Posted By: Liv Hettinga
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I apologize for not posting yet, I have been awfully busy lately. But I figured it was about time I had my first post, so here it goes!
My first week of clubs went very well! I was teaching with both Mikaela and Julia so it was a nice chill week. I had the amazing privilege of leading a child to Christ that week. However we did end up having to cancel one of our clubs because no kids came which was kind of a disappointment.
My second week teaching was also amazing! I was teaching with Julia again. That week I only had 2 clubs in the morning, but I’d have to say that it was the busiest week for me. Both clubs had about 20 kids, and it was also the week of my sister’s wedding which took a lot of time out of me! There was a lot to do that week, but it ended up going amazing with God’s strength and support.
I had a nice break after the busy wedding with the week off. I got to spend some time with family as well as my youth group went to Edmonton for a fun trip. I had a lot of fun in Edmonton! It was a very nice small vacation.
Now this week i’m back at it again! It was really weird for me to transition back into clubs after over a week off. Before I started today, I feel really guilty for this, but I was actually hoping that there would be no kids at the clubs so that I wouldn’t have to teach again. But I know that that was only Satan trying to put evil thoughts into my head. I also know that Satan will never leave me alone, and will never stop trying to discourage me, because he hates what I’m doing, and he does not want these children to hear the gospel. But God is so much more powerful than Satan, and in the end, God will always win. If I try to do this on my own, I will fail, but with God’s strength I can overcome the hardships. But to do that I know that I need to be spending time with God. However, I’ve also been struggling trying to find time to spend with God which I know is super important and I really really want to do. I am trying to start off and end each day with God; praying or being in His word. But also having Him with me as I go through the day. But It’s been really hard to do.
My first club today had 7 kids, but all of them but 1 had already been to the last club I taught. So we all knew each other already, and they already knew the stories. And there was this one younger boy who would just not sit down during the club and started walking all around the yard and started playing in mud, and just wouldn’t listen to me. He was a pretty big distraction for the rest of the club, but I eventually got him to sit down, and I’m really hoping that this doesn’t happen again. My second club had 5 kids and at the end of club one of the little girl’s made the decision to become a part of the family of God!! I don’t think she had ever heard about Jesus before so I had to go over a lot with her, but it was amazing! I gave her a bible to keep, and she was super excited about that! It was such an encouragement to for me to be a part of leading another child to Christ. And I feel so honored that God would choose to use me to do work for His kingdom. Now all I want is for more and more kids to come to club and to hear the gospel and to become a part of God’s family!
James 4:7
“Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”
Some pray requests:
- That I would be able to find the time needed to spend with God
- That God would soften the hearts of the children to listen to the stories that we have to share
- That God would give me strength to carry on each day and to fight the devil’s lies and temptations
Posted By: Rose Williams
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So I got back to Caronport safely after my trip to Warman for the week. Driving there and back was the longest distance I have ever driven by myself, and it went well, although I did get rather bored. But I made it!
Week 3 of clubs has been a good week that had both blessings and challenges.
Club 1: This club got up to 13 kids, and I had said if they got to 15 they could pie me, but I let them do it anyways… And it was fun! Then, surprisingly, one of the kids wanted to be pied as well! So there was lots of whipped cream and messy faces on Friday. I had a lot of fun teaching this club, and as I mentioned earlier, one girl made a decision for Christ! Pray for her, as she doesn’t go to church.
Club 2: I only ended up getting to do this club three times, as there were no kids on Monday and Thursday. The kids that came the other days were unchurched, and though they sometimes struggled with not paying attention, I hope some seeds were planted. On Friday, something cool happened, though. There were only two kids (the two who were good at paying attention!) and during the Saul story the girl asked if it was a true story. I told her yes, and then afterward I showed her where it is in the Bible. Both the kids were interested and asked if there were more stories about Paul/Saul and if Noah’s ark was in the Bible, and a few other questions. It was really great to see that they did absorb the teaching, and the club was held at their grandma’s house, so I know that if they have questions they can talk to her.
Club 3: On Thursday this club was canceled because on another event at the church, which lead to a pretty rushed episode of A Little Rascal in order to finish it, but I don’t think the kids noticed! When sorting through lessons, I noticed there were 5 mailbox decisions! There were 3 in club decisions on the first day, and at every club hands went up to receive Jesus, but I was only able to pray with three of them because it took a long time to hand out prizes with some many kids. Since all the kids were churched, I am confident that they with continue to grow and learn more. Praise the Lord that they took that step of further commitment to God!
So that was the clubs in Warman and Saskatoon! Pray for the kids that made decisions this week, and for those unchurched who got to hear the gospel.
Next week I am back in Moose Jaw! Keep praying for energy for me in teaching, safe driving, and that’s God’s Spirit would be working through me and in these kid’s hearts.
-Rose
Posted By: Rose Williams
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It’s hard to believe I only have two more days in Warman, and then week three is over! Things have been going pretty well.
