Some More Little Bites

A conversation that I overheard on the playground between my one five year-old boy and my other five year year-old boy…

Boy A: You date don’t you?

Boy B: No, I don’t date. I just have lots of girls who like me. It’s just my life. You wouldn’t understand.

Boy A: Oh, okay.

Then both boys run off to play on the swings with the rest of the young kids, who are all girls!

This happened a few months ago but it cracked me up so I thought I would share.

We had been in school almost a month and the kids were in a pretty good routine about what to do after break: put your bag at your desk, line up at the door, go the bathroom, wash your hands, line up at the door again to get your little squirt of hand sanitizer and then go in the classroom and either go to your desk and get to work or get a game or a puzzle out.

I only have two or three young boys and they were done in the bathroom quickly and were back in the classroom. I was at the door making sure that the girls were doing what they were supposed to so I had my back turned for about a minute. I all of a sudden noticed that it had gotten remarkably quiet without any reminders from me about what volume our voices should be when we are inside. So I turned around and what should I see but one of my five-year olds with his shirt off trying to do push-ups in the middle of the floor!!!

My first reaction was to laugh but I managed to curb that and tell him to get up and put his shirt back on and go to his desk to start the work that I had set out for him. After a little bit I went to him and asked what he thought he was doing in my classroom without a shirt on. He told me that he couldn’t possibly exercise with his shirt on and he had to show his friends how to do push-ups!

The other day it was just me and my older kids and I mentioned a song that had been playing in my car when the baby was born in the back seat. I happened to look at my fourteen year-old boys face right when I said “…the baby was born in the back seat of my car…” and he made the most disgusted face that you can imagine! I hadn’t realized that it would be quite so traumatic for him to hear about it!

We received a new student when we came back to school at the end of January, a little girl who just turned four. We had only been in school a couple of weeks and the classroom was pretty quiet (a rarity around here) when all of a sudden I noticed that someone was humming the theme from Star Wars. I looked at all of my older students and they were all hard at work and not humming. So then I looked at my little girl and sure enough she was lying on her stomach putting a puzzle together and humming away to herself. I don’t know where she heard it but she had it exactly right and then I spent the rest of the day with the song going around and around in my head.

Yesterday, I was working with my one kindergarten girl and I asked her how her weekend had gone and if she had done anything exciting. Without blinking an eye she looked at me and said that she had a good weekend but that they had a wolf come to their house.

I said, “Oh, really? What happened when he came to your house?”

“He blew our house down.” She stated rather matter-of-factly.

“He blew your house down? Oh no! That is terrible.” I answered her.

“Yeah, and then he bit my father on the leg, my mother on the leg and then me on the elbow!” she exclaimed; now really getting into her story.

“When did he do all this?” I asked.

“While we were napping.” She said.

“Wow, it sounds like you had quite the weekend!” I told her.

“Yes, I did and then a monkey came and knitted us all trousers.” She told me.

“A monkey? A monkey knitted you trousers?” I asked, trying to keep a straight face but not really succeeding very well.

“Oh yes, he didn’t have a bed at his house or any toys so he came to our house.” Was the explanation that was given as if she couldn’t understand why I hadn’t thought of that because what other possible explanation could there be!

I had to end the conversation there because it was getting too hard to keep a straight face, but the next few months should be very interesting. I can’t wait to hear what is going to have happened this next weekend..

My students right before Christmas Break.
Me at the Farm at Christmas time.
Elephant tracks though the mud.

There will be more pictures in a couple of days!

Long Over-due Update

Dear Friends,

I hope that you have all had a WONDERFUL start to your new year. I originally started writing this about two weeks ago but never quite managed to finish (sorry!). So here is the “updated” version!

November- We started out with 11 students and by the end we had 13! We welcomed a Pakistani girl who is 9 years old. She and her family are Muslim and they just recently moved to Lubango. She knew some English before coming so she has been able to jump into the curriculum with no problem. Our newest student is 13 years old and Angolan. He will be starting the 8th grade. He is very hard working, motivated and excited about school and what he is learning, which will make this coming semester lots of fun.

