Day Four - Thursday, March 29

We're not sure if it was the roosters crowing, or the pig sounding like it was going to it's end, or the black birds that give out a loud whistle/shriek, or perhaps a combination of all three, but our team was awakened just after sunrise at. We needed to have showers, get dressed & have breakfast quickly as we were leaving to having devotions with the students at Beerseba Purulha, the third of the four schools run by Impact Ministries. Everbody feels the ache of new found muscles from yesterday's dig and so we are not moving as spryly as we might otherwise.

We loaded up our vans, along with the teachers from Beerseba Chicoy, the second of the four schools, for the 25 minute drive to Purulha. The teachers of Chicoy & Mocohan (fourth school & the school that last years Bearspaw team dug foundations for) are driven out every morning for classes and returned to Tactic at the end of each day. With all the travel of transporting teachers & missions teams, staff & emergent needs, Impact Ministries has a network of vehicles and drivers that are constantly on the go! It's a fine oiled machine, but machines, as do vehicles, can break down & then everyone is left standing around waiting.




Purulha is a small school of about 40 students. The community gave Impact Ministries permission to use an already built school that was sitting empty, which was very exciting. But, the school has had a difficult start due to opposition from a few in the community who are distrustful of Impact Ministries & the Christian message they bring. Distrustful to the point that a rumour was started in the community that the real reason Impact Ministries was there, was to kidnap the children & take them to Canada to make them into soap! As a result only 12 students showed up on opening day. But the teachers who had been hired for Purulha believed so much in what they were doing, all of them being graduates from Beerseba Chamche, that they went door to door talking with families & building up the enrollment. That's committment!




Devotions with the students in Purulha ends with another hugging line.

Then, it's back to Beerseba Chamche for childrens ministry with the grades 2,3 & 4 students. We have power, so all the dramas have music, the children are older and less prone to running about aimlessly, and many of them seriously attempt to help the team with their Spanish. Today's activities are marred only by the fact that the temperature is soaring to 28 degrees Celsius & the balloon animals can be heard popping all around the school campus.

A lunch of ... you guessed it, chicken & rice, and then we are off to the work site. When we arrive, a large crowd of children has already gathered for the show. However, today, many of the children pitch in and help with the digging. This leaves many of our team members free to play soccer, visit & play games with the rest of the watchers. Periodic rain showers help to cool us off, so the work is very refreshing for all.

After showers, we head off to the Peter's residence for meatloaf dinner. Not chicken! The evening ends with another sharing time & hearing from Zaak about the sponsorship program with Impact Ministries. For $36 a month, each sponsor child gets their school tuition paid for, get a school uniform & a hot meal each school day. As well, they will receive a gift on their birthday & at christmas, plus their family will have free medical care through the Impact Ministries medical clinic, such as what we are offering. On Saturday, we will visit a total of 18 sponsor children that this team & the families of Bearspaw are sponsoring. What an opportunity! God is good!