day 211: siyazakha's "samaritans"

had a great time at siyazakha on wednesday! finishing the term by again utilizing the story of the good samaritan. each of our 5 classes there are only 30-minutes long. so it's quite the challenge to get through the lesson each week. things went so smoothly though!

great to connect each week there with mama "R" - who attended the training a few weeks ago. it's amazing how much that 4-day trip did to strengthen our relationships with several nationals. thank you Father for that!

(right) the samaritan woman w/ the man who was robbed
thrown over her "donkey"

high point of the day: 
had a super fun moment with our last class of the day (our most challenging on wednesdays). as we entered the room only 4 kids were there. so, we joined a few outside in the courtyard. sat down with them & started chatting. chatting led to singing...& when we started singing some of their xhosa songs the crowd began to grow. i was a little concerned about the commotion we were making...but these kids who have been so difficult to break through to were finally connecting with us...& so i threw all hesitation out the window! at one point i somehow found myself in the middle of the circle dancing...which, to them, is always a riot. THEN we looked up & turning the corner was the entire class headed our direction almost in a parade march dancing & singing at the top of their lungs. it was insane! oh, if you could have seen the look on our faces! absolutely no clue where they came from, but they headed into the classroom & sarah and i looked at one another almost speechless & said, "what just happened? i have no idea...who cares - it's good!!"

"low" point of the day:
had some bittersweet moments as we said "goodbye" to our 3 grade 7 classes. even though we got the verbal invitation from the principal welcoming us back next year (& "for the rest of our [your] lives" - ha!), & we'll be returning in january/february...the grade 7s (those who pass) will be moving on to another school. man we'll miss those kids! great school we look forward to each week!

PRAY for the learners at SIYAZAKHA PRIMARY SCHOOL...especially the grade 7s as they begin writing their exams monday! PRAY also that those who move on will continue with feet firmly established & rooted in God's Word. out of all the schools, these kids seem most spiritually solid. it's so encouraging!