Let your light shine before men, that they
may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.
Matt. 5:16
EAGLE'S NEST
2007-2008
The dorm life is an
unforgettable
experience. It is a unique place to make friends and grow in
your relationship with God. This year the dorm consisted of
eighteen students, all from third to twelfth grade. The dorm
has two dorm parents and one dorm assistant. They provide love
and guidance to all the dorm kids. The dorm is a wonderful place
to get your homework done and still have fun. At night there
are regular soccer or basketball games on the court. The dorm is
an awesome place to live!
~ trae
A Day in the Life of a Dorm Teen
Girl
“Eli! Get up! It’s six o’ clock,”
Coach (my dorm assistant) whispers in my ear and touches my
foot. I roll over and bury my head into the pillow.
“I don’t want to get up.”
She turns off the AC and walks
out. I drag myself out of bed and put up my mosquito net. I’m
quiet because one of my roommates, Rianna, does her devotions on
her bed in the morning and I don’t want to disturb her. I
usually do my devotions at night, after supper.
Today is sheet day! I rip off my
sheets and put them in my laundry basket, and I bring my basket
out to the hall for Jaques, one of our two African employees at
the dorm, to wash in the washing machine. Sometimes, on
holidays, we have to wash our own clothes and sheets and towels,
but that doesn’t happen very often.
I left some of my clothes at the
dorm parents’ apartment, so I head to the other end of the dorm
to get them so I can get dressed for school. Once I am all
ready, I trudge out into the dining room and stick some toast in
the toaster. Since I’m one of the first kids ready, I don’t have
to wait my turn for the toaster, but other kids who get up later
have to wait their turn. I put lots of hot chocolate mix in my
mug and stir it. Yum, yum!
Some of the older kids come out
and make their breakfast. Today, it’s just the usual options of
toast and yogurt and cereal, but sometimes we also have waffles
or coffee cake or banana bread or fruit. On birthdays, there’s a
special table with decorations and we usually have juice or
chocolate cereal with breakfast.
Everyone is usually quiet in the
morning because it’s the end of the year now and they are
getting pretty tired. (Early on in the year this is not the
case. They come out full of energy just like me for 6:30
breakfast.) But by the time school is out for the day, they
start to get a bit more cheerful. After I finish eating, I walk
over to school at about 7:15 and wait for the first bell to ring
at 7:25. I then head into class in the secondary building where
grades 7 through 12 meet in different rooms. Since we are still
a pretty small school, we combine grades for most classes. For
example, 7th grade and 8th grade go to the
same class at the same time; 9th and 10th,
11th and 12th all do the same.
After the last bell rings
announcing the end of school for today, I skip back to the dorm
with my roommate. I grab the snack – cookies and candy from a
package someone sent to the dorm! Yeah! I sign the thank-you
card and greet Halima, the dorm cook. She cooks really good
food! I go my room with my snack, put on blaring music and sit
down to do my homework.
Before supper, I set the table
because my team is on chores today. Aunt Brenda (my dorm “mom”)
says that I can ring the dinner bell at 5:30 and I happily pick
it up and ring it outside and near the halls so that everyone
can hear. The guys start coming out of the guys’ hall and the
girls out of the girls’ hall. We all pick up our cups from the
rack near the big water thermos and sit down at the tables.
Uncle Tim (my dorm “dad”) makes a few announcements and then he
asks someone to pray. He then picks a table to go get their food
first so we aren’t all waiting in line at the same time. It’s
hamburgers today! We make our hamburgers and sit back down at
our tables.
When I’m finished, I ask the
oldest person at my table if I can be excused. Then I go into
the kitchen and wash my plate, knife, fork, and cup in the dish
water in the sink, dry them, and put them away. (If we all do
our own dishes, no one is overwhelmed with dish-duty washing up
after 20 or more people.) Because my team is on chores, I help
put away the leftovers, wipe off the tables, and rinse the pots
and pans for Halima to wash tomorrow.
After supper and chores are done,
Uncle Tim rings the bell for dorm devotions and we all gather in
the common room (living room). Sometimes we sing and usually
Uncle Tim reads the Bible; occasionally, we watch a short
devotional film. After we pray and are dismissed, I often go
find a quiet spot outside and have my own devotions. Then, if
there is time left, I sit out in the dining room with the other
kids to talk and do the rest of my homework. At 8:00, the
elementary kids come in to get their showers. Their bedtime is
8:30. I’m in junior high, so I shower at 8:30 and go to bed at
9:00. We all share a bathroom in the middle of the hall. This
year there are two boys’ halls so they have 2 bathrooms to use;
one in each hall. Since there is only one girls’ hall, a couple
of us use the dorm parents’ and dorm assistant’s bathrooms too
in order to all get ready for bed on time. My roommates and I
talk for a little while after Aunt Brenda 'puts us to bed' and
we hear the older high school girls getting showered and ready
for bed. They go to bed at 9:30. I close my eyes and fall
asleep. A normal day at the dorm. ~
elisheva
The dorm life is an
unforgettable
experience. It is a unique place to make friends and grow in
your relationship with God. This year the dorm consisted of
eighteen students, all from third to twelfth grade. The dorm
has two dorm parents and one dorm assistant. They provide love
and guidance to all the dorm kids. The dorm is a wonderful place
to get your homework done and still have fun. At night there
are regular soccer or basketball games on the court. The dorm is
an awesome place to live!
~ trae
She turns off the AC and walks
out. I drag myself out of bed and put up my mosquito net. I’m
quiet because one of my roommates, Rianna, does her devotions on
her bed in the morning and I don’t want to disturb her. I
usually do my devotions at night, after supper.
After the last bell rings
announcing the end of school for today, I skip back to the dorm
with my roommate. I grab the snack – cookies and candy from a
package someone sent to the dorm! Yeah! I sign the thank-you
card and greet Halima, the dorm cook. She cooks really good
food! I go my room with my snack, put on blaring music and sit
down to do my homework.
After supper and chores are done,
Uncle Tim rings the bell for dorm devotions and we all gather in
the common room (living room). Sometimes we sing and usually
Uncle Tim reads the Bible; occasionally, we watch a short
devotional film. After we pray and are dismissed, I often go
find a quiet spot outside and have my own devotions. Then, if
there is time left, I sit out in the dining room with the other
kids to talk and do the rest of my homework. At 8:00, the
elementary kids come in to get their showers. Their bedtime is
8:30. I’m in junior high, so I shower at 8:30 and go to bed at
9:00. We all share a bathroom in the middle of the hall. This
year there are two boys’ halls so they have 2 bathrooms to use;
one in each hall. Since there is only one girls’ hall, a couple
of us use the dorm parents’ and dorm assistant’s bathrooms too
in order to all get ready for bed on time. My roommates and I
talk for a little while after Aunt Brenda 'puts us to bed' and
we hear the older high school girls getting showered and ready
for bed. They go to bed at 9:30. I close my eyes and fall
asleep. A normal day at the dorm. ~
elisheva
