Our newly elected student leaders are called ministers. The program names follow closely after those found in Ugandan government for the most part, so we have ministers of sports and energy as well as Prime Minister, a humble quiet boy who is new to the school and lovely to get to know (seen in CSB green and white uniform.)

Monday and Tuesday of the past week were dedicated to this great group of kids. They spent hours crafting their new student leader constitution and revising all of their mission statements. They met with their staff points of contact to share ideas and begin working partnerships. They were prayed over by the whole staff. And they played an amazing number of team building games. Team building was my responsibility and BOY oh BOY did I have a great time. Here are some of our twice a day times of games; working to flip a student head over heels in a chair without dropping him, playing trust games of falling and learning to get up and down as a group. There was so much laughter, so many happy faces and bodies. What a joy to get to enjoy these kids outside of the pressure of enforcing rules.

We have high hopes for these students whose government is modeled after what is found in most Ugandan schools. Our hopes are to match our system to common Ugandan school systems here while still including a transformative difference of the applications of faith. So far, so good, but it needs lots of prayer.

Both of our children are fascinated with the historical aspects of race relations in America. I haven’t quite figured out how it all goes together in their brains, but I suppose for them, like for me, the idea that fifty years ago it was okay to treat people as less than human because of the color of their skin seems tremendously hard to imagine. Drinking from a different water fountain?? Using a different rest room?? Racial equality still needs much improvements in America but oh, how far it seems we’ve come. I know that I am like many other Americans today when I choose our family’s churches and schools based on their inclusion. And though many still harbor hate in their hearts, it is becoming less and less okay to do so.

So it is with awe and interest that our kids learn the stories of Martin Luther King Jr. and Harriet Tubman and dream dreams of how they too may help to establish real equality the world round.

A beautiful player in this historical saga is little Ruby Bridges, famed for being the first black child to attend William Frantz public school. She attended flanked by four Federal Marshals for protection throughout her entire first year. Robert Coles children’s story is beautifully written and illustrated and we read it over and over and over. We recently discovered Ruby’s autobiography called “Through my eyes” telling the story in news photos and her own words which has added a whole new level of interest and meaning. Even the white children whose parents refused to boycott the school for it’s single token back child were pelted with eggs and rocks for their stand for racial equality. Absolutely unbelievable!!

Quinn pointed out the significance this week as we read the autobiography: “Mom, I’m a sort of backwards Ruby Bridges!! I’m the only white kid at a black school and it’s hard for me too!” Yes, son. And despite occasional stones, lots of stares, giggles and teasing, stroking and touching . . . . .we’re pretty lucky. No federal marshals are needed; we are far safer than Ruby Bridges ever was. We have angels all around though and they work overtime for N and Q as they travel to their personal William Frantz. Just a few minutes from home, down Palm Oil Avenue and through the Place of the Pig, to primary school we go.

Students left last Friday after a whirlwind four days of cram-packed exams. There was a noticeable improvement in behavior during exam week probably because we spaced them so closely they had no time to think about anything else!! (not sure if this is an improvement or not)

Since then it has been that “after the big party” feel, not exactly a care-free relaxing time but certainly quieter than it used to be. Old halves of flip flops litter the compound where they were tossed in haste as students ran for break and classrooms breath in silence as they sit undisturbed for the first time in three months. Meanwhile we and the rest of the staff fill staff offices with noise and music as we grade, mark, fill in report cards, hold meetings to prepare for next term, decide who will stay and who will “be deleted” (never knew before this that you could delete people . . . . .) from our student ranks. It’s been a busy, busy week.

We took last Sunday off, post-students, and then dived in to the Student Leader Retreat on Monday and Tuesday alongside the endless meetings and markings. More fun, more laughter and a lot more work. Pictures to come.

OR:
Mango Flies and Mango Pies . . . . . .

Outside our front windows resides a giant mango tree. Planted by JD and Kevin years ago, it marks the age of the house, or so we like to believe. The mango tree is too big, really. It blocks the front of our home and is somewhat ugly. It has large, overhanging branches which can not be trimmed because they provide the perfect climbing perches from which Quinn and his friends play monkey; performing one-handed tricks in exchange for pieces of banana from me. Our mango tree serves other functions as well; a bench strategically placed beneath the front-facing branches provides a shady greeting area for visitors who must often wait to see us. The mango tree, large and ugly though it is, is a staple of our yard.

These days the mango tree is loaded with fruit. Staff children knock more raw ones down each day. They take one bite then discard the rest, finding it still too sour to enjoy much. We encourage them to gather those fallen mangos and we peel and piece them, baking them into pies, cobblers and tarts – the sour taste sweetened just enough by the combination of sugar and baking . . . Melt in your mouth tart-sweet juicy fruit heaven.

