Quin Sawatsky
My name is Quin Sawatsky. I am a 20 year old student at the University of Saskatchewan studying to get into Education. I am looking forward to seeing how God uses me as I teach 5-Day Clubs for my second time this year.
My prayer requests:
1. That God would use me to change children's lives with the Gospel.
2. That I would be seeking to live a Spirit-Filled life focused on God as I teach.
3. That God would use me to disciple workers who I am partnered with.
Time for this week’s wrap-up post!
Club 1
I’ve really enjoyed teaching this club in Myrnam… the kids have all been super into the stories and songs. I had the privilege to lead two of them in asking Jesus into their hearts! However, many of these children are not from Christian homes, so please pray that God will continue to bring people into their lives to water and grow the seeds which He has planted.
Club 2
This one has been a rollercoaster the whole way through… although we had no kids attending the first two days, two kids came on Wednesday, which was encouraging in itself. And then, on Thursday, after we had started the club, a couple kids came in and joined us… and then a couple more… and more and more until we had 14 kids in the room. I don’t really have any explanation for this sudden explosion of kids other than that God was at work, so praise Him for bringing the kids to hear about the good news of how He came to save them. The last day, we were down to 6 kids, but one of them wanted to ask Jesus into his heart, which might have been more difficult to do one-on-one if it had been as noisy and chaotic as it had been the previous day… so again, I’m trusting the whole thing was God-orchestrated. Again, please pray that God will use the messages of the songs and stories to impact and change these kids’ lives, and draw them into a personal relationship with Him. As Philippians 1:6b says, “…he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” So I am trusting that God is going to be faithful to continue drawing the children from all of the clubs closer to Himself.
Club 3
Teaching this reserve has been quite an experience… On the last two days there was about one kid who actually wanted to listen and here the story and generally participate, while the other three children just ran around the gym, tried to steal prizes, and generally raised havok. I’m not totally sure what all of them got out of the club, but I just tried to teach the children who were actually willing to listen. So I’m praying that God will take what they did hear and use it to impact them… for example, when I was explaining what missionaries were, one of the kids responded, “missionaries hate Indians!” I could totally understand where that comment was coming from with the completely tragic history of how the church mistreated the First Nations people. My response to this boy was “Because I’m coming here to tell you about Jesus, I’m kind of a missionary, and I don’t hate you. I actually like you guys!” So I pray that God will use little things like that will open these children’s eyes to how much He loves them and desires for them to know Him.
Once again, I would really appreciate prayer for focus and energy in this last week of clubs. Pray that my heart would be softened more and more so I can love these children like Jesus loves them.
Thank you for reading. Thank you for praying.
-Quin
Since I apparently forgot to give a wrap-up post for last week, here’s the quick version: One of the clubs had to be cancelled, unfortunately, due to weather and hostess’s business with renovations, but the other clubs went pretty well, and we had another boy ask Jesus into his heart–Praise the Lord! There was a lot going on with weather and other things getting in the way of the clubs, but it was a good week overall.
Now, on to this week’s clubs:
Club 1
This club has had a pretty good turnout… there were 11 kids the first day, and 10 today (one of whom was new). Club 1 is a lot of fun to teach because the kids really get into the stories and songs, and I get to do snacks and games and just build relationships with the kids, which is always a good thing. Also, although the club is in a church, there are a lot of kids from unchurched homes attending… Please pray that God will speak through me at this club to speak the words they need to hear, and that He will soften their hearts and draw them closer to Himself.
Club 2
To be honest, this club has been a bit discouraging… I met a local Christian, who told me where all the children lived, and we even went to some of the acreages outside of the town to advertise, but there were no kids either yesterday or today. There’s some kids getting back from vacation and there’s a possibility they will come tomorrow, so please be praying about that. I don’t want to diminish the fact that this can all be a part of God’s plan… I had some decent spiritual conversations with some of the locals… but I would really like to be able to reach the kids here! Please be praying that God would soften the hearts of the parents so that they would allow their kids to come, and that God would give the kids a desire to come and check the club out.
