I once said living on base is an adventure.  Having lived here for over a year now, I would also say that it is a tutorial in the Unexpected and the Curious. We never quite know what we might see outside our windows or hear while relaxing in the solitude of our rooms. One honestly cannot predict what a single day will bring, because there is always something Unexpected or Curious waiting around the next corner.

Just now, when I opened my window curtains, I looked out to see two small goats trotting into the main kitchen. I kid you not. The presence of these two goats on base was nothing entirely strange to me at this point, but their quest into the kitchen was both curious and alarming. While these goats may have a relatively free reign on the base, they are most certainly not permitted in the kitchen. As a result, I took off running out of my room, across the grass, passed the lounge doorway where Joe was casually snacking and watching the goats, and then bounded into the main kitchen. The two goats completely ignored me, seemingly content to sniff around the chairs and tables searching for something to nibble. Looking like a fool (and feeling rather like Amy Adams in Leap Year as she tries to force the cows off the Irish road), I started clapping my hands and waving my arms in a desperate attempt to shoo these little miscreants back outside. Once I finally concluded this was not working, I decided to lurch to the side around one of the dining tables, scaring them witless, and then chased them out the door. They did not stop bleating in panic until they were all the way around the building heading far away from me. Watching them run, I smiled with satisfaction. Mission accomplished. I then returned to my room and finished hanging up my laundry.

My sense of accomplishment came too soon.

Ten minutes later, I glanced up and looked outside, just in time to see the rear end of the boy goat heading back into the kitchen. With a growl, I hurried back to the main kitchen and found both of the goats casually trotting past the center island into the scullery on the far side of the kitchen. “Oh, no you don’t!” I said firmly, hurrying after them. Upon seeing the lunatic from before, they bleated and ran in circles until one was brave enough to sprint past me. The other quickly followed, and their hooves slipped all over the tile until they finally found the door. I huffed and followed after them, resolutely shutting the door behind me.

I’m still laughing at the whole thing. Never in my wildest dreams would I have imagined myself chasing goats out of a kitchen. The two goats have been on the base for about two weeks now. Mr. Palmer decided they would be useful in helping us trim the grass on the property, so he sent Peet out to purchase two goats. How he decided upon goats as a feasible solution to this problem I am not too sure. To my city-girl mind, it seems crazy, but around here, this is simply normal.

In (presumably) normal news, Conversational English classes have started up. I’m placing a greater focus on verbal readings and presentations this year.  They do not often practice public speaking, so this is a good way to train them in it and to help them overcome their fear. I’ve only started off small, but I will gradually build the difficulty level of the assignments as the year goes on. My youngest group (Grade 3) will move at a slower pace because they are so young, but my oldest group (Grade 7) have already been given a major assignment.

On Thursday, I told the Grade 7’s (nine of them total) that they would have to memorise and present a poem before the class at the end of this term. They can either do it alone or in a small group. So long as every person in the group has a speaking part, I don’t really mind either way. I then handed out a few books with poems for them to look through so they could pick one out. Within five minutes, three of the four boys started reading a Walt Whitman poem aloud, and they were saying it with a set beat. I watched them for a minute, slowly starting to nod my head with their beat.  They paused, and Timothy jumps in, saying, “Wait, wait. Try it again with this.” He then started beat boxing to the same rhythm. The other two boys jumped back in reading the poem, and before long, they were rapping Walt Whitman.  It was absolutely amazing. All of us starting watching and laughing as they kept the rap going. It was great to see these boys taking something that they thought was a boring assignment and turning it into something fun and original that suited their tastes. Two of the girls are singing their poem, but I don’t know about the others. I’m quite excited to see what the others come up with.

Being a supervisor in the Amethyst Learning Center has been a challenge, but I am settling in and getting more comfortable with it. I enjoy the one-on-one teaching method.  It allows me to get to know the kids and to help them on a level that suits them. I’m not just teaching to a crowd hoping a few of them understand what I am saying. Instead, I’m focusing on each child one at a time and suiting my teaching style to fit their learning pattern. It certainly keeps me on my toes. No two students learn the same way, so I’m forced to re-work the way I explain things by examining each problem from a variety of angles.  One way might work for Ian, but it won’t work for Phophi. She needs to learn it a different way with alternative examples. Every day is a challenge with new problems that arise, and I have to be ready to tackle every single one of those challenges.

My Thursday morning devotions with the Global Year team are going well. When I first heard I would be doing it, I wondered, “How in the world am I going to plan a devotion every week?” It sounded difficult, but I’ve learned that nothing is difficult if you let God lead it. I never know what I am going to speak about until either Wednesday night or Thursday morning during my early-morning quiet time. God always gives me something to say. Week before last, I used The Lord of the Rings as a springboard to speak about God’s plans for them as a team and how He is using them as a group and as an individual. This past Thursday I spoke about idol worship, and how “idols” are so easily hidden in today’s culture. An idol is something you devote time to, and I used movies as an example.

On base, most of us waste hours upon hours a week just watching movies. How much more time would we have to fellowship with others, read our Bibles, and just spend time with God if we took movies out of our daily lives? I ended that devotion with a challenge. I told them that, starting Sunday (today, in fact), I was not going to watch any movies or read any fiction books for a week. From Sunday to Saturday, I am going movie and book free. I’m using it as a time to focus more on God and to see how great a difference life can have if I remove the worldly things from it.

I started this “fast” today, and so far I have been fairly productive. I’ve been tempted to watch a movie a few times already, but I’ve forced that urge aside and focused on something else. Typically, today is a perfect day for a movie or a book. It’s overcast and raining with a cool breeze blowing across the base.  All I want right now is a cup of coffee and a good book or movie to relax with for a while, but I have made a commitment. Two of the Global Year girls are even doing it with me.  The three of us will keep each other accountable, and at the end, we can be proud of what the others accomplished. I’m curious to see how this week plays out and what God will teach me. I’ve never done something like this before, but I know it is good for me and I plan to see it through til the end.