Back in autumn, my coworker and I started a Bible Study with the church pastor. We decided to focus on the topic of "leadership" as we understood the value of learning leadership skills from the Bible for us to reflect in our work with Elim. So I have been working my way through Nehemiah, 1 & 2 Samuel, and 1 & 2 Kings. Recently, it has been the frequent changing of the kings that keeps me alert while reading; however, I was relieved to reach the stories of Elijah. There was one passage this week that caught my attention - 1 Kings 19:11-13.
The Lord said," Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by." Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. After the fire came a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave... (NIV)Maybe it was the poetic format of these verses that initially caught my attention, or that I have also used "God's whisper" to describe my own calling to come to Czech, yet as I read these verses, it was as if the Holy Spirit was reminding me that I do "Whisper Work." Even as a missionary, I don't see hundreds of people surrendering their life to Christ or taking a leap of faith out on the water as Peter demonstrated, but I get to be a part of building relationships of long-term trust that may not immediately jump into the sea, but it does build bridges. Elijah reminded us that these gentle whispers can simultaneously demonstrate God's power and His love.
Piles of Smiles!
The spring weather has been changing faster than a teenager changes moods! In one moment it will be beautiful outside, and in the next moment I am regretting my decision to ride my bike into town. Even with the unpredictable weather, the kids are still consistently coming to club times. The time quickly passes as the kids are engaged in many activities - coloring, kid's "parkour", dodgeball, hide-n-seek, foosball, car racing video games, and just being with friends.
My Kid's English Class did an Earth Day special lesson this past week. They learned the different terms needed for recycling items (which are also words that they would use to describe items - paper, plastic, glass, etc.). They went on a Scavenger Hunt in the backyard to find items hidden under orange cones and then label the items in the correct category based on the vocabulary. These Superstar students whiz through many of these activities and are exceptionally group orientated! Team games will get this group moving, and I see so many of them encouraging one another throughout the class time. As a teacher, I am most impressed that they can work so well as a class even with a large age range (7-13yrs) and still are very skilled at learning and practicing English! It's a teacher's dream class for sure.
Class Picture
Sorting Items in the Correct Recycling Container
He asked if he could do the Scavenger Hunt challenge while holding a flag he found in the classroom!
When I first started studying Elementary Education at my university, I also decided to study Preprimary Education. My thought was to learn how children first learn a language to better teach them a second language. After a few years into the program, I wondered why I hadn't decided to simply add ESL instead of Preprimary, but my love for the littlest learners was growing! I was thrilled when I was asked by some friends, who coordinate a child playgroup, if I could teach basic English to toddlers. The program is called Little Linguists - each week, I teach the children and their parents/grandparents a song, have a short art project, and have some sort of exploration time. A little girl, almost two years old, has started using "hello" when she sees me because she understands this is a greeting she should use with me. It is this basic step of becoming acquainted with the language at this early age that will give these toddlers the confidence when studying English in the future.
Bubble Exploration After Learning a Song About Fish
The Kid's Bible Class is preparing for a weekend away at a Bible Competition for all the Brethren Church youth groups. Throughout the year, we have been studying the gospel of Mark and building their team skills through various games. At the competition, they will be in teams and asked questions about Mark's gospel, general Bible information, recitation of memory verses, as well as compete in life skill challenges that include using a map and compass and tying knots in a rope! I am excited to be joining them next weekend as we go to the competition as I have gotten to see this group progress in working as a team and understanding how the scripture relates to them.
I created a game for Bible Class where the kids had to wrap "Jesus" with cloth strips, carry him to the "grave", and then the teams (the disciples) had to hide somewhere in the church. After the teams were hidden, the "Jesus" students broke from the tombs (made of sofa cushions) and raced to find all the hidden disciples!
As summer is quickly approaching, organization and planning for LetFest continues! LetFest is our multigenerational summer outreach. It includes many different activities, classes, and programs for the weeklong event. I have always been on the American side for preparation as a team of Americans from Minnesota come each summer to teach English and be a part of the ministry here. Yet, it is great to be a part of the planning on the other end this year! I can see the hearts of these leaders to share God's love with the people who come the LetFest, and I am excited to see all that God will do at this event!
LetFest Leaders Meeting
Youth Group is always one of my favorite parts of the week, and I love spending Friday nights with so many friends and seeing God work through these students as many of them eagerly participate in the Bible program time. We have been alternating youth group in Boskovice and Letovice every other week as we continue to see the kids from Boskovice club excited to come to late-night youth groups. Since there is much interest from the older club kids, the youth pastor has started calling the youth group Plan B+. Our regular club times each week are called Plan B, so we are now calling youth group Plan B+ as it is for the older kids and includes a Bible program time, dinner, and games until midnight. We just started a new topic of study at youth group this week called JAM (Jesus and Me). Since the majority of the kids who come to youth group are from non-Christian families, we want them to begin thinking about who Jesus is, and more importantly, who He is to them personally. The leadership team is excited about this new topic, and we are praying that God will use our stories and the teachings of Jesus from the gospel to reach the hearts of these students.
Youth Group Friends
There is always so much happening here, and I am so grateful for all your prayers and encouragement! I would like to ask if you would also pray for my visa renewal. I have applied to stay as a missionary in Czech for another two years, and the visa is in process as we are gathering the final papers the office needs before a decision is made. Thank you!
Watch a short video with clips from club times in Letovice, Boskovice, and Kid's English Class!