December- We had our first Parent/Teacher meeting at the beginning of the month and it was very encouraging for me to hear how happy and excited the parents are about how the school is going. The last day of school was the 17th, I left Lubango to go and spend Christmas and New Year’s at Tchincombe Ranch with family and friends. It was a wonderful, relaxing time. I knew I was pretty tired but I hadn’t realized quite how tired so it was a good break.

January- I came back to town on the 3rd and spent the next four days helping a friend run around town to get her visa renewed, talking to the church leaders about getting the documents for Mum’s car so that I could take it to Namibia to pick her up, driving to the coast to get her documents renewed, then packing up my house to move when I got back from Namibia and then packing to be in Namibia for two weeks! Needless to say it was kind of a crazy week but I managed to get most of it done. I drove to Namibia with another missionary lady and her son; they had to go for visa renewals and doctor appointments. We left at 3am and arrived in Windhoek at 9pm. It made for a long day. A friend of my Aunt Shelley and Uncle Peter was very kind and opened up his house for us to stay in while we were there, which was a huge blessing. I took Mum’s car to the shop to have an extra fuel tank and rear wheel carrier installed. I received the car back within a few days and did all the shopping and running around and was all ready to go when Mum arrived on the 19th. Mum arrived okay but her luggage did not. They took one of her carry-ons away when she boarded the plane in DC and failed to return until more than twenty-four hours later, by which time it was missing close to $1000 worth of equipment, including an i-phone that I had asked for. We stayed in Windhoek a couple of extra days to see what we could do to follow up with the airline. After two days of driving we arrived in Lubango on Saturday afternoon and Monday we packed the stuff from where I had been living in the car and moved it to Mum’s house at ISTEL. School started again on the 31st and we have already had one week. Not all of the students are back from their holidays in various

parts of the world and we have added some new friends! It is great to be back at school again and the students all seem excited to be there. It is great to be back at school again and the students all seem excited to be there.

Looking Behind and Ahead- It is hard to believe that only a year ago the Lord told me that it was time to move back to Angola to open the school. A lot has happened since last January and I know that without the Lord’s sustaining hand none of this would have taken place. Our next big challenge is building our own facility for the school. We are fast outgrowing the space that we are renting at ISTEL. Please pray for the Lord’s guidance as I sit down with the church leaders to discuss what our next steps should be. At the moment we do not have the money for building but I know that the Lord can handle small problems like money. I just want to be sure that we work within His plan for the school.

In Him,

Helena Foster Fabiano

Blog: helenashappenings.blogspot.com

Phone number: +244936896649

Mailing Address: C/O UIEA

CP 33

Lubango, Angola

Africa VIA PORTUGAL

Late Christmas and New Years Note

Hi Everyone,

I am sorry for not gettting to this update a little earlier. It has been on my agenda to do for a couple of weeks now but for some reason it kept getting pushed to the back burner.

Highlights of the Last Month...

School finished on December 17th. It has been a great first 10 weeks. Hard to believe how the time has flown.

I spent both Christmas and New Years at Tchincombe Ranch with my aunts and uncles and cousins and grandparents. We all had a wonderful time. It was my first Christmas away from Mum and Sara and Daniel so that was a little strange but I am so thankful for all the wonderful friends and family that the Lord has surrounded me with.

On Saturday I left for Windhoek, Namibia. Tammy Goertzen and her son Matt came with me.Their family are missionaries with Mission Aviation Fellowship in Lubango. They had to come to Windhoek to renew their Angolan visas and Matt has a few doctors appointments. They very kindly offered me a place to stay with them while I am in Windhoek so we are all staying together at the house of a friend of Uncle Peter and Aunty Shelley.

