Posted By: Janessa Robertson
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UPDATE!
So last week (August 10-14) was awesome because I got to teach in Regina which meant I got to sleep in my own bed for a WEEK. It was also pretty awesome because 9 kids gave their lives to Christ in my two clubs and VBS. The VBS was actually at my home church, which was also pretty cool to get the opportunity to teach. The kids in the VBS were so attentive and interactive- I really enjoyed being able to teach it 🙂
This week I’m teaching in Calgary! I have family in Calgary so I get to stay with them. This week I’m teaching 2 clubs and a VBS.
My first club is kind of crazy… it has 30 kids aged 2-7. The majority of the kids sit and listen but there are a handful of 2-4 year olds who are little less interested. I would really appreciate prayer that they would listen (even if it doesn’t look like their listening).
On Monday, my second club had the hostesses 2 kids (who were age 12 and 13) and then one boy who was 10 who really didn’t want to be there. Today when I got to their house the hostesses decided that the club should be cancelled because of lack of interest.
In the late afternoon I have a VBS and I absolutely love it. The kids are so sweet and funny- it’s definitely an awesome club to end the day with. One kid actually cried when I didn’t finish the Little Rascal story… He was very worried about if the blood poisoning will get to Tony’s heart or not. Another awesome thing about this club is that today 2 sweet little girls gave their lives to Jesus!!!
I’m pretty tired and almost looking forward to being able to sleep (I can’t even remember the last day i slept in haha), but through my devotions this week God has really been emphasizing that He isn’t done working through me, so I need to finish strong. And really, that my work isn’t done as soon as Friday night hits. My job of reaching the lost extends into my regular life, too. Evangelizing and reaching God’s children isn’t a 9-5 job. So I’m looking forward to reaching out to the people God brings across my path as I head into my 2nd year of university.
PRAYER:
- Energy
- That my large 1st club will listen and sit nicely
- That the children who have come to Christ this summer will grow in their faith
- That God will continue to soften the hearts of the children and parents
PRAISE:
- I have had the opportunity to lead 41 children to Christ this summer
- I have had safety on all of the roads and highways (and there’s been basically no gravel roads)
“Whatever you do, work at it with all of your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving” Colossians 3:23-24
Thank you all so much for your prayers, especially to my CG who has been praying faithfully for me every day this summer!
God Bless,
Janessa
(Funny story real quick, behind the title: The 10th song on the 5 day clubs CD is called “Finishing Strong”, and I don’t know, I just can’t stand the sound of it. But it has a good message about fighting the battle to the very end and so here we are on our last week and so I thought it would be an appropriate song for the week)
I can hardly believe it, it’s the last week of teaching! This summer has gone by so fast and God has done some incredible things…entering this last week is exciting and kind of sad at the same time.
First, I’ll apologize for not blogging much last week. My laptop was having trouble connecting to the internet at my billets so it wasn’t always working properly.
Last week was awesome. I stayed with my billets from week 2 again, and that was lots of fun, to spend more time getting to know them. We went on lots of adventures and had a lot of fun. As for clubs, my first club ended with 25 kids, my second club had 26, and my VBS had 5 registered by the end of the week. Needless to say it was a pretty crazy morning with 51 kids, but it was lots of fun, and both hostesses were encouraged by the good turnout we had.
This week I have a club in Lebret and a VBS in Balcarres. It’s a bit of a slower week than what I’ve had so it’s nice to have some time in the morning to relax and have some time off. The club is at the house of some friends of ours, at 3:00. This afternoon we had 10 kids, 7 of which were my hostess’ children (and that’s a mix of biological, adopted, and foster kids. They’ve got a really neat story.) The kids listened pretty well…actually I hardly heard a word from them the entire hour. So that was nice, they were really well behaved.
I was super excited for the VBS in Balcarres, because I taught it last year, and they requested me back this year again, so I was just so happy that I get to teach it again. It was just as awesome as I had hoped it would be. I think last year we had like 15 by the end of the week and today we already had 17, and they’re expecting more later this week. And the kids kinda remembered me and I remembered most of them so it was just so much fun to reconnect with them.
I’m really happy with how this last week has started out, and even though it’s bittersweet, I’m excited to finish out this summer really well, so please pray that I would do that. That I could stay strong to finish off my last two clubs with enthusiasm and strength and I wouldn’t start relying on my own strength now, but that I would allow God to carry me to the end. Thank you so much everyone!
