Russia mission updates - Monday, June 14, 2010
Monday, June 14, 2010
Summary: First day of class with 6, no make it 8 students.
Details: I was up again at 5 AM. I had coffee, wrote in my blog, had some quiet time, cleaned up and walked up to the church where we are teaching our English Bible Camp. We did large group introductions of the American team: “My name is Pastor James and I lead group 4.” We sang two songs and then went to our first English class.
Our first task was “introductions.” I introduced myself to my six students and my translator. It was fun to show them the banner in the sanctuary with “Jesus loves me” in Russian. Using a beach ball globe, I asked why would a Lutheran Church in Salt Lake City, Utah have such a thing on our banner. It was fun to hear them guess why, and they were very quiet when I explained we have a long history of summer mission trips to Russia. (Denise, thanks again for helping with the photos and printing!) I showed photos of my family and hobbies. All of this was to help them relax and think of what they wanted to say. They introduced themselves, told us about their families, and talked about their hobbies.
They had crafts, a game time, and then lunch. We gained two more students at the start of the second English class. They introduced their names, and we were into the Bible story about the birth of Jesus. We reviewed vocabulary and then read the story together. We asked questions, did a maze about the birth of Jesus, and colored a picture of the manger. I awarded prizes for two of them.
This was followed with a planning session for our drama on Friday, a time singing in the larger group, and 15 minutes of the “Jesus for Children” video. We had tea and their parents picked them up. I felt our first day went very smoothly. I very much appreciate my translator. Her name is Heli, but said like our English “Haley.” She is only 16 years old, finishing high school, and hoping to go to the university to study English and become a professional translator.
We met as a large team from 4-5 PM and evaluated things. Little problems exist, but these should be easily solved. Dinner at 5:30 was followed by an American team meeting. I have hastily typed these lines so that I can hike back to the town center and send this email.