Mum arrives next Wednesday here in Windhoek and then we will drive up back to Angola. Until then I will be shopping and running errands and also preparing lessons for school when I get back.

Praise and Prayer Items:

Praise: School ended on a high note! Students and parents are excited about how it is going and coming back next year. They keep telling their friends and I am having to turn people away until I can get some help i.e. another teacher and our own facility.

Praise: Safe travels to Namibia this past weekend. The car ran very well and the border crossing (which can be very stressful) went very well.

Praise/Prayer: ISTEL has said that we can continue to use a classroom on their campus(YEAH!!!) however they have to move us to another classroom and this one is smaller. Please pray that we can figure out how best to work with our circumstances and what we have. We really need to begin building or setting up on our own. Please Prayer for guidance and wisdom as to what our next steps should be this year.

Prayer: Mum and I will be traveling back to Lubango next week. Please pray for traveling mercies.

Thank you once again for your love, your prayers and your support. I know that I couldn't be here without you all!

In Him,

Helena Foster Fabiano

Contact Information:

Blog: helenashappenings.blogspot.com

Phone number: +244936896649

Mailing Address: Helena Foster Fabiano

C/O UIEA

CP 33

Lubango, Angola

Via Portugal

Little Bites

Here are a few of short snippets from my class…

“Miss Helena, Miss Helena, Miss Helena, Miss Helena, Miss Helena, Miss Helena, Miss Helena, Miss Helena, Miss Helena, Miss Helena, Miss Helena, Miss Helena….” And on and on it goes…

One of my little girls comes up to me, “Miss Helena it is plopping on me.” Talking about the rain drops that she felt shaking off the tree that she was sitting underneath.

“Miss Helena, Marson is not making a good choice.” When Marson chooses not to put his head down like the rest of his class mates are. I hadn’t realized that I had been talking so much about making choices.

“Miss Helena, please push me!” Shouted across the playground at me from three children at once, apparently it carries more weight if everyone asks at once instead of just one at a time.

“Criss-cross, apple sauce” I hear across the classroom where I am teaching art to my older students. I look up and there all lined up and sitting criss-cross are my younger students with one of the older girls sitting in front, “reading” them a story. After the story she stops and they all do “head, shoulders, knees and toes” another game that I have taught them and what we do when we are sitting criss-cross. It was one of my favorite moments of teaching.

A phrase that I have to repeat many times in the day and mostly to the same student is “Stop eating Miss Helena’s pencils.” Apparently I have some very nice tasting pencils!

I usually put my pen or pencil behind my ear because I don’t always have a pocket that I can put it in to. The other day I looked at my student, who was working at their desk coloring a picture. They had put their pencil behind their ear just like mine, except that their ears are a little bit smaller so it was mostly falling out but they were very proud of their accomplishment! They say imitation is the best form of flattery!

“You know that it is a lot easier to read the book if it is open, and if you are planning on trying to make me think that you are reading but aren’t actually going to read then you should at least have it open and be looking at it even if you aren’t reading it.” I tell one of my older students who comes in the afternoon, who is just sitting there at his desk staring into space. He smiles at me kind of sheepishly and then opens the book.

I have just answered the call from one of my girls to “Please push me!” and I am walking back to my spot where I can watch everyone and make sure that they aren’t doing anything that will get us in trouble when I look at my two five year old boys and I was stunned for a couple of seconds by what I saw. There are my two boys facing each other with about four feet in between them with their pants down trying to pee on each other! I told them to pull up their pants and then march over to near where I sit and to have seat. They both headed over and they had to sit there for five minutes and at the end of the five minutes we had a little “chat” about where and who you can pee on. It was one of the funnies things that I have ever seen and I had to wait until the end of the day to really laugh about it. I had several students that wanted to know why the boys were sitting down and not playing and all I could say was that they were being punished because if I tried to explain it I would burst out laughing. I have asked both boys why they decided that this was a good idea and neither one have given me answer yet.