General
I want it now, I want two!!!!!!!
1st little story on our last week club. Accidentally Tiara and me has been pumping the kids to do their lessons… a bit too much.
Then…look at the picture here!
So here there happen to be a little girl C decided to cry sadly because she could not get the meet the king without working on lessons. No matter what we do, she was just crying and crying… Eventually Tiara did some lessons with her. That was a really cute little girl, she did get the book after she was helped with all the lessons, and the good thing is…the book talking about Jesus is worth it to cry for it!
Things we could not do this summer
& little cute surprise!!
So on our 4th week Tiara and me got into some car situation so we could not finish our clubs on pound maker and little pine reserves. But we just could never forget before Thursday we had so many kids and how much fun they had, and then all of sudden we could not even go back.
So we planned on going there on last Saturday, but on Saturday we had a bad thunderstorm… We had to accepted what happened and we tried everywhere there was even a little possibility of having them coming inside… there was not even one place that would work.
So we had to went and inform the kids we were sorry we could not have our make up club this day and handed out some snack and gospel of John to them.Just to give them a little bit of memory of 5-day club.
We went to the kids and spent a little bit of time in the car, as some kids are waiting for me and Tiara to finish our cards for those girls who asked Jesus into their hearts, so this little girl, K, has been helping us all the time, she was a bit bored and she grabbed my Bible and asked,”can I color?”
Of course! What ever we could still do for you just go right ahead! Okay I did not say this… sounds too sad, this girl was just happy that even the weather was bad we still came.
And then… I did not see my Bible till all of them left… and I opened my Bible…
what was that cute kids’ writing of ” I Love you” in red pencil crayon?
That was sure a surprise.
Even if we did not manage to have a nice party there, we were so happy in these occasions we really reached this little girl. On last Monday we went back to pound-maker and we met her first because she was just walking on the Road when we were there! And again on Saturday K spent lots of time with us, K said she is not going home, she wanted to go wherever we go even if we told her we were leaving North Battleford.
We are sad to say bye to her, but happy for what God has done for her in her heart.
Pie Highlight
POOR ME: “OK… Guys… you just Pied me before and you came line up again…”
Last Friday was just PIE PIE PIE PIE PIE PIE and PIEPIE and PIEPIEPIE and PIE and PIES… too many pies.
No whipped cream in the store…so…
Icing pies! A boy actually did some artwork on my face…
Awesome everybody did not escape from it! Since it was everybody so no kids pictures to post, aha!
Conclusion
I thank God for His own work in kids’ hearts. The kids will never had that joy, Tiara and me will never feel the joy of working with Him, if He is not among us.
It is going to be all different without our Lord and Savior. I enjoyed being the “special Chinese girl who wrote their names in Chinese” and Tiara was sure an awesome role model for them, and I know in other cases God also make club time so special for the kids and for us as well. That is His own work, we just need to be there and be used!
Posted By: Crystal Durell
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After intense examination, I can assure you that I am in fact alive and did *not* drop off the face of the earth for a month. (Vacation, terribly sorry to all of you)
First of all, some intense catch up. My Kamsack week had a total of 6 decisions! God is so great!
But now to the present (or perhaps more recent past)
Assiniboia! What a lovely place!
First club we had 13 kids! So many of them paid attention and did really well, we have some hindu and unchurched kids so please pray, but praise! We had an awesome turnout for the first day!
Second club: we had 8 girls, they also listen pretty good, but a few kids put their hands up for the invitation and didn’t come after, so just pray for their hearts to be opened. (And for the little boy who took one look at us and ran back to his mom saying “I don’t want to go anymore!!!”)
Club 3: I’m told this club will fluctuate… but today we had 4 kids. Some of whom are a tad restless, and some of whom are unchurched and very interested in the stories… but left before they could recieve any prizes or the invitation. So please pray for listening ears and for kids to come back tomorrow.
Also a bit of an extra prayer request, I’m guessing something amazing is going to happen, because some attacks are getting pretty intense. But I know God’s right here with me.
God Bless!
Posted By: Rose Williams
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I was driving down to Estevan yesterday, on Sunday, and I’ll start off by saying that the three-hour road trip was uneventful for the first two hours. I was about 15 or 20 minutes out of Weyburn, it was 7:30 PM, and I was driving along when suddenly the cruise control quit and the radio stopped playing Adventures in Odyessy. The electricals on the car began to go and it was behaving very strangely. I pulled over, texted Vangi to pray, turned the car off… And it didn’t start again. It was dead.
