Though JJ and I have been here multiple times, there is always something new to experience. As we traveled to Home of Blessing in the morning, amidst the dense and crazy traffic here was...an ELEPHANT! With a local riding it. Definitely a WOW! sight.
On this first of three days of teaching university age students, one of our team members challenged the young people to learn from and pray through the first 2 of 5 questions. These 1st two questions were:
Where Are You? (Hiding from GOD? On a Journey With God? Bringing others to God?)
and
Who Told you That? (What is the source of the things we believe about God and ourselves?). These questions come from another study published for groups, but those teaching on our team have taken the 5 questions and prayerfully developed the teaching from Scripture to provide a foundation that students could use to answer these for themselves. After the teaching time (and tea break that can't be missed!😊), the group of young people (about 50 in number) split into 4 small groups to spend some time in led silent prayer, journaling through a few more related questions, and had some discussion to aid them in dealing with their hearts and minds before God and honestly answering the main questions for themselves. This small group time resulted in some connections our team members made with students, and some students voiced the challenges they face living their faith in a country where there is only a reported .04% of 167 million people with this same faith in this country. With the language barrier (so thankful for good translators!) and cultural differences between us, it can be hard to really be "heart to heart" with the young folks, yet Gods spirit was moving and doing His work despite the seeming imperfections of the situation.
Later in the afternoon, we returned to spend time with the younger kids. 280 of them. I can't imagine that ANYone could NOT be cheered by their wide, eager eyes and bright, contagious smiles!
We have a a team member gifted in creatively sharing God's good news with youth. Or whole team participated in a mimed version of the Christmas story and the hope of our Saviour coming. Didn't exactly come across as smoothly as we'd hoped, but no worries. The girls already had their own version prepared and blew ours out of the water. 😄 Still, they loved it all. Then one of our team members gifted in dramatic communication began to tell of the hope of God's son coming to rescue us.
The next hour and a half was spent by the 11 of us helping the 280 girls create a fun decorated poster celebrating the hope of God's son.
Once we'd returned for dinner, everyone was ex exhausted to the bone, fighting to keep awake just through the meal. Thus ended our Tuesday in BD.
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