Mango trees attract other pests than small children, though. This we discovered thoroughly on Saturday when we realized that Naomi does NOT have chicken pox. Instead she has a very thorough and large mango fly infestation in her body. We’re talking about big grub larvae that I am pulling out of the tops of her ears, her arms, her scalp, her neck, EVERYWHERE!! For days I thought there was something alive in there. I researched in our books but none of the worms mentioned matched what I was seeing in her wounds, a small pulsing round white blob, possibly pus but strangely more active. As her wounds festered more and more, looking less and less like chicken pox and becoming extremely painful I became very concerned. It is hard to watch your child wake in the night screaming from pain and not know how to stop it. After three days of increasing pain we had tried many desperate measures of creams, ointments, rubs, etc. Saturday evening we applied thick globs of pain killing neosporin then immersed her in a hot tub. Minutes later several of her many wounds began opening and something immerged slightly. I grabbed with tweezers and pulled and there in my hand was a wiggling grub. We pulled 11 more last night and are up to a total of 23 so far today. There are still at least four more and probably a few more in her scalp that I have not found.
The Tumbu fly or mango fly is a resident of East Africa. It lays it’s eggs on wet clothing hanging from the line, in Naomi’s case most likely a pillowcase. When the clothing is worn or slept on the immature flies can immerge, burrowing through human skin in less than a minute with no pain. There they stay, growing bigger and bigger in their larval form until they are finally discovered and pulled or squeezed out. Some of Naomi’s were small, others an inch long and a pencil width. Though mango flies are a normal occasional part of life for East African children, in 15 years on the field the Myhre have never seen more than two on any one person. Naomi’s infestation was a truly terrible record and we believe it to be a direct attack from the enemy. I have been struggling with terrible fears and dreams about Naomi for weeks. And I as I struggled, I have been reminding Satan that she already belongs to Jesus so there is NOTHING that can separate her from Him or me. It was Naomi’s desperate prayer of faith that once again provided miraculous healing. Within 45 minutes of her beautiful and commanding prayer, Naomi’s larvae had been discovered and were being removed. How amazing to watch her faith grow, deepen and become more sure through trial.

Naomi barely ate during the last few days of her sickness so after the first 19 were pulled she was HUNGRY! The next morning I did not miss the irony as I brewed fresh Ugandan coffee with local milk and sugar and baked up a big juicy MANGO PIE for our breakfast. Naomi devoured it all and asked for more, to fuel her growing strength – because JESUS ALREADY WON.

Naomi’s team 9th birthday party was a success, a journey back in time to Ancient Egypt which fulfilled her desires for culture, history, games, good food and fun.

Invitations in modern day hieroglyphics ( i.e. Word’s “wingdings” font) went out on Friday with an invitation for the team to crack the code which most did successfully. After that, half the fun was gathering costume, especially watching the boys put on their eye makeup and everyone wrapping and rewrapping in white sheets and towels. Quinn, Julia and others lined up for “scribe school” as the grown ups primped. Then we headed out to the football pitch for assorted ball games and wrap the mummy (in toilet paper.) Then back inside for a very small “feast” (yep I ran out of food for 25) served on the floor, Egyptian style with festive decorations and fingers only. Naomi loved the mood. We had asked team mates to provide traditional Egyptian storytelling and songs with Naomi as the heroic theme, so we were treated to one of the beauties of Bundibugyo, talented people having fun! Julia and Acacia wrote and read a poem; Larissa and the boys (visiting from Sudan) acted out a silly story about a mummy who came to life which made Naomi laugh SO hard, Ashley and Sarah sang “Nile-Oh” accompanied by Nathan on the guitar and Jennifer and Luke dramatically read their written story based on Madagascar 2.

We finished up with a pyramid cake and a brief dance party. Nine doesn’t get much better than this.

Staff and team kids joined here on Saturday morning, despite a pouring rain, to celebrate Easter American style. What great fun I had with Eunice and some of the CSB students who stayed with us over the long weekend, stuffing the 130 eggs, some of which need major surgery yearly (with medical tape no less!) to keep them functioning after being here in Bundi as long as Luke Myhre!! Kids watched Veggie Tales Easter carol together while we waited for the rain to stop then me and the CSB students hid all the eggs, some so well it took over an hour to find them all! Then we gathered inside with some of our visitors for chapattis, dyed hard boiled eggs and hot chai. What a fun morning. I had planned to use our Resurrection Eggs to retell the Easter story but with all the craziness of rain and mud it got lost in the action – another time . . . .

I’m ages behind in posting, but last week we had an amazing women’s football game here at Christ School. St. Mary’s agreed to pull together enough girls for a team and they played a spirited match on Tuesday. There was something “kingdom coming” about the game, something so beautiful that I caught my husband crying at the end. It was a good day for women in Bundibugyo, a day of remembering that bodies are for more than satisfying a man or producing a baby. A day of seeing strength that doesn’t rival men’s but holds it’s own nontheless. A day of seeing girls be girls even while they are becoming women. Our boys outdid themselves in the cheering and drumming department. The team screamed our hearts out on the sidelines, and many fans drew near to watch this modern spectacle of women on the field in rural Bundibugyo.

