On Saturday, we spent most of our day doing activity day for all the kids in the program. Usually, they go to two different church depending on their ages (HS or Grade school). However, there was something going on at one of the churches they usually use so we were all in one place. This was a bonus for us because it meant all traveling together and having the hang out time in the beginning to be with all the kids.
When we first got there, we spent a lot of time just hanging out with different groups of kids. There was a group playing soccer, volleyball, Ethiopian children's games, and playing on some playground equipment. We let them show us how to play games, hang out, and clumsily play some soccer. After most of the kids arrived, we split up into our groups and headed into a small room for stories and songs. I was with the younger kids group. We sang several songs together in English. Since most of them go to Sunday School and church, they know several English bible songs. They sometimes throw in their own variations like adding "nanananananan Oh!" to the end of Jesus Loves Me. This video is "I Have Decided to Follow Jesus" first in Ahmaric and then in English in the room where we did the songs and story.
Then, we told the story of Shadrach, Meschach, and Abendago with the help of the kids and social workers. I told the story in English while Nigist translated and Getu played the part of King Nebecanezzer. We had three kids playing the parts of the S, M, and A while the others in our group were Babylonians and the angel. It was a pretty darn good skit. We even had costumes and props.
After we were done asking a few questions about the story, we split up the kids again and tried to do 2 games and 2 crafts. It worked for 2 rotations before everyone just started running wherever and doing whatever they wanted. I taught freeze tag to 2 groups that went surprisingly well. They each got to color and take home their own coloring book and cross necklace. They loved the crafts, and we had to be pretty smart to make sure that kids didn't get 2-3 necklaces. They try to take you for fools by hiding them or hitting up different adults so that they can get more. The older kids split up into girls and boys and did a bible study lesson and some games of their own.
They only do these activity days once a month and it's a highlight for program kids. They make sure they can come to hang out with missionary groups and have kind of a 1 day VBS. After all the activities are done, they have lunch for all the kids. For most of them, it is the best meal they will eat that month because it actually has meat in it. They cannot afford meat in their meals at home. They are extremely polite as they wait for their turn and eat together. We chose to bring our own PB&J sandwiches because injera and Dora Wat is not my favorite. They use the whitish bread you see to pick up the food and eat it. It's usually very spicy and the bread stuff (injera) is very bland and almost sour. I for one am glad we didn't eat a lot of traditional Ethiopian food. When they were done eating, we gave every kid a hygiene pack with a washcloth, toothbrush, bar of soap, toothpaste, and a few pieces of candy. It only lasted from 9-1 but by the time we got back to the guest house we were WIPED out.
When we first got there, we spent a lot of time just hanging out with different groups of kids. There was a group playing soccer, volleyball, Ethiopian children's games, and playing on some playground equipment. We let them show us how to play games, hang out, and clumsily play some soccer. After most of the kids arrived, we split up into our groups and headed into a small room for stories and songs. I was with the younger kids group. We sang several songs together in English. Since most of them go to Sunday School and church, they know several English bible songs. They sometimes throw in their own variations like adding "nanananananan Oh!" to the end of Jesus Loves Me. This video is "I Have Decided to Follow Jesus" first in Ahmaric and then in English in the room where we did the songs and story.
Then, we told the story of Shadrach, Meschach, and Abendago with the help of the kids and social workers. I told the story in English while Nigist translated and Getu played the part of King Nebecanezzer. We had three kids playing the parts of the S, M, and A while the others in our group were Babylonians and the angel. It was a pretty darn good skit. We even had costumes and props.
After we were done asking a few questions about the story, we split up the kids again and tried to do 2 games and 2 crafts. It worked for 2 rotations before everyone just started running wherever and doing whatever they wanted. I taught freeze tag to 2 groups that went surprisingly well. They each got to color and take home their own coloring book and cross necklace. They loved the crafts, and we had to be pretty smart to make sure that kids didn't get 2-3 necklaces. They try to take you for fools by hiding them or hitting up different adults so that they can get more. The older kids split up into girls and boys and did a bible study lesson and some games of their own.
They only do these activity days once a month and it's a highlight for program kids. They make sure they can come to hang out with missionary groups and have kind of a 1 day VBS. After all the activities are done, they have lunch for all the kids. For most of them, it is the best meal they will eat that month because it actually has meat in it. They cannot afford meat in their meals at home. They are extremely polite as they wait for their turn and eat together. We chose to bring our own PB&J sandwiches because injera and Dora Wat is not my favorite. They use the whitish bread you see to pick up the food and eat it. It's usually very spicy and the bread stuff (injera) is very bland and almost sour. I for one am glad we didn't eat a lot of traditional Ethiopian food. When they were done eating, we gave every kid a hygiene pack with a washcloth, toothbrush, bar of soap, toothpaste, and a few pieces of candy. It only lasted from 9-1 but by the time we got back to the guest house we were WIPED out.
No comments:
Post a Comment