Kids' reading competition

The week of Christmas, Yanik, one of our local translators, made a full schedule of all kinds of activities.  I asked if a reading competition could go in the plans, and we had a great turn out.  I assumed that a handful of kids would be brave enough to compete after our few weeks of practicing in their weekly literacy class, but parents somehow got all the kids to be a part of it.  I had 42 kids from K-12th read various things according to their age.  Three judges joined me and did an awesome job.  All the kids got alphabet book/songs and a fun pen just for participating, and winners got to choose from other prizes.  The adult competition is scheduled for March 22!

Kids prepping for the competition.

I asked Jenita to lead the kids in singing the alphabet song with our alphabet book while I tallied the judges scores for the competition.

Judges organizing our tallies.  I asked George, on of our local translators, along with my literacy helper, Nini, and a new helper Jowed to judge the kids' competition.  Yanik, in the foreground, MC-ed the event for us.

The boy, Edmon, to the right of Jesiah, won the competition with his fantastic reading. 

Maria just graduated this year from a high school in Vila.  She came home for Christmas and participated in the reading competition.

Kids chatting and waiting for final scores to be read out.

Some fun random pics

A few years ago I got to go to a friend, Talita's wedding in Fiji.  While I was there I met one of her friends, Sulia.  Talita moved from Vanuatu to the US with her new husband, so I don't get to see her anymore.  :(  However, Sulia came for a semester to Vanuatu to the University of the South Pacific while she is training for new work as a lawyer.  It was a great joy to get to know her more and hang out with her since I was in Vila several times while she was here. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

She gave me this beautiful fan on her way back home to Tonga!

My favorite pic of the kids!  Truck ride home from the Ellis', our teammates'.

 

Houghton coached a soccer team of high school boys (including Jesiah) that competed the week of Christmas.  It was fun to watch their games!

All the families came to watch the game.  Here are Gwen and Addy with some friends.

Watching the last game.  Jesiah got sick and couldn't play in the final!

At the Ellis' for Christmas.

Decorating sugar cookies.

Christmas play.

Anderson came back from the US to hang out with us on his Christmas break.

Another throw back to 2010-2012. Girls Bislama Bible study

Here's another post that I never published from when I was teaching a girls' Bislama Bible study back in 2010-2012.  These girls are all good friends now, and many of them come from a family that runs the airline we use to get to Ambrym!  Fun to see this again!

 

I've been privileged to lead a ni-Vanuatu girls Bible study in Bislama the last few months.  The girls are mostly between 20-30 but a few teenage siblings come when they are in town on breaks from school.  Secondary schools are tough to get into in Vanuatu so often kids end up in schools on totally different islands than their families if they pass their exams and are able to make it to secondary.  Anyway, these girls have been a joy to teach and have helped me a lot with learning language and culture and have become good friends. 

Throw back - a LONG WAY BACK! Christmas Program 2013

I was updating my blog today and saw that I had drafts of posts I never published.  No idea why I didn't post this one!  So here's a post from Christmas 2013 in Australia!  Please pray for the current pastor of Grace Baptist, Mark Pitts, who is undergoing cancer treatment in the US.

The church we were involved in when we were students in Australia, Grace Baptist, hosted a Christmas program and we were able to be a part of it!  It was called The Littlest Angel and was organized by our friend Dolly.  She did a great job and the kids were so cute!

 All the little angels - practice.

 Addy and her friend, Meridith.

 Dress rehearsal. All the angels talking about where in the world they think Jesus should be born.

 Jesiah met some "native" ni-Vanuatu and decided that Vanuatu would be a good place for Jesus to be born!

 The "animals" with the littlest angel in Bethlehem.

 Adults watching the production practice.

 

 Joel and Houghton

 

 

 All the kids from various locations around the world with the angels in the background.  How awesome is it that the teens were willing to dress up as animals?!  :)  These guys are great.

Dolly directing the songs.

 

This is Grace (Watsonia) and Cornerstone (Craigiburn) church kids.

 Si with friends Marshall and Jaimie.

 Addy, Lucy, Ella, Meridith

 Addy and Meridith are such a good match.  The perfect combo of girly-girl-ness.

 

 Pastor Don from Cornerstone opening up the program

 Bethlehem manger

 

 

 

 

 Gretchen and Kaiden made the cut for Mary and Jesus.  Hought was out of town so couldn't be Joseph.

 

 Singing an ensemble piece following the program.

 

 A beautiful homemade cake!

 

 Gretch and I sang "O Holy Night"

Gretch and the kids singing together

Parents visit

After our work team headed home to the US, my parents came to visit.  We had a really nice time together with them hanging out.  They also did a ton of painting in our house again, which we soooo appreciated!

Showing pictures from home

Decorated cakes for Father's Day in the village.

 

Addy and Gwen

Painting my closet

Another coat of pain on my kitchen wall.