Hollywood will come to ICA this Saturday with such attractions as Jurasic Park (maze), Jaws (waterslide), The Rock (the jail where you can have your ‘favorite’ people detained and bombarded with waterguns and waterbombs), Toyland (all kinds of kiddie games), Fried Green Tomatoes (a cake walk – like musical chairs with food prizes), Space Jam (on-going sports contests) and Tarzan (‘skyride’). Planet Hollywood, our food court, will also be open for business. All proceeds go to the International Christian Academy Class of 2005

Does it sound like fun? We hope it will be, but for now it’s all WORK! The freshmen are finally joining us in this work with lots of new and creative ideas. It will be interesting to see how it finally comes together. Next week, we’ll send pictures!

It seems our campus is finally healthy again after this last 3-4 week round with a flu-type virus. The only problem is that now our African workers seem to be coming down with the same virus; Bob took our house girl home today at noon.

We are hearing good reports about missions trips that some of you are involved in. These trips are close to our heart because we know how God has used them in our own lives. Any church is blessed when her people become interested and involved in these types of trips, providing first-hand knowledge of life on the mission field. Keep sending those reports; we love to read them.

Praise the Lord, we are still healthy. However, this flu bug is still going round. Pretty soon it will run out of victims; we pray it won’t start again. Malaria is affecting some, especially students. One boy was on an IV this past Monday to combat dehydration due to the high fevers – something that is not uncommon with extended colds/malaria.

Our next major deadline is Penny Fair, a freshman class ‘fundraiser’ scheduled for Feb. 16th. As freshmen class sponsors, we oversee the students as they put on a mini-carnival for the staff, students and visiting parents and friends. Just like in almost every school in the states, these students are raising money for the Jr./Sr. Banquet and their senior trip. And just like always, some of the freshmen work while others don’t. Our biggest challenge with this project has been in motivating ‘all’ the freshmen to be a part of this fun time.

We ask that you pray for teachers for ICA for the coming year. Those who come to serve as houseparents are usually ‘career’ missionaries who stay around for awhile, but a lot of the teachers come for only a short one-year term. Not only does this make for difficult relationships with the students, but the administration is always looking for ways to fill the vacancies left when these teachers say good-bye. Our website, www.ica-ed.org, is a good place to look for more information. 

Thank you for your prayers.

Well, we’ve survived the first 24 hours of our stint as relief dorm parents in the Jr. High boys dorm, although the boys and Bob are having an ongoing rubber band and paperwad battle. If that’s the worst of what they do to us, I think we’ll make it…(especially since they aren’t targeting me!) 

We are a sick campus. Some of those involved in the recent Mali outreach came home with a nasty 3-4 day virus/flu – who knows what it is out here. But it has swept the campus, leaving people with chest-cold symptoms including high fevers. Each dorm has 4-5 kids daily missing classes; dormparents have made little hospitals in their living rooms. Five out of eight of our dorm mothers are nurses, so the sickies are getting the best of care. So far, Bob and I haven’t caught this one, but our time in the dorms may take care of that! 

This week is African culture week. We have local artisans on campus, displaying and selling their wares. These goods include beautiful wood carvings, gold and silver jewelry as well as other beaded work, woven clothes and robes, batiks (waxed cloth), pottery, musical instruments, and artwork. Some of the artisans are also demonstrating their work. They are fascinating to watch, and the product some of them turn out is amazing. They can also duplicate anything you show them, either from a sample or a picture. Each product is an original; they use no patterns, even for their clothing, some of which is truly beautiful. On Friday, we will be treated to a food court where we will be sampling all kinds of local foods while listening to a concert from some local musicians, complete with their bongo drums and other African instruments. 

We ask that you remember the sick staff and students in your prayers. When our systems get down with other illnesses or even simple fatigue, malaria often sets in. We all appreciate your prayers on our behalf.