SEI preparation and Kick-off
Since our last blog, we have been pretty much inside working on SEI (Summer English Institute) and Russian. With the deadline of SEI fast approaching, this has been our primary focus.
All of our yard work has come to a standstill until September when we will put a couple paths into our back yard and seed the rest to grass. This would have been a great week to plant grass as we have had three rains producing three quarters of an inch. This is a huge blessing for the crops still growing like the corn and sunflowers. Garry's wheat is pretty much harvested and they have trucks coming in and hauling it to market.
Right now the temperatures have cooled off to 26-28 C. The nights are cooling off nicely and that is a blessing as the house can be cooled off. There is more rain in the forecast for Monday and the temperatures are staying in the high 20s for the next 10 days. Hopefully they are right, as we have moved into our classrooms with Monday as our start date.
On Friday, all of the staff gathered at Esther's apartment for a meeting. We were able to meet one another as most of the English teachers are from Canada. After our meeting we had supper together and then went over to where the classes will be held. We moved in all of our stuff and found our classrooms. The rooms that Shannon and I took get the afternoon sun and were warm when we got there, but normally the classes are all done by 2 pm, so hopefully we can keep our rooms cooler to start with anyway.
On Friday night at 6:30 pm, it was registration night for everyone participating in SEI. With the increase in teachers (12 I think), they were able to increase the number of students greatly, including a youth class. There were probably between 175-200 students out to register last night.
Each of the staff were introduced. We have two office workers and 12 teachers. Each of the teachers gave a short description of the class that they were going to be teaching. The students listened and then marked down their top four choices for each of the four periods of teaching. Esther and a helper are organizing the classes this Saturday and we will know the make-up of our classes on Monday morning. It should be an exciting time.
Each day, the classes start at 9 am and are done by 2 pm. During the lunch break, there is a short chapel time with games and giveaways. There are lots of Canadian memorabilia to give to the students over the next three weeks.
So today, we are doing some things that will be challenging over the next three weeks. Shannon is making some pickles and a lemon pie. I hope to do a bit more grass mowing if it dries up this afternoon. We also have some final touch-ups that we want to do for SEI.
I am preaching at Morningstar church on July 14 and 21, so that is part of the things to do. We are also preparing for our trip to Canada on July 31. We will have four full days to get things done before we hop on a plane and head home to see family, friends and a few supporting churches. So, there will not be a lot of spare time over the next four weeks.
We will give you some highlights over the next few blogs on SEI. We will try and do some Russian in the evenings to keep up on what we have learned to date.
All of our yard work has come to a standstill until September when we will put a couple paths into our back yard and seed the rest to grass. This would have been a great week to plant grass as we have had three rains producing three quarters of an inch. This is a huge blessing for the crops still growing like the corn and sunflowers. Garry's wheat is pretty much harvested and they have trucks coming in and hauling it to market.
Right now the temperatures have cooled off to 26-28 C. The nights are cooling off nicely and that is a blessing as the house can be cooled off. There is more rain in the forecast for Monday and the temperatures are staying in the high 20s for the next 10 days. Hopefully they are right, as we have moved into our classrooms with Monday as our start date.
On Friday, all of the staff gathered at Esther's apartment for a meeting. We were able to meet one another as most of the English teachers are from Canada. After our meeting we had supper together and then went over to where the classes will be held. We moved in all of our stuff and found our classrooms. The rooms that Shannon and I took get the afternoon sun and were warm when we got there, but normally the classes are all done by 2 pm, so hopefully we can keep our rooms cooler to start with anyway.
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| Staff meeting |
On Friday night at 6:30 pm, it was registration night for everyone participating in SEI. With the increase in teachers (12 I think), they were able to increase the number of students greatly, including a youth class. There were probably between 175-200 students out to register last night.
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| Registration night |
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| Registration night |
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| Youth registration on the side |
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| Shannon at her registration table |
Each of the staff were introduced. We have two office workers and 12 teachers. Each of the teachers gave a short description of the class that they were going to be teaching. The students listened and then marked down their top four choices for each of the four periods of teaching. Esther and a helper are organizing the classes this Saturday and we will know the make-up of our classes on Monday morning. It should be an exciting time.
Each day, the classes start at 9 am and are done by 2 pm. During the lunch break, there is a short chapel time with games and giveaways. There are lots of Canadian memorabilia to give to the students over the next three weeks.
So today, we are doing some things that will be challenging over the next three weeks. Shannon is making some pickles and a lemon pie. I hope to do a bit more grass mowing if it dries up this afternoon. We also have some final touch-ups that we want to do for SEI.
I am preaching at Morningstar church on July 14 and 21, so that is part of the things to do. We are also preparing for our trip to Canada on July 31. We will have four full days to get things done before we hop on a plane and head home to see family, friends and a few supporting churches. So, there will not be a lot of spare time over the next four weeks.
We will give you some highlights over the next few blogs on SEI. We will try and do some Russian in the evenings to keep up on what we have learned to date.
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