Posted By: Kaitlyn Schmidt
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Wow the last week is here! This summer has gone by so fast.
This week I am in Moose Jaw. I have two clubs and one VBS. The first club has only one kid and my second club has two kids so please pray for more kids to come. I have done a little advertising and the hostesses have done some phoning but so far nothing has come from it.
The VBS so far has a total of 21 kids and I know that more new kids will be coming tomorrow! This VBS is awesome and so are the kids. Please pray for more kids and that they will learn something during the VBS.
Posted By: Rose Williams
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I can’t believe this week is almost over! It felt so short to do only four days! Here’s a quick update:
Club 1: This club has been good. Only five kids today, up to nine in total, though. The kids are excited to try and earn the hackey sack. The weather forecast says it might rain again tomorrow. Luckily we were inside today, but pray that no kids would be held back from coming due to the bad weather.
Club 2: The faithful three children at this club earned the Meet the King book today by doing all seven lessons! They are excited to bring back the questionnaire for it tomorrow. These kids don’t go to church, but when I looked at the lessons, I noticed that one girl wrote “Today!” for when she had taken the Lord Jesus as her Savior. Praise the Lord! And another girl wrote at 5-Day Clubs. Whether that was this year or the year before when she went to clubs, I don’t know, but that’s still exciting! One of these girls said she didn’t have a Bible, so I’m going to try to get her one. Pray for the other child at this club, who did all the lessons but has not accepted Christ. Pray that God would speak to him through the Meet The King book and on our last day of clubs!
Club 3: At the beginning of this club the kids were having trouble paying attention during the memory verse portion, and we were missing two of the kids who were very attentive before. I was wondering how the stories were going to go if they were restless already! So I raised a quick prayer for them to pay attention, then I had the idea during the stories to ask as many questions as I possibly could. These kids are all younger, and this style of storytelling worked to keep them engaged! They really enjoyed it I think.
God continues to show me the beauty of childlike faith through this club. It rained this afternoon, but it stopped a bit before the club. When I got there one of the hostesses’ kids informed me, “My sister prayed that the rain would stop before five-day club, and it did! God answered!” That was really cool to see. Yesterday when I was teaching this club I was talking about Jesus when a 5-year-old piped up, “I believe in Jesus!” The innocence and sincerity of their faith is really neat to see, and it’s a good lesson for us how we need to receive the kingdom of God like a child.
Tomorrow is the last day! Pray that God would speak through me as I give these kids one more chance to accept Christ.
-Rose
Posted By: Rose Williams
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Week 4 has begun and I am back in Moose Jaw! It’s weird and nice to get an extra day off and start on Tuesday! I definitely thought it was Monday more than once today!
Club 1: This club had 3 at the beginning, but then three more came partway through, yay! The kids are optimistic about bringing friends and doing lessons, so that’s great to hear. They weren’t too enthusiastic about singing, but I’m hoping that the level of energy and excitement will go up. Pray that more kids would come and that they would be excited, but still be ale to sit and listen well!
Club 2: Only 3 kids today, although the hostess is expecting a few new ones tomorrow. All three of these kids were unchurched, and didn’t know much about God or the Bible, but they listened very intently and seemed interested. They were also excited to do their lessons, and since we are starting on Tuesday I gave them the first two lessons to do. I think they really need to hear the truths in these lessons. Pray that God would speak to their hearts through the stories and the lessons this week.
I also said if this club got to ten kids, they could soak me with the hose. Then they asked if they could throw water balloons at me, and I said they could if they brought the water balloons. The two girls looked at each other and said at the same time, “Dollar Store!” All three kids were scheming about what friends they could bring and planning to wear swimsuits on Friday. I think I’m going to get soaked!
Club 3: I wasn’t so sure how big this club would be, but it ended up being the biggest of the three and having 10 kids! These children are young, the oldest ones are only 8 or 9, but they did a pretty good job of sitting still and being attentive. It was getting dark and stormy looking, so halfway through A Little Rascal we moved indoors. Two minutes later it started to rain! Despite the brief intermission to change club locations, the rest of the club went well and I think they really liked the Bible stories and will have fun learning the lessons. Once again I gave out two lessons because we are starting late. Continue to pray that these younger children would be attentive and good listeners.
