Tuesday's Kids' Clubs didn't happen as I had the room but no children. A slight mix up meant that they hadn't been told. But no matter, it was so baking hot that no one was in the mood for being stuck inside a classroom and even football was cancelled!
Today, however, I managed to get the kids in the classroom and we are off! I had Grades 4-5 today followed by Grades 6-7. Communication was ok as they've been studying English for a while. In each session I talk mostly to them in English which helps their comprehension, and we started today with a little English language game as an ice-breaker. The first group went very well and, although the kids were a little quiet, they we obviously enjoying all the activities. The second group came a little bit late and I ended up with 14 children, just not the 14 children I was supposed to have! In a school with 300 orphans, even the ones who came are 'needy'. So I'll work with these children instead...
The main aims of these clubs are to get to know these children and to help them in whatever way I can. I've explained to them that I'm always available to chat and pray with them about whatever they need. I'm often in the playground with the Lionsraw boys so the kids have 4 of us to chat to at the moment. During the sessions we'll have lots of fun and do some games, craft activities, a bit of singing and a bit of teaching about God, plus opportunity for them to engage with their heavenly Father for themselves. In a Catholic school, all the children know who God is and I'm offering them a different way of communicating with Him in addition to the devotion they do through Mass etc. The children are super keen to do whatever and were excited to learn that God loves them and thinks they are great, which was today's message.
Using a method nicked from some Americans (which I'd already adapted to teach kids in the UK and now re-adapted into Zulu), we're making treasure boxes. The treasure box is a little box which the kids decorate with stickers and then each week I give them a little keep-sake and a verse of a Bible truth for them to put into their box to eventually take home. Each week they learn something new about how God sees them and it helps them establish their identity in Him. At the end of term, they'll get to take their treasure box full of goodies home with them and each time they feel down, they can get them out and look at the verses and remember the truths that are about them. It's a lot of fun and it's brilliant for remembering who they are in Christ!
Although I didn't get so far with the second group, we are on our way to fun and learning and I'm really excited about what God is going to do through these sessions. For those of you who pray, please pray for each of the 40 children who come and spend time with me, that this year would be an amazing transformational year for them as they encounter God and go deeper in relationship with him. They are hungry for more of God and that's always a good place to start...
