MICS computer lab opens today in new building!

0 comments Posted by Gil and Ronda / SoMacha.com at 4:55 PM

We are so excited to report that the MICS computer lab opened for instruction today. The team of computer teachers had fifteen computers up and running for the occasion. With the fifteen computers up and running the classes can come all at one time and even the teachers can have a computer to learn on with their class.

MICS has two new computer teachers this year. Beverly Chisanza and Justin Milolandu completed the computer course offered at LITA last year and thus qualified to be a computer teacher in training at MICS. We are very happy to have them working with the students. LITA is the adult computer school that Jon Backens helped to start and Nic Novelly taught at last year. Both guys are from Virginia(-: Their program really helped MICS as we found it difficult to find teachers that had computer training. We are blessed to have them and thankful for their help as the students have their daily computer lessons.

First Graders go on a field trip!!

0 comments Posted by Gil and Ronda / SoMacha.com at 4:54 PM

The first graders took a short field trip to visit the NINE kittens born in the MICS house a few weeks ago. Our two mother cats had kittens within 24 hours of each other. They are all one big happy family. They do know which kittens belong to what mother ...... but they share the responsibility and feeding times.
The first graders enjoyed holding and playing with the little kittens. They were afraid at first as the children are not used to house pets. They tend to treat animals in a rough and tuff manor so it is good for the children to learn how to care for a pet and be kind and gentle. They check on them often and look for changes in them.
They told me they are not afraid anymore(-: Yes...... they all want one to take home!

First Valentine Luncheon for MICS teachers

0 comments Posted by Gil and Ronda / SoMacha.com at 7:07 PM

Valentine's Day was quite the event last Friday at MICS.
The teachers attended their first ever Valentine celebration.
It was also the first party held in the new MICS house.
Everyone enjoyed the games, food, special Valentine's, and fun.
Love and Blessings to all!

MICS SCIENCE classes

0 comments Posted by Gil and Ronda / SoMacha.com at 7:07 PM

MICS science classes for grades 3,4,and 5 went on a fossil hunt last week.

Mr. Hammes a Flying Mission volunteer who is teaching grade 5 and science for the three classes took the students on an interesting dig.
The students are really enjoying the fun..... and learning much!!
Science is alive and interesting.
Thanks so much Mr. Hammes!!

MICS students have Home Economics Classes

0 comments Posted by Gil and Ronda / SoMacha.com at 7:05 PM

Another blessing for MICS!!
Amy Hess will be volunteering at MICS for the next month. She is a Home Economics teacher in the US. She came to Macha with her husband while he is doing a rotation as a medical student. She got a leave of absence from her school to so she could teach at MICS while she is here.

Mrs. Hess began the Home Economics classes right away. She is currently teaching the children how to sew on buttons. They will make a bag and we are working on getting crochet hooks flown in so they can learn how to crocket. They will do some beading projects as well during this time.
We are keeping Amy very busy as she is also teaching reading and English to the third graders. She has taken over the weekly library classes which gives me a bit of break. It is fun to have someone else come and share their creative ideas with the children.

 We are thankful for her time here. The children are excited and love her and all she does for them.
THANKS AMY!

MICS begins school year with royal visitors

0 comments Posted by Gil and Ronda / SoMacha.com at 7:04 PM

We are back in Zambia and the 2009 school year for MICS is off to a great start.

On Friday the school had an official visit by the Ambassador of the Netherlands and the Zambian Chief of Chikanta a village close to Macha. The students welcomed them with a very special grogram. They sang songs, recited Bible verses, and presented a traditional Tonga welcome as well as the MICS traditional welcome song and greeting. Our guests visited the classrooms and toured the new MICS house while they were here.
It was an exciting day for all of us. We felt honoured and privileged to have such special guests!

MICS to be on TV in US

0 comments Posted by Gil and Ronda / SoMacha.com at 7:02 PM

As you may remember last year Orphan's Promise helped MICS complete the MICS Boarding House. While we were in the US we were blessed to spend some time in Virginia. While we were there we met the staff from "Living the Life", the program that sponsors Orphan's promise. We did a short taping at CBN while there and we just saw in the schedule that our segment will air on Feb 3rd.
The program is Living the Life. It is on the family channel and seemed to be just before 700 Club when it is on the Family Channel. You will have to check your area's schedule.
We are excited to have a clip of Macha for all to see and thought maybe you would like to find it in your TV guide. We are hoping to get a copy of the program. It looks like Tim Conway will be on that day too. He was there with us the day we were there for the taping.
School began on Tuesday and all is going well. The MICS house is coming along....we have water in the kitchen....a new tub with water in the bathroom and even an inside toilet that flushes.....ahhhh the good life(-: The electricians are wiring the house and school and a new bigger generator just arrived. So soon we will have power for a few hours a day!!!
Thanks for all your prayers!

