Well, I guess that’s it for this week. Sarah and I had so much fun together and with our three clubs.
Our first club was definitely my favourite. The kids were so into it, and even the hostess’s in-laws who were visiting decided to stay a little longer so they could hear the end of A Little Rascal.
Quite a few of the new kids from yesterday came back today for our second club. We did a draw for the hackey sack and the kids were really excited. They also were asking really good questions during the memory verse and bible story. It was great to see them so engaged.
Our last club was pretty much the same as all week. The two boys came, and we decided to skip the songs/contest and just go over the verses and stories. They enjoyed that so much more, and I even talked to the 15 year old boy about teaching a little bit. So who knows, maybe there’ll be another teacher next year!! 😛
Next week I’m dropping Sarah and Anja off at Good Spirit Bible Camp, and then making my way up to Kinistino/Birch Hills. I would appreciate prayers for safe travels as that totals to just over 5 hours of driving on Sunday afternoon.
Thanks again to everyone who prayed for us this week!
Hey everyone!
Thank you so much for praying!
Our first club had 1 new little boy who showed up this morning. He was pretty shy so it was hard to tell if he was really enjoying himself, but he listened well and saw that the other kids were participating with enthusiasm. I’m praying that he’ll come back tomorrow and open up a bit more. He doesn’t come from a Christian home, so pray that our message will take root in his heart.
Our second club had 4 new kids. Four!! That brought our total to 10 registered, and some of them seemed pretty excited about the hackey sack. We told them that if they could get to 15, they could soak us (I’m not all about the pies, but I can easily do cold water). Some of them also seemed pretty excited by that idea so hopefully there’ll be some more kids showing up tomorrow too.
The third club had the same two host boys as always. We were about to start today when the older one said, “Maybe, we could do just the stories?” Sarah and I laughed and said “You sure you don’t want to sing Do You Believe?” And they both said “No!” I had just been about to suggest we cut out some of the songs, so we decided to skip everything except the memory verses and the stories. So our club was short, but I don’t blame the boys for not wanting to sing some of those songs. They were asking questions about Tony and when he lived though, so I think they really do enjoy the stories.
Please continue to pray for more children, especially at the last club, and thanks again to whoever prayed for more kids today! God definitely answered our prayers with our 5 new kids today.
Posted By: Sarah Vatamaniuck
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I was praying a lot yesterday and today that more kids would come and God answered my prayers!
We had one new boy at our first club and at first he seemed really shy and didn’t get up to sing the songs but I could see he bagan to feel more comfortable when we went over the bible verses and told our stories. At the end of our club we have him a first day package and then I asked if he wanted the rest of the lessons since today was his first day and he said yes. So u really hope he comes back tomorrow.
At our second club we had 4 new kids come! I know for sure that 2 of them do not come from a Christian family and I was super excited when they said they wanted to come back tomorrow. We also have all the new kids all the lessons so they would have a chance to win the book. Olivia an I decided that if we could get the club up to 15 kids they could soak us so I hope that is some motivation to bring friends!
Our thirds and final club needs a lot of prayer. Today again it was just the hostesses boys and they requested we don’t sing any songs today. I didn’t blame them. If I was a twelve of fifteen year old boy I don’t think I would want to be singing these songs either. We ended up just doing the memory verses and stories so it was a short club. I am continuing to pray that more kids would come. We went out advertising last night but none of those kids came. I really hope that the boys are learning things even though they don’t seem super interested.
Prayer Request: that more kids will come and also that Olivia and I will be really enthusiastic and energetic for the kids (especially in our last club)
It seems kind of unnecessary for me to blog today, because pretty much nothing changed from yesterday. We had the same 9 kids (across all three clubs) as yesterday, they did some lessons, memorized some verses, said they might invite some friends, and then we had to leave.
The first club is great, the kids love it, they participate and are always excited when we arrive in the morning. They’re always disappointed when they don’t have any of their swimming lessons friends showing up, and always say they’ll invite more. We can praise God for these kids’ enthusiasm, and pray that some of the friends they invited will show up tomorrow.
