Rural Schools and Happy Children!

So today was a special day that included our team splitting up into two groups so that we could reach out to some rural schools.  If you asked me how I pictured our ministry here with Centershot before I left to go on this trip, today would have closely matched that picture.  We had one larger school that the group I was in stayed with all day. The other group was smaller and attended three small rural schools through the whole day. I think today we had about 150 kids in our school and the other team would have had less than that in all their schools combined.  So you will hear primarily about the one larger school, but I know that the other team reported that despite more language barriers they had twelve kids from one class all make decisions to follow the Lord for the first time!  Wow, that makes it all worthwhile.  Thank you Lord!

Of course it was another hot cloudless day here in Africa!  As we pulled into the school yard a few of the children were already there. Initially they were quite shy and didn't really approach us. But as we waited around some of our cameras came out to take pictures of the location and the beautiful stunning backdrop of "hang lip", a mountain feature, just across from the school. Well if you ever want to make friends with African children just start taking pictures of them. I would guess only one of five hundred wouldn't want their picture taken. Today we met one of those shy kids but most of the kids were quick to start posing for the camera. They love to wrap their arms around one another and pose for the picture. Then they run over to see the photo on the digital screen and giggle. You could do that all day...but soon I moved on to playing tag with them, which they must have enjoyed as they came to ask me to play "that game" again later on during lunch break.

But before I get too far I have to explain that the official start of our day at their assembly was incredible. We did our usual demonstration but before that the kids did some greetings and singing with their teachers. Incredible harmony and volume for the number of kids, with everyone from grade one to twelve standing in a tight group and really getting into the music. I'm Baptist so I won't say they danced but they didn't stand real still!  It was interesting to hear another praise song at another public school. Boy are the kids in Canada and USA ever missing out!

So once we started the archery our day was similar to yesterday but rather than having them all at once we more or less had kids come out one class at a time.  This gave us nice size groups as well as opportunity for us to send a couple leaders with a class after the shooting for a Bible Study. Today Ardon and I worked together to lead the grade 6 and 7 kids in Bible study. It was fun to teach together and have the kids respond to the message. With slight language barriers it is always interesting. Today when Ardon asked kids to raise their hand if they wanted to pray a salvation prayer all the kids put up both hands before we started praying and held them up throughout the whole prayer.  It was as though they were holding them in praise to God and perhaps didn't fully understand the request but we both felt that some indicated that they wanted to pray that prayer. What a blessing to be a part of that.

One final word picture for you, since I'm having trouble getting any pictures on the blog!  Picture a boy in his early teens who seems to be a little more cocky and rambunctious than most we have met on this trip. Yet during the Bible Study he is one of the ones who answers most clearly that he has asked Jesus into his heart. Then after the study is over he asks to help carry my stuff back. So I give him my Bible and next thing you know he has it opened to Mark reading all the verses I have highlighted while walking across the field with his friends all around Him. So I turned to John 3 for him to read and I think he and his friends read the whole chapter before I got my Bible back. That was a great ending to a day of Centershot Ministy!  We said some tough good-byes and hit the road.

A few other random highlight from the day are:
1-watching Rick captivate a group of about ten kids trying to stack about six small rocks on top of one another and then taking turns and waiting patiently for their next turn. It was amazing!
2-Ryan having a girl in his Bible study let one rip at the climax of the salvation message...and then while praying at the end feeling his hand getting wet while hugging a girl and feeling compelled to draw that prayer time to a close quickly with a, "thank you Lord, amen".
3-Alex and George in particular playing soccer with the kids at lunch.
4- Myself running an obstacle  course around the targets with a line of boys following me and then listening to one another's hearts pounding with ears on chests.
5-George trying to demonstrate a life with a firm foundation and one without and being pushed over and almost hitting his head on the trailer, with it mostly being caught on film by his own "go pro" camera.

Again please continue to pray for safety for us. Someone could get some chest pain or break a leg playing with these kids.  Also pray that God would prepare the hearts of the children in the schools tomorrow. Pray we would communicate clearly and that our message would be simple but used of God. Tomorrow we are in two groups again but in small schools in the town of Mokopane again.

Today's devotional was led by Matt and he used Esther as our example to follow. She was placed by God in a special place for a special circumstance but she had to choose to participate.

"Then Mordecai told them to reply to Esther, 'Do not think to yourself that in the king's palace you will escape any more than all the other Jews. For if you keep silent at this time, relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father's house will perish. And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?' "  Esther 4:13,14

Just as Mordecai said to Esther "for such a time as this" we feel the same about our time here in South Africa. God has us each here at this time for a reason.