over the past three months Wednesdays have become my favourite day.
along with tuesdays and thursdays also.
tuesdays are my favourite because i get to hang out at a womens shelter and play games and make crafts with the kids. for halloween we carved pumpkins together and this past week we set up a Christmas tree in the living room. some of these kids have been at the shelter for almosst 3 months (the max time they are allowed to stay there) and I have grown to love each of them so much. their lives are so crazy and filled with instability and uncertainty but for two hours every tuesday they get to just be kids and goof around with Christian and I (another guy on staff here who goes with me).
wednesdays are my favourite because during this school I had the privilege of teaching an inductive bible study for three hours in the morning. we went through the books of Deuteronomy, Amos and Hebrews, learning the historical and literary contexts of each book and then asking the question “how is this significant to the original readers at the time?”. then we moved into discussing how to apply these books to our own lives. it was challenging at first to prepare for such lengthy teachings and knowing how to get the students engaged and excited about the bible, but I quickly grew to cherish my wednesdays and those little moments when you watch a student grasp a new concept or gain a cool revelation.
and finally thursdays are my favourite because I get to go help out in a grade one classroom at the elementary school down the street. the kids in that class are such a joy to be around, and always eager to ask for help (whether they actually need it or not…)
this past week their teacher asked me to do a little question and answer time with them before the end of class. “where are you going?” “when will you be back?” “what will you be doing?” of course i tried to explain as simply as I could that I would be working with kids in orphanages and helping teach english.( i may have left out the part about working with prostitutes, cause i didnt want to leave the teacher with that mess to clean up!)
and then one little boy named Keoni raised his hand and asked the perfect question “will you be telling the kids like about Jesus and like God and stuff?”
yes Keoni thats exactly what we will be doing.
sometimes I find myself skirting around our mission. yes we will be working in prisons and schools and bars and slums and all sorts of areas. yes we will be doing things that the world tends to applaude because it is kind or “humanitarian” but truly the heart behind any mission we go on is so that all may know the love of Jesus and the truth of the gospel.
honestly, thinking about getting on the plane tomorrow fills me with very little emotions. a small part of me feels like oh ive been there done that, know what to expect. i feel pretty drained from the busyness and stress of this quarter and every time I pray about outreach, I get about as far as “God give me your heart for this team, for the people in these nations…cause right now all I feel is numb.”
and thats about all I have had in me these past few weeks. thankfully God simply calls the willing. sometimes it takes just going and obeying for us to come to life again.
and so here we go.
Our amazing team- Miranda, Kate, Yours Truly, my awesome co-leader/roomie Dani, Lysnie and Joel