At the end of the days as the students are leaving to go home, one of my girls comes over and gives me a kiss on the cheek and says “See you tomorrow, Miss Helena!” It was a very sweet, unexpected end to the morning. I love my job!!

A Dream Coming True...

A Dream Coming True…

The first day of school dawned bright and clear. I left the house at 7 am even though class was not scheduled to begin until 8am. On the Friday before when I had been at the classroom setting up the desks had not been brought to the room yet, and they assured me that on they would be there by Monday morning so I wanted to get there early to have to time to find desks in case they were not there. I walked in and there they were! It was a very exciting moment; to walk into my first classroom for the first time on the first morning of school. I could hardly believe that it was happening. Walking in on the first day.

I had a couple of Brazilian missionary kids, who are now my students that lived next door, and they had driven to school with me and they had been a tremendous help setting up the room the week before. We spent the rest of the time before the other students arrived arranging the desks and doing last minute preparations.

By 8:30 every one had arrived and we began our first day. I had ten students that day with various levels and knowledge of English but it worked out and it was a typical “getting to know you” day. We went through names, classroom rules, learning to walk in a line and etc. All in all it went well and the students all had a good time.

Class was over by 12:30 and most of the kids were picked up by then. I then ate a quick lunch at my desk and then got ready for my afternoon group of students that were to arrive at 2pm. I only had 5 that first afternoon but by 4:30 when school was finished I was exhausted but thankful that it had been a good first day.

update!

Dear Friends,
This is just a quick note to catch you up on what has been going on for the last month and a half. It is so hard to believe how quickly time flies and how much has happened. Last time I wrote was right before Grandma and Grandpa arrived and I was helping Uncle Stirling and Aunty Donna get the house ready for them. They arrived August 19th with no problems and have been adjusting to life at the Ranch very well. (For those of you who would like more details about their trip and their life here I will include more in my official update, which will be coming in the next couple of weeks.) Since their arrival I have been back and forth from Lubango to the Ranch to help Aunty Donna with baking and cooking and taking Night Duty for her while they found a team of Angolans to help.
Apart from helping with the adjustments here at the Ranch as best I can, I have also been working to try and get the school going as soon as possible because I have some very anxious parents who would like their children in school now. The church leaders have been very supportive and been helping me as best they can get ready. They have mostly been away for the last month in meetings and conferences all over the country but they said that I can go ahead and make whatever arrangements I can while they have been away.
The exciting news is that the seminary where my mom works (ISTEL) has a classroom available and they said that it is no problem for us to rent it to use for the school for the time being. I took an official letter from the church to ISTEL a couple of weeks ago and the director told me last week that I can start whenever I would like to and they will work out the details when the Pastors are back from their meetings. They will need the classroom at the beginning of the next school year which begins in January, but it is at least a place to start.
I have had to help out at the Ranch this week so that Uncle Stirling and Aunty Donna and the family could go away for the week so I haven’t been in town to really get things going but my plan is to try and start school towards the end of next week. We won’t be doing much school work per say but we will be getting to know each other and figuring out how exactly it is going to work for the first few weeks.
I would really appreciate your prayers this week. I have a parent/teacher meeting with as many parents as can make it on Monday night. Then I will be setting up the classroom and finding materials and curriculum on Tuesday and Wednesday and I am hoping to be open on Thursday.
I can’t begin to tell you how excited I am that this dream is finally taking shape but there is still so much to do and I am feeling kind of overwhelmed by all the details. So if you would please pray for me to feel God’s peace and presence throughout these next few weeks that would be wonderful. I know that I cannot do it on my own and I am so thankful that the Lord is with me and will be helping me through it all. I am also so thankful that He has brought each one of you on my support team.
I will send pictures and a detailed letter and update in the next week or so.
Thank you once again for all your support. Once again please feel free to email me any questions or comments you might have. I love to hear from you.
In Him,
Helena Foster Fabiano