GETTING OUR COURSES UNDERWAY
Today, we successfully got our courses underway. Darlene had 28 students. I had 7 students in my morning course, NT Theology. Both of us may have a few more tomorrow.
I met with the Rector, and got approval to offer for my second course, one needed by the advanced students in the MA program who have already completed the four courses I previously taught here. So this afternoon I wrote a syllabus (and other materials) for a course in Pastoral Theology. That course will begin tomorrow afternoon.
I do not have time to write much this evening, as I still must prepare my lectures for both courses tomorrow.
Thanks for your prayers.
Monday, January 11, 2010
Friday, January 8, 2010
MAKING COURSE ARRANGEMENTS
MAKING COURSE ARRANGEMENTS
The three of us expended a great deal of time and energy today making course arrangements.
Working through the Registrar, Barb made arrangements to teach 55 students in her morning lecture sessions, and break them into two sections for afternoon lab sessions in the “projection room.” However, the Registrar laid out a strange (to us) scheduling plan for Barb’s course: the class would meet 4 hours each morning during the first two weeks on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays (but not Wednesdays); in the third week, it would meet 2 hours on Monday and return for a 3-hour exam on Friday. Fortunately, Barb has freedom to rearrange this schedule (which she plans to do!), as long as she meets for 45 hours. Problem resolved!
Darlene’s situation was more difficult to resolve. When I met with the Registrar this morning, I represented all three of us. But when I reported to Darlene, she was quite distraught. For two of the three weeks in the January interterm, the Nursing students were scheduled to take another course (Biophysics) in the mornings. Darlene was being granted for her course only 2 hours 40 minutes in the afternoons (and full days the third week). In her (expert) judgment, it was not possible to do the course justice in that format. So she went and met with the Registrar personally and presented her case. She argued that the students could not do two courses simultaneously. Following a phone call to the Interim Director of the School of Health Sciences, HAU agreed to cancel the Biophysics course. So Darlene got a clear slate, to schedule her lectures to the full group of 35 students in the early morning, to be followed by two lab sections in the later morning and early afternoon. One more problem resolved!
My situation was both less and more complicated. I had agreed, and came prepared to teach, two courses: NT Theology, and Wesleyan Theology. However, during this past week, I had occasion to meet and greet a half dozen of my former students. They had already taken these two courses from me, and asked what I had to offer them. On another front, when I met with the Registrar this morning, I confirmed my suspicion that the same students would be enrolled in both of the courses I was assigned to teach, thereby taking two courses in three weeks, which would represent a violation of academic standards and compromise both courses. I proposed and offered instead—even though it would be more work for me—that I teach one of these two courses to the “new” cohort in the MA in Theological Studies program, and that I teach as my second course, one of the two needed by the “old” students in the program. The Registrar (rightly) referred me to the Provost for approval of this proposal. However, it required three trips to his office during the course of the day, before I got in to see him. He welcomed my offer, but referred me to the Rector! So I am meeting with Bishop Elie tomorrow (Saturday): I expect he will agree with my proposal…which means that I will be hard at work again, as last year, preparing a course I have never taught in my life previously, and for which I came totally unprepared! Problem still pending!
These situations require a lot of grace. Fortunately, at the end of the day, we are all in a pretty good mood. Tonight (Friday), per custom, we are going out to eat with all of the missionaries at HAU. Tim & Pat Kirkpatrick and Fred & Valerie Trexler arrived late Wednesday, and so there are 12 of us here now. (Fred and Valerie are both teaching courses, and Tim and Fred are working on the Voice of Hope Radio station.)
The three of us expended a great deal of time and energy today making course arrangements.
Working through the Registrar, Barb made arrangements to teach 55 students in her morning lecture sessions, and break them into two sections for afternoon lab sessions in the “projection room.” However, the Registrar laid out a strange (to us) scheduling plan for Barb’s course: the class would meet 4 hours each morning during the first two weeks on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays (but not Wednesdays); in the third week, it would meet 2 hours on Monday and return for a 3-hour exam on Friday. Fortunately, Barb has freedom to rearrange this schedule (which she plans to do!), as long as she meets for 45 hours. Problem resolved!
Darlene’s situation was more difficult to resolve. When I met with the Registrar this morning, I represented all three of us. But when I reported to Darlene, she was quite distraught. For two of the three weeks in the January interterm, the Nursing students were scheduled to take another course (Biophysics) in the mornings. Darlene was being granted for her course only 2 hours 40 minutes in the afternoons (and full days the third week). In her (expert) judgment, it was not possible to do the course justice in that format. So she went and met with the Registrar personally and presented her case. She argued that the students could not do two courses simultaneously. Following a phone call to the Interim Director of the School of Health Sciences, HAU agreed to cancel the Biophysics course. So Darlene got a clear slate, to schedule her lectures to the full group of 35 students in the early morning, to be followed by two lab sections in the later morning and early afternoon. One more problem resolved!
