Finished up week 3 in Guinea yesterday. Most of the past week has been busy with continued learning on the new NTMAA software. For me, the computer part of it is pretty easy to pick up, but it takes a little longer to wrap my mind around the accounting/bookkeeping part. Overall, I think it's been a good experience for everyone in that it's given the current bookkeepers a chance to iron out some of the issues they've had with things in the past and to get a feel for why accounts were created, what they're used for, etc.
Outside of training, I've been spending my time trying to remember all the things that my roommate usually takes care of when she's around. She and Micha went up to visit some missionaries who work with a tribe about 12 hours drive north-ish of here. From the sounds of things, their taxi ride actually took closer to 24 hours, but they made it safely. Anyway, now I have to remember things like re-filling the water tank outside, re-filling the container inside that filters water to drink, cleaning the filter, getting the water tank outside cleaned, checking the battery level of the batteries that are charged by our solar system, etc. The good news is that it's starting to become more of a routine, so I don't have to think as much about things, I just do them. The bad news is that I still managed to forget to turn off the water pump this morning and Regina had to come tell me that the water tank was overflowing.
This past weekend, I had a chance to ride along with some of the missionaries to a nearby village of Landuma people. They were hosting a soccer tournament in honor of the MK school here because they helped provide cement floors for the school. It was my first official village experience, and I really enjoyed the chance to get outside the fenceline here and see some of the Guinean people. Jim translated for us while we were there, but I'm working on at least picking up the Landuma phrases that are used as greetings. It seems like they say at least 3 different things when they greet someone, usually echoed back by the person they're greeting, and usually heard differently by me every time I try to learn them.
I also got to experience my first real Guinean meal because they fed us after the soccer game. We were inside the school building in the dark (they don't have electricity there), so I'm not entirely sure what my food looked like, but it was good. Rather than serving everyone individually, they put a big plate/bowl in the middle of the table, and everyone reaches in and eats the food in front of them. Jim brought along spoons for us to use, but typically the Guineans would eat with their right hands. Silverware's ok and all, but I'm kinda with the Guineans on this one -- when you have a chance to use your hands, take it! :)
Again, thank you for all yours prayers for me so far. A couple prayer requests I have now are that I can be ready to teach a computer class or two on Monday, that I'm able to pick up a little of the language around here so I don't feel so helpless in communication, and that the tribal missionaries can be encouraged by the work of the support missionaries here at the mission center.
Thanks, and hope you're doing well!
Friday, October 10, 2008
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Weekly update #2
Another week has gone by since I last posted here to let you know what's been going on. I'm not sure it feels like it's been a whole week, but a lot has been going on.
I got a little glimpse of what the school is like when I sat in on Jen's science class last week. One of the students was sick, which really just meant there was only one student in the class, so I took notes for the sick kid. Not very good notes, it seems, since Jen told me that neither of the kids did the lab report the right way. Friday was the end of the 1st quarter, so now there's a two week break before second quarter starts. Normally it'd be just one, but we have a new accounting system going into place currently, and that involves a lot of training.
Which brings me to my next topic. John Oliver arrived here from Sanford last Wednesday to start training on the new software on Thursday. He works at headquarters as a programmer, and this (the new software) is his project, so he gets pretty excited talking about it and all of its features, which is nice for those of us learning because he can teach the tricks that a normal user might not know. He can also fix bugs while he's here and add in enhancements that are useful for places like Guinea. The goal for Thursday and Friday was to get the store part of the system up and running well enough to open the store on Friday. I'm not sure if I've mentioned the store yet, so for those of you who don't know, there's a small store in the mission center, stocked by a couple who drives to a city about an hour away once a week to do shopping in bulk. They bring everything back to a buildilng here, sort it out, price it according to the prices they paid, and let the missionaries shop there twice a week.
Anyway, long story short, after a long day of training on Thursday and some hectic preparation on Friday, we were ready to open -- barcodes on everything that could take them, barcodes printed by the "checkout" for items that couldn't, everything added to the inventory on the computer (or at least almost everything). Took a little getting used to doing it this way instead of just writing down numbers and totaling them, but I think overall it was a success, and it's nice to have itemized receipts with prices and what we bought.