Club 3
There were no kids at club 3 yesterday either… today I went advertising around the neighborhood, and half an hour after the club was supposed to start today, I had pretty much given up hope that kids were going to show up. However, it turned out there was a group of them who had been waiting for me to open the gym doors, where I had been expecting them to come in through the front door. In any case, it was a case of God showing me not to give up hope too easily! So we had a super-short club with the 4 boys who showed up. They were very high-energy and very low-attention-span, so we pretty much just got through a song, a Bible verse, and the Bible story. However, they seemed to enjoy playing games afterwards, and said that they would invite a friend. Please pray for me, for wisdom as to how to best teach this club, and that God would use what little I am able to say to them to really impact their lives. Please pray that these kids would enjoy the club and bring their friends so they can hear the life-changing news of Jesus Christ, too.
That’s all from me today! On an overall note, I would appreciate prayer for energy to keep on teaching these clubs, and for continued focus on living completely sold-out and surrendered to God and His will for me as I do these last couple weeks of clubs.
Thank you for reading. Thank you for praying.
-Quin
“Welcome to Calgary”, the kids tell me, as a bright sunny day has transformed into a torrential downpour of rain and hail in a matter of an hour. It was sunny when I was teaching the club, so I am now trapped in the entryway of the house without a rain jacket, about 30 meters away from my car. Rather than abandoning “the poor guy” to fend for himself in getting to his car for his next club, the kids kindly lend me a makeshift umbrella: the giant bucket they had been using as a boat in a massive puddle outside the house. By the time I make it to my next club an hour later, it is bright and sunny once more. Welcome to Calgary.
Club 1
We’ve had about 8 different kids at this club, largely from churched homes. There are lots of kids in the neighborhood, who the hostess’s kids have invited, but I believe they are also mostly Muslim families, and so we have not had a lot of them come. Please pray that God would soften the parents’ hearts to allow their children to come. And pray that God would just use the presence of this club as a light to the neighborhood, even if they don’t send their children.
Club 2
The first day of this club, we just had the hostess’s kid to start, but then he invited 4 other kids from around the neighborhood, who just kind of wandered in and out of the club as they felt like it. But at the end of the club, I had the opportunity to lead one of these kids to Christ! On the second day only the hostess’s kid and one boy from the first day returned… I guess there was some sort of event going on in the neighborhood. However, I was just hanging out with the kids after the club ended, and then many of the neighborhood kids came out and were playing sports with us. I invited everyone to join us today, so please pray that God will bring the kids who He wants there. And pray that He will give me opportunities to share His love and the Good News of the Gospel with these kids even if that’s only through hanging around after the club.
Club 3
Club 3 has been a smaller one… both days’ attendance have been the hostess’s two daughters, and different one of their friends each day. All of these girls come from church backgrounds, so just pray that God will use me to encourage and challenge them to continue to grow in their relationship with Him.
Club 4
We have yet to actually meet for this club, as both evenings have been quite rainy and the hostess is renovating her house and doesn’t have any space indoors to have the club. In a normal 5-Day club setting, we probably would have cancelled the club by now, but this might be the only chance some of the children in this neighborhood get to have the gospel clearly proclaimed and be invited to accept Jesus into their heart. So please pray that the weather will cooperate and that we’ll be able to have a club, even if it’s only for a couple of days.
Thank you for reading. Thank you for praying. God bless.
-Quin
Hey people, just a quick update on how the rest of how Will and I made out on our week in Blaine Lake area. It’s been a pleasure teaching with Will, being able to build off of one another’s storytelling ideas and just generally encourage one another.
Club 1
We had the same kids consistently throughout the whole week. A few of them were older and were eager to help with the club, so we allowed them to help with actions and prizes and things, more and more throughout the week. On the second-last day of the club, two of the kids put on nametags and pretended to be Will and me, which we played along with until we needed to teach… and then the last day, nearly everyone was “Will 1, Will 2, Will 3, Quin 1,” etc. So despite their attempts to steal our identities (they were later saying that they were going to teach the next club), the club was a lot of fun and I can really see some becoming CYIA workers in the future.
Club 2
This one was a smaller club (we had 8 total kids who came) but I think they really enjoyed the club. And my prayer is that, as in all clubs, we were able to encourage these kids in their walks with God for those who already knew Him, and plant seeds in those who don’t know Him yet.
