Saturday was Activity Day, an event BCI hosts monthly that is evangelistic in nature full of bible stories, crafts, games and concludes in serving lunch. This month's theme was Sanitation. I got to teach Samson and Delilah to ages 3-5 and I took on sanitation courses for the older kids we split into ages 6-11 and 12+.
In this class we talked about several points. We talked about the importance of clean water, how we know it's good for drinking and ways we can help make it so. We went over littering, how it makes our village look bad and how choosing not to litter (holding onto trash until it can be properly disposed of) can be a way of worship to the God who created the land. We went over proper hand washing, how hand sanitizer is helpful but the best for us is soap and water, and we talked about times for washing our hands and how this can prevent the spread of disease. I got to teach HIV/AIDS prevention with the 12+ class, ways we can prevent the epidemic through using the wisdom God gives us, using caution around blood and bodily fluids, knowing what God says about sex - our purity, etc. We even went over times when it's not our fault, instances such as the evil of rape. I really wanted to touch the shame piece that rape victims may feel and get them to Jesus.
With each class, my prayer was that nothing would sit heavy as learning and talking about some of these topics can open a door for the enemy to taunt with hopelessness, but as we bound demons, the Holy Spirit did His work because at the end of each class, none of the kids responded when we asked how their hearts were doing after class, if anything was heavy. They could respond in answering questions so they heard, but their hearts were fully protected by God. There were exactly 58 kids in this class because I prepared 60 bookmarks/pen friends to remind us who we are in Christ, just something simple: a white plastic bead tied at the top with purple pipe cleaner that extended to the length of a nice bookmark or because the pipe cleaner is flexible, they could wrap it around their pens as a daily reminder that we belong to Him.
Later that evening, I got to escape or get away for a bit. A couple of girls here for two weeks from TN invited me to go to Pyramid Hotel and Resort - one of them wanted to Facetime her husband as he works during the week - and I got to Skype with my family for the first time since being back in DZ. My nephew could see me once I turned the camera part on: "Aunt Jamie!" It was so good to watch the sunset with the birds flying near the water, catch some photos, Skype them, hear good news from my sister and eat pizza with new friends.
On Sunday, we finished up our Daniel in the Lion's Den lesson by making lions out of foam pieces and yarn. Right before we started Sunday School, one of the little girls peeled off a sequin from her shirt and gave it to me as a gift. I extended my hand once more only wanting to take her hand and she started to peel off another. I held on to that sequin, a prized gift from a child who doesn't own very much. (You'd be surprised and/or humbled at the gifts you may receive here). I placed it in my glasses case for safe keeping. I thought of her giving Jesus her best (I am clearly not Jesus, only His rep) and my thoughts also went to how she wanted to give me more things as I extended my hand when all I wanted was her, and how often the human race gets that screwed up with the Father. God does not want our money or our stuff when it's not about the money or stuff at all. He only wants us.
When we started Sunday School, some of the kids got pretty creative making their lions. We had problems with the glue in the heat of the small room, but they had fun as we found different ways to make it.
Later that night we spent time and had dinner at the foster home. We started a game of UNO with Haben, our 10 year old girl, the youngest at the home now. Mekdes, one of the older girls who lives there, cooked all afternoon for us as she's learning to make different things. We played spoon and fork as laughter consumed us. Then we played it in Amharic, which was even more comic relief...a gift as much of our work can be overwhelming if we allow it.
Thanks for your prayers and your sacrificial giving of your finances.
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