This weekend, Jen and I made use of a couple of bikes around the center and took a bike ride out on the road toward town. It was nice to get away from our little duplex and the mission center and see a little of Guinea at the pace of a bike. We rode a few miles toward town, up to the top of a hill (where I'll need to go again sometime for some pictures), and then back past Hamdallaye the other direction on a dirt road, filled with potholes. We realized that it's almost as fast to bike on those roads as it is to drive because the drivers are swerving all over to try to avoid as many potholes as possible.
Saturday night, the women in the group got to do a ladies' night out to a port city that has a few restaurants with semi-American food. For someone like me who has barely tasted Guinean food, it probably wasn't quite as exciting, but some of the ladies couldn't wait to sink their teeth into a bacon cheeseburger or some ice cream. All in all, it was a good time for getting to know a little bit more about some of the people I'll be living with for the year and some good food, all at the same time. (I got a fish dish instead of a bacon cheeseburger, but I may have to consider the cheeseburger for future cravings).
On Sunday, I got a chance to lead a few worship songs for the missionary fellowship. I don't know that I was that good, but people seemed to sing along, and I enjoyed it. There's talk of possibly having more of a band, with another guy who plays guitar, a lady who plays keyboard, her husband on djembe, and a guy who apparently has a bass. I think it would be cool if we could get something going.
This week, training has continued on the new software. More stuff with the store, and then a lot of new stuff with the bookkeepers and other account holders. I sit in on all of it, trying to pick up the accounting information enough to be able to help with the computer part of it later. It keeps me busy all day, and it's been a blessing having a roommate who's willing to cook enough lunch to share with me every day, since I wouldn't really have time for it on my own.
Overall, it's been another really good week, and I'm looking forward to the third. Hope you're all doing well, too!
I got a little glimpse of what the school is like when I sat in on Jen's science class last week. One of the students was sick, which really just meant there was only one student in the class, so I took notes for the sick kid. Not very good notes, it seems, since Jen told me that neither of the kids did the lab report the right way. Friday was the end of the 1st quarter, so now there's a two week break before second quarter starts. Normally it'd be just one, but we have a new accounting system going into place currently, and that involves a lot of training.
Which brings me to my next topic. John Oliver arrived here from Sanford last Wednesday to start training on the new software on Thursday. He works at headquarters as a programmer, and this (the new software) is his project, so he gets pretty excited talking about it and all of its features, which is nice for those of us learning because he can teach the tricks that a normal user might not know. He can also fix bugs while he's here and add in enhancements that are useful for places like Guinea. The goal for Thursday and Friday was to get the store part of the system up and running well enough to open the store on Friday. I'm not sure if I've mentioned the store yet, so for those of you who don't know, there's a small store in the mission center, stocked by a couple who drives to a city about an hour away once a week to do shopping in bulk. They bring everything back to a buildilng here, sort it out, price it according to the prices they paid, and let the missionaries shop there twice a week.
Anyway, long story short, after a long day of training on Thursday and some hectic preparation on Friday, we were ready to open -- barcodes on everything that could take them, barcodes printed by the "checkout" for items that couldn't, everything added to the inventory on the computer (or at least almost everything). Took a little getting used to doing it this way instead of just writing down numbers and totaling them, but I think overall it was a success, and it's nice to have itemized receipts with prices and what we bought.
This weekend, Jen and I made use of a couple of bikes around the center and took a bike ride out on the road toward town. It was nice to get away from our little duplex and the mission center and see a little of Guinea at the pace of a bike. We rode a few miles toward town, up to the top of a hill (where I'll need to go again sometime for some pictures), and then back past Hamdallaye the other direction on a dirt road, filled with potholes. We realized that it's almost as fast to bike on those roads as it is to drive because the drivers are swerving all over to try to avoid as many potholes as possible.
