The Lord Provides...

It is hard to believe that another whole school year has passed us by! Somehow time really got away from me this year. I will do my best to give you a little glimpse in to our past school year.

As a teacher I like things to be organized by unit themes and then lessons that teach about that theme. As I look back on this last school year the "unit theme" that I see is The Lord Provides. So I thought I would organize this summary in the ways that I saw and learned about this theme throughout the year.

Lesson One: We began our year with a class of 13 with age ranges of five to eighteen and we ended the year with a class of 14 with an age range of four to nineteen. Around Christmas time the four high school boys that had been in the school for a couple of years decided that they would prefer to be back in the Angolan system so they left just after Christmas. However as soon as they left the Lord brought four new students to us which was a wonderful blessing. We were sad to see our friends go but we are very happy to have our new friends as well.

Class at the beginning of the year.

Lesson Two: With the addition of the new students I really needed help and the Lord provided. My younger brother Daniel decided to give a year and a half of his time to invest in the children at the school and we are so excited that he has decided to do this. He arrived in January and finished the year with us. It was wonderful to have an extra hand. With the addition of four younger students it means the day is busier and more action packed so Daniel's help is GREATLY appreciated. The students all really look up to him and he is a wonderful role model for them.

Daniel teaching

Lesson Three: As many of you can imagine adding new students to a class can change the dynamics of things especially when they are young students. One of my new ones turned four three weeks after he started with us. Having students this young has its own special challenges so at the beginning it was rather overwhelming however The Lord foresaw all this and provided even more help in the form of short term volunteers from North America who gave their time to help us. They were able to work one on one with a several students. With their help the children were able to see the Lord's love in action as well as help them figure out how they could fit into our class family. We are so thankful for their help. The children still ask when they are coming back!

Bethany Mudde, one of our volunteers, reading a story.

Lesson Four: In May and June we began making preparations for next year and as we looked ahead we realized that in order for the school to keep running and support itself as it has been we need a few more students. As soon as we realized this we had several new parents knocking at our door asking if we have space for their children next year. So exciting to see how The Lord provides!

Reading a story to the class that they wrote

Summary of what I Learned: I know that The Lord is not done teaching us to trust Him to provide for our wants and needs but it has been neat to look back at this last year and see his Hand working in wonderful, marvelous and mysterious ways. Just like with Abraham in Genesis 22 when The Lord asked him to do what seemed like something incredible and completely crazy and sacrifice his only child. Abraham was faithful and The Lord provided for him in more than one way. Genesis 22:14 "So Abraham called that place The Lord Will Provide. And to this day it is said, 'On the mountain of the Lord it will be provided.'"

As we look forward to next year I am excited to see how The Lord will work and teach. His lessons aren't always easy to learn at the time but if you can wait, learn and see often you can see Him working in ways that you never imagined possible. Sometimes you can't see the lesson until you are at the end of it but you can always trust that He is right there with you.

Class at the end of the year. (we are missing a couple of students that were away that day.)

More Little Bites...

Every morning we end our class devotional time with prayer. The students all love to pray and take turns praying each day. A typical prayer is, "Dear Jesus, Thank you for today, my family and my friends. Thank you for food on the table. Please help all the people in hospital and who don't have food. Please help us not to be lazy in school today. Please help me to earn more sticks in school so that I can have a pencil or ruler on Friday. Amen." 

One of the families in the school are expecting a new baby in the coming weeks. The brother of the new baby was talking with some classmates about babies and why they had to stay in their mothers for so long. The result of the discussion was that mothers had to have babies in their stomachs because mothers need to look fat!

My six year old boy was asked what his favorite story is and the answer without hesitation; "Joshua and George Washington!" I think I might have some more work to do on the Bible and American History end of things!

I am very blessed with my class because we aren't very big we are all quite close to each other. The kids love to help one another with their work. I have noticed over the last few weeks we have been talking about thinking about others and serving one another. The other day I looked up and my six year old was helping one of my older students read his work and understand the problem. He was explaining it just like he had heard me explain it to him! Very encouraging and uplifting!

A typical shout in my classroom. "Mrs. Helena! I flushed the toilet!" Apparently this is not easy to remember and must be announced to the world when it is remembered!

The Bible story for our class devotion was the Last Supper. I was asking the kids what a supper was and the immediate answer was "The Last Supper was like Pizza night!" I am not sure where that came from. As far as I know we have never talked about pizza night and I certainly didn't mention it in conjunction with the Last Supper. It is amazing how kids minds work!