A police officer stopped and asked if he could call a tow truck for me to take me back to Weyburn. I instead decided to call Mr. Durston, figuring he’d know what to do. Mr. Durston called the Ryans, who lived not too far away, and Mr. Ryan came out to rescue me. The car started again with a boost, and I drove it to the Ryan’s farm, left it there and took the Ryan’s vehicle down to Estevan, getting there almost two hours later than planned! It was a bit difficult to find my billets house in the dark, as I couldn’t see any house numbers! I was very glad to get finally get there! I hoped it would be easier to find my way around Estevan in the daytime!
So… pray for my car. It’s one of the 5-Day Clubs vehicles, the DJ Honda. It’s pretty old, and it could be that the alternator went. Pray that it’s a fixable problem and that it would be reliable for me to drive around Estevan and back to Regina on Saturday. Thank you to all who prayed for me when I was stranded beside the road on Sunday, and shoutout to the Ryans for helping me and letting me use their vehicle!
So despite all that, my clubs went pretty well today. The first club had 6 kids, all young ones under 7. They were pretty good at listening and seemed to enjoy the club. The hostess said some new ones could come tomorrow, so hopefully this club will grow!
My second club was in Bienfait, a small town just out of Estevan. There were 7 kids, mostly younger ones again. One girl was walking by right before the club started, so she came. Pray that she would come again tomorrow! My CD player died twice during this club, so we sang the end of the song without music! Hopefully it continues to work for the rest of the week. It did work at the next club.
My last club was in the afternoon, and I got a bit turned around trying to find it. I missed the turn at least three times, drove in circles, prayed for guidance, freaked out people by not answering my cell phone, attempted to use the GPS in the Ryan’s vehicle, which was both confusing and helpful, but mostly helpful, because I did find my way there! If I had been in the DJ Honda I wouldn’t have had that GPS, but maybe I wouldn’t have missed the turn! The hostess tried to call me, and I ended up missing 5 calls on my phone because I was frantically trying to find the club and it didn’t register in my mind that the buzzing sound while I was driving was my cell phone ringing! Oops!
I got to the club 25 minutes late, and did a very speedy memory verse time and Little Rascal story, and finished the Bible story only 5 minutes late. There was about 10 kids, I think. Despite being rushed, it went well, and I think I can find it better tomorrow! At least that was only the first (and hopefully last!) time I have gotten lost trying to find a club!
Now that I know where all the clubs are, I think it will be a good week! Pray that the kids hearts would be open to accept the gospel. While I was giving the invitation at the last club, asking if anyone wanted to ask Jesus into their hearts, and a kid said, “I don’t want to do that.” Pray they would receive the Word with eagerness!
-Rose
So couple weeks ago I taught in Yorkton SK with Julia and we really had an awesome week! It started off pretty quite with only a few kids at each club, but everyday more and more kids started coming! Our first club only had 1 kid the first day and 0 the next so I felt pretty discouraged but by the last day we got 6 kids (one of them had the same name as me!) and 2 decisions!! Our second club was in Melville SK and started off quite big and ended off even bigger, we had about 19 kids there and 5 decisions! Our third club remained with a constant 3-4 kids but they loved every minute of the club.
My fourth week I was at home helping my sister with the wedding so I didn’t teach that week, but last week I went to springside SK, and that VBS was a huge bundle of fun and busy! It was a morning club so I would get up and go teach for 2 hours straight with the VBS group being split into two, then go back to my billets where I would not move for a solid hour afterwards 🙂 I was lucky enough to go to people’s houses for supper and get to know the community a bit. I stayed at one family’s house for the afternoon and spent the whole time cutting and peeling beans, so afterwards lets just say I couldn’t really look at beans for a while haha. On Friday they come and talk to me and give me a container with sugar cookies shaped like green beans! They tasted pretty good but the thought that went into that really made my day! I got to know many of the kids and families in that town and had a lot of fun there!
I’m exited to see what God will do with me for the last week and please pray that I will finish the last week off by continuing to teach the kids about Jesus and his amazing love for us with great enthusiasm!
I’d like to say thanks to my awesome cee-gee who has prayed for me this summer, there have been times when all I want to do is quite and not do anything, but after a while of talking to God and waiting, I feel like a new hope has been placed in me. Your prayers and support have encouraged me more then I can say.