Saturday night, the women in the group got to do a ladies' night out to a port city that has a few restaurants with semi-American food. For someone like me who has barely tasted Guinean food, it probably wasn't quite as exciting, but some of the ladies couldn't wait to sink their teeth into a bacon cheeseburger or some ice cream. All in all, it was a good time for getting to know a little bit more about some of the people I'll be living with for the year and some good food, all at the same time. (I got a fish dish instead of a bacon cheeseburger, but I may have to consider the cheeseburger for future cravings).
On Sunday, I got a chance to lead a few worship songs for the missionary fellowship. I don't know that I was that good, but people seemed to sing along, and I enjoyed it. There's talk of possibly having more of a band, with another guy who plays guitar, a lady who plays keyboard, her husband on djembe, and a guy who apparently has a bass. I think it would be cool if we could get something going.
This week, training has continued on the new software. More stuff with the store, and then a lot of new stuff with the bookkeepers and other account holders. I sit in on all of it, trying to pick up the accounting information enough to be able to help with the computer part of it later. It keeps me busy all day, and it's been a blessing having a roommate who's willing to cook enough lunch to share with me every day, since I wouldn't really have time for it on my own.
Overall, it's been another really good week, and I'm looking forward to the third. Hope you're all doing well, too!
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
One week!
In honor of my one-weekiversary of being gone from the States, I thought I'd post and give you a little update of how things are in Guinea.
I arrived safely and soundly in Guinea last Wednesday after about 24 hours of traveling. Everything went pretty smoothly, all my luggage arrived without anything missing that I know of, and I was blessed to have an open seat next to me on both the flight from Chicago to Brussels and Brussels to Conakry, which makes sleeping a whole lot easier.
Conakry is the capital of Guinea, and there are a few NTM families that work there, doing things like exchanging cash, renewing visas, working with passports, etc. I got to stay in an unused apartment next to one of the families, the Nicholsons, and they feed me and kept me entertained while I was in the city (for about 2.5 days). Conakry's a pretty busy place, driving is crazy, and there are lots of noises, smells, and people, but it was a fun experience, at least for me. For the most part, we stuck around the apartment building which has a little courtyard, too, but I also got to venture into the marché (market) with a couple people to buy an umbrella and a watch.
On Saturday, we took a taxi from Conakry to the mission base near the Landuma people, about 4-5 hours from Conakry. Unlike the Guineans who generally cram at least 6 people plus a driver in a taxi (regular sized car), we just had 3 of us, plus all of my luggage and a few things we had gotten at the marche, so it was a good drive through the country side. Gave me another view of the city and then various towns/villages along the way. Some roads are paved nicely; other roads encourage a game of "dodge-the-pothole" where the drivers weave all over the road trying to find a smooth place to drive. Fortunately the road isn't super busy, so there aren't accidents caused by the weaving.
My new home is pretty excellent. I share half a duplex with a girl named Jen who's here for 4 months from Canada, teaching science at the mission school. She's fluent in French & English, so she's started giving me brief French lessons, which is helpful, although some of the local people only speak their tribal language, Landuma, or Susu. I got to attend a church service on Sunday with some of the Landuma believers, and although I couldn't understand any of it, it was still a cool experience. Plus we had a couple missionaries who work with the tribe available to translate parts of the service for us. It's always encouraging to hear other people's testimonies of God at work.
So far I've mostly been settling into my new home. My roommate's been pretty helpful with that, and so far the missionaries have been feeding me. I love going to each home and learning about these people -- what brought them here, how long they've been here, what things they've struggled with, what things they love about Guinea. Everyone just seems to have a passion for what they're doing, which is pretty cool. Hopefully soon I'll get to start fixing some computers. The school's nearing the end of 1st quarter, and I think maybe for 2nd quarter, I might be able to teach a computer elective or two, so that should be good as well.
Well, that's a brief look at the first week. If you want more details, just ask. :)
I arrived safely and soundly in Guinea last Wednesday after about 24 hours of traveling. Everything went pretty smoothly, all my luggage arrived without anything missing that I know of, and I was blessed to have an open seat next to me on both the flight from Chicago to Brussels and Brussels to Conakry, which makes sleeping a whole lot easier.
