Another Week

Another week in the life—in the life of a school. The life of Amano.

Worship

This past Sunday we held our first Family Worship Service of the New Year. It seemed fitting that we would begin the year with a focus on the love of God, for what could be more of a starting point than this most central aspect of the Christian faith?
During the service, Mr. Philip Grove spoke of how love is “only experienced as love is returned,” and of how God is grieved when His people reject the love He extends to us. Our goal here at Amano is to receive the love of God, and to return that love by demonstrating our obedience to God, living in a way that pleases Him.
In this Family Worship Service, I am quite certain that God was looking down upon us with pleasure. For in addition to the message from Mr. Grove, we had our first appearance of the Secondary School Choir, to lead us in the songs: “Beautiful One,” “The Love of God,” “O the Deep Deep Love of Jesus,” and other congregational hymns. We also had the delight of hearing the ladies of the choir performing a lovely acappela version of “I Sing a Simple Song of Love,” displaying their clear gift of melodies, and of harmonies.

Great results!

In other news, this past week brought the returned results from last year’s grade 12 IGCSE exams. It is no exaggeration to say that we have much to be proud of here—a straight A-star performance from one young man, for example! Yes, we are proud of, and we congratulate, these hard-working young men and women.

New Staff

We are also enjoying the new staff members who have joined us this term: Miss Ruth, from Canada, and Mr. Simon, from Germany. Both are here to work in the dorms, Miss Ruth with the girls’ and Mr. Simon with the boys’. We heartily welcome them, and we are already grateful for all their hard work and their helpful spirits.
Once more, thank you all for joining us in our Amano walk of life.

And so it has begun again. With the amount of time I have now spent in the boarding school environment, it really should not surprise me; yet still I find myself amazed at the whirlwind that life is during this start-of-term period. Yes, the term has begun—and not just that, but the new year has begun . . . has begun with gusto!
In the midst of the bustle, I think the challenge for us staff-teachers, dorm workers, and support staff alike—is to pay attention to the moments, and not to let the significance of the small things pass us by because of the urgency of the things needing to be done.
For some of us, these moments come in the classroom . . .
Perhaps the first day of lectures, with all our professionalism rallied up. We plan our lessons, rehearse our scripts, take our notes, and begin as planned—on schedule—with the intended learning of the term. But then a student walks in, sees you there, and with the surprise recognition of one who did not expect you as his teacher, greets you with a quietly proper, “Good morning Miss . . .”
And you stop, take aback by the flood of emotions that comes when you do not realize how much you’ve missed these children until you see a smiling face. The script for introductions in that class is forgotten as you stop to reply. But no matter, for you know that the things of importance have just overtaken the things of urgency . . .
We each have these reminders, suited to whatever our particular school roles may be. And we pray for the wisdom to pay attention to them, and to take them to heart as the nudges from God that they are!
That said, classes have begun! Along with them, we have already gotten fully involved in the athletics and the school. This past weekend we had our first football match here, as it was a home game. What fun it was to get to cheer on both our womens’ and our mens’ teams as they both soundly defeated the opponents from Lechwe! (Pictures here are from these matches)
In the sermon this past Sunday, our local pastor spoke of God as a “promise keeper.” He talked of how He is a faithful God, who will be there is we seek Him. Here at Amano we long to be truly seeking after our God, and encouraging the students to do the same, or lifting them up as they do. So we welcome prayers as we begin this year’s adventures, and we welcome you to join with us, and to follow the adventures alongside us!