So praise the Lord that there were kids at all my clubs, with the potential of bringing more and also that kids are excited to do their lessons. You don’t see that at every club. I think these clubs are going to be so good that I am almost wishing that I did have all five days to teach them! Pray that God would bring other kids who need to hear the gospel, that kids would pay attention and listen well, and most of all that the Holy Spirit would work in their hearts! And pray that any stormy weather would not get in the way of children hearing the gospel message.
As I continue to teach, God has really been giving me joy in this work. I know it must come from Him, because I wasn’t always feeling it at the beginning of the summer! It has been such a blessing to have the joy of the Lord as my strength! I think God is showing me a little bit how much He cares about kids and what it means to be an adult and yet have childlike faith. One question I always ask when I teach the Zaccheus story is, “How did Jesus know Zaccheus’ name?” Churched or unchurched kids, the answer is always the same: “Because He’s Jesus! He knows everything!” Some of these kids I don’t think have heard much about God before, yet they always have heard the name of Jesus and understand the concept of an all-powerful God who knows everyone’s name.
These kids are so precious at this age, with such innocent beliefs and hearts so open to accept the message. God has given me a burden to pray that they would stay close to their Heavenly Father as they grow older and face so many worldly temptations. I ask that everyone who is praying for 5-Day Clubs would storm the gates of heaven not only for us, the workers, but for these dear children, that they would come to know Christ and then stand firm in their belief as trials and temptations will surely come.
-Rose
Posted By: Rose Williams
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My first full week of teaching has come to an end, and it has been good, though I will be grateful for a few days off!
Here’s a report on how each club finished off:
Club 1: This club got up to 26 kids, which was exciting! Mostly churched kids, though some unchurched, really good listeners that were just a blast to teach. This club was my biggest all week, and it really encouraged me to see how much they enjoyed it, and I enjoyed it too. There were no in club decisions, and from looking at lessons most kids had already made that decision earlier though there was for sure one mailbox club decision! She had written, “Today” as for when she had taken Jesus as her saviour! That got me excited, because this girl and her sister, though they didn’t go to church, their mom brought them to the club and stayed the whole time and seemed to enjoy it as well and helped her girls with their memory verses and lessons.
Club 2: This club most consistently had 3, though one day it did have 6, and that day was hard for me because the new kids weren’t really paying attention. The three regulars were churched kids, but they enjoyed the stories and learning more about the Bible. It was great to focus on encouraging some young believers in their faith.
Club 3: The last two days of this club were better than on Wednesday. Three kids at this club, and two girls did seem to enjoy asking many questions about the pictures…. Such as, “Why is there a space portal above Tony’s head?” Me: “He’s reading a book about astronomy. Use your imagination!” Children have a way of taking things very literally… It kept things interesting. And then when I told the story about the Ethiopian they wanted to call him Bob. I humored them and called him Bob a few times.
Club 4: Question: how many kids singing does it take to drown out the stereo? Answer: Only two 10-year-olds, when they loved the songs as much as these two did! This club only got to four kids, but two girls were super excited about it and LOVED singing. We sang all five songs every day and sometimes a few of them twice! I could hardly hear the stereo sometimes! The girls had already made a decision for Jesus before, and their excitement about clubs was really neat to see. They also loved looking at things in my Bible, which was fun.
Every though I only had one mailbox decision, it was by no means a fruitless week. I saw many churched kids who were really excited about their faith and wanted to learn more and wanted to share God with others. It was cool to be able to devote time to answering their questions and strengthening their faith. Pray for these young believers, that as they grow older and face many distractions in life that God would keep them safe in the palm of His hand with their eyes fixed on Him.
Encouragement from this week: I had some kids really excited about doing lessons and learning verses! I had five kids complete the Meet the King book! That was encouraging to see. One girl came for the first time on Thursday, and I accidentally gave her lessons 3-7 instead of the starter package, and she did them all! Another cool moment was a girl who didn’t have a lot of confidence in her memorizing abilities managed to get all six verses! She said that last year at a five day club she was only able to get two. We worked together on it and made up actions for the verses, and then I did them while she said it. She was really excited to find that she could remember things that way.
Next week: This next week I am heading up to Warman and Saskatoon. Pray that driving goes well. I only have three clubs, which I think will seem a lot less mentally draining than four. Also I anticipate not having to spend nearly so much time studying the stories in order to tell them now that I have taught them all before. I think I got asked twice by a kid when telling stories, “How do you remember all this?” If I get asked that again I should say, “God helps me remember so I can tell you!”
