The most popular question I get when we are on furlough: What does a typical day look like for you? Well, it depends on who the "you" is, but here is a typical week for some of the New Day staff!
Blu has been busy working on the guesthouse roof! He is building trusses and spends most of the day up in the air! If you know Blu, you know he loves building things and being outside, so he's happy! He is also leading a Tuesday 12:30pm Bible study for new believers, and he has a Thursday afternoon Bible study in Kabanga. Twice a week, he spends some time in the afternoon reading with two of the New Day kids, and he also preaches or teaches Sunday School every Sunday as well, so he stays busy!
Darbi is staying busy teaching 3 classes each day in the New Day school. She spends most afternoons on the computer doing New Day finances, writing thank you notes to donors, and writing Bible studies. She is doing yoga twice a week with friends and is loving that! She is reading with two of the New Day kids twice per week, and she is teaching a youth girls' Bible study every Friday afternoon, Kids Club on Saturday afternoons, and Sunday School on occasion.
The Cooks are busy trying to get their house finished!! They are spending most mornings with a paintbrush or cleaning supplies in hand, putting finishing touches on the house before moving in. The Cooks have also taken over the running of the New Day kitchen and are busy doing a complete overhaul (removal of unwanted pests!). They do the orphanage's weekly grocery shopping in Choma - a huge job! Niki and Kelsey are teaching a weekly Art class and Sunday School on occasion, and Niki is also subbing for Laurie's weekly discipleship class with the New Day kids. Kelsey is busy in the mornings with her 7th grade homeschool classes, but she helps out with the New Day kids, reading with Cynthia or supervising movie time/bike riding time! Ricky preaches or teaches Sunday School on Sundays as well, and the Cooks are a huge help at Kids Club.
Teacher Carolyn is back in the swing of things, teaching Language Arts at the New Day school every day for Grades K, 1, and 2. She also teaching the Tidwell kids twice a week for American Social Studies. On Tuesdays, she makes three huge peach cobblers for the New Day staff and children's dessert!
Teacher Diana has her hands full each morning at school with our 3 preschoolers. They are learning quickly and have each inherited Diana's Texas accent. When our next orphan houses are built and new kids come into the orphanage, they will go straight to Teacher Diana's class.
Debbie is always busy! Between collecting 150 chicken eggs per week and milking our milk cows, supervising the bull that is "visiting" the other cows, and growing all sorts of things, she rarely takes a break! We are all enjoying the huge bell peppers she brings us each week! She also helps with Kids Club and is subbing for Laurie's Sunday kids' discipleship class for the village children who have accepted Christ. She also teaches a weekly women's Bible study in Mapanza.
Jenna, our intern this spring, has a crazy schedule that even I have a hard time keeping up with! She has a variety of jobs such as leading morning devotions for the kids, teaching the Kindergarten Bible class, taking guitar lessons from Blu, giving flute lessons to Kelsey, teaching Music class in school, doing yoga with Darbi, teaching Drama class every afternoon, and putting together 2 Easter programs for the New Day kids to present. I'm sure I'm forgetting other things, but that made me tired, so I'll stop there!
Other things we do regularly include:
Tuesday night Family Dinner Night - the Americans cook for the New Day staff & kids. This month is hamburgers, chips, and peach cobbler!
Birthday parties with lots of water pouring!
American Fellowship every Sunday night - great American food and fun games!
English Worship once a month - praise songs & English preaching
Weekly Sunday worship - either at New Day or at the village of Nabukowa
So that's what a typical week may include at New Day! We get tired, even sometimes exhausted, but everything we do is to point others to Christ, and that makes it worth it!
In February, Wes & Laurie will return and we will be "whole" again! Mandy, our nurse coming for a year, and two new interns, Haley & Kailey, will join us, along with a 2 week volunteer team!
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