Well, my goal for this summer was to blog everyday that I teach so, oops! Haha.
I picked bread crumbs as a part of the title for my blog because as I was reflecting, and journalling last night, I sincerely asked myself the question, “Will my meager crumbs ever be good enough to present to a King?” In all actuality, everything that I do is so futile if not rooted, and sourced from Christ Himself. I am starting to realize, even already, that God loves people who only have bread crumbs. It’s His grace that is made sufficient in my weakness, and that will transform the hearts and minds of those that I minister to. Even if all I have is bread crumbs to lay before His feet, He can do more amazing things with them than what my best could ever offer.
I know that today is only the second day of teaching, but I have been in so many situations that demonstrate to me: 1) Satan is not a fan of this ministry, and 2) God is tremendous! I cannot believe the many ways that He has totally exceeded my expectations, and shown up on my behalf.
Club 1: We had no kids 🙁 We are hoping to try at a park nearby tomorrow, in hopes of finding the kids.
Club 2: I have had the awesome privilege of teaching this club for the past couple of summers, and it was exciting to see that one of the children had brought a friend! This club is so much fun to teach, and I am always pleasantly surprised by what God teaches me about Himself whenever I am here. Our total is 6 kids.
Club 3: We had a mailbox club decision!! 🙂 I was so excited when I read it through the lessons, and it was so encouraging to see all of the kids return, and bring new friends with them. If I were to be perfectly honest, I was tempted to teach a 10 minute club today, because the kids got to have chariot races after Gwyneth and I left. Our total is 9 kids.
Club 4: I teach this one by myself, and if I were to be perfectly honest, driving to this club my heart was not in the right place. In general I was experiencing frustration, and to add to my irritations not only was there a train (at 2:30, in Edmonton), but said train stopped in the middle of the tracks for some time, and slowly backed away, resulting in myself being late. However, during this time, I had a few moments to pause and spend time with my Heavenly Father – it was really powerful, and helped me in putting my focus on Him, not myself. Also, as a side bonus, the AC that was very much broken, started working during this time!
I show up at this club, and I had no kids yesterday. 🙁 My hostess suggested that I check the local park, and I honestly did not have high hopes that I would find any children. As I’m walking to the park, I begin to pray, “God, if you want children to be at this club, may there be kids in this park, and may You give me the words to say.” Lo and behold, there is a woman and a girl (who appeared too young to be club aged), sitting in the park. I started to walk past them, thinking to myself that maybe God was wrong, and I could leave, but a feeling crept into my heart, and I couldn’t shake it. I did not want to have any responsibility in this family not knowing the gospel, due to my uncomfortability. To make a long story short, I speak to the mother, and minutes later two of her children come to club! And they are hoping to bring more friends tomorrow. The total for this club is 2 kids.
And since Gwyneth started the ChangChang Adventures, here is mine for the day: I was supposed to pick up Gwyneth from her club (which according to my gps was 13 minutes away), and let’s just say I drove quite the scenic route through Southern Edmonton. But praise the Lord that an hour later, I picked her up, haha!
Prayer Requests:
– For my voice – it isn’t fully back, and the summer will be long without it.
– For wisdom in regards to follow up
– For our Club 1, which had no kids
– This might be a random one, but for our Muslim brothers and sisters, that as they desire to draw closer to God, that they would encounter Jesus.
To Him be the power, and the glory forever!
Grace Sichangwa
Hi! My name is Grace, and this is my 6th summer teaching 5 day clubs. I feel so humbled, and honored to be involved with this ministry again this year. I'm excited to see how God not only transforms the lives of those that I meet, but the work that He will do within myself. Prayer Requests: 1. For my heart - that it would be so focused on Jesus. 2. For discipline - that I would take the time for daily prayer, and devotion. 3. For His voice - that His voice would be clear to me, as I minister.