A week in the life of....

Well, I am starting to get into a sort of routine now, which is nice. I’m sure many of you would like to know what a typical day here looks like. However, there really is no such thing as a typical day here! While we have some set things that happen regularly, inevitably something unexpected comes up nearly every day, but I thank the Lord for it! But I will try to give a brief overview of what a week here looks like, and go over everything that has happened this past week. Last Saturday, the 24th, we had our very first teen outreach program. We were slightly disappointed, as we had only 4 teenagers show up, we had a good time with them and were able to have a short devotional time. Sunday, of course, was church. The Owens have a church plant that they have started here in their compound. We have the children’s service first, which includes a Bible story, some time of board game with questions over the story, snack time, an object lesson, and a big group game. Last Sunday, I was in charge of the object lesson, and was able to use Brandon’s “Bill and Bob.” If you are unfamiliar with them, you can learn more at http://brandonwaggoner.com/aboutbillbob.htm. The kids were all fascinated! After the children’s service, we have the adult service, which includes a Bible study, similar to an adult Sunday school class, singing, and then a time of preaching. The attendance at this service tends to fluctuate, although last week we had a fairly good turnout, and this week was even larger. On Monday mornings, we volunteer teaching math with the younger kids at Malama Kaningo Primary School. Then in the afternoons we have our Krio lessons. Tuesday is usually a sort of free day for us, which is nice to have a day of rest :) Usually, it is a good day to do any grocery shopping we may need, or catch up on laundry, and we normally spend a lot of the day outside visiting with the neighbors, practicing our Krio, and trying to build relationships. This Tuesday, we also had a meeting at the Embassy for American citizens. On Wednesday, we went downtown to the immigration office to try and get my visa extended. For some reason, at the airport, they only stamped me in for one month instead of four like I needed. However, once we got there they told us they can’t extend it until my current one expires. This doesn’t make much sense to us, seeing as it’s illegal to be in the country once it expires, but they said we could try coming in the day before it does. So definitely be praying that I can get that taken care of without any problems. Wednesday evening we had our children’s service, where I continued my Bible storying with the story of the Fall. While most of the kids had heard the story before, they had some very strange views on it, but I think we got most of it straightened out at least :) The post-story dialogue questions definitely help me to gauge how much they understand. On Thursday, Megan and I walked to school with our neighbor, Jacob, so that we could invite his fellow students to come to the teen program on Saturday. It was a 45 minute trek, through very dusty roads, but the trip was well worth it. We met many students who were interested in the program, and had some good conversations with them. As an added bonus, his school is located right on the beach! So Megan and I were able to spend a little time there. It was absolutely gorgeous, and almost completely empty! It was by far the most amazing beach I’ve ever seen, although I suppose Galveston (which is the only beach I’ve ever seen) isn’t really that tough to beat. On Fridays, we go to the afternoon session at the Kaningo Primary School, to work with the older kids on English, and on Saturday, we had our second meeting for the teen program. This week we had 11 teens show up, which is nearly triple what we had the first week, so that was very encouraging! We were able to have some good discussions and get to know them, as well as find out what topics they would be most interested in studying. We had our devotional time, prayer, an object lesson, and a game. Many of the teens also came back for church this morning, and have told us they are inviting their friends to come next Saturday. It is wonderful to see the way that God is already blessing this new ministry! Pray that He would continue to work and grow our different outreach programs, and that He would use us to really make a difference in the lives of these people. Also, please continue to pray for our relationships with the neighbors and other members of the community. Oh, and for those of you who are wondering, my mosquito bites are getting much better :) Thanks again for all of your prayers!