Playground is in use

0 comments Posted by Gil and Ronda / SoMacha.com at 10:25 PM

We are very excited at MICS. The container bringing the PlayMart playground arrived and the "Wonder" is now in place. We tried to document the installation of all of the playground but could capture/send only a few of the stages for you.

Everything is in place with the exception of the layer of river sand that will cover the area (6-8 inches of sand).

The children do not quite know what to make of this beautiful structure in the middle of "the bush". They will get safety/play instructions on Monday 27 Oct. and then the fun begins!!

Fun Cap Day!!

0 comments Posted by Gil and Ronda / SoMacha.com at 12:50 PM

MICS students enjoyed a fun day when they all wore a fun cap or hat at school. Everyone wore their hats in class....They sat on their desks, instead of on their chairs and we all marched around the classrooms and campus for everyone to see.
The best part of it was that EVERYONE Participated!! It sure if fun to be silly once in a while!

The best part, and what is made it so much fun, was the fact that everyone participated!!!
It sure is fun just to be silly sometimes(-:

MICS teachers start computer lessons

0 comments Posted by Gil and Ronda / SoMacha.com at 9:34 AM

It was a happy day for the teachers at MICS when they started their computer lessons recently. We suddenly realized that most teachers do not get training in computers during their education to be a teacher. Only one in our current group of ten had any idea of how to turn a computer on.

The MICS students really did know more than the teachers in this case! BUT.... the teachers are catching up quickly as they come for lessons on Thursday afternoons. They are eager and willing learners

Update on the 4X4 MICS Mobile

0 comments Posted by Gil and Ronda / SoMacha.com at 6:33 PM

We recieved the notice listed below of a very generous donation from Harkins Builders in Maryland..... thanks to our good friends Sue and Pete Penno telling the MICS story. One day the Harkins employees all wore jeans for charity and donated $357.00 towards the 4X4 MICS Mobile.

We are so thankful!

Our fund is growing.......

We also recieved $200. 00 from our wonderful friends Ruth and Lee Ditmer from Canada.

A huge thank you to all of you!!!!!!

The fund is growing....... as we already have $1.300.00

(announcement from Harkins)

THANK YOU

FOR YOUR VERY GENEROUS DONATIONS TODAY.

WE'VE RAISED A RECORD$357.00 FOR THE MACHA ZAMBIA ORPHAN SCHOOL!!

SPECIAL THANKS TO CRAIG STEPHENS, ROBIN MINNICK, AND RAY SPRADLING.

Gladys Hyman

Benefits Administrator

Harkins Builders, Inc.

2201 Warwick Way

Marriottsville, MD 21104

Again....

Thanks for having such generous hearts and giving to help the children in MACHA!!

Gil, Ronda, the MICS Team and most of all the MICS boys and girls

MICS house gets roofing sheets

0 comments Posted by Gil and Ronda / SoMacha.com at 6:32 PM

Just a quick update on the progress of the MICS house. Finally after a few months of waiting to see if the same color of roofing sheets could be obtained we found out they truly were permanently out of stock. There is strategy here that is: when you see something and you think you might want it..... get it... as most likely when you go back it will not be there. I guess that is what happened with the roofing sheets. When we went back to get the rest of the roof it was not there (-: SOOOOO we used a color in the same family and in a day the roof was put on the house. We are very excited and happy to see the great progress the men made in such a short time.

As they were putting it on one of the students looked up and commented .... "oh, the old stuff is dirty and the new is clean". So I guess that about sums it up. Most of you know me and my "matchy matchy" (-: but even I am happy with the progress. We are sooo anxious to get the house done!
The doors are almost all on....and we are hoping the ceilings will be going up next week along with the installation of the windows and plumbing. Please pray with us that the men continue to work as we really want to be able to open the boarding house for third term.....third term begins in September so we will have to move and set up by late August. We are really seeing that the orphans that are enrolled in MICS struggle so much to get here each day due to distance and no one is really supervising them where they stay.
Thanks so much for your prayers.

