day 118: most exciting ministry day yet! :)

to make up for the lack of updates over the last few weeks, i'll just overload today's update w/ a ton of pics!! (truth be told, i just couldn't decide on which one to use & wanted to share about them all!) stick w/ me...promise it will be worth the long read!

mondays are a little strange in that we teach two 1-hr classes in the morning & then have a 3 hour break before after-school leadership club. the two classes went relatively well. but, as is always the case, it's a bit of a challenge this term since we've stepped in, just met the learners & come to talk about sex every week. today was all about STDs. the kids are continuing to ask really good questions, though. AND they continue to thank us for talking to them about the things no one talks to them about. and THAT gives us the little bit of encouragement we need to keep at it this term!

every week we learn something new. we plan for the entire week ahead of time...but each day as we drive back home we evaluate & begin to "re-plan" & tweak the lessons for the next day. we consider what went well & what we could improve; we adjust the lessons appropriately, too, since everyday the classes are a different length of time.

we've really struggled at times with what to do in after-school clubs, though, since we've much more freedom. we want to disciple the learners but with the language barrier it's quite the challenge! they constantly look at us with slight frustration because they DESIRE to share with us, but they simply cannot communicate what they want to say in english. today, though, we took a completely different direction...& it. was. incredible!!

with only 5-6 weeks left in the term, sarah & i decided to walk through a 5-week creation-to-Christ story set with them. each week we share a portion of the story, utilizing pictures, & challenge them in a way that holds them accountable to share that story multiple times throughout the week. today we started with the account of creation & the fall of man.

1st time today: sarah shared the story & i drew 

all 17  kids heard the story 5 times today...repetition = good!
the 1st time we told it to the group as a whole. sarah shared, i drew, they watched/listened.
the 2nd time we were split up: boys w/ me & girls w/ sarah. in the boys' group i shared & drew at the same time.
the 3rd time i shared the story while the 9 boys drew along w/ the story.
the 4th time, the boys got a partner & one told the story while the other drew.

PRAY for "u" (left) - the only BOY who hasn't made a decision for Christ YET...
so cool to see him excited & hungry to learn the Story.
PRAY it takes root in his heart.

the 5th time, i asked who wanted to step up & share the story with the whole group. i was completely floored by what happened: hands flew up in the air. "m" took off his jacket, folded it & rolled up his sleeves. & even though i gave him the option of telling the story in xhosa, he did the WHOLE thing in english w/ a little help from the other boys. i've never been so simultaneously proud & excited!

5th time: all on their own! 

like i said, today was INCREDIBLE.
PRAY with us that this week these learners would take us up on the challenge & have the courage & recall to share the story with the people they love! right before they left they asked, "can we share this with our families?" YES!!! BY ALL MEANS!! :)

AND, to top it all off, we got to watch a high school girls' soccer game at the foot of the mountain. gorgeous day! praise the LORD!