ABC graduation (and more!)

This weekend has been super busy. Last night, we hosted the 7th grade for dinner and capture the flag in the dark. The kids are great, but very rambunctious. Thankfully, they all love and adore Elijah so much that I basically had 14 baby sitters and was able to cook and clean up. We Also had Kim to help us. She is the new science teacher who stepped in to help us out in the upper school when Annie left back in December. Kim's daughter, Jordan, is the greatest. She is in 1st grade and is already incredible with kids. At a random point in the evening, she came up to me and said "Mrs. Robbins, I love babies because they are cute. I hate babies because they always pull my hair!" in her adorable Zimbabwean accent.


We played the paper game while Dan cooked all the meat on the back porch. It was a great idea to have the kids actually doing something rather than crowd around the fire. Even though they are terrible at the paper game (something always gets lost or mixed up), they still loved playing it.

We had fun hanging out with the students, but at 7:30pm, Eli and I skipped out on the game so that we could enjoy the college music program at the chapel.


This morning, we had our big "boot" sale as they call it in South Africa. Really, it was just a big yard sale. It's always interesting trying to sell things in Malawi. We did well though and managed to make back some money on items we had sent here 2 years ago.

Christina graduated today. I was filled with emotion when I saw her walk down that isle to the traditional graduation music and take her seat with her senior class. It was a long tiring ceremony, but I am so glad we were able to witness such a huge thing. It was very different from all the other graduations I had ever been to. As I looked at the senior class, I realized that most of them truly struggled a lot to get to the place they were finally sitting today. There are seniors every year who are unable to walk and receive their diplomas because they cannot pay off their school debts. It is a huge burden on all of the students at ABC. One that their families and friends help them to carry throughout their four years of college. Those attending the graduation were so incredibly proud of their loved one who finally made it to the end of their senior year.

Dan and I took turns with Elijah. He has been pretty crabby today with teething. I was able to pass Eli off right in time for pictures, though. There was a mob of people crowded near the front, taking pictures and handing out presents to the graduates. Amy and I got right in there to make sure we got lots of pictures. We kept joking that we felt like the paparazzi trying to get our best shots of Angelina Jolie on the red carpet. It was madness, but I got a good one of Christina, and that is all that matters.

Me with the mob.

Here she is, our proud college graduate Christina Muyounga.


Here she is leaving the ceremony.

I cannot explain to you how proud I am of this woman. She is a mother of three and often cares for other family members who come to stay under her roof. She has worked hard, not only cleaning for us which has allowed her to pay for her school fees, but she has also worked very hard in her classes. She took on an extra job of selling tomatoes this year, too. Christina is a dear friend of mine and I was honored to see her walk the stage and receive her diploma.


We are going to her church tomorrow morning. I am looking forward to spending a little bit of time with her family before we leave. I will miss Christina very very much.