Here we have Fred, Joseph and Chris.
They had just finished sorting and cleaning up all the toys, one of the first lessons we need to teach the children each year.
They tend to dump everything out and think they can just put them away anywhere.
Joseph, American, is attending preschool in order to learn some Myanmar.
He is doing well and knows most of his colors.
He loves to play the Myanmar version of "What Color Will The Big Monkey Eat."
Chris, Korean, was with us for school for only 2 months.
He attended during his 2 month school break before he started 1st grade at another school.
Here we have Noriko, Fred, Brenda, Chris and Joseph.
We just accomplished our big floor puzzle together.
Noriko is no longer attending school.
Her parents were no longer able to drop her off and pick her up.
Brenda is currently visiting her home village.
We are praying that she will indeed return in another week like they planned.
This is Joy. She is very quiet, but tries really hard and participates in class.
She is a wonderful example to help the other children learn to sit and do what the teacher says.
This is Fred.
He is a returning student from last year... and boy is he using his English.
Just the other day Fred said, “Fred house have airplane red.”
He is always wanting to tell me what toys he has at home.
His grammar needs some work and so I correct the sentence for him and have him repeat it after me.
I am so excited for him to be choosing the speak English over Myanmar with me and also to be making up his own little sentences.
Not just something he's memorized.
Here we have Joseph, Blessing Htoo, Robin and Fred.
Robin is only 2 and a half, but surprising he has the biggest feet of all the kids in school. He is the same size as Fred who is 5.
he is our first student from a Buddhist family.
He does AMAZING at school.
Just the other day I had explained that on Fridays we say, "See you on Monday" instead of, "See you tomorrow."
When his father picked him up I told him, "See you Monday."
He replied, "See you tomo.... See you Monday."
He is so quick to catch on.
Please be praying for him and his family.
Robin could potentially attend school for another 3 years...
This is Blessing Htoo.
I love his name, it is so fitting to the timing in which God sent him to our school.
He started attending in the same week that we found out that Noriko would no longer be attending school.
Here are Fred, Joy and Mary.
They love to wear the silly little glasses that I make for them.
Mary is our other second year student.
She is New Zealand and Myanmar.
She understands both English and Myanmar,
She is fun to have in class and also a good example to the new students.
In July we hosted the Saturday night Bible study for our church.
Here Eh Wah is filling the big pot for our pork and tapioca soup to go with noodles.
It is rainy season so we did the cooking on charcoal inside the kitchen.
It was a bit smoky starting the fire and all the people involved with starting the fire smelled as if we'd been camping...
Here is a picture of about half of the group that we fed and crammed into our living room/classroom for the Bible study.
The other half are along the wall to the right or in the smaller adjoined dining room where I'm taking the photo from.
I was also able to share with the group about what God has been doing in our ministry.
This is Anku.
He is Eh Wah's younger brother.
He is currently living with us and attending tutoring in hopes to be able to pass his high school exam this March.
Unfortunately, last year he failed his exam.
He will be with us until December when he will go back to Taung Gyi.
He has been a big help around the house.
He helps with preparing all the tables and chairs for my speaking classes, doing yard work, taking out the trash and even helping me catch all the fish so that I could change the dirty pond water.
Here is my evening speaking class.
I started last year with only Tom, the boy on my right.
The class has been anywhere from 1 to 18 students throughout this past year.
It is amazing because when we are in need of income the most is when God provides new students.
Later they gradually quit coming, usually due to work, school or other schedule conflicts.
And then again when we are tight with money a student or two show up.
Pray for this class as well, currently there is one student who is Buddhist.
I truly hope that relationships and friendships through this class may reach out to her.
She comes directly from work and is often 30 minutes late due to heavy traffic and then has and hour or longer bus ride home to take care of her family.
I do pray that she will be able to continue class in the future.
There have been a lot of changes in Myanmar over the last
few months to a year. Since
America and other countries have opened business with Myanmar the country is
changing fast. There have been a
lot of good changes and some new challenges as well.
One
good change for me is a lot more Gluten free food has been available. The stores are sometimes out of stock,
but I have been able to get noodles, bread mix, cake and muffin mix and even
some cookies. It has been a treat
to eat some of the foods that I miss instead of white rice 2 to 3 times a day!! The other day a friend even found and
gave me a package of real bacon that fries up crispy. I have truly enjoyed bacon and eggs for breakfast this past
week.
Another
good change is that direct wire transfers are now available through Western
Union. It is nice to know that I
can have money sent and not need it to be carried in by someone. Also, no more fruitless searches for
brand new bills in order to get a higher exchange rate here. Wire transfers even arrive here the
same day.
One
new challenge is the price of things going up. Prices of food and many other items are going up.
Many friends have had their rent double
or more because of the increase of foreign businesses and their ability to pay
high, even ridiculous prices.
This
year God provided a better house for us at the same price that we paid for last
year’s rent. Truly amazing!!
However,
the house we are renting is also for sale. This past month a number of people came to look at it,
including a foreigner. We have
heard rumors around the neighborhood that there is an interested buyer, but
haven’t heard from our landlord yet.
We do have a contract signed until the last day of school, but it looks
like we will probably need a house the first of March.
Renting
has been a bit of a challenge for us here. First, rent for the entire contract length must be paid in
full when you sign the contract.
Second, houses are rented as is.
This house was very good compared to others in the past, but we still
put a new coat of paint on the ceiling and walls and put vinyl flooring on the
floors. It is discouraging to fix
up someone else’s house, and then have them show the house to sell…
Please
be praying that God will provide the right house for this next year and that we
will be able to afford the rent for a whole year or longer when we sign the
contract.
Please
also be praying that we could one day soon have ownership of a house/facility
for a school. It would be very
helpful to have a permanent address to help with our school’s reputation and
also so that we do not lose students due to location changes.
Also,
please praise God with us for his faithful provision to this very day. Not one day have we gone without our
needs being met in some way.
I
have been reading about Joseph and the many hardships that he went through, and
in the end they were all in preparation for the amazing things God had for him
in the future. I have to remind
myself that these challenging times are for a season and for a reason in
preparation for what God still has to come.
Thank you for your prayers and support!
Blessings,
Stacie
How
to give:
Make checks out to: Stacie Evensen
Send checks to: Stacie Evensen,
4625 Wishkah Rd. Aberdeen, WA 98520
For tax deductible giving…
Make checks out to: Calvary Lutheran Church
Include a separate note with my name on it
Send checks to: Calvary Lutheran Church,
P.O. Box 1957, Aberdeen, WA 98520