Club 3
Club 3 was lots of fun. All the Mennonite kids tended to show up like a half-hour early to the club, which meant we got to just play and hang out with them! Of course, this meant we had to find a way to keep them from running around the entire church, and from screaming at the top of their lungs, so we did some impromptu game-organization. We had promised the kids that if they reached 23 kids we would let them “pie” Will, and if they reached 25, they could pie both of us. They only got to 20, but because they were genuinely inviting friends and we had the pie supplies anyways, Will volunteered to receive a pie from each child present (14 of them) and took them in the face like a true champion. So while this was the rowdiest bunch we taught, they really engaged with the songs and stories and I pray that the messages will stick with them.
Club 4
We never did go back to the reserve, but I’m hoping that doesn’t mean there won’t be clubs there again in the future. I still don’t know what God’s plan in all of this is, but I’m trying to just trust Him with it from here out.
A few things I would appreciate prayer for: I think it’s supposed to be rainy these next few days, so pray that wouldn’t deter kids from coming. Pray for energy for me as I teach my 4 clubs this week, and for wisdom and joy throughout.
OK! That’s another wrap-up post. Thank you for listening and for praying.
-Quin
Hey everyone! Here’s an update on my clubs with Will Persson here in Blaine Lake area have been going!
Club 1
This club has been lots of fun to teach. We have about 11 kids attending, about 4 of whom are older than the 13-years we advertise for the club, but who are helpful to keep the other kids engaged and helping them with the crafts following the teaching portion of the club.
Club 2
The first day of this club was cold and rainy, and no kids came, which I think was pretty disappointing for the hostess. But she contacted a number of families in the area, and today we had 4 kids show up! So that was really encouraging for the hostess as well as Will and I. None of these children came from churched homes, so pray that we will proclaim the gospel clearly and boldly to these kids!
Club 3
Club 3 has been really good too. We have about 16 kids coming so far, most of whom are from a Mennonite colony. The kids are really engaged and have fun with the songs and stories, so it’s been really fun to teach. Kids can be very high-energy… today some of them showed up with their mouths stained blue from eating candy just before, so that probably didn’t help a lot either! But it’s been a good club altogether.
Club 4
This club is held in a church in a reserve. Yesterday, we didn’t have any kids coming, so today, we went advertising around the reserve. A few kids were just walking around and started walking with us. For some reason it never crossed our mind to tell these kids to ask their parents for permission to walk around with us; they were just walking around on their own to begin with. Yeah. Bad idea. So when the kids went back to their Mom, she was very upset with us for not talking to her first… which is totally reasonable. So the way things currently stand, it’s not looking like we’ll be able to teach the club in this reserve anymore. We could really use prayer for this club… for wisdom for to know how to interact with the people on this reserve, and prayer for this whole mess in general. My billet shared a verse that has been encouraging in all of this:
Genesis 50:20
“You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, for the saving of many lives.”
So yeah, please pray against discouragement and frustration, and pray that God will give us peace knowing that He is in control and has a plan in all of this. Thank you for your prayers!
-Quin
Hello and welcome to another update with Quin Sawatsky.
It’s been a lot of great getting to know some of the people of Peace River/Nampa, and getting to partner in what God is doing here. These last few days have been a lot of fun getting to build relationships with the kids in addition to teaching them.
Teaching the story about Tony has been particularly fun… At one point one of the Clubs started chanting to try and get me to continue after I had ended on a cliffhanger. I also had a kid comment, “A lot of people die in this story!” Yep. 3 deaths in 5 days of clubs. Tony Rossi lived a tragic life, kid.
So yeah, not a lot to report about specific clubs other than that we had 46 kids total, 9 of whom were from unchurched homes, and I’m praying that God uses the messages of the stories and songs to impact these children to choose to have their lives turned around by Jesus.
On that note: Prayer Requests!
- The 2 girls who made decisions this week. Both of them come from unchurched homes. There is a Christian Mom who sees one of these girls fairly often, so pray that she will be able to continue to teach this girl about Jesus and His love for her. And for the other girl, that God will bring people into her life who will be able to continue to encourage her and teach her about Him.
