We are in the final week of the semester; finals start on Monday. It’s extra work for the teachers as they have to prepare 2 tests: one for our ICA kids since they are being tested on this quarter only while all other students are being tested on the whole semester. We are very appreciative of all the Dakar Academy staff has done to make this school year work for our ICA kids.
All peace-keeping efforts in the Ivory Coast are on hold now because of renewed fighting in the west near Liberia. This includes not only the peace talks in Lome, but also the possible locating of the ECOWAS troops on the campus; the officers didn’t even show up last week. We don’t know if this is good news or bad news since we’re hearing of so many atrocities that are happening with this fighting. You can keep up with this, too, by going to Yahoo News and searching for news about the Ivory Coast. Do remember that the news reports aren’t always accurate, but they will give you an idea of what’s going on.
We’ve heard rumors that we may be moving soon, but we haven’t seen an apartment yet. Other than wanting to get settled, we’re not unhappy where we are. Actually, the 2.5 miles of walking each day has been good for us; but since we have no phone, no TV or VCR (“not a single luxury”), and live away from everyone else, it does get lonely at times. We’re both reading more, and Bob is spending more time with his French studies.
Thank you for your prayers. Please pray for this next week’s travels as kids and staff will be returning ‘home’ for the holidays.