My biggest prayer for this coming week is that God would give me joy to teach! A few days this week it has seemed like teaching by myself is an endurance test, and I am “running with perseverance the race marked out for me.” Indeed, I want to run with perseverance, but I want to have the joy of serving for His kingdom while I do it. Sometimes hot days and rowdy children dimish that joy, and then the words of the songs I am teaching speak to me: “When Satan tries to get you down, turn your eyes to Jesus!” Pray that God will give me strength to declare the good news with joy.
-Rose
Posted By: Rose Williams
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Thought I would post a quick update on how my clubs in Moose Jaw and Caron are going this week. It’s hard to believe only two days are left!
Club 1: This club is going really well. There were 18 kids today! Total attendance was up to 21, so the kids were excited to earn the frisbee! Even though there was a lot of kids, they did super well with being engaged and listening. The older children I talked about earlier are enjoying the club too, I think. The only downside to such a big club is that I start getting confused when taking attendance and giving out prizes!
Club 2: Attendance went from 3 to 6 today, which was good, except that some of the new kids were younger and really had trouble concentrating, which makes it difficult for the rest to stay focused. I said that if they got to 10 kids they could pie me, so we’ll see how that goes. Pray that they would focus so I can get the point across in the other children.
Club 2: This is probably my hardest club… There has only been two or three kids, and they are not really taking me seriously and it is hard to tell the story and get the point across. I’m not entirely sure what to do to help them be enthused about singing and learning stories, except pray!
Club 4: There are two really enthusiastic girls in this club who absolutely love singing songs and doing lessons and memorizing verses, which is encouraging. This club had four today, though sometimes they get distracted during the stories. Pray that they would be able to focus!
I haven’t had any decisions in my clubs yet, though they have mostly all been churched kids. My last three clubs it’s been hard to give an invitation when they kids haven’t been taking me seriously and have been goofing off. Pray that I would not loose heart! Aside from the first club, the other three were difficult to teach today.
Pray that I would have energy! Yesterday and today I had a headache by the fourth club. The heat we’ve had around here doesn’t help along with probably not drinking enough. It’s been tiring to teach four clubs, as last week was my first week and we only had three.
I have quickly been learning the “5-Day Club Teacher’s Prayer.” It goes something like this: “God, please bring kids to the clubs. Help them to focus and give me wisdom as I teach. May your Holy Spirit work in their hearts during club. Please give me energy to show Your love to these kids! Thy will be done.”
-Rose
Posted By: Rose Williams
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I made it through the first day of teaching clubs by myself! Here’s how it went:
Club 1: This club in Caron was great. There were 14 kids! I knew a couple of them from Caronport, so that was fun. It was so exciting to see a large club. Quite a few were younger children, but there were some 7-9 year olds who were really engaged and enjoyed answering questions. A few 11 year old girls were kind of thinking they were too old for it, and weren’t sure if they wanted to be on the sign up sheet as official members, but I did convince them and said they could help me. So I had them hold up my words for the songs, and I think they did like the stories.
Club 2: Three kids at this one. It was an interesting contrast to the last one because two of the three members were 11 year old girls and they were great and really enjoying the club. Since the kids were older, I got some really interesting questions during this club, and I was able to explain things in detail and follow rabbit trails with their questions because the club was small. One of the girls and her brother told me that they were Catholic. They also weren’t sure if they could get friends to come because their friends were Catholic. Pray that I would be careful in what I teach and would be able to handle with grace anything controversial.
Club 3: Also three kids at this one. One has been to clubs many times before, so pray that I’d be able to make it interesting, and that they would be excited about coming to a club. It was a bit harder to convince them to sing the songs and get excited about saying the verses. I hope this club will grow. I think the kids would be more engaged in a larger group.
Club 4: Once again, three kids! There were twin girls who were ten years old, and though they went to church, they didn’t know a whole lot about the Bible. It was cool to be able to explain some things to them. During the Zacchaeus story one of them asked me, “How do you know what they were saying?” I showed her in my Bible the story in the book of Luke and they thought that was really cool. These girls were also super excited about bringing friends and earning prizes, so I hope they do that!
Pray that my voice would hold up for these clubs. I’ve never lost my voice before, but today was my first time teaching four in a day my myself, and all that talking about storytelling has left me a little raspy. Praise God that all the clubs did indeed have kids, and pray that they would bring friends! I think sometimes the smaller clubs are a blessing because then I get to really know the kids and especially when they have lots of interesting questions. The Lord’s will be done in how many kids He brings to the clubs!
