Photo taken by Gil, Agape Children’s Village, Morogoro, Tanzania
Category: Other Page 152 of 181
The air is still. And quiet. And heavy. Sweat drips down my back.
We can hear the rain before we can see it, sweeping out from the ocean. A growing rumbling in the distance.
The rain hits the house like it wants to knock it over. Like an overturned bucket. The kids and I stop what we are doing and watch. All the windows are open, and the most beautiful breeze flits through the house. And ah, the smell.
And we wonder, and hope. Is this really it? Has the rainy season started?
But alas. After a half hour downpour, the clouds part and the sun comes out. And it really, really comes out. As if it was insulted that the clouds dared to cover it up. The wonderful breeze is replaced by still air that is stickier than ever. It feels like being soaking wet on a hot day, and then someone drops a heavy, wet, wool blanket over you. Blech.
We know the rainy season will start any day now. And the tell tale sign that it really, really has come is when it doesn’t get hot and humid after every rainstorm. It’s like waiting for spring after winter, you know? Come on…come on….you know you want to get here!
But what am I anticipating even more these days? Hooray! In just a few days, Grace and I will board a plane for California! It’s finally coming! This is the deal: HOPAC has been giving its teachers money every year to use for plane tickets. We were planning on using this money for our Home Assignment, which, as you know, has been postponed. Well, the money had to be used this school year or we would lose it. So…since Gil got to go to the States in November for his brother’s wedding, now its Grace’s and my turn!
We will be there two weeks. That’s about just as long as I can bear to be separated as a family, especially from my little guy who isn’t going to understand why his Mommy disappeared on him. Thankfully, he loves his Daddy very much, who will take great care of him.
It will be wonderful, but also frustrating, since I know there are a million people I want to see…which won’t happen. We will be at Hillside on Easter Sunday and at FCC on April 18th, but the rest of the time is pretty much reserved for family.
Grace and I have been talking about it for a while now, and this is usually how the conversations go:
Mommy: Grace, we’re leaving for America in just a few days!
Grace: Yes, and I’m going to see Mickey!
Mommy: That’s right, but you are also going to see Bibi and Babu and Grandma and Grandpa!
Grace: Yes, and they will give me presents!
Mommy: Well, yes, maybe, but mostly it will be wonderful to see them.
Grace: And I will see Mickey!
Oh dear. What kind of perception does our daughter have about America?
And I am so excited. Ah, to bask in the warmth of the home where I grew up, to take Grace to my favorite places, to feel the joy of seeing her spend time with all the people who love her and miss her so much. And of course, there’s Wal-Mart and Costco and Stonefire…. Sigh.
Just a few more days!
(What I’m Teaching, Part 2)
It’s tradition:
Every third term in sixth grade Bible, we take one day a week (for about 10 weeks) to talk about “Preparing for Adolescence.” Gil takes the boys and I take the girls. Ah yes. Remember those days?
It’s great. I love it. I’ve done it now with four groups of sixth grade girls, I think. It’s like one giant slumber party….giggling girls who all want to talk at once and ask the questions they can’t work up the courage to ask their moms.
Now that I’ve seen some generations of girls not just prepare for adolescence but go through it as well, I think my tone has become more urgent over the years. Yikes. I look at these precious little girls in the eyes…little girls who still love life and love their parents and their biggest worry is their math grade. And I know what’s coming.
Please. WAIT to date. Talk to your mom. Listen to your dad. Listen to your doctor when he tells you you are not fat. Give your heart to Jesus, not to boys. Surrender to the cross, not to a razor blade to make yourself feel better. Oh, and did I mention, WAIT to date???
This is the book we’ve always used.
Honestly, I’m not a big fan of it. I wish it did more to point kids to Christ during these difficult years. For example, (okay, getting on soap box here) the first chapter is on self-esteem. The book gives some good suggestions like:
1. Find some really good friends.
2. Find something you enjoy and get really good at it.
3. Remember you are not alone.
and so forth. Good, practical, common sense advice. But you know what’s missing?
1. We are supposed to feel bad about ourselves. We are sinners. We do rotten things. That’s what leads us to the cross.
and
2. The number one cure for a low self-esteem? STOP THINKING ABOUT YOURSELF!!!! Think about God and think about other people and suddenly your life will not look so bad. Now, of course, I’m not talking about more complicated cases like instances of child abuse. I recognize that it’s not always that simple. I’m talking about your ordinary, run-of-the-mill, “My-life-is-over-because-my-nose-is-too-big” type of low self-esteem. (And, as we all know, this doesn’t go away after the teen years are over. 32-year-olds have to remind themselves of these things as well.)
But I don’t stick too much to the book. And finally the class set is getting worn out, so after this year I am replacing them. I think I know what I want to use, but am always looking for new recommendations on books like this!
So if you think of it, pray for these girls. Pray that what they are learning will sink into their hearts so that they don’t have to learn it the hard way.
New Series I’m starting called “What I’m Teaching.” I know it won’t interest all my readers, especially the ones who just want Grace and Josiah! But hopefully will be interesting to some.
I’ve taught “Firm Foundations: Creation to Christ” to sixth graders at HOPAC for 3 years. I also taught the same curriculum to 5th graders during our first term.
(Last year’s sixth graders )
I first heard this curriculum taught by my mom when I was helping at a Saturday Kids’ Club when I was in high school. I was dumbfounded. I was a teenager, had been to Sunday School and Christian School my whole life, and I was learning things right along with the kids! The best thing about this curriculum is that it seeks to give continuity to all of Scripture. It’s not just a series of stories; it shows how the Bible is a story: one story that is totally connected. Did you know that God put in a promise for the Messiah when he cursed Satan in Genesis 3? Do you know how the 10 Commandments and the Tabernacle relate to Jesus and our lives? Have you heard about all the echoes of Jesus throughout the Old Testament? Hopefully you have. But children are often taught the Bible (especially the OT) as a series of disconnected stories that have a moral meaning.
This curriculum is published by New Tribes Mission, an organization that serves tribal people in very isolated settings. They found that they couldn’t just go in and “share the gospel” with people who had no concept of who God is and who had never heard of a Bible. They realized that they had to start at the beginning.
What’s interesting is that most of the people in the world today fit into the same category–no longer do people, even from “Christian” nations, have any pre-conception about what the Bible teaches. Thus, I believe that teaching this series is one of the best ways to share the gospel with anyone–from any country, from any background. Most of our co-workers here in Tanzania are using the adult version of this curriculum with the people they are trying to reach.
One final note:
I found this fantastic Bible storybook that has the same concept: showing how all the stories in the Bible are really just foreshadows of Jesus. It is very well-written, entertaining, creative, and has beautiful illustrations. We’ve been reading through it with Grace, and it’s a little over her head, but she still loves it. Highly recommended!
Posts about Grace: 38
Posts about Josiah: 8
Ah, the second child syndrome. But I want you to get to know my quirky, funny, affectionate little guy.
He really has quite the throwing arm.