After P.E. each week I give the kids a cup of water after all their hard running around. One of my younger students took the cup and filled his mouth and then it “spilled” all over another student. When I asked him what happened he told me that his mouth was too full. I then asked, “Why was your mouth so full?” His answer? “Jesus filled it.” I then explained that Jesus had created his mouth but He did not choose to overfill it! I was just so surprised by his answer.

I am using an American curriculum for my younger students which means that we learn about some key figures in American history, such as George Washington and Abraham Lincoln. One morning my first grader was working in his language arts book. He looked up at me and said, “I want to meet George Washington.” I looked up rather surprised as it had been a few days since we had read and talked about him. “Well, that might be kind of difficult because he died a long time ago.” I explained. He looked right at me and said, “But Mrs. Helena, he was a man of God, I will see him in heaven.” Oh!!! Silly me!!!

Lil' Bites

"Why are the people in the story wearing dresses?" asked one of my 10 year olds as she looked at the picture for our Bible story. Before I had a chance to answer, another of my 10 year olds answered. "Those aren't dresses. Those are robes. Men only wore dresses in the 80's." And he was dead serious. Needless to say it took a little while for me to be able to explain that one.

"Is this right, Mrs. Helena?" asked one of my first graders. She had been having a great day at school. She was focusing on her work and really trying hard to do her work and it was paying off. Whenever my kids are having a great day and really doing well I tell them that they are "On fire!" So because this student was doing so well I of course told her that she was "On fire!" She went back to her desk and a few minutes later I heard her talking with the other boy who is in the first grade with her. She was trying to help him with his work by explaining how to do one of the activities that they were working on. After a couple of minutes of trying to help him she came to my desk and looked me in the eye and said in a very serious voice, "Mrs. Helena, he is not on fire today." I almost burst out laughing but instead I asked her to call him over because maybe I could try and help him.



"Mrs. Helena, guess what?" asked one of my six year olds. "You saw a purple hippopotamus." I guessed. "No." He answered with a smile. "I stayed up to midnight last night!" he exclaimed as proud as he could be! Needless to say I was not nearly as proud and wondering now what kind of day I was going to have. A couple of hours later, he came back to my desk, "Mrs. Helena, I am tired!"

It is towards the end of the day and several of my younger students were in the library room reading quietly together. They were being so quiet that I had almost forgotten that they were down there. Pretty soon, I heard sweet little voices coming from the library room singing quite loudly "London Bridge is falling down, falling down, falling down. London Bridge is falling down, my FAIR LADY!!!" They then went on to sing "Baaa Baaa Black Sheep" and "Mary had a Little Lamb". So I went down the hall to see what was going on and two of my three students who were in there had a book between them that had these songs in them and they were "reading" and singing at the same time. Their faces were so happy and they were having such a great time I couldn't make them stop. 

A few weeks ago one of my little boys came up to my desk singing, "I roll up, I roll up." He had stuck a pencil behind his ear as he danced over to me. " I am Mr. Daniel." He explained to me as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

I thought that it would be a good idea to have my students write Mr. Daniel a letter. I figured that it would be a good way to practice writing in English, also letter writing is a good skill to have and to practice not to mention that Mr. Daniel would really love to get letters from the kids. I asked one my first graders what he was going to write in his letter. "I am going to ask Mr. Daniel why he dances in school." That was not what I was expecting to hear at all! "You are going to ask him what?" I asked again, thinking IJ must have misunderstood. "I want to ask him why he dances in school, because you say that the classroom is not where you should dance but Mr. Daniel used to dance in the classroom, so I want to ask him why?" Well, I couldn't really argue with that, I guess. I did try to explain to him that I don't want him dancing in the classroom because he bumps into people and or their desks and he might hurt himself. He seemed to understand that but he still asked Mr. Daniel anyway...Daniel just laughed and laughed...

Long, Long Overdue Update

The first thing that I must do is apologize for not updating this blog for so long! I just realized that the last time that I posted anything was May! I am so sorry. There have been some major events going on in my life since then so I will do my best to keep it brief but get you all caught up.

The biggest event of all is that I got married in August to an MAF pilot, Brent Mudde, who lives and works here in Angola. (I don't' know if any of you noticed the name change or not:) .) We have been in and out of each others lives since 2004 when he first arrived in Lubango and moved in across the street from me and my family. Since then he has remained a close friend of the family but last March we began dating and in May got engaged. We were married the beginning of August in Greensboro, North Carolina at my home church. It was such a special day, surrounded by family and many friends! We feel so blessed that the Lord made our day so special for us.