Our second two clubs didn’t go as well today. The kids still listened but it’s hard to get a read on how much they actually enjoyed themselves. They keep coming back, but you can pray that they’ll engage in the club and really have a good time.
We’re going advertising again tonight, to try to get some new kids to show up. Please pray that that will be fruitful and we would be able to reach some new kids tomorrow.
Also, a lot of kids have said that they “were going to come”, but haven’t shown up. Please pray that tomorrow, those kids/parents would remember and that they would actually come.
One funny thing is that at our second club, we were just about to finish off with a song, when all of a sudden, a German Shepherd showed up on the gazebo, and walked around while we taught the actions. He was really friendly, it was just kind of random. And then he left right as we started the CD player. Then at our third club, the same thing happened with a cat! So maybe you could pray that God would help keep those distractions to a minimum!
Thanks everyone!
Olivia
Posted By: Sarah Vatamaniuck
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Day 2 is finished! We need a lot of prayer because 2 of our 3 clubs shrunk to 2 kids and our other club didn’t change.
Our first club in Sask Beach had the same kids as yesterday, who were all the hostesses kids. It’s a really fun club and the kids are really into the songs and stories and informed us that they listened to the cd on their way to swimming lessons. 2 of them did their lessons and 2 said a memory verse. Hopefully some of their friends will be able to come tomorrow.
At Olivia’s grandmas club we only had the two Filippio kids who have been accompanied by their 17 year old brother. 2 girls from yesterday had told us they couldn’t come back today because they were going away and 2 other boys also from yesterday didn’t come back, which is really too bad because they didn’t come from a Christian family. The funniest thing from that club was the fact that I found out I have a Filippino twin! (Olivia also talks about this in her blog post today). The 17 year old brother was telling me how much I looked and acted (and danced) like his cousin, plus our names ryhmed.
I am praying that more kids will come tomorrow.
Our last club started out kind of awkward because we only had the hostesses two older boys and we didn’t know how they were going to act with it just being the four of us. But I learned quickly that if we didn’t act awkward they wouldn’t either and we ended up having a lot of fun and the 12 year old even did his lesson and we laughed a lot. Especially at ourselves. When I insisted on singing “Do You Belive” Olivia wasn’t so keen on the idea because of how slow and dramatic it is (that key change though) we ended up laughing almost all the way through it because the boys did not look impressed and Olivia was thinking that we should not sing that song tomorrow or else the boys would not show up ( even though they lived there) because of these wierd 17 year old girls trying to sing this super dramatic song. Another time we burst out laughing was when Olivia was teaching The Little Rascal and she said “Tony stole people” instead of “Tony stole FROM people.” I’m glad this club is fun even though it’s small. I am hoping and praying these boys would be able to bring some friends tomorrow.
We need a lot of prayer for this week that more kids will come and hear the message we have for them.
(At this moment I’m making Olivia listen to “Do You Believe”)
Hello everyone!!
Today was another good day of fun clubs. Unfortunately, none of our clubs grew and 2/3 of them actually shrunk. But that’s okay! God knows which kids need to be at the clubs, and he will bring the ones that need to hear.
Our first had the same 5 kids as yesterday, as well as the hostess and her in-laws (who are unsaved). A couple kids brought back lessons and memorized verses and I know the other kids wanted to, but just didn’t have time. So they said they would work on those today. I think this is my favourite club of the day, because I booked the club when I was working as a coordinator, and the kids (especially the oldest girl) are really into it. And they’re all siblings, which is really cute.
Our second club went from 6 kids yesterday to only 2 today. They’re a new family in my grandparent’s town, they just moved from the Philippines. So the little boy and girl came again, along with their 17 year old brother. They go to church here in town but I’m not sure if they’ve all accepted Christ yet so I’m praying for them. It was really funny because after the club today, we were all having a snack and talking, and the older boy mentioned how Sarah was a lot like their cousin. Their mannerisms and voice were similar, and how when Sarah was dancing along to the intro of Let’s Get Started, it reminded him of their cousin, and their names rhymed. So Sarah has a Filipino twin!
