What we've been doing

We've been here almost 2 weeks now and we're slowly adjusting to life in Mississippi. This week was full of learning, teaching, and basketball. There are 6 basketball hoop's in our backyard and i would say we spend 3hours minimum each day on the courts. The summer art camp we are a part of meets on the grounds where our house is. Our classroom is actually in our house which makes the commute nice. Also on the grounds of the "Spencer Perkins Center" is a baseball field, a clubhouse (used by young life and our camp) a large park like playground, a law office, and The Perkins home. I'm not sure all of you know about Dr. John Perkins but he is 75 year old man who some scholars have called the most influential African American leader since Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. We have yet to talk with him because he has been out of town since we arrived. He speaks all over the country and is in high demand for speaking engagements. I know he usually takes the month of August off so we are looking forward to that time with him. If you are interested in learning more about him he has written several books including an autobiography titled "Let Justice Roll Down". It should be available on amazon or i can get the books for $10 and send them. We are working daily with his daughter Elizabeth who is in charge of the art camp and the office.

Our days consist mostly now of working with kids. The camp goes from 7:30am through 6:00 pm so by evening we are usually tired. The kids are very active in spite of the heat. Emily and i are the teachers for the kindergarten class. We have 5 students who we have class with for 2 hours each day. Emily is amazing with kids. I don't know what i would do with out her. She is able to stay calm when the kids get crazy. The kids would walk all over me without her around. We've been working on adding and subtracting as well as letters and there sounds. I'm in charge of story time and usually use a British accent to read to them for dramatic effect. They love it but think I'm speaking Spanish. We swim on Tuesdays and Thursdays which the kids love and is nice for us to cool off. Friday we went roller skating and had a blast. I haven't laughed that hard in a long time. For most of the kids it was there first time skating and to see them try to figure these roller skates out was amusing.

After the day camp end's in the evening people from the neighborhood come to play basketball. They are all amazed at Emily's skills. They can't believe this girl is scoring on them and stealing from them over and over. Friends make fun of each other until it is their turn to guard her and she scores on them. Its been fun to watch. My goal is to dunk in the next 6 months, we'll see.

We are living in west Jackson which is poorer and predominantly black. We are learning that it takes time to be accepted. People are slow to trust that you aren't going to leave at the end of the summer. I think a lot of people come down and work in the community for short periods of time and people know that so they hold back. It will take time for people to get to know us and we understand that. It's been nice that the kids have accepted us from day one. They love us and call us Mr. Johnny and Mrs. Emily. We have met alot of great people and really feel like this is where we supposed to be.

Other weekly highlights include trying catfish for the first time (tasted like halibut), and battling the roaches that invade our home when it rains. That's all for now. I will update this site weekly so please check back. We would love to hear from you and thanks to those who have taken time to write. johnny.bertram@gmail.com

Shalom

Johnny