Posted By: Rose Williams
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I just finished my week of clubs in Caronport, Briercrest, and Avonlea! Much driving, but it went well!
Club 1, Caronport: 28 kids and a whole lot of mosquitos came to this club! Just kidding, the bugs weren’t too bad. Nearly all the kids went to church and had already made decisions or were too little to be ready for that. Sometimes with so many kids, many of them younger ones (the oldest was 9) they got a bit distracted, but we made it. Thursday was a difficult day with distracted kids, and on Friday I was very tired when I woke up and I was not feeling ready to teach! But I prayed for strength and asked Vangi to pray, and the club went well! Praise God! And there was a 6-year-old girl who goes to my church who made a mailbox decision, which is pretty neat!
Club 2, Briercrest: This club had 13 kids, and thankfully it was in an air-conditioneed church basement. On Thursday after the Bible story I did a different sort of invitation and invited anyone who wanted to ask Jesus into their heart to come talk to me after prayer and one more song. I prayed, and then right before we were about to sing, a little girl (I’ll call her Clara, that’s not her real name) said, “I just heard God talk to me!”
“What did He say?” I asked.
“He told me not to do bad things any more.” Clara said. Such childlike faith in the voice of God! After the song Clara and a few other girls came up to talk to me, and as I went through the wordless book some other kids gathered around and they were all very quiet and attentive. Three girls asked Jesus into their hearts including Clara, and another one told me she had while doing her lessons the night before. Praise God! Only one of these four girls had a Bible, so I gave them Bibles. Clara is five, and she said she couldn’t read yet, but she was so excited to get a Bible. I put a bookmark in the Gospel of John and told her to ask someone to read it to her, and to read the Bible as soon as she knew how. She said she would. Clara was so excited about Jesus, but she is also so young. Pray for her and these other girls, that they would read their Bibles and remember their commitment.
Club 3, Avonlea: Our number of kids at this VBS went down a bit every day for the first four days, which I think was a bit disappointing for the people running it, and how we couldn’t really get them to bring friends, but thankfully for the last day it went up again. There were 21 in total. They were fun to teach and good at listening because there were lots of helpers to keep the kids quiet! On Monday three boys asked Jesus into their hearts! I gave them Bibles. One of these boys had just came on Monday and Tuesday, and then we didn’t see him again His friend said he was at home. He didn’t go to church either. Pray that these boys might get the oppertunity to go to church and read their bibles and learn more.
So there were eight decisions in total from these clubs! Most weeks I’ve taught there have only been a few or just one mailbox decision, so that really encouraged me to see kids taking this next step of faith. God has given me a burden for these dear, sweet children who are going to have so many tough choices as they grow up in a sinful world. I can only pray that this week of 5-day clubs would start them on a journey of following the Lord through the trials they will face.
Next week (last week!) I am down in Esteven. Pray for safety on the roads, and that the joy of the Lord would be my strength this last week! I discovered on Friday that my own strength is running right out. Pray that I would finish strong!
Rose
“But I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I recieved from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.” Acts 20:24
Posted By: Rose Williams
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The week of lots of driving has been going well so far! I apologize for the rhymey title, I couldn’t resist! Here’s the update on individual clubs:
Club 1, Caronport: This club continues to be a lot of fun with kids who I know from church and Awanas! They have been doing well with bringing friends and are up to 22 kids! No decisions yet in this club, but I believe a lot of the kids have made a decision already. They are chatty, but have been doing pretty well with paying attention. Continue to pray that they would be focused through the club. They certainly are not shy with me, these kids!
Club 2, Briercrest: So today when I was telling the story of Noah this girl (The same girl who was really sweet about wanting to pray for Zacchaeus on the first day!) got really sad when I said that everyone who wasn’t on the ark died. Her caring is so sweet! These kids are really good listeners, and though they are the smallest club with 13 kids, they have done more lessons than any other club! I had some kids put up their hands to receive Jesus at the end, but then they didn’t come talk to me. I’ll try to talk to them tomorrow. Pray that they would be responsive!
Club 3, Avonlea: Yesterday at this club three boys accepted Christ! It was so special! And they were three that paid close attention during the stories. I gave them some New Testaments, because they didn’t have bibles. Then today one of the boys came up to me at the very beginning when I was sitting there with the clipboard taking attendance, and before he had even come close he starting saying his memory verse: “Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation!” He was so excited! He is 6, and on his lesson that I got back today for when he had taken the Lord Jesus as his savior he wrote yesterday’s date! It’s so neat that he is taking his new faith seriously and remembering his commitment!
