Guess What!!!

Hello Everyone,

As most of you know I have an exciting future in front of me. While completing my degree at Ohio University I felt the call to teach overseas.  Much to my surprise, opportunities opened up for me in a couple of different areas and schools in Africa.  So, on Sunday I’m going overseas for the next nine months to do service on the Continent. 

The first is at Mary Queen of Peace, in Cape Coast, Ghana.  I just recently got my placement, and it looks like I will be teaching general education to a class of fifty third graders.   My life will not be completely absorbed by students, I will be also staying with a family nearby.  Right now, all I know is that there is a mom and a dad, with two grade-school age girls.  It is quite intimidating, but I’m sure that I will be just fine.  The school itself is a Mission school run by American nuns, so I will not be completely on my own. I will be serving there for one trimester, lasting from September 2 to December 17 of this year.

In mid December I will be flying even farther away from home to St. Jude Academy in the Central Province of Kenya. I am very excited about this. St. Jude Academy is a small Catholic school, which takes care of orphaned and destitute children by providing food and schooling for them from kindergarten through sixth grade. They are growing year by year and will reach grade 8 in the next two years.  More than a quarter of the school is made up of kids orphaned by HIV/AIDS. The school is situated in one of the poorest parts of Central Kenya and does not have much in the way of resources.   I’ll be there, until May 20^th of 2008, at which time I will fly home.

Both schools are poor, and desperately need help.  For this reason they are not able to compensate their volunteers beyond basic help such as food and board.  Any assistance you could provide would be much appreciated, from prayers to donations to items for the community.  I believe the most basic service I can do is connect people to people.  During my stay I will have a website where I will post pictures and news from my service sites at http://www.xanga.com/Ann_in_Africa.   On the site will also be a link to my PayPal donations site.  The same link will appear at the bottom of this post.  All you have to do is click, and donate.  I would love to hear from you by emails, posts on my blog, or even real letters.   If you’d like to get my address or other fun updates by email, please email me at asacksteder@yahoo.com.  I will also be posting my mailing addresses on my blog as soon as I have them.

I would like to thank you in advance for your help during this next nine-month adventure.  Your support will go a long way for these children, and the experience will do amazing things for me. 

Thank you,

Annie Sacksteder

I just spent awhile looking back through my old Xanga entries, and I found two quotes that I think relate to my life really, perfectly well right now, but for different reasons.  History is a funny thing, isn't it?  And it is amazing to see that, for all I've changed, I'm still the same basic girl.

"I don't want to lie, especially in this most serious aspect of my life.  It would be self defeating, as my friend's lives so excellently live out.  I want what I want.  I know what I deserve.  And I will not settle for less.  Thank you.  I would rather have nothing at all, than to compromise myself to have something mediocre.  That way I loose twice, and I may never get my self respect back."

"I’ve got two weeks to get my life figured out and run off to school. You’d think I’d had prepared myself better or something. Huh.. nope… Here I want to quote Marilyn Monroe in "Some Like it Hot".. She says "I’m not too bright… see?" When she tells Tony Curtis how she always falls for the slime ball saxophone player, gets her heart broke, and then does it again with the next guy. Except, when I do it, I have to refer to non-romantic things like… registration deadlines, and paperwork."

The End.