Nyankunde...

Nyankunde kids loving to have their picture taken.

View from the top of a hill in Nyankunde.

Getting to see a picture of themselves.

Just a little bit shy....

Full week of teaching, making dinner, and taking a trip to Nyankunde. Teaching went wonderfully! I was able to teach the kids the numbers 1-10 and all of the days of the week, plus some greeting and general words. They were so excited to learn! As of now, I am teaching English classes to the primary school (Grades 4, 5, and 6). I teach Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from 7:30 to 11. That's 6 classes of 30 minutes each! Sorry for the overload of numbers there....haha. I love all of the classes and it's fun to get the kids laughing...even when that's aimed at me. For some reason they always laugh when I say "Bien (Good)." Apparently my American accent on it is funny. As long as they're learning and enjoying themselves doing so, they can laugh at my pronunciation all they want! As a result of teaching, I am picking up on French faster. I now know everything that I have taught the kids thus far in both English and French which is very helpful at times.
Yesterday (Saturday), Lary and Sheryl needed to drive to Nyankunde, where they used to live, to give a woman there a haircut and to visit a few people. They invited Balagizi (Congolese man who works for MAF and does everything with passports and visas here, as far as I know), Ben (A volunteer with an Australian NGO who is in Bunia for research right now- check out traumaid.org), and myself to come along.
Nyankunde is beautiful.
It is so peaceful and quiet there that I never wanted to leave! The entire village is nestled into a hillside and is surrounded by beautiful landscape and scenery all around. There is a hospital located in Nyankunde that we were able to walk through. I was very impressed with the set-up of the whole thing and even got to see inside a building in progress with will be their new OR and Intensive Unit. The building is very large compared to any others I've seen around. The generator for the OR itself could run the entire village!
Nyankunde is a village that has an amazing story. During the wars in Congo, in 2002, almost the entire village of Nyankunde was massacred and destroyed. It has taken them many years to recover, both emotionally, locally, and physically. Even today, you can see the damage that has been done by the unrest within the country. Houses are half standing and overgrown, people who used to live there refuse to go back, and many have lost family/friends. The extent to which they have come thus far is astounding and I am excited to see the hospital when it is finished.
The pictures that you see above were all taken in Nyankunde. The ones of the children were taken by the airstrip. The kids were a bit shy at first when they saw us, but warmed up to the camera and loved giving cheesy smiles and striking poses. You can quickly tell the pecking order by who gets right in the front of the camera!
The goat picture was also down by the airstrip. Who in the world has ever seen a goat do this? I never have.... Goats are just animals that are too fun to laugh at.
The landscape picture was taken from the top of a hill overlooking the village and airstrip. Lots of trees prevent a better view of everything below, but that wonderful glimpse of mountains, clouds, and growth was breathtaking.
Please pray that all would continue to go well at Baraka Academy. I am excited to see the kids again when I return to class tomorrow!

Maranatha.
-Kelly