Conakry is the capital of Guinea, and there are a few NTM families that work there, doing things like exchanging cash, renewing visas, working with passports, etc. I got to stay in an unused apartment next to one of the families, the Nicholsons, and they feed me and kept me entertained while I was in the city (for about 2.5 days). Conakry's a pretty busy place, driving is crazy, and there are lots of noises, smells, and people, but it was a fun experience, at least for me. For the most part, we stuck around the apartment building which has a little courtyard, too, but I also got to venture into the marché (market) with a couple people to buy an umbrella and a watch.
On Saturday, we took a taxi from Conakry to the mission base near the Landuma people, about 4-5 hours from Conakry. Unlike the Guineans who generally cram at least 6 people plus a driver in a taxi (regular sized car), we just had 3 of us, plus all of my luggage and a few things we had gotten at the marche, so it was a good drive through the country side. Gave me another view of the city and then various towns/villages along the way. Some roads are paved nicely; other roads encourage a game of "dodge-the-pothole" where the drivers weave all over the road trying to find a smooth place to drive. Fortunately the road isn't super busy, so there aren't accidents caused by the weaving.
My new home is pretty excellent. I share half a duplex with a girl named Jen who's here for 4 months from Canada, teaching science at the mission school. She's fluent in French & English, so she's started giving me brief French lessons, which is helpful, although some of the local people only speak their tribal language, Landuma, or Susu. I got to attend a church service on Sunday with some of the Landuma believers, and although I couldn't understand any of it, it was still a cool experience. Plus we had a couple missionaries who work with the tribe available to translate parts of the service for us. It's always encouraging to hear other people's testimonies of God at work.
So far I've mostly been settling into my new home. My roommate's been pretty helpful with that, and so far the missionaries have been feeding me. I love going to each home and learning about these people -- what brought them here, how long they've been here, what things they've struggled with, what things they love about Guinea. Everyone just seems to have a passion for what they're doing, which is pretty cool. Hopefully soon I'll get to start fixing some computers. The school's nearing the end of 1st quarter, and I think maybe for 2nd quarter, I might be able to teach a computer elective or two, so that should be good as well.
Well, that's a brief look at the first week. If you want more details, just ask. :)
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
It's official!
I have my Guinean visa; it's official, I'm going to Guinea! I feel much better having my passport and immunization record back in hand, along with my new Guinean visa, which tells someone on the other end to let me into their country. Fortunately, I think the visa speaks better French than I do, since I don't even know how to say "Let me into your country." I don't even know "country" for that matter. Now I just need to find a safe spot to put everything where I'll remember it.
My packing is coming along. I've managed to collect a decent number of skirts to wear while I'm over there, and if I don't have enough, I've heard you can find clothing fairly cheaply. Thankfully some of the missionaries in the field already supplied me with a packing list, so I'm trying to go through it and figure out what I still need. Soon I get to figure out how to cram all of what I want to take into two 50-lb bags. It feels a little strange and yet freeing at the same time trying to simplify my life down to 2 bags.
I don't have much other news for now since I'm still in Midland, but for those of you who are interested in keeping up with me while I'm over in Guinea, I will try to post back to this blog on a regular basis as well as send out occasional email updates. If you'd like to be on the email list, please email kelsey_hill @ ntm.org (without the spaces), and I'll add you to the list. Otherwise, I'll see you back here once I've got some news from Guinea.
My packing is coming along. I've managed to collect a decent number of skirts to wear while I'm over there, and if I don't have enough, I've heard you can find clothing fairly cheaply. Thankfully some of the missionaries in the field already supplied me with a packing list, so I'm trying to go through it and figure out what I still need. Soon I get to figure out how to cram all of what I want to take into two 50-lb bags. It feels a little strange and yet freeing at the same time trying to simplify my life down to 2 bags.
I don't have much other news for now since I'm still in Midland, but for those of you who are interested in keeping up with me while I'm over in Guinea, I will try to post back to this blog on a regular basis as well as send out occasional email updates. If you'd like to be on the email list, please email kelsey_hill @ ntm.org (without the spaces), and I'll add you to the list. Otherwise, I'll see you back here once I've got some news from Guinea.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