Another major event is that I have changed mission organizations. Brent is with a mission organization called Mission Aviation Fellowship and it seemed to make sense that I join his mission instead of both of usbeing part of different missions when we ultimately have the same goal of furthering the Kingdom. So in July I officially joined MAF. Brent was due for his home assignment in August and it seemed a perfect time for me to go with and meet his friends and supporters as well as for him to meet mine. So we spent from mid-August to mid-November in the United States and Canada traveling around and meeting with as many friends and supporters as we could. Once again the Lord made it a wonderful time of refreshment as well as encouragement as we met and talked with people who are excited about His work all over the world. I think at times we can get so busy with just every day life that we forget that we are part of a bigger picture and that there are people all over the world who are excited and are doing their part with you. So thank you so much if you are one of this people! Whenever I feel overwhelmed by life

and work and I remember that you are there with me, praying and encouraging me along! You mean a lot to me!

My younger brother Daniel, came out to Angola

to fill in at school for me. He had just graduated in May and was looking for something to do. So he very graciously said that he would fill in for me for a few months while we were in North America. He did a fantastic job and the students and their parents all loved him. He went back to the States in January to see what the Lord has for him next. My students and I are all praying that the Lord will call him back here!

Brent and I arrived back home to our "new home" in Lubango in November. Brent before we left in July, worked on renovating our house that was right next door to his old house. He made the living almost double the size but he only had time to move his stuff in before we left. So when we arrived back we finally got to set up the house like we wanted.

In December we had to move from our classroom at the seminary because they needed it back for a previous contract. Fortunately there was an empty house at Mitcha, the missionary gated community that we live on, so I asked if we could rent that for a school. It needed to be cleaned up and a new paint job but nothing that was really that serious. We obtained permission to rent it and spent the we-

ek between Christmas and New Years painting and cleaning and building shelves and moving so that we could be ready to start school January 9th.

There was an old shipping container here on the compound that was full of all kinds of books and magazines. However the container was very rusty and musty and had holes in it so it was leaking. It also was home to several mouse and rat communities! Needless to say many of the books were ruined however we were able to save quite a few! Brent took apart all the shelves that were in the container and moved them to the new school that now has four rooms, three of which are classrooms and one that is a library room. It is such a blessing to have shelves and not have to have books in boxes anymore. The compound manager was able to find all the old furniture from the old school

house and he moved it all to the new school so we did not have to buy desks and tables, which of course was a huge help as it seems that everything here costs a lot of money!

School started on the 9th of January with 15 students and a couple new faces in those 15. The students were all very excited to be in a new location. I am pretty sure that most of them have never seen so many books in one place before! So learning how to take care of books is one of the most important lessons we are learning. It never occurred to me that I would have to teach children who are 2nd and 3rd grade how to put books away on a shelf! They all love to come to school each morning and are excited about learning not just their school work but also during our class devotion time. They are all engaged and asking questions and they all want their own turn to pray each and every day! Absolutely thrilling! The children are also very excited by the fact that now they have swimming lessons once a week with Brent! Brent is also helping my high school boys with their science course.

Our biggest need at the moment is another teacher. I have new parents coming to me each week asking if I couldn't possibly find space for their child in the school. However I am very much at my maximum capacity. I can't take on any more students but at the same time I don't want to miss out on help these children and their parents. So if you could please pray with us about staffing and what our next steps should be to grow that would be very much appreciated.

Once again, I apologize for taking so long to update you all.

Thank you so much for all your prayers! They are most certainly not unappreciated!

Reading a story

Our recent trip to the zoo

Prayer Letter

Dear Friends,

“Miss Helena, can I pray today?” asked Marson (one of my five year old boys) as we have just finished reading our Bible story and I usually end that time of our day with a prayer.

“Of course you may pray, Marson.” I answer, more than a little surprised. We all bow our heads and wait in expectancy. I am expecting Marson to pray in Portuguese.

“Dear Jesus, thank you for Miss Helena. Thank you for Honey, Thank

you for Kiara, Thank you for …” My heart is pounding as he prays entirely in English and thanks Jesus for each of his classmates! It was so thrilling! I wish that you all could have been there to see it personally. Since then several other students have been asking to pray and for the most part they each pray in English, sometimes it is a mix of English and Portuguese.

These last few weeks have been in

credibly busy and tiring but also incredibly

rewarding. The students are all making lots of growth and progress in their academic work, their language and also their personal growth. I have been blessed by having a friend and colleague who is a MAF Canada pilot come once a week to do a “Science Group” with my four boys who are doing the eighth grade. He goes over what the boys have read during the week and then they go out and do some experiments and experience the scienc

e. It has been wonderful for the boys because not only are they learning but they are also talking more and practicing their language skills. It is so thrilling to see how excited they are about what they are learning and applying it themselves.

