... by Simon
Last Thursday I led a seminar for all of the students to review a visit that we had from a Coptic Orthodox Priest. It's not as if Namibia is being over-run with Coptic Othodox, but in an effort to help students interact with and evaluate other 'Christian traditions', a Coptic Orthodox Priest was invited to talk about his church.
In our review it was really encouraging to hear the students talk about the need to demonstrate humility and to welcome visitors... and yet also to be clear about what a very different faith the Coptic Orthodox Church proclaims. The heart of the difference, as we saw it, was the decision to hold the church tradition as the ultimate source of authority.
Although many students will struggle to find a Coptic Orthodox person in their villages at home, Namibia is full of people who call themselves Christian and hold their particular church tradition as the ultimate source of authority. (even if that church tradition only goes back as far as what the pastor said last week!)
One of the abiding principles of NETS is that the Bible is the ultimate source of authority in all matters of faith. This means that we need to live ourselves, and encourage our students to live and serve God's church, in constant submission to God's will as we know it through His Word.
For me, last Thursday was the first time I had formally 'taught' the whole student body, and I had a blast. I am learning so much about how to relate and communicate more appropriately In Namibia, and it was great to put the training wheels on and have a go.
The next day I played Bob the Builder around the campus and fixed some toilets, unblocked drains and that sort of thing... and I really enjoyed that too.
I am very much looking forward to July when I start teaching full-time. At this stage it looks like the first thing I might do is go along on the week-long College mission trip to Botswana.
Monday, April 14, 2008
Volcanoes - Our School Concert:
By Madelon
Recently my new school put on a school concert on Volcanoes. I was only there six days before I performed! Everyone had lots of fun. We performed the concert twice; it was a success both times with two full halls. Noah was in the class song, it explained how Volcanoes work. He was dressed like a cowboy. I was in my class song; it was all about Pompeii and Mt Vesuvius. I also acted as a school girl on an excursion. We took friends to see it and they all said it was
great. At the end there was a volcano experiment, which only worked once. Still, when it worked it was spectacular!
Recently my new school put on a school concert on Volcanoes. I was only there six days before I performed! Everyone had lots of fun. We performed the concert twice; it was a success both times with two full halls. Noah was in the class song, it explained how Volcanoes work. He was dressed like a cowboy. I was in my class song; it was all about Pompeii and Mt Vesuvius. I also acted as a school girl on an excursion. We took friends to see it and they all said it was
great. At the end there was a volcano experiment, which only worked once. Still, when it worked it was spectacular! 
Saturday, April 12, 2008
Noah's Cheetah Conservation Fund trip
... by Noah
Last Tuesday I went on a school excursion to the Cheetah Conservation Fund about 3 hours drive north of Windhoek. We stayed in a campsite for two nights. The tents that we stayed in were only just big enough to hold six kids!
We also got to go to the musuem that had lots of intersesting facts about Cheetahs and other big cats.
Last Tuesday I went on a school excursion to the Cheetah Conservation Fund about 3 hours drive north of Windhoek. We stayed in a campsite for two nights. The tents that we stayed in were only just big enough to hold six kids!
When we got there on the first day everyone thought we would die from the heat inside the bus. We met 'Gibs', who was our tour guide.
This photo is one that I took of Chewbaaka who is the ambassador of the Chee
tah Conservation Fund. The Cheetah is the fastest land mammal and can reach speeds of over 100km/hour. Their stride is 8metres long and that is how they can accelerate faster than a Ferrari. The way that you can Cheetah from a Leopard is that they have tear marks that run down their nose and to the outer areas of their mouth. They are pitch black tear marks, just like their spots, so you can see the difference from a long way off. These marks somehow helps them to see better in bright light. Cheetah's have semi-retractable claws, meaning that they cannot bring their claws completely into their paws. The Cheetah has a small light-weight body construction and long legs and a long heavy tail which helps them to balance.
tah Conservation Fund. The Cheetah is the fastest land mammal and can reach speeds of over 100km/hour. Their stride is 8metres long and that is how they can accelerate faster than a Ferrari. The way that you can Cheetah from a Leopard is that they have tear marks that run down their nose and to the outer areas of their mouth. They are pitch black tear marks, just like their spots, so you can see the difference from a long way off. These marks somehow helps them to see better in bright light. Cheetah's have semi-retractable claws, meaning that they cannot bring their claws completely into their paws. The Cheetah has a small light-weight body construction and long legs and a long heavy tail which helps them to balance. The best bit about the whole thing was getting to pat a Cheetah. The Cheetah was sitting on a chair and we went around and patted it! We also got to see Harry, Hermione and Ron (who are other Cheetahs) chase a bit of cloth on a string around at VERY high speed.
At night we got to sit around a campfire and drink hot chocolate, roast marsh-mallows and make up poems and sing songs. The first night was very hot and we hardly got any sleep. On the second night it rained and we hardly got any sleep again. In the mornings we did a morning jog.
One morning a zebra snake/spitting cobra got into the goats and chickens pen. The anatolian shepherds (the dogs in the picture) went and protected the goats by attacking the snake. They killed the snake but when the came back, one of them had both eyes very swollen and the other just had one very swollen eye from the snake's poison. Now they can barely see.
We also got to go to the musuem that had lots of intersesting facts about Cheetahs and other big cats.
I am making good friends at school and mostly it's good fun.
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
Where old computers go... just before they die
Yesterday I travelled to a mystical place; the place where old computers go just before they die. It is the NETS computer room.
Even to call it a 'computer room' is being generous to the point of deception. The 30 odd students at NETS are required to type their assignments. To provide for this, the computer room has been established. There are 3 computers for the students to share. The newest of the 3 is a 486 machine and has a USB port. The other two use 3.5 inch floppy disks, and one has a 5 and 1/4 inch drive as well. All of these computers are older than my children!
So how do the 30 odd students who are sharing these dinosaurs feel about this! Well, sometimes they are frustrated at the long waits and the regular crashing... but in the main they are grateful. Grateful!
Their gratitude for the old computers... and for so many other things that I take for granted... and for my feeble efforts to encourage them... Well, their gratitude serves as a great rebuke to me. Gratitude is one of the defining marks of the Christian.
Colossians 3:16-17 (NIV)
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
The gratitude of the Christian person is one of the things that ought to make us shine like stars in a darkened universe. I pray it might be much more true of me than it has been.
Even to call it a 'computer room' is being generous to the point of deception. The 30 odd students at NETS are required to type their assignments. To provide for this, the computer room has been established. There are 3 computers for the students to share. The newest of the 3 is a 486 machine and has a USB port. The other two use 3.5 inch floppy disks, and one has a 5 and 1/4 inch drive as well. All of these computers are older than my children!
So how do the 30 odd students who are sharing these dinosaurs feel about this! Well, sometimes they are frustrated at the long waits and the regular crashing... but in the main they are grateful. Grateful!
Their gratitude for the old computers... and for so many other things that I take for granted... and for my feeble efforts to encourage them... Well, their gratitude serves as a great rebuke to me. Gratitude is one of the defining marks of the Christian.
Colossians 3:16-17 (NIV)
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God. And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
The gratitude of the Christian person is one of the things that ought to make us shine like stars in a darkened universe. I pray it might be much more true of me than it has been.
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