One day while we were out playing with some of the kids in the neighborhood, one of the older boys asked if I would tell him Bible stories! "Of course," I said So, each afternoon at 5:30, we have a time of games, songs, Bible stories and sometimes crafts and snacks. The local Nigerian children come from all over. We had eight the first time, now we have 40+ kids. Their excitement is contagious and usually pulls me out of the fatigue I feel from teaching all day. This is also a wonderful opportunity for Mattie and Naomi to practice teaching some basic Bible stories.
Yesterday, Mattie, Naomi, and I walked to the market. Lauren stayed home and worked on a big history project with a friend. We tried a "shorter route" which ended up taking about 2 hours! We had such fun leisurely walking through the market. We were looking for crayons for the kids to use in the afternoons, but didn't find any. (An excuse to go shopping again!) When we got home, I thought the girls would be wiped out, but they weren't! As I was washing dishes, I looked out the window and saw them outside with their friends (all Nigerian) playing and singing. Mattie took one group and was having them all read parts of the Bible and pray together-with a few side lessons on sharing and not hitting each other) Naomi was teaching another group the Lord's Prayer with an Indian dance to go along with it (she learned in school)
We are seeing our girls become very comfortable around their Nigerian friends, comfortable sharing scripture and defending their faith, and finally settling in a bit.
Please be in prayer for this next month as we will be going through a few more changes. We will celebrate Thanksgiving and Christmas. We will be moving to a new part of town, a new house, a new compound (positives and negatives in this move). We will lose our househelp. We have exams in three weeks. Julie's started driving. Julie's mom is coming out Dec 13-30!!! Yippee Yi Yah! Our yearly conference is coming up soon. Mattie's 12th birthday is just around the corner. Lots of changes, celebrations, hellos and goodbyes.
Heading out to pick up Jon from a men's retreat. He's been gone all weekend and we're driving out to Miango (hour drive) for church service, a meal and to bring him back! The "girls weekend alone" has been fun, but we're ready to have him back!
2 comments:
Julie, Jon and all: We continue to pray for you daily and are so happy to read each report. Thank you for serving the Lord in Nigeria. May God continue to bless you and use you. We will be praying about all the changes coming up. Love you lots.
Dan and Donna
Wow, so much going on. I'm overwhelmed for you. I'm praying for you all.
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