At the beginning of March we were informed that we would most likely have to move from our classroom at ISTEL because they would be need it for a university that had requested it several years before but ha

dn’t started yet. So I spent the month trying to find other options and figure out another solution. Two days before the end of the month I receive a message from the director of ISTEL that says not to worry we can have the classroom until December! It was such a huge relief and an answer to prayer. However we are fast outgrowing our space so I am continuing to look for a new place and I am also discussing with the church leaders about maybe building a school. I would really appreciate your prayers as we seek the Lord’s guidance in this matter.

Looking Ahead…

Our biggest challenge is finding a new space by at least December.

Our goal is to finish our scholastic year by mid-August so the students have lots of work to do in order to reach this goal. Please pray for the students as they work hard to finish and that the Lord would continue to work in their lives.

Thank you so much for your prayers and support. It means so much to me and the students. I know that I could not be here doing what I am doing without you all.

In Him,

Helena Foster Fabiano

Blog: helenashappenings.blogspot.com

Phone number: +244936896649

Mailing Address: C/O UIEA

CP 33

Lubango, Angola

Africa VIA PORTUGAL

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

Pictures of Angola So Far...

Off Like a Herd of Turtles Part 2

June 2^nd-Day Three

Location: Somewhere over the Atlantic-Dakar-Johannesburg

The plane landed in Dakar at 2am our time and 5 or 6 local time. The now sleepy children and their mother got off and some other adults that were not nearly as entertaining took their places and the journey continued.

We were given breakfast about an hour after we took off from Dakar and after breakfast, Sara and I were both able to sleep a little.

The plane landed at 4:47pm South African time and our flight to go on to Windhoek was to take off at 5:45pm. It took awhile for us to get to the gate and being at the back of the plane meant that we had a ways to go in a short amount of time. We grabbed our stuff and got off as quickly as we could. Due ot the fact that we were technically in transit we had to go through the transit line which only had one person working it stamping passports with a transit stamp and then you have to go and get in the security line and get another stamp that says that you are no longer in transit. However by the time we got through both the lady checking boarding passes looked at ours and told us that our flight was already boarding and there was no way that we were going to make it. She told us to go stand in the SAA ticket line in the transit lobby.

So we got back in line and waited and waited. We finally got to the front of the line and got rebooked on a flight the next morning at 6:05 which would mean getting to the airport very early to check in because he couldn’t print our boarding passes until the next morning. He told us to be there right at 5:00 because that was when their desk opened and the flight was going to start boarding at 5:35. Sara and I went and got a room at the airport hotel, and relaxed and got a little bit of sleep before it was time to go stand in line again.

Day Four-June 3^rd

Location: Johannesburg-Windhoek

We got to the SAA ticket counter at 4:55 just to be sure that we were not going to be late and it would give us plenty of time to get our boarding passes and get to the gate. However, the SAA people did not get to their desks until 5:10 and only one lady was working and she was working on the business class passengers. Finally at 5:25 Sara and I were called up to the desk and printed our boarding passes and told to go immediately to the gate because there wasn’t much time. (Really? Like we didn’t know)

We got to the gate 2 minutes before the bus was loaded to go out to the plane.

The rest of the trip went very well apart from the fact that our bags did not make it on our flight but they did come on the next one and they were actually delivered right to the guest house where we were staying.

The rest of the day is pretty much a blur and kind of boring. We lazed around and did not do much of anything. My uncle and his son drove down from Angola to pick us up and they arrived that evening after driving for 18 hours. We all turned in pretty early because we knew the next day was going to be VERY busy.

Day Five-June 4^th

Location: Windhoek

We all got up early and Uncle Stirling had a quick breakfast and then went to go and drop one of the Landrover Defenders at the off-road workshop to have some work done on it so that we could drive it to Angola on Sunday. While he was out with the car, I called the airline to see if Tiko had arrived at 5am like he was supposed to. The conversation went something like this…

Me: Good morning, I was just calling to see if my dog has arrived from Frankfurt on the flight this morning?

Man on the line: Is this Miss. Helena?

Me: Yes it is.

Man on the line: Yes he is here and he looks very sad and neglected. You need to come and get him immediately.

Me: Oh okay. I will be there as soon as I can. Is all his paperwork in order?

Man on the line: Yes, yes, everything is in order. You need to come quickly, he is very sad. I have been trying to play with him and talk to him but he is very sad.

Me: Okay. Thank you so much. I will be there very soon. Thank you.