Club 1: I asked for prayer that the kids would be more excited about club, and the last two days they have been! They really have been enjoying the Little Rascal stories, although the youngest club member (a girl of 5) said that she liked the stories, and when I asked which one was her favourite, she told me the Bible stories were! I like hearing that.
This club has got up to 10 kids, so yay! I told them if they got to 15 they could pie me, but I may change it to if they get a certain amount of lessons done. They have been a fun club and they deserve to pie me.
Oh, and yesterday there was a decision at this club! This girl didn’t go to church but she said last year at 5-day clubs they gave her a Bible, so that is good. Pray that this girl would stay strong in her faith.
Club 2: After having no kids the first day, there were five the second day! Praise the Lord! The club went pretty well. But yesterday there were only three, and it didn’t go so well because two boys were kind of misbehaving and wandering around during the stories and goofing off. I may need to be a bit more stern with kids like that, especially since they are older and should know better. Pray that God would give me wisdom in this matter.
And pray that there would be at least a few kids today. Some who were there yesterday said they couldn’t come today. Pray that the kids would be engaged and listen well. Also, pray that they would want to do their lessons. I haven’t gotten any lessons back yet, and these kids are all unchurched, and they probably need to hear the truths in these lessons.
Club 3: This club continues to be fun with lots of African kids though I still struggle to keep track of them all and give them the right lessons! With such a big crowd, it is a little bit hard to keep them all quiet and listening, but there are definitely some kids who really want to hear the stories, so that is encouraging.
Since Monday, I’ve had a few more kids put up their hands to receive Jesus, but on Tuesday handing out lessons took so much time that I didn’t get to talk with them. Yesterday (Wednesday) a few more kids put up their hands, and in the flurry of getting them lessons and prizes the kids didn’t come talk to me after.
However, I did notice on one lesson I got back that a boy had written for when he had taken the Lord Jesus as his Saviour, he wrote “Now.” (I don’t know if this was a kid who put up his hand, I haven’t been able to remember names very well!) So whether or not I am able to pray with these kids, God is still working in their hearts. They are basically all kids who go to that church, so I am confident that they understand what they are doing if they make a mailbox decision.
Sometimes I struggle to know if when I lead kids to Christ is I am doing it the “right” way. But God keeps reminding me that He knows their hearts, and that childlike faith is precious to Him.
For this club, continue to pray that administration details would go smoothly and that the kids would be attentive.
Summary of it all: At that last club, God used a little girl remind me why I am doing this. I was explaining that they should bring friends so that they could get a pin, and a girl piped up, “You should bring friends so they can learn about God!”
As I thought about it after, I realized that I’m teaching clubs is so kids can learn about God. It’s not always easy, and some days are fun and some days I’m just praying that God will keep me going. This may be stating the obvious, but I’m doing it so kids can learn about God. Whether or not they make a commitment, whether or not they are sincere in their commitment, God knows. I’ve got five hours in a week to teach these kids the most important things they will ever learn, the things that can completely change their life. That’s something to take seriously. It’s not about me, or whether I’m leading them to Christ the “right” way, it’s about God working in their hearts. A verse I keep thinking of is Zachariah 4:6- “Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit.” God’s Spirit working in these kids lives is what is going to bring them to know Him.
So pray that these last two clubs would go well, that God would bring kids, that kids would be attentive, and most of all that God’s Spirit would be working through me and in the hearts of the children.
-Rose
Posted By: Rose Williams
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Yesterday was my first day teaching in Warman! I was a little nervous to drive this far by myself, but it went well!
Here’s the update from yesterday’s clubs:
Club 1: There were eight kids, so that’s good! All churched kids who did pretty well at answering questions in the Bible stories. Pray that they would be enthusiastic! It was a little bit hard to keep them engaged and they weren’t that thrilled about singing. Pray that I’d be able to make friends with them and connect with these kids.
Club 2: Yesterday there were no kids at this one, so pray that some would come today! The hostess and I are hopeful. I left after about half an hour and spent some time praying for the kids who live in that neighborhood, that God would draw them to the house where the club is. So for this club, pray that God would bring kids!
Club 3: This ended up being a really good club, despite not the best start. I thought I had left enough time to drive to Saskatoon, but then there was some construction and traffic, and then I made two wrong turns… I got there about 15 minutes late. It was at a church, which was good, because it was raining, and there were about 30 some African kids! It was really cool! Kaitlyn, who is staying at the same billets as I am but teaching different clubs had come, which was good because I really needed help taking getting all their names and giving kids packages! With that many kids most were listening and I knew some weren’t but I went with it and they enjoyed the stories and songs and I still managed to finish on time! Not sure what that says about my story telling skills, though I did get the point accross and three kids accepted Christ! Praise the Lord! Those were my first in club decisions, so that was exciting!
For this club, pray that I would be able to handle the administration details! These kids almost all have African names that I can hardly say, let alone spell, let alone remember! It’s going to be interesting trying to make sure they all get the right lessons and prizes! This club is super fun though, and I think it’s a real blessing to me to have a large club with excited kids.