My situation was both less and more complicated. I had agreed, and came prepared to teach, two courses: NT Theology, and Wesleyan Theology. However, during this past week, I had occasion to meet and greet a half dozen of my former students. They had already taken these two courses from me, and asked what I had to offer them. On another front, when I met with the Registrar this morning, I confirmed my suspicion that the same students would be enrolled in both of the courses I was assigned to teach, thereby taking two courses in three weeks, which would represent a violation of academic standards and compromise both courses. I proposed and offered instead—even though it would be more work for me—that I teach one of these two courses to the “new” cohort in the MA in Theological Studies program, and that I teach as my second course, one of the two needed by the “old” students in the program. The Registrar (rightly) referred me to the Provost for approval of this proposal. However, it required three trips to his office during the course of the day, before I got in to see him. He welcomed my offer, but referred me to the Rector! So I am meeting with Bishop Elie tomorrow (Saturday): I expect he will agree with my proposal…which means that I will be hard at work again, as last year, preparing a course I have never taught in my life previously, and for which I came totally unprepared! Problem still pending!
These situations require a lot of grace. Fortunately, at the end of the day, we are all in a pretty good mood. Tonight (Friday), per custom, we are going out to eat with all of the missionaries at HAU. Tim & Pat Kirkpatrick and Fred & Valerie Trexler arrived late Wednesday, and so there are 12 of us here now. (Fred and Valerie are both teaching courses, and Tim and Fred are working on the Voice of Hope Radio station.)
Thursday, January 7, 2010
NOISES AND SMELLS, NIGHT AND DAY
NOISES AND SMELLS, NIGHT AND DAY
The generator has just come on again: it is 4 pm; it will run until 9 pm. The noise is overwhelming: at first we could hardly tolerate it; now that we are more used to it, it is only deafening. It is run in the morning as well, 6-9 am. We can escape the noise to a significant degree by retreating to the back of our apartment. We brought in two plastic outdoor chairs and put them in the study, so we have a place to sit and read. We then close the hallway door to the front of the apartment, hiding behind it as a sound barrier.
At night, because it is quite hot (high 70s to mid 80s), we sleep with the windows open. The dominant sound is that of croaking frogs. Darlene swears that they must be HUGE: there voices certainly are. And then, there is the rain! Three of the five nights that we have been here thus far, there has been a torrential downpour in the middle of the night. (When I say torrential, I mean TORRENTIAL!) The rain makes a nice sound, really, but it is very loud.
On the softer side, typically we are wakened at daylight by the sound of singing sparrows. The sit in the open concrete blocks along the top of the walls in our apartment, and lift their voices in praise to God each morning at dawn. Theirs is a pleasant sound.
Darlene just commented, “They must have started the garbage fire.” There also are smells here that we do not normally experience at home. The burn pile for kitchen refuse, papers, etc. is located at the rear of our apartment. They set it on fire at least once, sometimes twice, per day. We then have to close certain windows, to shut down on the amount of smoke rolling into our apartment. The smell is not bad, usually, but the smoke is irritating.
C’est la vie!
The generator has just come on again: it is 4 pm; it will run until 9 pm. The noise is overwhelming: at first we could hardly tolerate it; now that we are more used to it, it is only deafening. It is run in the morning as well, 6-9 am. We can escape the noise to a significant degree by retreating to the back of our apartment. We brought in two plastic outdoor chairs and put them in the study, so we have a place to sit and read. We then close the hallway door to the front of the apartment, hiding behind it as a sound barrier.
At night, because it is quite hot (high 70s to mid 80s), we sleep with the windows open. The dominant sound is that of croaking frogs. Darlene swears that they must be HUGE: there voices certainly are. And then, there is the rain! Three of the five nights that we have been here thus far, there has been a torrential downpour in the middle of the night. (When I say torrential, I mean TORRENTIAL!) The rain makes a nice sound, really, but it is very loud.
On the softer side, typically we are wakened at daylight by the sound of singing sparrows. The sit in the open concrete blocks along the top of the walls in our apartment, and lift their voices in praise to God each morning at dawn. Theirs is a pleasant sound.
Darlene just commented, “They must have started the garbage fire.” There also are smells here that we do not normally experience at home. The burn pile for kitchen refuse, papers, etc. is located at the rear of our apartment. They set it on fire at least once, sometimes twice, per day. We then have to close certain windows, to shut down on the amount of smoke rolling into our apartment. The smell is not bad, usually, but the smoke is irritating.