So as soon as Uncle Stirling got back we drove out to the airport which is a thirty to forty-five minute drive one way. We went to the office and sure enough, as soon as he heard our voices he started crying and barking. Everyone there was very nice and we got through the paperwork quite quickly considering they had to go and pick get one form from another part of the airport. They customs lady that cleared us had actually gone to university at Campbell University in North Carolina so she knew where Greensboro and Raleigh were. So we had a nice conversation with her and we were very thankful that the Lord put her in our path because I think that helped speed us through the process although all his papers were in order and I had about three copies of everything. Tiko was VERY HAPPY to see us!

After picking Tiko up we went back to Windhoek and Uncle Stirling dropped us off at the guest house and he had to run out and do more errands. At 1:30, Uncle Stirling and Jeff went off to go and get Daniel and his friends from the airport. They arrived with no problems and then Uncle Stirling and I went to go fetch the Landrover that he had dropped off at the shop earlier because it was ready.

That night we all went out to a restaurant called Joe’s Beerhouse. They serve the best game meat for a really good price and it is one of those places that is really cool to look around so you go for the experience as much as the food. We all had a fun time and I don’t think that we frightened the guys too much.

Day Six-June 5^th

Location: Windhoek

We spent Saturday running around Windhoek taking care of errands for all of us. Uncle Stirling had to buy things at a couple of different places around town and the boys had to get their bus tickets for South Africa and Sara and I had to get a few household items for Angola.

We somehow managed to get it all done and get the car all packed and ready to go by 9:00pm. Daniel and his friends wanted us to take their big suitcases so they would only have their backpacks in South Africa. Both cars were packed pretty high but we did manage to get it all in. We all turned in early because we were going to be up at four to leave by 4:30.

Day Seven-June 6^th

Location: Windhoek, Namibia-Tchincombe Ranch, Angola

Four-thirty-five am found us in the cars and on our way out of Windhoek heading north. The roads on in Namibia are very good paved roads so apart from driving on the left side of the road the driving was pretty easy although both Uncle Stir and I both were very, very tired and we kept having to stop every couple of hours to stretch and wake up a little.

We finally made it to the border around 3pm and were across by 4ish. Which is very good time by the way. The border post that we went through is one that is kind of out in the middle of nowhere but it makes it easier because there is less of a crowd and Uncle Stir knows most of the people that work there.

The roads/tracks through the bush on the Angolan side were more of a challenge to drive. We finally reached the ranch around midnight after stopping for a quick bite to eat and another stretch break although it was easier to stay awake! There were a couple of times that I was pretty sure that there wasn’t a real road and that Uncle Stir was just driving blind.

We finally got to the ranch and got some dinner and then on to bed.

Day Eight-June 7

Location: Tchincombe Ranch

Sara and I woke up late and showered and headed over to Aunty Donna’s kitchen for a cup of coffee and lunch in an hour. We had a lovely lunch and a very restful afternoon just hanging out and visiting with cousins and friends. Sara and I went on a walk with our 10 year old cousin Meghan and we helped her plan out her play “town”. Then we got back to the house and helped with dinner and found out what the plan for the next day was.

The plan it turned out was to drive in convoy with Uncle Stir again to Lubango so that he could fix Mom’s Landrover Discovery so that I would have a car to drive.

That evening we hung out with the cousins and watched Star Trek and basically got packed up and ready to go again. Breakfast was planned for 6:45 so that we could leave by 8ish. Sara and I were both pretty tired from the trip still and decided to head over to bed relatively early. (we stayed in another house about a 1km down the road.)

Day Nine- June 8

Location: Tchincombe Ranch-Lubango

Sara and I arrived for breakfast at 6:50 and everyone had already started (when they say 6:45 they really mean 6:45). After breakfast Aunty Donna typed up a document saying that I was allowed to drive their car, just in case I was stopped by the police. We loaded up the car and off we went with Uncle Stir leading the way. It was a pretty uneventful trip. The off road part wasn’t nearly as bad as it had been coming up from the border. We did have to go through a control where the authorities were checking passports and making sure that everyone has their documents. Uncle Stir was in front and I could see that he was gesturing towards our car and making sure that they knew that we were with him. One police man came over and asked for our documentation. We handed him our passports and just then the other policeman waved Uncle Stir through and told us to go as well. He gave us back our documents and off we went. From there it was only another 45 minutes to an hour until the city. When we got to the city traffic was crazy, which is the normal state of events now. I stayed right behind Uncle Stir so that I wouldn’t get lost and so that I could see how he drove in a place where the driving rules are slightly different from what I am used to.

We arrived at Mitcha right before lunch. We unloaded and unpacked and decided to spend the rest of the day visiting and not doing much of anything. It was so nice to finally be here and realize that this is now home.