Monday 25 August 2014

If you don't ask...

One of the questions that people often ask me is:  What can I send you?

This is what Christ Church CofE Primary School, Barnet gave to me on my last trip back to London:


They also donated £100 cash which purchased some of these items and yet more books are due to arrive in the post over the coming weeks.  A MASSIVE THANK YOU to all the parents and children who fundraised and bought items for us...everything is being put to good use already!!!

Some of the above items were given by my sister too - I love my sisters!

So, in answer to what you can send, if it's for work:
- kids' books
- toys
- puppets (or socks - *clean* - to make puppets)
- felt material
- crayons
- permanent markers (Sharpees are excellent!)
- blutack
- liquid glue
- paintbrushes
- craft knives (stanley knives)
- phonics materials (books/cds...)

And as the work I do out here is supposed to be sustainable - anyone have any alternatives to blutack?  Do you know how to make it?

As for supplies for ME...well...
  • sermons, worship songs on a flash (the internet is too slow to download/stream)
  • packet/pocket tissues (eg. Kleenex) - the stuff they have out here is rough on the nose!
  • tea lights (although I don't think you can send flammable items...)
  • travel-size toiletries (toothpastes are always good!)
  • photos, cards, drawings, paintings - any artwork!  (One of my former students has sent me out handmade cards and even origami...I LOVE IT - thank you Hana and Taiga!)
  • savoury snacks - nuts, crackers, cereal bars, jerky, seaweed...
  • sweet snacks - chocolate, biscuits, chocolate, gummy/chewy sweets, chocolate...oh, and did I mention chocolate?
  • packet soups/sauces (a colleague asked me what the difference was seeing as I use soups as pasta sauce!)
This is NOT a request for items.  I have been extremely thankful to those who have sent me out goodies from Hong Kong to LA, (inc. many from UK and even Mexico!)  Thank you, thank you, thank you!  I always get asked the same thing so I thought I'd put it up in a blogpost.  I am not without here - and it isn't as though these things are essential but it is always nice to receive mail (so long as it isn't a bill...)  These items are my bit of luxury and comfort.

I remember when I first arrived here and the list of things that I wanted was MASSIVE but gradually, the list shrunk and became minimal - at a stretch I have come up with the list above!  People have so little out here but they're ok (mostly because they don't know what else is out there!)  My colleagues laugh at me when they see the parcels that arrive for me and wonder what I need with all the items.  Like I said, creature comforts but not exactly neccessary to survive.  I come from a world of plenty, of choice and excess...sometimes that is just stress in itself.

Please note, if you are planning on sending me out a parcel - it can be quite pricey, often the postage itself costs double, if not triple the cost of the items you're sending.  It takes roughly 6-8 weeks for a parcel/letter to get to me (even if you send it via 'express' delivery - please don't waste your money on that!)  Please also check the expiry date on items to make sure it'll last the journey!  And finally, THANK YOU FOR THINKING ABOUT ME!

Lastly, my address - although it should be on the side of this blog post if you're reading from a desktop/laptop (but not a smartphone.)

May Mak
c/o TTC St J. Baptiste, Cyahinda
PO Box 224, Butare
Rwanda

Hope that's useful



Saturday 23 August 2014

The Ice-Bucket Challenge

Friend:  What's the point of the Ice-bucket challenge?
Me:  Had you heard of ALS before it?
Friend:  No.
Me:  Point made.

The flooding of your Facebook newsfeed with videos of friends and strangers pouring buckets of ice over themselves and passing the challenge-baton over to others can be exasperating, it's true.  Surely time and money could be better spent on actually donating or spending time with those in need?  For some, (and this is the cynic in me...) they are doing it for their 5 minutes of fame, because it's the cool thing to do right now - to be seen apparently doing something for a cause.  Then again, here I am writing a blog post about it when I could be spending the time donating or being with those who need the support.  (I recently found out that a friend's parent is suffering from ALS but all I can offer are my prayers...and in truth, this doesn't always feel like enough - when it should be!)  And yet, the point that I was trying to make above is that I am sure that more people are now aware of ALS and that donations HAVE risen to various charities from the text campaigns going around the world as a result of the ice-bucket challenge.  So no matter how bored you may be of the videos, they ARE having an impact.  One thing's for sure, and I always knew this - the internet, nay, social media is a powerful tool.

