KAREY SHANE

MYO Pen Pals: Veronica

Today I got three letters from students in the after-school enrichment program in Swakopmund, Namibia called Mondesa Youth Opportunites. And it's my birthday. What a fun present! I've posted each letter separately. This is letter #3. My reply is below each student's letter. Their letters are unedited. Who knows, maybe we are looking at them in this video!

Dear Mrs Karey Shane

I have just heard about you now.  My name is Veronica.  My surname is Helao.  I just want to know more about you.  so would you like me to you about me?

I am a black girl with long hair.  I live with both my parents and live with my brother and two sisters.  I live in Swakopmund in Namibia.  I was born on 15 October 1998 in the capital city of Namibia, Windhoek, but now I stay in Swakopmund.

I am in Grade 6A at Vrede Rede Primary School.  My favourite colours are pink, white and blue.  My favourite sports are running and tennis.  My favourite thing that I like to do when I have nothing to do is reading.

When I grow up I want to be a teacher.  I choose to be a teacher because, from when I was small till today, I am always dreaming of being a teacher.  I like teaching children just like the teachers like to teach us when we are at school.

Thank you so much for being willing to write to us

Your beloved
Veronica

Hello Veronica,

Thank you so much for writing and telling me about your life! I am very happy you wrote. Since you like pink, white and blue, I wrote in pink and blue. Your plan to become a teacher is a wonderful goal! I'm also glad to hear you enjoy reading.

May I ask you to do something today? Find a pebble and fill a bowl with water. Drop the pebble in the water and see what happens. Now I would like to ask you a question: how is the pebble that fell in the water like being a teacher?

Will you write and tell me? I will give my answer in orange-colored writing below, but before you read it, you might want to come up with your own answer. Or, you can read my answer and give me your own answer. You choose.

Teachers are like a stone that is dropped in water: when it touches the water it ripples out and touches all the water, not just the place it first touched. In the same way, you will be able to teach children, who go out to do wonderful things in the world. And just like water ripples outwards from where the stone fell, they will want their own children to learn important things at school when they are old enough so they can do wonderful things in the world, too.

You will be able to do the same thing as a teacher, just like your teachers are doing for you. 

I am happy you like running and tennis. Did you know that students who do well at things like running sometimes get something called a scholarship that helps them pay to attend university? The word scholarship has the word, "scholar" in it. That is a wonderful word that means a learned person who has profound knowledge about a certain subject.

Do you plan to study hard, keep running, and playing tennis so that you can get a scholarship some day? I hope so. I see you.

Kind regards,

Miss Karey

MYO Pen Pals: Amy

Today I got three letters from students in the after-school enrichment program in Swakopmund, Namibia called Mondesa Youth Opportunites. And it's my birthday. What a fun present! I've posted each letter separately. This is letter #2. My reply is below each student's letter. Their letters are unedited. Who knows, maybe we are looking at them in this video!

Dear Mrs Karey Shane

How are you doing?  I'm doing well on my own.

Well, this is my first time to write to an author.  The way I imagine an author is a person with a lot of courage.  A person that can deal with any kind of problem or at least try to solve them.

About books, I like reading a lot of books.  The books I love are mystery, romance and comic books.

I would also like to know how you became a writer and what you usually did that made you to write books.  I don't actually have my dream on being an author but I like reading a lot.  Sometimes I make up a story about what happened during the day.

My plans for the future are to become a doctor and to own a house that will be big enough for my husband, our children and me.  I would also like to have a beautiful car of my own.

That's all I could say to you now.  Hope to hear from you very soon.

Your friend

Amy

Dear Amy,

I am doing very well, thank you. I'm glad that you are doing well on your own. You have a wonderful goal to become a doctor, own a home for your children and husband, and have a car. Having a dream of what you want to become helps you go in a focused direction. I wish you much success as you study to learn the skills you will need to become a doctor.

