One of the best days of the past month was when I had a room full of students saying “Jesus is my light” over and over again as I was preparing for the next activity. Let me explain…the end of April brought on two new classes for us right here in Juagdan. One of them is a “lap book study” of The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis. What this means is that as I read the kids are coloring pictures that have to do with the previously read chapter(s) and then at the end of each chapter we do an activity page. One of these activities included the following question: “Lucy was drawn towards the light ahead in the wardrobe. Who does the Bible in John 8:12 say is the light of our world?” After reading the verse I verbally helped them with what to write and after they said the answer was “Jesus” I said “Yes, so you can write Jesus is the light or Jesus is my light.” The following week there were a few new students so I started them with that activity to catch up and their fellow classmates kept repeating over and over, “Jesus is my light.” These kids range in age 5 to 13 and many of them probably don’t yet understand what they are saying, but it brings me joy to hear them say it because one day the hope is they will all claim it as truth instead of just repeating words the “white lady” says.
The second class is just basic vocabulary words around various themes. We started with food and talked about fruits, vegetables, meats, and ways to cook. Now we are studying the body parts and they really enjoy singing “Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes!” To end the unit we will be making simple body cutouts attached with brass brads so they can turn them into paper dolls for the next unit about clothes.
It is interesting to see what activities the kids like the most and the Narnia activities showed me they not only love to color, but cutting and gluing is really fun for them as well. Two favored games are bingo and concentration so I try to have a version for every unit to help reiterate the words. There is overlap in the two classes, but overall there are nearly 40 students! When we host the “closing party” it will have to be in the church as we already fill the mission house when 25 come at one class.🤓
On a side note, as I have been teaching more regularly in the past two months Jun has had various people working with him on building our house. The septic tank is dug and cemented, the basic frame is in place, and today the roof is getting put together!