AMANO CHRISTMAS CONCERT 3rd December 2010
The end of the school year at Amano was marked by a new beginning. This was the moment when the new multi-purpose hall made its debut as a venue for the Christmas concert which took place on the last day of term, enabling both primary and secondary students to join together with families and friends to celebrate this point in the life of the school.
It has to be said that the hall is not yet finished, which we were reminded of when the dress rehearsal was taking place on the previous day and the rain came through the open windows. However, it was a significant moment to see the hall filling up with so many people and to realise what has been achieved over the last year or two as this hall has gradually taken shape. There were a lot of technical difficulties to sort out along the way, which is inevitable when something like this is used for the very first time, but these were all overcome by the time the concert began.
The first part of the concert included a performance by the lower primary classes of a musical play called ‘Tinsel and Teatowels’. It told the story of a school which was preparing a Christmas nativity play while the school inspectors were in to check on how the school was getting on (something I have often experienced when teaching at schools in England). The grade 4 & 5 students took on the roles of the inspectors, teachers, and even headmaster, as they organised the younger students ready for their performance for Christmas. As the title suggests, there was a lot of time given to the ‘wrapping paper’ of Christmas which many get caught up in at this time of year, but the play in the end pointed clearly towards the more important part of Christmas, the birth of Jesus.
The older primary students performed a musical play called ‘Papa Panov’, which some of you might know as ‘Martin the Shoe Maker’. Papa Panov, in the story, is a shoe maker who had his own shop. On Christmas Eve, Papa Panov read some of the Christmas story from the Bible and then dreamt that night that Jesus would come to visit him in his shop on Christmas Day. We then saw how his Christmas day unfolded as Papa Panov tried to get ready for the visit of Jesus but kept on being interrupted by various visitors who were coming past his shop that day. So we saw the gentle woman and her two children, one of whom had no shoes to wear. Well, Papa felt he had to do something to help them and gave the child a pair of shoes which he had made earlier and which he had had in mind to give to Jesus, when he arrived. He also gave them a room to sleep in rather than send them back onto the street on such a cold day. Then a group of street children came visiting, glad of Papa Panov’s welcome and even more excited when he offered them some sweets and cakes. He made them work, though, as they struggled to pronounce his name and he played a game with them (in the form of a funny song) to help them learn how to say it. I don’t think they ever managed it, but they still got their sweets anyway! Once they had gone, a group of three road sweepers knocked on his door hoping for some warm refreshments. They also did their best to cheer up a rather disappointed Papa Panov, performing a lively dance complete with brooms to attempt to lighten his mood.
All of which led up to the final scene in which Papa Panov first of all expressed his great sadness that Jesus had not visited him on Christmas Day, as he had promised, and then the voice of Jesus explains that he had visited after all, in the form of the visitors which he had welcomed into his shop. ‘Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did it for me’.
The last performance came from the secondary drama group. This looked at the overall Bible message and challenged some of the arguments people have for rejecting the Gospel. It also included a performance of a song made famous by Casting Crowns, called ‘While you are sleeping’ which highlights the world’s tendency to become complacent even though time is running out.
As well as these pieces of drama, the flautists played several pieces, some of the secondary students performed ‘Mary, did you know?’ and the audience were encouraged to join in with a number of Christmas carols. Everyone was also invited to sing along to the new school song, ‘Wisdom Seekers’.
With that concert and its clear reminder of what Christmas should really be about, the school year for 2010 came to an end. There were a number of primary students for whom it was their last day at Amano, as they are transferring to other schools in South Africa, so I would like to think that the concert and the preparations for it have left them with some happy memories of their last days at Amano. It has done so for me, as I also take my leave after two years of teaching there.
As I write my final entry for the Amano blog, I would like to encourage you to keep on praying for the school, its staffing and financial needs, the clarity of vision that is so vital if the school is to achieve its purpose, and that the students may welcome the opportunity they have there to both hear about Jesus and to get to know Him for themselves. One of my happiest memories of the last week of term is when the primary students in assembly sang a rousing version of ‘The greatest day in history’ by Tim Hughes. It is one which we have often sung together and there is something quite uplifting when we join together on the chorus:
‘Oh, happy day, happy day, you washed my sins away!
Oh, happy day, happy day, I’ll never be the same-
Forever I am changed!’

