English Classes Starting

 A big thank you to the Lightfoot's who sent a box of school goodies for our kids while we were on vacation.  We do appreciate you.

The Marshallese people speak English but they largely speak their own language.  Some of them ask me if I would teach them English.  I now wish I would have paid more attention in English classes in school. I will teach English to the Marshallese on Sunday afternoons starting next week. We plan to switch to the "Friend Speak" program when we reach the fourth grade level. Friend Speak teaches English, one on one, by reading from the Bible.  We will do the best we can to use it in a classroom. Please pray that God will help me to teach the class and to physically be able to do what HE wants me to do.

Thank you to Bonnie Howell for giving several boxes of kids clothes. The kids and parents were thrilled to get the clothes. If anyone is lucky enough to have a job, they make so little and pay three time more for everything they buy. That tends to make your priorities become very specific.

Praise God, our teacher for the kids Bible class today was, Cala.  Cala has been fighting an infection in her foot caused from diabetes for about a year.  She teaches at the Ebeye public school and has returned to work.  The Marshallese people have a very high rate of diabetes. Thank you Lord for her healing and please continue to heal her foot.

Blessings from God

The kids love the action songs.  They have such a good time doing them.  Look at the smiles on their faces.

We do not have any desks in our class room.  The kids have to sit and color in the floor.   At least in this class room we do have some tiles in the floor which helps the kids color easier.  Did your kids or grandkids sit in an air conditioned classroom today with nice chairs and tables or desks to sit at?  Thank you God for blessing us with a place to meet and teach your word.  Thank you to Heity Keju for opening up her class room. 

Back Home - - Changes Galore

Praise God, I am finally home and doing fine. I'm not 100%, but getting better everyday. There has been several changes during my delayed return home.

The dock on Ebeye had a roof that has been in bad shape for a long time. This is a pic of one of the supports on the structure.  They were all that bad.  It was always scary during a storm as to whether the roof was going to fall on your head or not.

 The whole roof was removed and is supposed to be replaced.  This is a pic of the ferry sitting at the doc, minus the roof. The Devil lives all over this world and there are multi projects that are promised but never delivered by both the Marshallese and  US government.

The Ebeye public school room we were meeting in for church has been shut down. The stairs on both ends and up the middle of the building have been unsafe for a long time.  If you enlarge the pic you will see plywood in the middle where they closed those stairs last year. They have been running classes from early morning to late night using the class rooms they have left.  The problem is, none of the class rooms are in good shape and the ones that are left will not last long with double duty.

We had no idea where we were going to meet for church, but the Lord does provide. We have two class rooms in the kindergarten wing of the school.  We were meeting in a larger room before and it made it harder to hear the sermon with the kids in there at the same time.  This is part of the kindergarten wing of the school.

Ceiling in our new class room.  Only one bucket to catch the water when it rains.

So....immediately get on your knees and thank God your children or grandchildren are able to attend at a multi-billion dollar school today.  These kids and teachers have NOTHING.

I thank God daily for our teachers who do such a great job teaching God's word in Marshallese to our kids. They do a wonderful job. Since we have to use the school class rooms we have no place to keep our class room supplies except in Lee and my spare bedroom on Kwajalein.  I prepare the Bible lessons and give it to the teachers one week before they are to teach the lesson.  My goal is to one day have all the Bible materials in one place (preferably the church building). You learn so much more when you work the lesson up from scratch.

Our class room is small but the kids are used to that.  They make due with whatever they have to and do it with a smile. I love our little sponges!

Thank you God for giving us what we NEED to spread your word in the Marshall Islands.

One More Week

My tonsil recovery is going well. I will be released by the ENT on Wed. and start for Kwaj. on Sunday, Aug 21st, arriving on Kwaj on Tues, Aug 23rd.  I want to thank my daughter and her family, Bonnie and Thomas Howell for putting up with me all summer. It certainly was not my plan to have my tonsils out at the end of my vacation. As much as I have enjoyed spending extra time with my family, it is time for everyone to get back to their own routines.

They are laying people off all over the place on Kwaj.  Both contractors and Marshallese. The number of people left on the Island should drop dramatically.  SO FAR, Lee has not been laid off. We THINK his job will be okay, but you never know when a company starts hacking away.  Lee and I feel the Lord sent us to Kwaj for a purpose. We have always been amazed HE sent us in the first place. There are so many who are much more qualified than we are.  God has lead us by the nose every step of the way. There is plenty of work to be done with the church on Ebeye and Gugeegue. When the Lord decides our work is done, HE will send us back to the states. I don't know if that will be next week, next year or when the Lord calls us to HIS home. These lay offs will be really hard on the Marshallese people.  Please keep them in your prayers.

On The Mend

Praise God, I am happy to report that my tonsils are out and I'm getting stronger every day.  I am booked to fly back to Kwaj. on Aug. 23rd.  It has been wonderful to get to see two of my grand kids a little longer, but it is time for everyone to get back to normal (whatever that is).

Lee is back working at his job, trying to get over his jet lag.  He said more Marshallese people are being layed off on Kwaj.  Please pray for the Marshallese people. Things are bad enough already. If they can not work on Kwaj., there is very little chance they will be able to make enough money to support their families.

All Americans should Praise the Lord everyday that they have all the things we take for granted and expect to have. Water to drink, shower in, flush your toilet, wash your clothes and dishes in.  Most Marshallese depend on rain water. If you have electricity always at your finger tips to run all your luxuries, homes with roofs over your head filled with furniture, beds, air conditioning, and heating you are truly blessed.  If you go to church on a paved road that leads up to a paved parking lot to see how close you can get to the front door of an underused church building with cushioned seats and lots of class rooms, count your blessings, name them one by one. Our members ride to church on a ferry boat and in the back of a small pick up truck over a road that is the roughest I have ever seen. When it rains we wade through the mud and water sometimes to our knees. We meet for church in one school room that we can sometimes get into, and sometimes not.  We teach the children of all ages on one half of the room and the adults on the other half.  We sit in cheaply made, grossly over priced plastic chairs.  Praise God, we have the opportunity to teach the children who are like little sponges learning about God's word. 

As you are about to start school and the seasons change from summer to fall, please remember that we can use any new or used SUMMER clothing of any size that your kids have grown out of.  As you are shopping for your kids new school clothes, and you see any summer clothes, shoes, sandals, flip flops, shorts on clearance, pick up anything you can afford.  If you are shopping at a consignment sale, grab a few things for the Marshallese kids. Anything and everything is appreciated.  You can mail them to us now or you can collect things for a couple months and mail them before Christmas. It is never too early to think about Christmas when we are so far away.

The US Postal Service is the only way to get anything to us. You can mail larger boxes by the pound or you can pick up a Large APO Flat Rate box from the Post Office.  It costs $12.95 to stuff as much as you can into the box at the same rate.  You will need to reinforce all the seams with good mailing tape.  The boxes come thousands of miles and fall apart easily. Send your blessings to:
AVIS CUMMINGS
CMR 701  BOX 1652
APO, AP  96555-0017

God's Blessings to all.