- Focus. It can be tempting for me to get into the groove of teaching these clubs and forget why I’m really doing it. Please pray that God would keep me focused on reaching these children and giving them the opportunity to ask Him into their hearts. And as I am teaching them how they can grow to be more like him, that I will not neglect my own growth but will continue to prioritize spending time with Him in His word and in prayer.
- Safety. I am planning to drive about 10 hours from Peace River to Saskatoon tomorrow. So if you could pray that I (and Will Persson when I pick him up along the way) will arrive safely so we can teach in Blaine Lake next week, that would be great.
Thank you for your prayers! And thank you for tuning in to today’s update! I’ve been Quin Sawatsky, and this has been the end-of-the-week update. Thank you and goodnight.
My first couple of days here in Peace River/Nampa area have been really sweet. The first day, in all 3 clubs, pretty much all of the 35 kids who came told me that, yes, they did come go to Sunday School and Church. So the first day was a lot of fun to teach, as all these Christian kids really seemed to engage well with the entire club, and were pretty well behaved to boot. Teaching Christian kids is a lot of fun, and it’s a great opportunity to encourage them to grow in their faith. But because 5-Day Clubs can be a chance to reach kids who will never come to a church, I wasn’t satisfied with just that… and maybe that is small-minded or selfish of me. But I prayed for God to also bring me the kids who didn’t know him.
Matthew 7:7 says:
“Ask and it will be given to you, seek and you will find, knock and the door will be opened to you.”
I asked. And God answered.
Today, when I was talking with the mother of one of the children in the first club, she was talking about how she was from “a different religion”, and I never quite caught what exactly it was she believed… but I thought it was interesting that she was bringing her daughter to this club even though she believed in this “different religion”. So even though I wasn’t aware of it, I had the chance to be a witness to this girl whom I had assumed was Christian. God showed me that He had already been answering this prayer, even before I asked it.
My last club today, God brought me 5 new kids from unchurched homes, and as I was explaining our first song, one of the kids asked me to explain why Jesus was able to take away our sins. So I took a little sidetrack and got to explain how, because Jesus was perfect, He was able to take the punishment all the rest of us deserved. One little girl came up to me and told me that she had asked Jesus into her heart that morning, and later in the club I got to lead another little girl in praying to ask Jesus into her heart. So needless to say I have been blown away at how God has so powerfully and quickly answered this prayer.
Prayer Requests
- Wisdom. It always excites me when kids ask genuine questions about things that they don’t understand about Jesus or the Bible. Please pray that God would give me His words to speak clearly and that he would open the children’s minds to understand.
- Energy. I have 3 clubs this week, all within half an hour of each other, and the last of which is a 3-hour-long VBS. I am only responsible for teaching the usual 1 hour session, and the rest I am just partnering with the church in Nampa as they lead the children in games, crafts, and snacks. So it’s all a lot of fun, but it is also tiring.
- Purpose. When I’m teaching a club to a room full of kids from Christian homes, sometimes it can be tempting not to give the invitation to accept Christ, because it seems like most if not all of them have made that decision. Please pray that I would not forget how important it is to give these children that invitation, knowing that there might be even one child who is still in need of Jesus.
Thank you all for reading and praying for me. I just wanted to say thank you specifically to my CeeGee’s (Christian Grandparents) who are praying for me, Adriaan and Elfrieda van der Bijl. I know that as you support me in asking God to give me the joy, peace, and strength I need to be used by Him, and that He would use me to be a light to these children, He will answer your prayers. So thank you!
God Bless,
Quin
Time for another quick update!
It’s been rainy these past couple of days in Wetaskiwin, so there have been fewer kids at showing up at the last few clubs. While it would have been great to have more kids, the Clubs have been a lot of fun to teach… having kids super excited to sing songs, and even cheering when we get to telling the story.
What I really wanted to share about was Club 3. I had come away from the club yesterday being pretty discouraged, because almost all of the kids were doing their very best to disrupt the club, and it was worst when I was trying to do the really important stuff, like getting to the gospel message of the story, or explaining the Bible verse. Many of these kids come from non-Christian homes, who don’t often get to hear about the Bible and Jesus. So my billets and I prayed a lot about this club.