That’s all for now! Sometimes the summer ahead (or week) seems so long. Continue to pray that I would have joy in doing the Lord’s work!
-Rose
Praise The Lord for the Lord is good! In our weakness, we see God is in control!
First, I want do some summarize about last week in Lanigan and Engelfeld. Last week, in total, we had ten children accepted Jesus as their savior. It’s not about the numbers and it’s not about how great our stories is. It’s about Holy Spirit worked in kids heart and drew them to the kingdom of God. We believe that God is doing amazing things this summer and HE had great plan for all of us. Two verses really in my heart “I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest.” “The one who calls you is faithful and HE will do it.”
This week, I have been teaching clubs with Joy in Saskatoon. Because we live far from each other, one live in the East side and the other one live in the West side of the city. Then we decided Joy will stay with me this week, because we have a club in my driveway in the morning from 9:30 to 10:30.
So this morning, I planned to pick Joy up from her house. I left my home around 8:40 am. It’s a little bit late. When I walked to my car, a bee just bugged me. Then I have to wait there and opened all the doors to let the bee out of the car. Then I got in the car and then set up my GPS. I felt it should be good. But actually it’s a busy hour. The traffic was not very smooth. Then I started feeling nervous. When I almost got to Joy’s house, for some reasons, GPS didn’t work out any more. I got lost. Then I parked in the gas station and sent messages to Joy, my roommate and grandma Vangi to ask for prayers. I confess that I have weakness in planning my time on time and I have tendency to delay doing things. Please pray for me that Jesus will help me to overcome this specific weakness and we are able to be in all the clubs on time.
Then when I picked Joy up, during the road we prayed to God to calm our nerves. It’s the first day but we couldn’t make it on time. I felt bad but we didn’t fall into the guilty scheme tricked by Satan. When we got back home, my roommate told me that a girl came and her mom left her phone number to her. So I phoned her and she brought her daughter to our club.
Even though we only had one girl in this club, I felt very thankful that God drew this girl come and showed HIS mercy to us. We were home safely and no accident had happened.
But please pray that tomorrow at least, we will have five kids come to our first club.
Between our first club and our second club, Joy and I had time to share with each other and got to know each other better. As more as we shared, we found that how great God put us as partner this week , because we have lots of similar struggles and now we can face those struggles together and pray for each other. It is not because how perfect we are. It’s God’s mercy and grace that we can walk along with Jesus together.
Then we realized that unity between partners are so important. So both of us really want to encourage all of workers who have a partner that pray for each other and ask God bring unity between you and your partner. We found out that how power it is to work as a team for God.
So before our second club started, we pray for 10 kids show up. Then in the beginning of club, we have 9 kids. In our heart, we still pray that God one more, please one more. Then a mom with her son came. Even though they left very early, because her son is too young. But still counts. ^ ^ And one girl accepted Jesus as her savior. She is 13 years old. When I asked her have you ever made that decision before, she told no and she went to a Catholic church before. Praise The Lord for her salvation!
So because of the second club is very encouraging, before our third club, we pray that God please bring at least 10 kids to the club. Then in the beginning we only have 8, then the kids kept coming. In the end, we have 13 kids show up. Some of the children just came from China for a short visit with their parents. They will go back to China very soon. Please that God will draw those children to HIM. Maybe this is the last chance they can hear about the gospel. And pray for the parents too. God will soften their heart. Especially pray for a boy, when we did invitation part. He actually raise his hand up. So after club, during snack time, When I approached to him and asked him about his decision. He told me he want to do it but he hasn’t quite ready yet. Please for his salvation and nothing would hinder him to accept Jesus as his savior.
Today, We see that how detail God answered prayers. If we ask, God will do HIS work in HIS owing timing. We just need to be patient and lean to trust HIM more.
God is good! Pray for all of us will have a good sleep and rest tonight. ^ ^
Posted By: Mikaela Sawatsky
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Hey everyone!
It’s time for my first blog which I’ve been putting off for forever because blogging isn’t exactly my thing but here it goes.
I’m going to take a quick look back at the first club I ever had which was during training week. On the Wednesday of that week I taught the Bible story and had the opportunity to lead one little girl to the Lord. And honestly for me that was one of the most exciting moments of my life knowing that I had just shown this girl the way to salvation and I knew from there on that I was going to love the summer.
This week was our first official week of teaching clubs and it has been so fun. We only ended up having two clubs because for our last club no kids ever showed up which was kind of discouraging because we advertised to a lot of houses where children lived but none of them ever came. But that same day in our first club 2 kids, a little boy and a girl asked Jesus into their hearts. It was so incredible to see the joy on their faces and in their hearts.
This first week has been incredible and I’m so excited for all the rest to come! Here are a couple prayer requests I would have.
– That I would not neglect my own relationship with God even in the business and craziness of teaching.
– To always be praying for the kids in the clubs as well as the clubs themselves.
– That God would use my weaknesses and turn them into strengths for his glory.
And I think that wraps it all up! I can’t believe that one week is already over! Until next time!
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