Pray that I would be diligent in studying my lessons every evening this week. Since I got a bit of a late start on teaching five day clubs, I don’t know the materials too well yet, so I need to spend my evenings learning them.
-Rose
Posted By: Rose Williams
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Hello! This week, starting on Tuesday, was my first time ever attending and teaching 5 day clubs, and it was really fun! It’s been an exciting learning curve because I wasn’t at training, so there’s a lot to catch up on, but I think I am getting the hang of it and today I taught the Bible story portion of the club. It’s been a whole lot of fun to teach with Danae and Jenny this week, and they have been great for bringing me up to speed.
We’ve had three clubs this week, two in the morning and one in the afternoon. One of them ended today because it was only a four day club, so tomorrow we’ll just have two. There had eight decisions for Christ so far this week, praise the Lord!
Next week I will be teaching all by myself in Caron and Moose Jaw. I’m a little nervous, but I think it’ll be okay as long as I can figure out how to hold up the visuals for the songs and do the actions at the same time! Prayers would be appreciated for energy as the lst few days I have been getting sleepy for the afternoon clubs, and next week’s clubs will be a lot more tiring since I am teaching whole club by myself and not just a story or two.
Thank you for your prayers!
-Rose
Posted By: Jenny Albrecht
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Hello again,
Well this week was fantastic, we had 8 decisions this week which was awesome. Apparently I have to watch my use of big words like “awe struck” next week, but other than that the stories were wonderful. It’s so cool to be able to teach these kids Bible stories (and extra stories) that can get them interested in Jesus. My partners, Danae and Rose, have both done excellent jobs at teaching stories and verses and the like so I have to admit next week teaching on my own is a scary prospect. I am so glad that God put these two partners in my life this week. They have been awesome.
Not only were my partners amazing, each club had some amazing kids. The kids this week were the kindest, well behaved (mostly) children I’ve met. I love all of them dearly and almost hate to go tomorrow.
Sincerely, cordially, affectionately,
Jenny
Posted By: Danae Durston
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Good evening ladies and gentleman,
As we are wrapping up on the first week of the summer I am reminded again that my strength comes from Christ alone.
This week was really fun! We started the week with four clubs and are wrapping up with three due to a cancelled club for lack kids. Tomorrow we only have two clubs because one of ours was a four day club. We had 16 kids in one, 11 in the other, and 4 in the last. So overall they went great! It’s been super fun having two partners, Rose and Jenny, and we’ve been having a blast. I ended up getting pied in the face at the four day club today so that was fun! My vision was only slightly modified for a few minutes. 
This is going to be a very challenging week ahead of me as I am teaching in Lipton, Dysart, and Echo Lake Bible Camp. But I am very excited!! Just a little nervous about driving standard on gravel, but hey! “Slow and steady wins the race.” That shall be my motto this next week. Prayers would be appreciated for me as I am alone and driving around and teaching at the camp which will be around 30 kids I’m told. Also, prayers for energy would be awesome! I am going to be teaching in the morning at the towns and then I am at the camp playing games with the kids in the afternoon and then teaching in the evening. But I also feel like this is going to an amazing week and I can’t wait!
Thank you so much for taking your time and reading my blog and also for your prayers! I truly believe us, as workers, couldn’t do it without them!
Signing off,
Danae
I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me
-Philippians 4:13
Posted By: Danae Durston
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Hello Everyone 🙂
Today marks the first official day of the summer! (at least in my way of thinking.) With this new summer I have decided to make a new summer resolution. I, Danae, shall blog. and yes, I know it must hard to believe BUT I will hit double digits for the amount of times I blog! So, here we go! This shall be fun!
Today I left on my very first week of training away from home. I am in Moose Jaw this week with Jenny and Rose, who will be arriving on Tuesday. I was super nervous leading up to this week because I sorta can tend to get homesick sometimes so I am really hoping that won’t happen! But if it does, I’m only 45 minutes away.
Also, I get to represent the 5-Day Club volkswagon beetle. Which, may I add, is standard… So… I learnt that on the fly and I would say I’m doing pretty good so far (Like a Boss)! I only stalled once in the trip here so I was happy with that, and I even had to get going after stopping at a slight incline! (The tires may have squealed.)
Well I believe that is all I have to update you all on. I have four clubs this week but I’m looking forward to them and having two partners to do them with!! (I love partners!)
Signing off,
Danae
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