C’est la vie!
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
A VISIT TO HAU HOSPITAL
A VISIT TO HAU HOSPITAL
We have just returned from our visit to Kibuye. We were impressed with the upgrades which have been accomplished there since our visit last year. Two new doctors have been hired, and the hospital and clinics were overflowing with patients.
On Darlene’s suggestion, HAU has built a dormitory for Medical and Nursing students doing there field practice at Kibuye as “the “University Hospital.” Last year, I took a photo of Darlene standing on the foundations. Today, I took a photo of her in front of the finished building. It is beautifully constructed.
The trip from the main campus in Bujumbura is 125 km, and takes ca. 3 hours. Kibuye is located “upcountry” in the mountains at ca. 6000’ elevation. The countryside is beautiful: the mountainsides are covered with plantings of coffee, tea, eucalyptus, corn, palms, and bananas.
So it was a pleasant day, and an especially important one for Darlene. She was given a tour of all the hospital wards and clinics, and spoke at length with the doctors (all three came to meet with her). Bishop Elie is very eager to have her return next fall and for a more extended time to help develop curriculum and train faculty for the Nursing program, set up the out-patient clinic (currently under construction adjacent to the main campus), and coordinate the education and training of the Medical and Nursing students.
So we will see!
We have just returned from our visit to Kibuye. We were impressed with the upgrades which have been accomplished there since our visit last year. Two new doctors have been hired, and the hospital and clinics were overflowing with patients.
On Darlene’s suggestion, HAU has built a dormitory for Medical and Nursing students doing there field practice at Kibuye as “the “University Hospital.” Last year, I took a photo of Darlene standing on the foundations. Today, I took a photo of her in front of the finished building. It is beautifully constructed.
The trip from the main campus in Bujumbura is 125 km, and takes ca. 3 hours. Kibuye is located “upcountry” in the mountains at ca. 6000’ elevation. The countryside is beautiful: the mountainsides are covered with plantings of coffee, tea, eucalyptus, corn, palms, and bananas.
So it was a pleasant day, and an especially important one for Darlene. She was given a tour of all the hospital wards and clinics, and spoke at length with the doctors (all three came to meet with her). Bishop Elie is very eager to have her return next fall and for a more extended time to help develop curriculum and train faculty for the Nursing program, set up the out-patient clinic (currently under construction adjacent to the main campus), and coordinate the education and training of the Medical and Nursing students.
So we will see!
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
A NEW YEAR, A NEW PLACE
Our travel to Burundi went smoothly: we had no hassles getting checked through; the planes were on time; all of our luggage arrived intact. But it was a long ordeal: we were 42 hours in transit. So, since our arrival on Saturday afternoon, among other things we have been catching up on sleep and trying to get adjusted to the new zone.
Sunday morning we worshipped at the Free Methodist Church located next to the campus. Bishop Elie Buconyori preached (in Kirundi) a powerful sermon on the text: “You must be born again.” Thirteen persons responded to the altar invitation, and I (Wayne) was privileged to join with the other ministers in prayer for them. Sunday afternoon, after a long nap, we had a delightful visit with our long-time friends, Randy and Alice Mathewson, who are serving as VISA missionaries to the Congo.
Monday, we met for an hour with Bishop Elie, who serves as the Rector (President) of Hope Africa University. Mid-afternoon, we went shopping and bought a basic supply of groceries: cooking oil, flour, rice, pasta, dried milk, etc. (Today, our assigned staff help is out shopping in the local market for fruits and vegetables: she just returned with three plastic bags of mangos, papayas, tomatoes, a pineapple, a large cucumber, potatoes, and green beans!) Monday evening we enjoyed an extended dinner with three other “missionary couples”: Randy and Alice Mathewson (who are visiting form the Congo), Bob and Laurie Hughes, Wayne and Barb Vibbert (two VISA missionary couples in residence at HAU).
During the past three days we also have been engaged in getting “set up” in other ways. Barb Rose brought a printer, but it required a little repair. She also bought a broadband card for connection to the Internet, but that did not work quite properly. While Darlene and I have a room for study in our guest apartment, the light is not working properly. One by one, we are getting these problems solved, and getting ourselves “set up” in this new place.
