Issue #84
March 7, 2001

Dear Friends and Family,
It rained!! Of course, I'm sad to say that I slept through it. Last night was a late one. Shane and I were helping my roommate, Celeste, finish up the yearbook. We spent Monday and Tuesday evenings editing it. It had to be finished last night so we just kept one working. As I was walking home about 11:30 p.m., I knew it was going to rain. The wind always blows in first. The ground was even still wet this morning. It was still hot today. Besides cooling things off, these are "mango rains." These rains are what helps the mangoes get ripe. Yummy!! Two of the trees in front of my house are loaded with mangoes. I can't wait. This will be the first year for the one tree to produce fruit.

I was making my lesson plans for the rest of the trimester the other day and realized that if I continue at the same speed we have been going that I finish my reading book before this trimester is over. It wouldn't be such a bad thing, but I have to have a substitute at the beginning of third trimester, and I don't want her to have to do something difficult. The class has certainly caught up on everything they missed by the school closure. I told them we were going to slow down on reading and pick up the speed on math. It is really amazing how much I can do with this year's class. It is very unusual. They are a great group of kids. Any of you want to come work with these wonderful kids in the near future? There are lots of open positions for here next year!

In the continuation of my temperature project with my class, on Friday, we attempted to fry an egg on the tennis court. At lunch time, I took an iron skillet out and put it on the court. A couple of hours later, we went down with an egg. The oil in the pan bubbled. The thermometers that I laid next to the skillet registered 150 degrees, but that was as high as they could go. The egg didn't really cook while we were watching it. We left it and came back to look at it later. It didn't fry the egg, but it dehydrated it. The white had become thin and flaky. The yellow was mostly solid. I could flip the skillet upside down, and the egg didn't move. It was interesting to try.

This Friday, the elementary teachers are taking all of our kids into town for a special trip. After the busyness of this trimester, we thought they deserved a break. Of course, for the kids the most fun part will probably be getting to ride in the bus. Since they only get to do this on a rare occasion, they think it is just wonderful to go on a bus ride.

Continue to pray for all of us to have strength as we finish up this last three weeks of this trimester. Many people are tired and just getting because of the longer days, busier schedule, and the heat. Pray that everyone will stay healthy. Continue to pray for my student that I mentioned in an early email. It has gotten better, but there are still things to work out. Also, pray for the Bouake FWB Church that they will be able to find the land God wants them to have to build a church.

Thanks for all you do!

In Christ,
Traci Epps