Stephen has been learning a lot about how the school system works and he has enjoyed it. As far as the grading scale is concerned, anything above a 50% is passing. It’s much different from what we’re used to. There are no such things as “letter grades” (i.e. A’s, B’s, C’s, D’s, and F’s) and the all-powerful GPA does not exist. It seems that a student’s grade comes down to a Pass/Fail mark. Many of the students in this class have never used a computer before and so to be able to pass the computer classes is quite an achievement. Another issue that these students face is that all the subjects are taught in English, which, for the majority of the students, is not their native tongue. One student Stephen was helping in class last week was having difficulty creating a table in Microsoft Word. The student asked what the words “merge” and “border” meant. Since he didn’t understand these words he didn’t know how to “merge” cells together in a table and change the “border” size, color, etc. We cannot imagine what it must be like for some of these students as they try to learn various subjects in a language that isn’t their own.
Stephen is also in the process of contacting students that attended a Christian camp at the beginning of the year. We’re not sure what the students did with the experience, but we are hoping to get them plugged into the Christian Center. God has even had a student introduce himself to Stephen who attended the camp and Stephen is hoping to pursue him further.
Our weekly schedule is quite involved. Monday’s and Tuesday are meant to be our weekend but mostly we’re busy trying to prepare for the week. Monday is a get-things-done day and Tuesday we study with Cedric and Pauline for about 4 hours. Right now we’re working through the parables of Christ. It has been a great time of learning and growth for us all. Wednesday we are on campus all day. While Stephen is assisting in classes I plant myself in the library and am currently working on material to assist Cedric as well as do some graphic design for the ministry. Hopefully soon I will also be able to start on a website for the ministry. In the evening, the Christian Center meets for a time of praise and worship and teaching. Cedric is currently teaching the students about the principles of grace and what it means to be a disciple of Jesus. Thursday we also spend all day on campus and at 7 pm we attend the Christian Center’s student prayer night. We soon will switch over to joining a cell group with our church on this evening. This particular cell group is made up of young couples within our church and we are very excited about the potential of building relationships there. Friday evenings the Christian Center meets for a time of one of three things: a movie (typically a biblical motivator), a time of discussion and learning, or a game night. Last Friday Stephen headed up the games and it was such a fun time! We started at 7 pm and didn’t get home till almost 11! Saturday’s we’re trying to set aside things to do with the student leaders who Stephen and I are actively pursuing deeper relationships with. Sunday we attend George Baptist Church were Cedric and Pauline have been going for some time. The churches here are quite an adjustment to what we’ve been spoiled with in the States, but we are hoping to learn and grow here just the same. Then Sunday evening we have a service on campus for the students.
We are finding the calling of ministry on our life such a blessing. We can’t imagine doing anything else at this point and are so blessed that you all are in support of what we are doing here! We certainly could not do it without you!
Also, we have a few prayer requests. One being for an event we are planning as an outreach to the campus. It’s called “Diversity Challenge” and we are planning on having it on October 3rd. It will be along the lines of the amazing race theme. There will be teams of 4 and each team must have at least one male participant and one female participant. We’re hoping the students will take this one step further and have cross cultural groups, which we are strongly encouraging. We will challenge our ministry students to build teams with their classmates and unsaved friends but will also be inviting all students to be involved through advertisements in their classes. I’ve already designed the poster for the event and will show it to you below. There will be 8 to 10 challenges looking something along the lines of these: repelling off light posts, team mind puzzles, trying to find their way through the woods with only a compass, chopping through a log, and eating disgusting things. At each challenge there will be a riddle leading to the next challenge. At the end of the day we’ll throw a braai, show a video of the day’s activities, give out prizes, and each team will plant a tree on campus. The tree is to be a standing example of the student’s unity that day and of their time on campus. It will be a reminder for them to look back on in years to come. Please pray for the details of this event to come together. The school has many hoops to go through to put on an event like this. Also, Stephen and I have been given the responsibility to collect prizes for the end of the day. We hope to call on businesses and ask if they would like to help be a sponsor of the event. Please pray that people would be willing to give to the students and that we would have the boldness to ask of them to do so.
Secondly, as the American economy continues on its path, the ripple effects have been felt worldwide and our town of George is no exception. Earlier this week we were approached by our landlord and he stated that they are putting the home we live in up for sale. They are in a dire situation and are in need of the money, so we certainly understand. They and we are praying that an investor would be the one to buy the place if it sells. That way we could remain here. This home is perfect for our needs with the ministry and we would be sad to leave it. We are also not looking forward to the hassle of moving :/ We would appreciate your prayers for all of these things. Your prayers make a huge difference to our ministry!