And one of the other boys who accepted Christ came up to me afterward and said he wanted to pray. I asked if he would like to pray, or if I should pray, and he asked if we could pray at the same time. So we did. I think he is trying to figure out how to talk to god. It’s cool be able to give him some guidance. Tomorrow if I get a chance I’ll show him the Lord’s prayer in his new Bible.
So things are going well! I’m praying that God will speak to the hearts of a few more kids to receive Jesus this week. They seem to really be listening carefully to the stories. The driving part is going well, and Adventures in Odyessy helps pass the time between clubs! Thanks for your prayers!
-Rose
Hey everyone! This week I’m teaching 2 clubs and VBS in Melfort. It’s kinda halfway between Tisdale and Kinistino so this is the third week I’ve been up here, so I’m getting to know the area pretty well.
My first club is from 9:00-10:00. Yesterday we had 9 kids, and today we had 15. The kids seem to be pretty into it, and I know this hostess has been hosting for quite a few years now so lots of the kids have come in previous years, so they’re excited to be back and having a good time.
At my second club there was 15 kids yesterday, and 7 new ones today, so a total of 22 registered. Yesterday it was kind of rough because the club was really hot, and it was super sunny, but today was a little better because we were able to go into the shade and so it that was nice. It was really fun today, because some of my kids from my club in Valparaiso two weeks ago came today, and so they remembered me and were excited to come back, so that was fun.
The VBS didn’t have any kids yesterday, but I was so glad when one little boy came this afternoon. It was kind of weird, because he really didn’t talk at all, so it was interesting trying to get him to engage and participate, but he did seem like he was listening and having a good time, so I’m hoping he comes back tomorrow, but I’m also hoping he brings some friends too.
So far, this week has been pretty awesome, and it’s been lots of fun. I’m excited to see what God has for the rest of this week. Thanks for praying for me!
Posted By: Rose Williams
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I didn’t quite finish write about week 4, but my clubs in Moose Jaw finished up well! Just the one mailbox decision this week, but I was able to get the girl a New Testament and give ones to the other unchurched kids in the club too.
Today and for the rest of the week I am in the towns of Caronport, Briercrest, and Avonlea, a club in those first two, and a VBS at the last one.
Club 1: Since I live in Caronport, I knew a lot of the kids at this club, which was fun! And I got to meet some new ones too. I think there were 15 there today. Most of them are younger, under 10. They did really well in paying attention during the Tony story, but some were not listening well to the Bible story. So pray that their attention would hold up and that I’d have wisdom in shortening the Tony story a bit.
Club 2: This one was in the town of Briercrest. I think there were 10-15 kids. It was held at a church, but the majority of kids did not regularly attend a church, and they didn’t know most of the questions I asked about the Bible stories. Again, most are younger kids except one 12-year-old girl. I think she felt a bit out of place. Pray that she would keep coming! And there was also one girl who showed up at the very end, just in time for the last song, and when I wrote her name down for attendance and asked if she usually went to church, she said no, and that this was her first time in a church! She is planning on coming for the whole club tomorrow. Pray that her heart would be soft towards the gospel!
There was one girl in this club who was really talkative, and when I was telling the Bible story of Zacchaeus and talking at the beginning about the bad stuff he was doing, she said, “I just wanna pray for him right now, that he wouldn’t do those bad things anymore!” And she folded her hands and closed her eyes are prayed silently for a moment. It was kind of adorable! After the club I explained to her that we didn’t need to pray for Zacchaeus because he did meet Jesus and stop doing bad things, and he wasn’t alive anymore. And I told her it was good to pray for people who do bad things. She was so sweet in wanting to pray for others!
Club 3: This club was a VBS in the town of Avonlea. I had never done a VBS before, but it went well!. 19 kids today, and hopefully more will come. They did a good job paying attention, more so during the Tony story than the Bible story. So pray that their attention would hold out and that they would bring friends!
When I got home today I was pretty tired after driving a total of 190 km. Please pray for safety and alertness on the roads. The highways are single lane and narrow, but fortunately there is not much traffic. When I finished the day I did have a headache, so pray that wouldn’t happen tomorrow.
That’s all for now! There are really sweet kids at these clubs who really need to know about God. Pray that they would do their lessons and learn the truths through them, and their hearts would be soft towards the gospel!
-Rose
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