Today was a mixed kind of day for me. My workshop didn't go as planned. I wouldn't let the kids listen to hip hop with any cuss words in it, and they got mad and walked out. While at first I was like wow, that stinks; it actually gave me an opportunity to work with these three guys that just wanted to dance. They listened to what I said about the music, and they even wanted me to help them with their talent show routine. It was really encouraging to be able to just leave some type of impact on them, however small.
Bible Club was a pretty good turnout as well, we did our skit and our Everything skit, and I really pray that it made a lasting impact on these kids. With Bible Club it's a very different atmosphere from how it was in Glennallen. Glennallen was very flexible with a little bit of structure, where as Bible Club is very structured with little flexibility. Having to switch from such extremes was kind of difficult for me to be able to feel out how people were reacting to the Gospel, and also, how much of an impact we were making. It really made me realize that I just have to keep doing the things that I'm doing, to be the light, and that God would do the rest.
Tomorrow I'm leaving Alaska, and I think one thing I really learned on this trip was to have faith. I think many times I learn lessons of grace and love, but faith has been something that I've really been tested, and something I'm hoping to keep strong. God has a plan for our lives, and while I might not know it, and I might have many plans for myself, nothing is random. I think for me going into my last year of college and really thinking about my future and what I'm going to do with it, is something that I need to not freak out about. Although that's kind of hard, I know that God will place me and use me wherever he sees fit, and he will protect me and guide me through all parts of life. I'm really blessed and grateful to have gone on this trip, and I really thank everyone who was praying for me and the team, as well as following my blog.
Please pray for our safety tomorrow as we fly back to Philadelphia. God Bless!
Showing posts with label teens. Show all posts
Showing posts with label teens. Show all posts
Thursday, July 8, 2010
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Day 1 in Anchorage
What a long day! I figured I'd legit update to help me fall asleep, so here goes.
Our days here are going to be set up as workshops from 2-4 at the Mountain View Boys and Girls Club. My workshop was hip hop, and while the piece (which I used from National Dance Day's Nappytabs routine) was very basic, I realized that even so, it was still difficult to teach because many of the kids didn't feel confident in being able to get the choreography. But it was amazing to be able to use dance, something I'm passionate about, as a means of personally getting to know the kids better. And of course now I'm sore -_-. But aside from that we had our first Bible Camp, and while a very small number of kids showed up, it was both a "good" and a "bad" thing. Of course it's disheartening to not have many people sign up the first day, but it worked because we were all so exhausted, if we had more kids, we probably wouldn't have been functioning. The good thing was that the kids seemed to enjoy the skits and our songs and stuff, and pay attention to part of our message.
Since working with kids and teens, I've been noticing a lot of characteristics that these kids have that I used to have when I was their age. It was strange for me to try to remember the things I got mad about, the nothingness I filled my life with. Very eye-opening.
Prayer Requests:
- That God will give us a new passion to do his work in Anchorage, and that we can keep up our strength for the next two days
- Praise that we're mostly over our colds now (Team members)
- Pray for Perry's safety as he flies back to Jersey
- That tomorrow God will open doors for us to be able to reach those he wants us to reach and that he will open their hearts and ears so they can absorb the Gospel
That's it for now! Good Night!
Our days here are going to be set up as workshops from 2-4 at the Mountain View Boys and Girls Club. My workshop was hip hop, and while the piece (which I used from National Dance Day's Nappytabs routine) was very basic, I realized that even so, it was still difficult to teach because many of the kids didn't feel confident in being able to get the choreography. But it was amazing to be able to use dance, something I'm passionate about, as a means of personally getting to know the kids better. And of course now I'm sore -_-. But aside from that we had our first Bible Camp, and while a very small number of kids showed up, it was both a "good" and a "bad" thing. Of course it's disheartening to not have many people sign up the first day, but it worked because we were all so exhausted, if we had more kids, we probably wouldn't have been functioning. The good thing was that the kids seemed to enjoy the skits and our songs and stuff, and pay attention to part of our message.
Since working with kids and teens, I've been noticing a lot of characteristics that these kids have that I used to have when I was their age. It was strange for me to try to remember the things I got mad about, the nothingness I filled my life with. Very eye-opening.
Prayer Requests:
- That God will give us a new passion to do his work in Anchorage, and that we can keep up our strength for the next two days
- Praise that we're mostly over our colds now (Team members)
- Pray for Perry's safety as he flies back to Jersey
- That tomorrow God will open doors for us to be able to reach those he wants us to reach and that he will open their hearts and ears so they can absorb the Gospel
That's it for now! Good Night!
Monday, June 28, 2010
Flexibility
So yesterday was the first day of our camp, and I must say when they told us to be flexible, I didn't think it would be this flexible. We had planned a message, skit, craft, games, etc. and we barely did anything we planned. I guess this is God's way of showing us again that it's not about us, we just have to remain faithful and trust in him. I am really glad that we had some teens come out for our program, as well as some younger ones that wanted to tag along.
It really touched me how simple the Natives' lifestyle is, yet they are so grateful. At church when they shared prayer requests, they had more praises than requests. And when some of the kids were showing us where their houses were; to me, it looked so small and simple, but to them it was their home and they loved it. It made me see how different our culture is from theirs. We spend so much time focusing on our material things, that we take for granted our 4 bedroom houses and 2 cars and all the other things we have. It really opened my eyes to be more thankful for the blessings I have rather than grumbling all the time.
Another thing is something Mrs. Hui mentioned, is that some teams come in and they're just the sowers, some are the waterers (i know it's not a word), and some are the reapers. It was encouraging to hear, because I'm a person that likes to reap what I sow. Oh Christine of such little faith, I was too impatient to wait for God to work, but just wanted to see what would result from my efforts. It really checked my attitude for the rest of the trip to just work faithfully and let God work out his plan and just trust that what we are doing here during this time, is all working towards the bigger picture.
Prayer Requests:
- That our team will continue to work faithfully for God's glory, and that our conversations and actions are pleasing to him
- For those that are seeking something more from their life, and that the Bible Conference would be a blessing to them.
- For wisdom for learning how to deal with the situations that we're facing >> the teens are very aloof at what's going on and there are lot of barriers to break
- That God will help us prepare for the people that He's going to send for us to work with
Ciao-der!
It really touched me how simple the Natives' lifestyle is, yet they are so grateful. At church when they shared prayer requests, they had more praises than requests. And when some of the kids were showing us where their houses were; to me, it looked so small and simple, but to them it was their home and they loved it. It made me see how different our culture is from theirs. We spend so much time focusing on our material things, that we take for granted our 4 bedroom houses and 2 cars and all the other things we have. It really opened my eyes to be more thankful for the blessings I have rather than grumbling all the time.
Another thing is something Mrs. Hui mentioned, is that some teams come in and they're just the sowers, some are the waterers (i know it's not a word), and some are the reapers. It was encouraging to hear, because I'm a person that likes to reap what I sow. Oh Christine of such little faith, I was too impatient to wait for God to work, but just wanted to see what would result from my efforts. It really checked my attitude for the rest of the trip to just work faithfully and let God work out his plan and just trust that what we are doing here during this time, is all working towards the bigger picture.
Prayer Requests:
- That our team will continue to work faithfully for God's glory, and that our conversations and actions are pleasing to him
- For those that are seeking something more from their life, and that the Bible Conference would be a blessing to them.
- For wisdom for learning how to deal with the situations that we're facing >> the teens are very aloof at what's going on and there are lot of barriers to break
- That God will help us prepare for the people that He's going to send for us to work with
Ciao-der!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)