Even though this is your first time to write an author, I hope you found it is easy and fun! I believe I am a person with a lot of courage who can solve problems. But I would say it's because I had good teachers who showed me how to grow into who I was meant to become, like your wonderful teachers are doing. I can see that you are a person with courage. You have the ability to solve problems, too.

That is wonderful that you like to read mystery, romance, and comic books. Our children and I loved to read the French comic books, Asterix, Lucky Luke, and Tin Tin when they were small. We would laugh so hard!

One thing I did to become a writer was something that is very simple, but important. I wrote in my journal almost every day when I was young. Sometimes I would write just a few sentences. Sometimes I would write pages and pages. It's like having a friend to talk to, and it helped me practice my penmanship, and writing skills. Some people who write in their journals draw pictures, too. That sounds like a fun thing to do.

When you make up stories about what happened during the day, do you write them down? I would like to read one of them, just for fun! Thank you again for writing, Amy. I see you.

Kind regards,

Miss Karey

MYO Pen Pals: Armanus

Today is my twin sister's--and of course--my birthday! My son called me last night to let me know he had just proposed to his sweetheart, and my daughter and family wished me happy birthday. They'll be spoiling my sister and I during a family dinner tonight.

The next best thing about celebrating this gift of life that God has granted me, is that I got my very first letters from three Grade 6 students at Mondesa Youth Opportunities, in Swakopmund, Namibia. I've developed a friendship with one of the teachers there, Sue Wagner, who has a daughter that runs under my husband's coaching tutelage at BYU (Angela Wagner.)

Angela and her team-mates are writing letters back and forth the the students, and more. Sue has given me permission to post the student's letters which you can see in separate posts in their unedited beauty. I've also posted my responses below each letter. Who knows, maybe we can see them in this video! Armanus' letter is below the video.

Dear Ms Shane

Greetings!  Thank you for the opportunity to write you a letter.  I would just like to ask questions.

I just want to know how you started your talent as an author?

I love reading true stories.

With what kind of books did you start? 

I would like to read your book "The Secret Speakers"

Will you please send me a picture of you and your husband?

Your penpal

Armanus Awaseb

Hello Armanus,

Greetings to you! Thank you so much for taking time to write me.  I am honored. Today is my birthday. Your letter was a wonderful birthday gift, indeed. You asked some very interesting questions. I will answer them for you here. Then I would like to ask you a question.

There are many correct answers to how my talent as an author began. The answer that comes to mind right now is this: after my father died when I was six, I spent a lot of time day dreaming. I spent a lot of time in the gully behind my house where I built forts with my younger brother out of sticks, played in the river, and let my imagination soar.

I also liked to read, and lose myself in stories where children were doing brave things, and who were strong. So, I believe my talent began because I liked to daydream and read books.

The kind of books I started with when I was young were The Boxcar Children, and a book I loved called, My Side of the Mountain. both stories were about children who went out on their own to do brave things, then came back home.

I also liked to read books about secret codes and languages! I taught myself to read the Greek alphabet when I was your age. I didn't understand many of the words, but I could sound out words.

Other books I liked were biographies, or stories about real people's lives. I especially liked reading about the life of Harriet Tubman and what she did to help free the slaves in America. I also liked the story of George Washington Carver, who discovered ways to use peanuts, other than eating them.

You will have a chance to read Secret Speakers, because I am going to send some copies of the book to your school. The very first boxes of Secret Speakers shipped to a building close to my city two days ago, so now I can send them right away. I am so happy about that. It makes me smile.

You also asked me to send you a picture of my husband, Coach Shane, and myself. I will post one at the bottom of this letter. It is a picture of Coach Shane and me at the Post Office. I'll find a better picture and send it to MYO!

What kind of true stories do you like to read? You may call me Miss Karey. When my family lived in New Orleans in the southern part of the United States, the children called adults Miss or Mr.  I've always liked that. I see you.

Kind regards,

Miss Karey