What I thought I'd be doing

"Tonight all six of the computers in the computer lab are in use. Three nights a week I spend an hour to an hour and a half in the lab to help the students. At the beginning of the term I prepared a couple of classes to give them the basics and then they just need to practice and learn things as they go. Only about a third of the students are familiar with computers. Some had never seen a qwerty keyboard before and so are needing to learn how to type. I am not always there but most nights students are busy in the lab working on papers, sermons, letters or other projects. This week and next the students’ wives will be doing an HIV/AIDS counselling course. The wives have been busy getting ready for it and decorating their class room – even putting table cloths on the desks. Children’s education is different here. We have a 17 year old in the 5th grade - not because he is dumb, but he wasn’t able to start school until he was older. Some places don’t have schools available and sometimes parents can't afford the school fees (free education is not a right here). All of the students have learned things through informal education - like climbing a coconut tree, finding their way through the bush, and other practical things. Sometimes a "bush mechanic" can gerryrig a repair that would stump a trained mechanic. Two disciples were seen to be "mere uneducated laymen" but that did not stop them from preaching the good news".