This morning (Tuesday), Barb has been tracking down a projector and trying to get a room assignment where she can set up and use modern technological tools in her class. She wants to use her laptop, connect to the Internet, and project on to a screen. While this would be easy (and has become somewhat commonplace) in the US, here every piece of the puzzle requires considerable time, effort, patience (and sometimes expertise) to get in place. Darlene has been reviewing and assessing the status of her Skills Lab, and then she met with about half her students (who are eager to get started with their studies, although classes do not begin until next Monday morning.) She is challenged by the fact that 35 students want to take her course, but she has space and equipment for only 20 in the Skills Lab. Both of them will be doing further work on those agendas this afternoon.
Me--I am the one who, presently, has it comparatively easy. (Beginning Monday that will change, as I will be teaching two courses: 8-12 am, and 1-5 pm!) This morning I read a student dissertation (required for the BA degree at HAU). This afternoon, I have to catch up on my email.
Tomorrow (Wednesday), we are being taken by Bishop Elie “upcountry” to the Kibuye Hospital, which is being upgraded to serve as the “University Hospital” for the Medical and Nursing students at HAU. This is an important visit for Darlene; Barb and I are simply tagging along on “safari.”
We wish you all a Happy New Year. Thanks for your prayers.
Our travel to Burundi went smoothly: we had no hassles getting checked through; the planes were on time; all of our luggage arrived intact. But it was a long ordeal: we were 42 hours in transit. So, since our arrival on Saturday afternoon, among other things we have been catching up on sleep and trying to get adjusted to the new zone.
Sunday morning we worshipped at the Free Methodist Church located next to the campus. Bishop Elie Buconyori preached (in Kirundi) a powerful sermon on the text: “You must be born again.” Thirteen persons responded to the altar invitation, and I (Wayne) was privileged to join with the other ministers in prayer for them. Sunday afternoon, after a long nap, we had a delightful visit with our long-time friends, Randy and Alice Mathewson, who are serving as VISA missionaries to the Congo.
Monday, we met for an hour with Bishop Elie, who serves as the Rector (President) of Hope Africa University. Mid-afternoon, we went shopping and bought a basic supply of groceries: cooking oil, flour, rice, pasta, dried milk, etc. (Today, our assigned staff help is out shopping in the local market for fruits and vegetables: she just returned with three plastic bags of mangos, papayas, tomatoes, a pineapple, a large cucumber, potatoes, and green beans!) Monday evening we enjoyed an extended dinner with three other “missionary couples”: Randy and Alice Mathewson (who are visiting form the Congo), Bob and Laurie Hughes, Wayne and Barb Vibbert (two VISA missionary couples in residence at HAU).
During the past three days we also have been engaged in getting “set up” in other ways. Barb Rose brought a printer, but it required a little repair. She also bought a broadband card for connection to the Internet, but that did not work quite properly. While Darlene and I have a room for study in our guest apartment, the light is not working properly. One by one, we are getting these problems solved, and getting ourselves “set up” in this new place.
This morning (Tuesday), Barb has been tracking down a projector and trying to get a room assignment where she can set up and use modern technological tools in her class. She wants to use her laptop, connect to the Internet, and project on to a screen. While this would be easy (and has become somewhat commonplace) in the US, here every piece of the puzzle requires considerable time, effort, patience (and sometimes expertise) to get in place. Darlene has been reviewing and assessing the status of her Skills Lab, and then she met with about half her students (who are eager to get started with their studies, although classes do not begin until next Monday morning.) She is challenged by the fact that 35 students want to take her course, but she has space and equipment for only 20 in the Skills Lab. Both of them will be doing further work on those agendas this afternoon.
Me--I am the one who, presently, has it comparatively easy. (Beginning Monday that will change, as I will be teaching two courses: 8-12 am, and 1-5 pm!) This morning I read a student dissertation (required for the BA degree at HAU). This afternoon, I have to catch up on my email.
Tomorrow (Wednesday), we are being taken by Bishop Elie “upcountry” to the Kibuye Hospital, which is being upgraded to serve as the “University Hospital” for the Medical and Nursing students at HAU. This is an important visit for Darlene; Barb and I are simply tagging along on “safari.”
We wish you all a Happy New Year. Thanks for your prayers.
Monday, December 28, 2009
Preparing for 2010 Visit to Hope Africa University
On December 31, we travel once again to Hope Africa University (HAU). We have nearly completed our packing. Our luggage outbound consists mostly of instructional materials for the courses we will be teaching: Darlene--Physical Assessment and Diagnosis; Wayne--NT Theology, and Wesleyan Theology. We are also carrying a 20# 220-110 volt electrical converter for the Medical Skills lab at HAU.