Have a joyful Christmas and a blessed New Year!
Written by Martin Smith

BAPTISMS AT AMANO 14TH NOVEMBER 2010

Sunday 14th November was special this year both because it saw the last Family Worship of the school year and particularly because this service included the baptisms of four secondary students from the school.
It was decided to place the ‘baptistery’ outside in preparation for the service, despite the fact that the rainy season has started and every day sees at least one heavy rain shower if not a more eventful storm. We were challenged to trust in God for fine weather, and that is just what we got: warm, sunny with good cloud cover and a gentle breeze. As you will see from the pictures, it proved to be a lovely setting and once all the technical details were sorted out the service began on time at 11 hours. There was a large crowd to witness this event, including students and staff, family members of those being baptised, and quite a number of visitors.
The service began with ‘To God be the glory’ as a recognition of the priority we should have when worshipping God. Most of the songs had been chosen by the young people being baptised and each focused on the theme of commitment to Jesus, placing their lives into God’s hands, and seeking to allow God to change them to become the people He wants them to be. They included: ‘Be thou my vision’; ‘God will make a way’; ‘You are my all in all’; ‘In Christ Alone’ and ‘Amazing Grace’. They were sung to the accompaniment of a small group of musicians, including keyboard, guitar, flutes and brass, and a number of female secondary students who used their voices to give us a strong lead.
A special moment in the service was when each of the four baptism candidates stepped forward to the microphone to share their testimony. For each of them they were able to reflect on the journey they had been on to bring them to this point, a journey which in all cases involved recognition of their own sin before God and their need to be forgiven. They were able to stand up and proclaim their faith in Jesus and their relationship with God, whilst also acknowledging that the process of God’s work in their lives has only just begun. The fact that they were brave enough to speak in this way in front of such a large crowd was, in itself, testimony to what God has been doing in these young lives.
Mr. Philip Grove spoke, in the sermon, about the passage in Acts 8 which gives an account of Philip meeting the Ethiopian ‘minister of finance’, and how this God-appointed meeting allowed Philip the opportunity to explain what the passage of scripture this important man was reading really meant. Mr. Grove challenged us to be those who will speak when God gives us the opportunity, as Philip did, and also to be open to God’s guidance; if He should lead us to a place that is unexpected and perhaps seems to be with little purpose, will we be obedient and open to what God wants to do through us? Mr. Grove highlighted the importance of baptism for those who are committed to following Jesus, but he also emphasised that the baptisms taking place in this service were not an end but a beginning of something new. Those baptised today should remember that God wants to take hold of their lives and use them in a powerful and effective way in the future. ‘It is not time to sit back and relax but time to get active for God!’ They should also make the effort to get to know the Bible better.
All that I have mentioned thus far was the build-up to the main event, the baptisms of Elina, Womba, Chigo and Daniel. Mr. Michael Pflaum called each of them in turn into the large blue tank which was serving the purpose of the baptistery, and spoke a few words from the Bible. He highlighted that those who are baptised should have committed themselves to Jesus and he asked each student whether they had done this. He then pushed them under the water and brought them up again as an illustration of how they have died to their old lives and are now alive in Jesus. It was great to see some of the children who are linked to A.C.S. standing close to the baptism tank and seeing for themselves close up what these young people were doing; who knows what impact that image might have on their young lives? After each baptism a verse from the song ‘I have decided to follow Jesus’ was sung, as a celebration of what these young people were saying by going through the waters of baptism, and they were prayed for individually. The service was concluded by singing ‘Amazing Grace’.
I hope that this account, along with the photos, captures something of the atmosphere and significance of this service at Amano Christian School.
Martin Smith

End of term review

August, for me as a teacher, has always been the chance to relax and unwind; in the UK, of course, it marks the end of the school year and the summer holidays, but even here in Zambia the holidays came as a relief for everyone at the end of quite a hectic but successful term at Amano.
One of the features of the whole school assemblies since May has been the focus on Paul’s teaching in Ephesians about putting on the spiritual armour. Different speakers have looked in some detail at the different items of armour and their spiritual significance and this has been taught against the backdrop of an encouragement for God’s people to read the Bible and so to become equipped to serve God faithfully. This was highlighted towards the end of term when Dr. Fernandes visited the school on behalf of the Gideons and kindly gave copies of the New Testament to all of the students from grade 4 upwards. Hopefully the students will make good use of them during their holidays, both for their own benefit and that of those around them.
Mentioning the Bible reminds me of an activity the grade 12 students did in one of their Christian Foundations lessons while revising the Gospel of Luke. Each group of students was challenged to make a tableau of one of the miracles which Luke wrote about, almost as if they were presenting a photo to go alongside a newspaper story. So we had the blind beggar by the side of the road who was given his sight by Jesus; Jairus’ daughter who died and who Jesus brought back to life; and the crippled man who was made better. I thought you might enjoy seeing an example of their work - the two photos that head this post will give you a flavour!
The primary students were kept very busy towards the end of term. Two main events dominated their final week of term: performing a musical and preparing for their sports’ day.
I am pleased to write that both of these events went well. Mr. Smith, who has been teaching Music to grade 4 to 7 students this term, had taught songs from a musical called ‘Cruising with Noah’ which the students learnt off by heart and were keen to perform to their parents. These songs were linked together by a series of short mimes which featured a number of different animals, as you will see on the photos, along with Noah. While based on the story of the Ark, the mimes and songs presented various issues which affect the developing world; these ranged from poverty, injustice, famine and war, and each mime concluded with Noah giving the animals some words of wisdom to help them think about what the world should be like. So it seemed fitting to conclude the musical with a performance of the school song ‘Wisdom Seekers’.
Sports’ Morning for the primary students was held on the last day of term this year. It provided am enjoyable way to mark the end of term, especially as many parents arrived in time to watch their children in action before taking them home for the holidays. Amanda Kirk organised the morning, while staff along with secondary students helped to run the different events. The participants were divided into four teams and enjoyed wearing the new team strips, as provided by our visitors from Judson University, for the first time. Events included long jump, the shuttle relay, distance throwing, skipping races, and a sprint relay. The final event was a fun race which involved a lot of water, much of which went over the teams rather than into the container they were supposed to be pouring it into!
Well done grey team who were the ‘champions’, but most of all well done students for taking part with a competitive attitude while also helping and encouraging each other along the way- even if they were on a different team! It meant that even those who didn’t win went home happy!
So, the students and staff have a month off. Please think of the grade 12 students who will be revising hard during the holidays as they prepare for their final exams and pray for more Primary staff to apply to teach at Amano next year. Also remember the Kirks as they continue to recover from their car accident, remembering particularly Amanda as she returns to South Africa for more important treatment on her hand, back and head. She’s doing well, and is grateful to all who have been praying for her.