Oh yea, and we won so it’s on to Nationals for CSB Girls.

The photos, in order:
1) Handsome and dignified Master Ajaku, our senior male on staff, stepped forward to officiate for the game, legitimizing it’s worth in many ways. I am so proud of his stand for women.
2) “Crazy” Monday, a local celebrity, has selected himself as “ascari” or guard at all our games with stick in hand. The girls game was no exception as he worked hard to keep the peace. He’s actually more useful than three armed policeman as he has the “crazy” factor going for him and is not afraid to use a stick.
3) Girls in play; CSB in blue
4) Team mate Sara being spectated while spectating; a common phenomenon in Bundi
5) The boys drummed it up for the whole game and even got some cheering and grass throwing going. Since drumming and cheering for games falls into the “women’s work” category (like sweeping, mopping and well, almost ALL work) I was surprised and pleased to see boys take this on
6) Beautiful Naija or more commonly known as Mamma Nancy (Nancy’s mom) watches eagerly. A former CSB student and now a staff wife, women’s football is a moment of beauty for this strong gal.
7, 8, 9) the team celebrates VICTORY!

Last night was Staff Meeting and dinner at our home, falling after a full day of meetings, two crisies with our children and no food at all in my nauseas stomach. To be honest I had not even reread the chapter by the time I got to the meeting!! Yet it was amazing to see God at work opening hearts, mouths and minds to discuss some of the ideas in the book.

Now in chapter four of Raising Resiliant Children, we discussed “Changing the Words of Parenting” all about our tendency to repeat the same negative “scripts” of parenting talk over and over despite their lack of effectiveness. Drawing on the concept of drama with ourselves as actors and our words as the script, we role played some of our normal scripts as staff with students then looked at what we had said. After our initial role play, identifying common responses to students who are disruptive at preps, all staff identified the script as “positive.” (I would say it is ANYTHING BUT but my opinion is not nearly as important as theirs!) From here we had the opportunity to look at what “positive” means and the difference between speaking truth and having truth “heard” by our students. We went back over the lessons from last week about active and passive listening and talked about what in our scripts is “working,” – what results and change are we seeing? What an amazing transformation to see staff really thinking and pondering and beginning to change their minds about this initial look at our “scripts” as staff. We ended the discussion with talk about heart change versus behavioral change and the need for both in a christian school environment. Even the concept of the difference between the two drew questions and comments. Though we have not committed to any major changes, I feel tremendously blessed by the positive and active response from the entire staff. We have certainly sat through meetings with NO response from staff, so the active participation, dramas, disagreements and questions are truly gifts from God.

Check out Raising Reliant Children. It’s a secular book but the concepts are biblically based and the core of it is rock-solid. There are very few parenting books I find helpful but this one I loved.

I’ve been sick again, another all night marathon of vomiting and severe diahrea that began just as suddenly as last time and was just as painful. Though with no high fever this time I was in much better shape. Only a day on the couch and yesterday I was up and about though I still haven’t eaten much of anything and am very nauseaus.

Meanwhile, Naomi’s last two nights were horrendous. She has developed what seems to be chickenpox from our newest team member, two year old Brian, who must have carried it here from the States. Naomi doesn’t have many lesions but they are very large, cystic and painful as well as itchy. She spends many hours awake at night crying which means we don’t get much sleep either. Miserable for all. Pray for her quick recovery. It’s a small illness but yet another toll on our tendency to weariness.

Despite the long last three nights, yesterday was packed FULL. We are in the last week with the students for Term 1 and exams are on, all day every day. This change in schedule means a break from chapel, debate and of course football but even more crush in administrative work. Yesterday we spent the entire day assessing our Senior 4 and 6 candidates to decide who we will dismiss and who will enter probation. Deciding the future of these kids is weighty and stressful but the team process of the leadership team was wonderful. Pray for those who will be dismissed in the next week; for their hearts and futures.

We are also developing a candidate code (special standards for students in their exam year to help promote discipline in study), assessing all the support staff (kitchen cooks, gate guards, gardeners, etc.) through supervisor reviews, reworking all the staff collateral duties, letting several staff members go and beginning a rehiring process.

And those of you who are sponsoring new orphans know how very far behind I am on getting out my packets to you!!

We begin to recognize the level of spiritual attack we are under. Health, attacks on our childrens’ hearts, souls and bodies, attacks on our marriage, on our team relationships, on our safety. In every area we feel the crush of the Enemy, waging war. Please support us with prayer.