We request your prayers for safe travel. Thursday afternoon, we fly from Rochester to Washington D.C. where we will meet up with Barbara Rose. From D.C. we fly overnight to London, spend New Year's Day there (in the Heathrow airport), and fly overnight again to Nairobi, Kenya. Arriving early morning January 2, we spend the morning there (in the airport) and at noon fly on to our final destination: Bujumbura, Burundi.
Blessings on you and yours in the New Year.
We request your prayers for safe travel. Thursday afternoon, we fly from Rochester to Washington D.C. where we will meet up with Barbara Rose. From D.C. we fly overnight to London, spend New Year's Day there (in the Heathrow airport), and fly overnight again to Nairobi, Kenya. Arriving early morning January 2, we spend the morning there (in the airport) and at noon fly on to our final destination: Bujumbura, Burundi.
Blessings on you and yours in the New Year.
Monday, February 16, 2009
Our Safari to the Congo
We have just returned from a weekend in the Congo: what an adventure! Our “tour guides” were Randy and Alice Matthewson, long-time friends. Randy and Alice served for ten years (1986-1996) as full-time missionaries at the oldest Free Methodist mission in the Congo. In 1996, when civil war broke out, they had to escape for their lives. Now retired, they are back for 2-4 months at a time. Presently, they are helping the local people rebuild from the damages inflicted during the war.
The mission has a major hospital, and a school of Nursing at a village called Nundu. Alice, who is a nurse, was eager for us to visit the school and tour the hospital. We were impressed at the fine job they are doing at Nundu, with such meager resources.
The hospital at Nundu has no electricity, and for two years has been without water. While we were there, we expected to put in place the last valve to supply water to the hospital. But the valve Randy had purchased in Bujumbura broke…and so he is has to get another for the trip back this week.
Randy (who is an engineer) and his crew also have been at work restoring the church and finishing a building begun 15 years ago. It is a beautiful building which will seat 3,000. I preached there on Sunday morning: it was an unusual service orchestrated by God.
The General Conference of Congo is the largest in the FM Church, with 140,000 members. The people are very poor. The country is in worse shape than Burundi.
The road to Nundu, along beautiful Lake Tanganika, is incredibly bad. It took us four hours to go 25 miles. We had to cross five rivers without bridges. Fortunately, Randy has a four-wheel drive Land Rover.
Getting into the Congo also was quite an experience: it took us more than three hours…and that was with the advocacy of Congolese Free Methodists who went to the government offices on our behalf.
Along the road to Nundu, we encountered numerous “checkpoints,” most of them illegitimate. We had to bribe our way from point to point. The “soldiers” and “guards” wanted money. But we got through by giving them cookies, avocados, writing pens and reading glasses!
All in all, it was a great experience, not one we will soon forget. We are grateful to the Matthewsons for this opportunity to visit in the Congo: it gave us yet another perspective on missionary work. We are also grateful for the opportunity to meet some of our brothers and sisters in Christ: we met some of the finest people we ever expect to meet here on planet Earth.
As we conclude this visit to Africa, we are grateful to God for his many blessings.
The mission has a major hospital, and a school of Nursing at a village called Nundu. Alice, who is a nurse, was eager for us to visit the school and tour the hospital. We were impressed at the fine job they are doing at Nundu, with such meager resources.
The hospital at Nundu has no electricity, and for two years has been without water. While we were there, we expected to put in place the last valve to supply water to the hospital. But the valve Randy had purchased in Bujumbura broke…and so he is has to get another for the trip back this week.
Randy (who is an engineer) and his crew also have been at work restoring the church and finishing a building begun 15 years ago. It is a beautiful building which will seat 3,000. I preached there on Sunday morning: it was an unusual service orchestrated by God.
The General Conference of Congo is the largest in the FM Church, with 140,000 members. The people are very poor. The country is in worse shape than Burundi.
The road to Nundu, along beautiful Lake Tanganika, is incredibly bad. It took us four hours to go 25 miles. We had to cross five rivers without bridges. Fortunately, Randy has a four-wheel drive Land Rover.
Getting into the Congo also was quite an experience: it took us more than three hours…and that was with the advocacy of Congolese Free Methodists who went to the government offices on our behalf.
Along the road to Nundu, we encountered numerous “checkpoints,” most of them illegitimate. We had to bribe our way from point to point. The “soldiers” and “guards” wanted money. But we got through by giving them cookies, avocados, writing pens and reading glasses!
All in all, it was a great experience, not one we will soon forget. We are grateful to the Matthewsons for this opportunity to visit in the Congo: it gave us yet another perspective on missionary work. We are also grateful for the opportunity to meet some of our brothers and sisters in Christ: we met some of the finest people we ever expect to meet here on planet Earth.
As we conclude this visit to Africa, we are grateful to God for his many blessings.
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