Day at the LIFE Center

Our summer course is off to a great start with about 125 students registered, including adults and children. Yesterday our day began at 8:30 when we arrived at the center to get ready for kids' club. There were already 6-8 children there waiting in a little patch of shade, trying to avoid the intense sun. Within minutes, the children began pouring in, so excited about their English lessons. All went as planned and the kids were well-behaved for the most part. They all come with money to buy snacks at break time even though we provide snacks for free. They just love to spend their money. When the parents arrive to pick them up, they are eager to tell them what they've learned. After lunch, an afternoon nap & lesson prep, it's back again to the LIFE Center for two back-to-back classes in the evening. Last night, halfway through the first class, we heard a huge BOOM that shook the building. And we were plunged into darkness. We discovered it was our government electric box that had overloaded and blown up. We had been having electrical problems for a couple days which culminated in this! We lit every candle we could find and the students had fun sitting around talking with our short-termers by candlelight. The second class of students arrived while the first was still there so there was quite a crowd at one time. It was getting stifling hot by this time and we wondered if we'd make it until the neighborhood generator was turned on. There were electricians and all kinds of people coming up and down the stairs, trying to figure out the problem. We made it through until the motor came on and continued our classes until 10PM. Today Darrell has spent hours running from office to office in beastly hot temps, trying to get a new meter box assigned to us. It is a process that normally would take 2 weeks but because he knows someone, will hopefully get done today. Oh the joys of life in these parts...never a dull moment.
Here are some pictures of our kids' club.