Sideline Headlines Part Two

The Children's Cantata
I (Julie) have been helping to direct the young actors and actresses from Church who will be performing in the Christmas Cantata at the end of the year. It had been quite a fun experience with characters such as “Meat”, “Chicken” and “Vegetables” telling the Christmas story. Alas, we can not stay to see the finished production but I am enjoying the time I have and am looking forward to watching the DVD.

Chlidren's Church

I have also been involved in Children's Church on Sunday mornings. I am usually one of about five facilitators in the 4-7 year olds' class. This is quite a new experience as there are more than 60 children in just that one group! What I do changes from week to week, but it could be telling a story or teaching a memory verse or something like that. Some of the children are afraid of me because I look so different to them but some enjoy the novelty value.

Computer Classes

For the last couple of weeks, we have been producing material and teaching computer classes to young high schoolers in Bbira, one of the Watoto villages. Bbira is a beautiful village.

 

The name means "forest", and there is a forest of tall trees, which give the village its character.

The shady spaces between the trees make a great hangout.

After we showed the students how to open Microsoft Word:
Girl: It's not doing anything.
Julie: That's because it's waiting for you to do something. This is like a piece of paper that you can write on.
Girl: Where's the pencil?
Julie: (pointing to the keyboard) This is the pencil. See? You can write stuff with it.
Girl: Wow! That's cool!

Most of the children there had never really used a computer, so we had to start by teaching them how to use a mouse. It is really fun to see them get so excited by basic computer concepts. The first thing we taught them was how to use Paint. When they started drawing their first lines, the room was filled with giggles and expressions of delight.

John is the IT guy at Bbira (also assisting other villages), and also an ex-teacher.

He is very excited about the IT classes we have been piloting, and he has committed to "carry the torch" to continue the classes. Next year, a proper IT cirriculum will be aquired, exams and all.


Prayer & Praise

• Thank God that we have been able to have such a wide and varied experience of Watoto and its ministries.
• Thank God for a safe trip to Gulu, and for all we saw there (blog incoming!).
• Thank God for all the people's lives in which we've been able to be involved, and the blessings which have gone both ways.

• Pray for John as he takes over the IT classes, that God will really enrich the children's lives, and John's through these classes.
• It's crunch time, organisationally, socially and practically as our return to New Zealand draws near. Please pray for smooth sailing.
• Please pray that the IT team will be thoroughly successful in continuing to develop the Cell Point system as they adjust to us no longer appearing the office each day.