Term draws to a close - sport, goodbyes and music!

Ten Steps Primary Sports Event
On Saturday 10th July the Copperbelt ISAZ ‘Ten Steps’ event took place at Amano. This was the first time we had organised this event which had previously taken place in Lusaka for schools in that area.
The idea behind it is that each school brings ten students, representing boys & girls of five different age-groups, and they have the challenge of representing their schools in ten different sporting activities. This ranged from the shuttle relay- running 10m x 6- and high jump; skipping races, long jump, and throwing a size 4 football while sitting down and standing up.
The event was well-organised, and the secondary students did a great job at helping both with the activities and accompanying the teams around the circuit. Unfortunately not as many schools sent teams as we would have liked, and one of the teams was late in turning up, but there was still a good, friendly sense of competition between the students and I think it was enjoyed by all. I also know that staff and students from the visiting schools were quite impressed by what they saw of A.C.S. that day.

Auf Wiedersehen, volunteers!
As this term draws to a close there are a number of goodbyes which the Amano community must say. Last Friday was a time for some of these.
In the evening the girls’ dormitory was the venue for the boarding students, and a lot of staff, to gather in order to wish goodbye and to say thanks to the German volunteers who have spent the last year working in the dormitories. Miss Rachel and Mr Philip were leaving Amano the following day, while Miss Tamara remains here for the last couple of weeks of term.
The students showed their appreciation both in what they said and in the effort they put into the evening’s entertainment. This was a mixture of song, both solos and groups, dance, and some comedy which mainly came from the M.C.’s for the evening, Davido and Wila. It was also good to see Mr. Matt back in the dorm, helping to run the show and also reminding us of his skill on the guitar.
The evening was concluded with a number of speeches, firstly from matron who also presented the volunteers with a gift which she hoped would remind them of their time at Amano. Mr. Phil Grove amused us with a fictional letter from one of the volunteer’s parents- which included the news that it was so windy back home that the chicken laid the same egg 4 times!- but also gave a much more serious goodbye to them in which he recognised their significant contribution towards the life of Amano during the past ten months. The students are sad to say goodbye to them, and wish them well for their futures.

Musical Recital
Earlier in the day there was the first ever Amano School Music Recital. This had been organised by Mrs. Gwen Amborski who has taught music here for the last two years. As she and her family will be returning to the United States of America in August she wanted to give the individual students she has been teaching the opportunity to perform in front of their families and other guests. There were also a number of extra items added on which helped to entertain the packed audience in the school hall for about one and a half hours.
The recital was divided into two main sections- primary and secondary- and the whole event was linked together by Davido and Wila (yes, they had a busy day on Friday!) The primaries included a number of students who have been learning either keyboard or guitar with Gwen, but the highlight was probably the Indian dance which a number of the Indian students (and guests) performed while Arushi accompanied them on the keyboard. This was followed by an amusing song called ‘Bumpy Roads’ which reflected on daily life at Amano.
The secondary section also included a number of students Gwen has been teaching, along with performances from the three flautists who have been trained by Mrs. Jo Grove. They each performed a solo piece and then joined together as a trio. We were then entertained by a visit to ‘Cafe D’Amour’ in which Gwen and other guitarists provided the cabaret, and Mr. Matt & Louise, along with Mr. and Mrs. Kirk gave us a glimpse of romance in action, or not. I am sure Mr. Matt and Louise told us they were already engaged before they arrived at Amano, but he proposed to her nonetheless! Yes (that was the answer). I don’t think Mr. Kirk was caught up in this mood of romance, however, as he kept looking at his watch and asking his wife if it was time to go home yet...
Gwen said thanks to all of the parents present who had helped their children to learn the instruments by giving them encouragement and time to practice. She also reminded all of the students that, what was important was not so much which talent they had- musical or otherwise- but that they committed themselves to using that gift for God and His glory. Mr. Phil Grove spoke at the end, adding his own thanks and those of the Board for all the hard work Gwen has put in during her time at Amano. He concluded the recital by leading us in a prayer for her and her family.

The Amano term finishes on July 30th 2010. The final event of the term will be the Primary Sports’ morning which the Secondaries will be watching and also, no doubt, helping with. Then the students leave for a month of relaxation- unless they are in Grade 12 in which case they have important I.G.C.S.E. exams to prepare for.