March was a super busy month! As Ira and I prepare to attend Mission Training International during April, he wanted to dive in on the projects that needed to be done. Ira took tiles that were left over from previous projects and used them to tile the freshly painted vegetable room. What a difference it makes in the appearance and ability to clean it! He then rebuilt 2 drainage clean out tanks and repaired another. These will be very useful now that rainy season seems to be around the corner. Then Ira and the boys took on the dirty job of completely overhauling the existing septic system. They emptied the tanks all by hand and then replaced the filter system with new rocks, gravel and charcoal.
In between the big projects, Ira worked on the makeover for a new computer lab. All the computers we have right now are donated and very dated. Being an institute that is focused on education, the directors would like to purchase new computers so the kids can learn how to use them and different programs. He also did his regular maintenance and even repaired a shoe for one of the volunteer teachers. She was so grateful, she made him a cookie, drew a shoe on it and wrote DtB which is an abbreviation for Dios te Bendiga/God Bless you. Ira was very encouraged through her appreciation.
I am still working on various projects in the administration office. I scan invoices and do data entry. I have never had any Microsoft Word/Excel classes, so the spreadsheets intimidate me. I am afraid to do anything different from the straightforward entries. Little by little though, I am getting the hang of it. I also had the opportunity to substitute teach this month. I am very aware that teaching is not a God given gift of mine, but I really wanted to help the volunteer who needed to be away. As always, in my weakness, God showed up and I ended up being the one to learn. I actually enjoyed spending time with the kids and building a different kind of relationship with them through the classes.
The kids also had projects this month. A local business comes once a month to do various activities with them. This month, they brought items that are normally thrown away and recycled them into toys and different items. Among the finished products were planes, trains, trophies, pencil holders, kites and dolls. The kids really enjoy the opportunity to exercise their creativity.
So that wrapped up March for us. Now the kids are out of school for 2 weeks for Holy Week and Spring Break. A Sunday School class,Temple Baptist Church, from our hometown of Nova Scotia sent some money so that we could buy balls and other items for the kids to have during their free time. The timing is perfect as they often get bored when they are out of classes for too long. The girls got jump ropes, the boys got tops and they all got soccer balls.
Happy Holy Week Everyone~we have much to celebrate as the weekend approaches because we serve a Living God!