Zaka the Cat

0 comments Posted by Gil and Ronda / SoMacha.com at 6:27 PM

Zaka the Krause's Cat of the Wooden House
Zaka is a red cat with a fluffy tail. Her name means LION in Tonga. Now if you know us well you might be wondering what the CATalyst would be for us to get a cat??? CATegoricallyy we are not cat lovers. It definitely was a CAT-and-mouse thing! Not long after we got her we thought we might have CATaracts as she surely seemed to be a CATch. So we checked the CATalog and sure enough we found she was the CATsmeow.
From young on she was in a CATegory of her own. She attended school and tried to CATch up with the other students. However, the teacher would have to give out a CATcall now and then as she dearly loved her CATnaps during class.
As you can see from the pictures she CATapulted herself right into a job in the school office as the copy-CAT where she CATered to the needs of the students seatwork papers.
Gil and Zaka are often found in this CATatonic state as they take CATnaps together. Surprisingly it is not even a CATastrophe for Gil when she jumps on the bed.
She loves to chase the CATtle that come to visit our yard and she definately is a CATbird. She can CATch and eat one in 60 seconds.
Now, not to be CATty....but....she found a friend that lives CATtycorner from the wooden house. One day she was out on the CATwalk and you guessed it, there was going to be a need for a CATscradle. This was indeed a CATastrophe for the inexperienced owners. The CATastrophic event occurred in Macha when Zaka CATapulted FIVE little CATs into the wicker CATchall she had CATegorically chosen the week before.
Her CATcall is different now but mother CAT and her five little CATs are all doing fine(-:

MICS is registered!!!

0 comments Posted by Gil and Ronda / SoMacha.com at 6:25 PM

MICS IS REGISTERED with the Zambian Ministry of Education!!!!
We are so excited!!! After two years of filling out papers, visits from the local, district and national levels we have received our registration certificate as a private school.
We are so thankful for God and what He can do in His timing ...... this is wonderful news and makes the school very credible.

First Contributors for MICS 4x4 Car Fund!!!

0 comments Posted by Gil and Ronda / SoMacha.com at 6:24 PM

The blessings for MICS just keep flowing in. About two weeks ago we began to think about starting a fund for a dependable school vehicle that could provide transportation and carry supplies for the boarding school when it opens in a few months. The roads around here have proven to be really hard on any and all vehicles soooooo ....... we decided it will have to be one that will hold together and not get stuck on the muddy roads of Zambia....definitely a 4 x 4.
Then........one week later we got our first contribution to the "MICS Mobile"!!!!!!!
A wonderful group of people in St. Rose Illinois participated in a "School Scavenger Hunt" organized by Cheryl Timmermann with her help of her wonderful Jansen Family!!! From all reports fun was had by all!! This by the way is the second annual scavenger hunt Cheryl organized for the people of St Rose. The first year I believe about 30 people participated but this year the total was around 60!!
Can you imagine teams had to find a teacher that taught them during their school days and then bring the teacher to cross the finish line with their team.....Most teams by the way crossed the finish line around midnight!!! This would not be an easy feat for any of us. What a challenge!!
This fabulous St. Rose group is the very first to contribute to the new school vehicle fund for MICS. They contributed $735.00. This even included the prize money from the winning team. After they won the scavenger hunt..... they gave their winnings to the school vehicle fund.
The boys and girls of MICS are saying a BIG THANK YOU to St. Rose and the Jansen Family in the attached picture!!!
Cheryl THANKS to you too!!! What a great idea. Thanks for all your hard work!!
We will keep all of you posted on the progress of the vehicle fund and its growth.

School is out....well for a few weeks at least

0 comments Posted by Gil and Ronda / SoMacha.com at 6:37 PM

First term 2008 at MICS is over....... and we survived!!! Actually we made great progress!!! School closed yesterday for a three week break.
What a fun last day we had!! Art lessons, a PE dance recital for parents, library class and computers!!! Yes, all on the same day! Who says school is not fun!?!??!?!?

We are so thankful as we look back to January when we arrived from the States. The school was not finished....there was no roof, windows or doors. Things looked hopeless as we had no money to complete the school building/house at that time.
If you remember MICS classes started late and we met in the rooms of our wooden house apartments. After a month or so we made the decision to move into the still unfinished school building. Little by little we are settling in and each day another classroom ceiling or window is finished (-:

Ruth worked hard to get the library up and running before she returned to Canada. Gil spent hours repairing computers and setting them up in the Hammes' flat at the wooden house....... Since they are in the US on furlough it was the perfect spot as it is the only unused room connected to the generator.

Again and again and again... we "Stand in Awe" of what the Lord is doing around us each day. He has showered us with so many blessings it is hard to comprehend.

We are so thankful! We are thankful to all of you that have helped in so many ways...and especially thankful for all of your prayers......please do not stop.

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