Today, when I went to the club, there were just 4 kids, and 1 of them ended up leaving. However, we ended up having a good club with just those kids. And after hearing the story about Saul and how God spoke to him, one of the kids asked why God doesn’t speak to us today. So we got to have a really great conversation about how God does speak to us through the Bible, through those little voices we hear telling us to do the right thing, and so on. So thank you for your prayers: kids asking genuine questions about God is a huge praise item.
Additionally, I’m going to be driving most of tomorrow to do get to my next club location and do advertising. I would appreciate prayer for both of those, for safety on the road and for boldness and joy as I go door to door in Peace River and tell them about the clubs.
Thank you for your prayers!
Quin
Hey everyone! Here’s an update on how my Clubs here in Wetaskiwin are going.
Club 1
There’s been about 5 kids coming consistently to this club, and then the other 7 or so have just come once so far. Yesterday one 3-year-old raised his hand when I gave the invitation to accept Christ, but when I talked to him at the end of the club, he decided he didn’t want to pray to ask Jesus into his heart. I was tempted to feel discouraged, but his mother was there and explained that while her kids had never prayed a prayer to accept Jesus, she wanted them to really understand what they were doing, which I agreed was important. Then, at the end of today’s club, this boy and his sister told me that they had asked Jesus into their hearts with their mom that morning before Clubs!!
Club 2
Club 2 has been growing steadily, and we are now up to 11 kids, which is encouraging! The majority of the kids come from Christian homes. So we’ll see what God has planned, but if this club’s purpose to encourage them to keep growing, that would be completely worth it.
Club 3
I was at this same location in Wetaskiwin last year too, so all of the kids who came on the first day remembered me, which was fun! (And a little awkward when I didn’t remember their names, but they didn’t seem too offended). Club 3 can be a challenge at times, because half of the 15 kids we have do their best to disrupt the class, and settling everyone down when it’s just me is tricky.
To give you an idea of the kind of hijinks this club is full of… I was teaching today’s memory verse: Romans 6:23. As I was trying to explain what “wages” meant, (as in, the waves of sin) one of the kids shouts: “Wedgies!” This, of course, led to all the kids laughing and repeating this hilarious word for the next minute.
While I can make it sound like this club is only trouble, it actually has been fun too: they are all excited for the stories and settle down when we get to that part. And I don’t want to minimize God’s ability to impact a kid who seems like he isn’t at all interested in listening. Still, I would appreciate prayer for this club, that God would give me patience with the kids, and that He would use what does get through to these kids to draw them closer to him.
OK, that’s all for today!
-Quin
Hello everyone! It’s great to be back for another summer of 5-Day Clubs, and I’m excited to see how God this summer, especially through these clubs.
This first week of doing clubs in Regina has been pretty sweet. I had the opportunity to be teamed up with a couple of first-year club teachers, Will and Jon, who did a great job teaching! The first day of our training week club, we had only one kid, which made for an interesting club with us teachers way outnumbering our club attendees.
However, the second day, this kid brought four of his friends. It initially looked like we were going to be back to just one kid on the third day, because these four told us they weren’t going to be coming back. But God brought them back the next day, and they consistently came showed up again the remaining days of the club.
On the last day of our clubs, one of these kids who had said they weren’t going to come back raised his hand when we gave the invitation to accept Christ, and we got to lead him in accepting Christ! So of course that was the highlight of the week as well as the cause of celebration on our trip back from the club. And that’s the overview of last week!
I could really use some prayer for my next week of clubs up in Wetaskiwin. I am teaching on my own and am still trying out how to figure out little details like how I want to be making the stories engaging for the kids and how I’m going to teach actions and hold up the words for the kids to see while we’re singing… so please pray for wisdom!Pray that I will be running on God’s energy/strength instead of just my own. And pray that He will speak through me to change kid’s lives with the incredible news of Jesus’s love and the salvation He offers them.
And for those who are praying for me: thank you so much! There’s no way that I can do this on my own, but with you supporting me through prayer, and with God on our side, it’s going to be an amazing next six weeks.
God Bless!
-Quin
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