding of God.

The government schools have steadily declined and teaching reading without phonics has led to children beginning to read in fourth to sixth grades, if at all. To make matters worse, in the slums, where most of the population of Lusaka lives, many children can not even attend the government schools because they do not have money for uniforms or for books.

Mari trained teachers in four church-based community schools to teach phonics-based reading and Christian education. Children in first grade through fifth grade who, at the beginning of the year, were not reading, now are reading words, simple sentences, books, and even the Bible!

The work continues with the Stein family, arriving this fall.

Yo, Ho, Ho and a bottle of rum

John recently heard about national Talk Like a Pirate Day (which is Sept. 19th if you're interested). He started talking like a pirate and planning for this holiday. Here is what the kids have been doing for days. . .

Evan is the dreaded one-eyed pirate captain and Nathan is made to walk the plank. Marshall is the keen-eyed lookout and Julia is the fair-haired maiden. Don't worry grandparents, those tattoos aren't permanent!

Lego Ships

This week we did a unit study on ships from Viking and ancient Roman up to the most modern hydrofoils. The kids got inspired and made a ship of their own out of Legos. They asked for us to take a picture and put it on the blog, so here it is. Take a close look at the sail. Does anyone that has been to Zambia recognize it? Another of the many uses we have found for a Shop Rite bag!