Batam, Indonesia, Part I

From Thursday, June 25, 2015.

This post is a little late! We have been so busy and exhausted but are having a blast!

Our first day of ministry was chaotic, to say the least. The schedule begins with a team meeting and breakfast then off to the slum, Baloi Koiam, to work with the children. After our time with the children, we are off to lunch before heading to St. Matthew's Church to teach English lessons to adults, the teachers and parents of students at the St. Matthew's school.

As we show up to the facilities - a room in the middle of the slum that's smaller than my parents' living room - 170-plus children sit cross-legged, patiently waiting. Their little eyes stare. It's clear they realize we are different from them, but more so in a disposition of fascination, admiration, and/or excitement than discomfort or skepticism. They are intrigued by us but are shy.

To break the ice, Jason, a team member, starts us off with dancing! Naturally, I gravitate to the center of the sea of children to engage with them, help them feel comfortable, and encourage them to join in! Some of the children jumped in, wanting to imitate and do what we were doing. The others just wanted to stare and watch and wonder.

After dancing is a round of "Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes" - led by our team leader, John - and then we begin learning vocabulary. Chris, my teammate, is a phenomenal teacher. He has a way with getting the kids to listen, learn, and respond. First up, we reviewed colors, numbers, and body parts. Lucas, another team member, was the "model" for the body part demonstrations. Chris would point to his nose and yell out, "NOSE! READY? ONE, TWO, THREE...NOSE!" After three, the kids join in and yell "NOSE" while pointing to their nose. And so we continued with the major body parts, culminating in another round of "Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes."

Then comes story time. Clifford, the Big Red Dog. A favorite of mine growing up. Chris read while Lucas acted out Clifford. The kids loved that Lucas acted as a dog, laughing with every "woof" and silly action. The amazing women who serve as teachers to these children in ministry were incredibly helpful in interpreting and explaining the story.

In order to break things up and manage their attention spans, I taught Father Abraham - or as I call it, the Christian hokey pokey - before reviewing the story. To end the day, we colored a Clifford coloring page.

Overall, it was fantastic. We had fun! The kids had fun! And they appreciated that we were there, that we had come from so far away just to see them. They are rambunctious. Mostly, they have sweet spirits. But some lack discipline and are unruly. We struggled to get them to pay attention at times or to quiet down. Imagine having 170-plus elementary school children in your living room who speak very little of your language! I dare you to envision yourself attempting to quiet them!

But we can't complain! Even with sweat dripping off our faces and soaking our clothing because of the heat, humidity, and physical activity, we cannot complain. We have the opportunity to engage these wonderful children who are touched by our presence, most certainly, touched by the presence of the Holy Spirit.

Each morning as we pray before our session, I make sure to personally ask the Holy Spirit to fill us up and that we would exude His love for the children! Please join me in praying that these seeds we are planting will take root and produce fruit!

Teaching "head" to the children.

Much, much more to come. I hope this gives you an idea of our daily routine. I will be touching on our adult sessions, specific people, stories/testimonies, and general observations soon. Stay tuned, keep praying, and enjoy these pictures!

 

We gave out prizes for correct answers to story review questions. The kids could not contain themselves, everyone wanted to answer. Clearly, this is a universal phenomena.