It got me thinking about how much we/I have become dependent upon it - from supposedly catching up/feeling connected to friends to arranging the next (hopefully face-to-face) social gathering.  I get to hear about news even before I get to read it on the BBC news website through the many postings that appear on my newsfeed.  I can seek advice/help from forums and get the latest on what's 'in' and not within my various social groups.  (The ice-bucket challenge causes a bit of controversy on this front...)

It's easy to lay yourself bare on social media sites - I tell the world that I've just woken up - and it's midday...*shock, colon, closed bracket, exclamation mark...I share what I eat, what I've cooked, what I've bought, what I've seen, smelt, felt...it all goes up online and creates an image of who I am to the world - or at least to my friends.  Then I feel good because a friend has 'liked' or commented on my status or photo...why does that make me feel good?  I even think in 'status updates' - i.e. a thought will crop up in my head and I'll instantly think, 'that'll make a good status!'  Why do I think my friends need to know my random thoughts - some things are best kept unsaid surely?  And again, here I am sharing those same random thoughts in writing this post - and I don't quite know where I'm going with it all.

As much as I battle with social media, it is and has been my God send here in Rwanda.  I feel so detached from the world when I am here in the village but with Facebook, I have the world, or rather my friends at my fingertips.  In my last post I wrote about 'home' and the people that make it - it's when I can see pictures of friends' meals (as healthy/unhealthy as they may be...or even envious that I do not have access to such foods/luxuries...), or selfies, or photos of people's children - I feel just that little bit closer to them despite what can seem like us being worlds apart.

Maybe next time I go to write a status update, I'll think about if it truly is necessary...probably not but I'll likely go ahead and post it anyway.  Still, I should think about the person I'm portraying online - is it truly me?  I am thankful for social media but must also be more mindful about how much time I spend on it rather than doing other more constructive things - like donating to worthy causes or spending time face-to-face with people (and God.)  :)

Tuesday 12 August 2014

Home

The more I travel and live away from home, the more I realise how much my heart remains at home.

A place to rest, to escape, to find refuge, to be loved and love.

So where is home for me?  Home is where my family is – my family connected by blood, my spiritual family and my friends…and whilst all those people are dotted around the world, the majority are in London.

No matter who or what has occupied a place in my heart around the world, I am always drawn back to where it all began.  My last trip to London simply ‘concretized’ that notion.  (They love to use that word – concretize – here in Rwanda…I didn’t even realize it was a word until I came!)


The minute I stepped off the plane onto British soil to seeing my mother waiting with anticipation at the door for me to return; to being surprised by my extended family hiding in my sister’s garden to greet and welcome me home; to walking through the double doors of St James’ Church, Muswell Hill and seeing Rachel Elliott leading worship and Jo Hutchinson on projection…and even being squeezed to death by ex-colleagues, students and parents – I knew that home IS London.

So what next for me?  I have roughly 7 months left on my visa/contract here.  VSO have asked me to extend - the project that I'm working on ends around March 2016.  My project officer told me to extend for another 6 months, guess he didn't know that I'm on an 18 month contract!!!  When I put him straight, he said, "1 more year, it's not a lot!"  Me thinks otherwise.

So what next?  I really don't know.  I LOVE teaching, being in the classroom and building relationships with my students, parents and colleagues - but there is so much more beyond this that comes with the job - and with every job, there will always be things that you do not like/agree with.  But should we jump ship because of these things or plough on?  I guess I will simply do what I've always done - listen to that small, still, quiet voice within - to be patient and listen and wait upon the Lord.  He led me here on a 12 year journey, which still continues.  Who knows, perhaps despite my longing to be 'home', I may be called to be here (or elsewhere) for that extra year and even beyond!  

I will wait.