Our last club also had only two kids, the two boys who are hosting it. I was worried it would be awkward since they were so old and looked a little uncomfortable with the idea of singing 5 day clubs songs in their backyard with two 17 year old girls, and listening to us tell stories meant for kids, but they actually seemed to enjoy themselves, and I know Sarah and I had a lot of fun with this club. The 12 year old boy even brought back a lesson (I was kind of surprised because he didn’t seem like he would want to do them), so that was exciting.
Alright, time for some prayer requests:
- More kids. The clubs are fun, but I know there are more kids in these towns, and many of them have not heard the gospel. So pray that God would remind everyone we’ve advertised to, and that the parents would allow and even encourage their kids to come.
- Continued safety on the roads. Some of the roads we have to drive on here are not-so-great, so pray that God would protect us and help me stay alert as we drive half an hour each way from Sask Beach to Strasbourg.
- Energy and enthusiasm. Sometimes it’s really easy to feel awkward with a bunch of smaller clubs that consist mostly of little boys who don’t show their own enthusiasm. So pray that God would help us to stay excited and enthusiastic about our clubs.
Thanks so much everyone! And a special thank-you to my CG, Elfrieda! This is the third summer you’ve prayed for me, and I am so grateful for your dedication to this ministry, thank you!
Olivia
(I’m going to give a disclaimer right now, I’m really bad at blog titles. Sorry :P)
Well, today was a good day, as far as first days go. Sarah and I are billeted at my Grandma’s house and we have three clubs.
Our first club is at a friend’s house in Saskatchewan Beach. We only had the our hostess’s 5 children there today, but I still thought it was a super good club. The kids all seemed to have a lot of fun. They were going to print off more invitations and give some more out, so we are hoping to have more kids tomorrow.
The second club is at my Grandma’s house. The first two years I taught, we had 19 or 20 kids, and then last year we changed the club from July to August and only got like 7 kids to come, so we moved the week back to July in hopes that more would be able to come again. This morning we had 6, although we know for sure 5 more are planning to come, so that’s good. Our numbers are (basically) up already. We are hoping for a few more, so you can definitely pray for more kids! This club was a little crazy because a lot of them were younger and didn’t listen very well, but we’re praying that they come back and listen well tomorrow. I know a few of them don’t come from a Christian home and need to hear the message we have.
Our third club is just a couple of blocks from my grandma’s. This one was a little smaller with only 4 kids. But one of the families who came to my grandma’s club also came to this club, so they must have enjoyed it. The hostess’s two boys were the other kids. At first it felt a little awkward with the older boys (15 and 12) but they seemed to enjoy themselves and I think maybe tomorrow we’ll get the older one to help us hold the memory verse visual or something, to try to get him involved.
Anyway, I think it was a great day. A few prayer requests would be:
1) That more kids will come to all three of our clubs
2) Safety on the roads as we drive back and forth from Sask Beach to Strasbourg everyday
3) That Sarah and I would be able to make our stories interesting and the right length as we figure out this first week
Thanks so much everyone! Hope the rest of you CYIA are having a good first week, and we’re praying for you too!
Olivia
Posted By: Sarah Vatamaniuck
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Well we finished our first day! I am teaching in Strasbourg this week with Olivia and we are staying with her grandparents. It is so awesome being here! Our first club is in Saskatchewan Beach and we had five kids who were all the hostesses kids. Hopefully some of their friends will be able to come tommorow. That was a really fun club. The kids really seemed to enjoy it and we all had fun. Our second club was back in Strasbourg and it was Olivia’s grandma’s club. We had six kids and half of them payed attention but the other three didn’t really, they just kind of wandered around. Pray that these kids would be able to get something out of what we are trying to teach them, especially two of them who did not go to church. Our final club was not too far away and we only had four kids, two of which were the hostesses kids and the other two had just been at our last club. I was a little worried that this club might be awkward with the hostesses kids being older boys (one was 12 and the other was 15). I wasn’t sure how much they would want to participate but they actually seemed to like it a lot. Hopefully some more kids will be able to come to that club as well. It was a really good first day. I am praying more kids would be able to come tomorrow and I know a few won’t be able to come back so it would be awesome if we got a lot more kids tomorrow.
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