When My Student Inspires Me

At the end of class, students and staff stood in a circle. Our facilitator asked if any students had any motivation to share with the class before departure.

She shared her story - of tragedy. 

Tragedy upon tragedy.

But her countenance was at peace.

She shared because she was compelled by A Greater Peace.

She understands her classmates' hardships: township life, lack of money, death and destruction. 

And she knows a Deeper Foundation and an Inner Joy - He who gives Life to Dry Bones.

And she calls her classmates to discover and find He who gives True Hope and True Life.

Tears ran down cheeks that day as hearts of my students were stirred.

My own tears flowed as my own heart hurt... 

And I am so grateful to a girl who I hoped to inspire but instead she inspires me to Hope.

                                                                                                                                                                  

Please pray for my students' hearts - to Seek and to Find Hope and Life in Him.

The Tough Love of Interview Prep And I Have No Internet

It is Interview Preparation day for my students, and I am their teacher. They are at my mercy - hahahaha (evil laugh gives way to timid chuckle). Not really - I am not that scary.

The question looms, "What do I want to say?" With more to follow. "What should I say? What do I need to say?"

Photo Credit: HAC Staff

 

So I prepared. In the morning I am armed for class. I have my arsenal packed with punches... and big, smothering hugs. 

Punches - because for the life of me these guys have walls that say, "You can't touch me." I hit those walls of theirs in Life Skills course. I prodded at them with my little finger. Many would not budge. But thank the Lord, some crumbled - a little bit.

As for the punch - to give them a hard kick in reality. "It's a big bad world out there. Interviewers are tough, and the competition is brutal. If you're not gonna give it your all, step out of your shell, and show them who you are, then you're not gonna get the job. Period."  

It's a big deal - that shell of theirs, those walls a mile high, or a kilometer high in this case. I've heard the "talkers" talk but then in a big group, they won't say a peep. ("Aaaaah, you have it in you! Just open your mouth," the voice in my head yells.) Leading to my second point... 

It's a VERY big deal - the "WHO YOU ARE" part - what the Life Skills staff and I have been trying to impart to them - their WORTH. But it's not a battle won overnight. 

 

SO that's why I deliver my kick with encouragement! 

 

I believe in you. You have something good to offer - BUT ya' gotta step out - so that they can see you SHINE!

                                                                                                                                                               

As I contemplate what advice to give my students, I ask what advice would you give my students when they go for job interviews?

Update on the "Where Will I Live" Saga? Drum Roll Please!

So y'all have probably been wondering in dire angst if I will be living in a TENT come June... 

Or if I will unwillingly find myself living the life of a vagabond, out on the street - GASP - homeless?!!

(Just Kidding. Really, I do take this seriously and the seriousness of people who live on the street.)

And I realize that my prior "Home" post could have been taken a bit more despondent than I intended - not that it isn't true - it is (except I am not despondent), and I do feel the way I wrote at times - but just not all the time...

I LOVE what I am learning and call myself blessed to be a part of Hope Africa - getting to know students and watching their lives change!

All that to say - I HAVE A HOME - in about a week, around June 1st!!! Woot!

Well, a HOME in the form of an APARTMENT!!!! It has a great location (minus a bit of traffic noise), and it's a walk away from the grocery store (important until I have a car)! The things I like best about it is that I will share with 2 great girls and it has such a warm atmosphere.

I am so excited to MOVE IN and to MAKE IT A HOME. 

Thank you so much, dear friends and family, for your care and prayers for myself, my HOME, and my TRANSITION (keep the prayers comin'). It really, really means a lot to know you guys are with me (and since I can't say it in person, I will add a lot of emphasizing "really's").


So will you come to my housewarming party?  ;)


And by the way, my knee is fine from my stellar fall a bit ago. It made a blue bruise - and my legs did hurt through the first night - but all-in-all it's not too shabby.

The HOUSE that Shannon Built OR I Just Might Live in a Tent

No, I am not building a house - I wish. All my watching HGTV and DIY would be put to actual use. And I love design, but moving on (dorky pun intended), that's beside the point.

So since I have moved to South Africa in February, I am living in my second temporary place.

And I have lived out of my packed bags since end of June 2011 (that is not a typo) - I'm on my 11th month now. 

Side note: While in the U.S. I traveled in 8 States in 7 months and slept in something like 10 different beds! I guess I've been a little bit on the transitional side of things, not my favorite of things.

And maybe you've had it worse - I'd love to hear it. Maybe I'd feel better about my own circumstances.

BUT as you can sympathize and as I just might be at the end of my rope right now with TRANSITION (it's becoming an ugly word to me), 

I need a HOME. 

My new bed and duvet need a home. 

My dog - oh, I don't have a dog...

My New Bed and Duvet - so comfy!

Ya know, it's not just a housing transition around here, it's kind of a

• COUNTRY transition,
• CULTURE transition, 
• JOB transition, 
• ACCENT transition (even if my students speak English, it's their second language), 
• probably an EMOTIONAL and 
• SPIRITUAL transition too.

So although I am not hammering away at the 2 x 4's of my home, I want to BUILD A HOME...

Meaning...

To WORK on adjusting, learning, adapting, ACCLIMATING (I don't really know how to do this, but I'll just "keep on" and keep on prayin'), AND

To FIND a house or apartment and housemates to share with. 

Otherwise, I just might borrow that tent that was offered to me.

                                                                                                                                      

So if you could, keep on praying with me? ...as I consider housing possibilities ...and hope for a permanent status. 

Need (at least something) by beginning of JUNE.

And really, share with me your "worse" transitional or moving circumstances!!!

P.S. Thought I'd share my clumsy/near death moment today: I tripped almost head-first into oncoming traffic today... Landed on hands and knees, halfway on the sidewalk and halfway off the curb! Thankfully and sadly, only my bruised knees and favorite jeans :( will be paying for it! I'll let you know how my knees feel tomorrow!

Our Students Graduate - Celebrate Your Milestones AND Your Footstones

28 students completed their Life Skills and Computer Training course! This means that ALL the students who began the course finished and graduated. 

So I've heard this is quite the feat they accomplished - because many times a person will begin something only to drop out.

But finishing is reason to celebrate! 

Photo Credit: HAC Staff

So we held a graduation program surrounded by their families and friends, with congratulations from our directors and instructors, and two students gave speeches. We sang and danced and prayed (I was definitely out of my comfort zone as I felt like the clunky robot in the midst of beautiful African worship), and food and fellowship followed the ceremony.

The students were so excited, and you could not rub the perma-smiles from their faces. Why? They had graduated from high school within the last few years, BUT they did not have a graduation ceremony. Only the students with special honors were recognized for their accomplishments.

This is so sad to me.

I believe we need to recognize and celebrate our accomplishments. We talk a lot about people's "milestones," those big accomplishments in our lives, the monumental feats, and celebrating these. We recognize those with the best grades, the loudest careers, and rolling in the dough.

But who defines the milestone?

Why should we celebrate completion? Why should we recognize what may seem small in our own lives or that is perceived as small by someone else?

What if finishing something - like 7 weeks of Life Skills and Computer Training - is the domino for someone's better tomorrow?

Maybe someday my "footstone" will become my milestone.

Maybe someday this graduation day - this "footstone" - will become my students' milestone.

Photo Credit: HAC Staff

                                                                                                                                                         

Will you pray for encouragement and perseverance for these graduates as they apply for jobs in a country with 40+% unemployment?

Do you recognize a "footstone" - something to celebrate - in your life today?

Kite of Dreams

Let your kite arise on the wings of winds.

Higher, higher -

It blows.

Moving upward,

Letting go.

Clouds consuming

It sails

On cumulus waves of white.

Until I have my own illustrating abilities...
Photo Credit: Lim Heng Swee via threadless.com

Tragic could be its effervescent flight

But only if grasped too tightly in these clenching fists.

Let it breath.

Let it play.

Sweeping, rolling, dancing

Above earth-bound days -

Only to meet its captain

When time rounds the bend

Into the calm of night.

Floating, waltzing, arriving

It makes its decent.

Squinting eyes against sun's light

And telescopic vision needed no more

As the glinting diamond spirals - downward -

Arrayed in ribbons of flare.

No longer clung to -

No more to own -

With palms wide open

 And near to the heart

It's offered as a gift

From awesome heavenly parts.

Come away with me.

Come away

With your kite of dreams.

Fly the realms of forgotten tomorrows -

Let your imagination be free.

Run wild. Breath deep. Jump in - Take flight!

It's mine to soar.

And it's yours to share.




(By Shannon Mintz ~ 08 April 2012)

A Time to Trust

Photo Credit: HAC Staff

On day 2 of Life Skills class, we talked about our experiences with trust.

The students shared heavy things in their lives; maybe it's the first time they have been able to talk about it, from tragedy to being wrongfully accused of a crime, being emotionally charged to not being able to share.

On day 5 of class…

We talked about “How I came to Life Skills – Before” and “How I have changed during Life Skills – After 5 days.”

Here are each person in my group’s answers. If you read the point on the Left, that person's response is on the Right.

This is the poster my group made.

Wow! One student began feeling, "tense, terrible, traumatized" and now is "free from stress, loose body, relieved heart, can see the future." Another student "doubted my capabilities," and now says, "I can believe in myself."

Dressed up for practice interview day

On day 5, one student went from holding it in to sharing her experiences. After sharing, she now says that heaviness she felt has lifted. She feels free.

My students are growing and finding new hope, I pray that they will seek the truly best Foundation for her life – that is a Full Life through Jesus Christ.

Thank you, Lord, for how you are working in these lives and may you continue to draw these hearts to yours.

Would you continue to pray for my students who started the Computer Training portion of their course? That they would continue to Grow? To have Hope? And seek and know the Solid Foundation?