Keeping it simple

Dear Aaron and Nate, thank you both for taking the leadership role for our teaching times together in Haiti. One of the memorable quotes that Dr Danny Brassell made on Saturday was that: “What works for high school and college kids doesn’t work for kinder garden aged kids, but what works for kinder garden aged kids works for all ages.” The reason I mention this is that many of the older kids at the orphanage are struggling with their studies. They came to us already in their teens and not well educated. Add in the fact that the French schools they attend are not the best suited to help “catching up” delayed students and you end up with 17 & 18 year olds that are learning at 5^th grade levels. All this information to say that your audience will be vastly different than the youth groups you are use to teaching here in the US, and add to that the fact that translating each message will take double the time to make your point, my suggestion is that you use the broad outline and boiled down stories of these men and women’s lives building to one or two themes that their lives provide of their “faith walk”. Each of these “Hero’s of the Faith” lives in turn become life examples to emulate and encourage our kids in their journey toward God. Aka “So great a cloud of witnesses”.

I also wanted to mention how awe struck I was by Aarons testimony of being an orphan; your life validates the appropriation of life changing faith exemplified by the lives recounted in Hebrews 11. As Crabb states in his book, our brokenness is attractive to others (our spiritual friends) and causes us to lean into each other. I found myself glorying in God for His wonderful provision of a “real, flesh on the bones” example of a redeemed orphan that is willing to live right amongst these kids. Aaron, you’re another hero of the faith (all be it a New Testament version) to add to Hebrews 11 for these kids!

I realize we’ve put you both in a stretching position, but above all else, just keep praying (as I am) for His leadership in your preparation. He will honor your hearts pursuit.

 

Grace to you

 

Darin Kruse

Second Team Meeting Pics and Video

Next time I will bring my good camera, I wasn’t planning on taking pictures this time:

Here is a small video of the Language Game





Lucas

meet the kids

www.maisondelumiere.org/sponsor-photos.htm

and meet the ministry: www.maisondelumiere.org

camp theme verse

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. - Hebrews 12:1

our dezyem meeting

that means our second mtg. 4 hours long. but you wouln't even notice... and ill tell you why. its on balboa island. thats right sun and sea. then theres food. good food. and we got cool people. we are mostly at that get to know you stage thats really fun. (personally i get a little awkward at times but when we talk about Haiti is all around excitement). add some worship, prayer, planning, strategizing, laughing, and learning, and you got yourself a fun four hour team meeting!! no kidding.

our last hour was that laughing and learning part. guest speaker Danny is a professor at USC. But he seemed more like a goofy dad of a 3 and 4 year old (he was both). We were wildly entertained. First thing he asked for 3 volunteers. Not something I usually jump at. And I didn’t, I kinda felt bad for the guy… no one was volunteering so i shot up my hand. We were then part of this game. With only 2 rules. #1We were only allowed to say one of 3 things (2up, 2down or 1up, 1down) and #2We couldn’t say the same thing twice in a row. As he started asking us what we were I was terribly confused. It didn’t make any sense. We guessed what we should answer with, but the answers he accepted and rejected made no seeming connection. After some more embarrassment he sent us out of the room and we gave each other our theories of what we thought we were supposed to answer with. When we came back everyone else in the room understood and we still did not. That made us feel a ton better and so it was just about 10 times harder to get what the heck I was supposed to answer. Like it wasn’t hot enough. I could feel my face so red, and I could feel the perspiration begin. Danny began to give us some hints. We still didn’t get it. In the end it was an illustration and an experience to understand what it must be like to learn another language. Yeah. It’s tough.

Danny then taught us some practical ways to teach kids English. Laughter. Music and Songs. Motion. The more fun the better. The more meaningful the better. (Lucas kind of already naturally discovered some of this stuff in his quest to teach him and I Creole. He also gave us some ideas about what to bring that usually perk an English learner’s interest. Like photos. hmmmm... I think we are going to do just fine.

our next meeting is june7th. back in balboa. Haiti will be just a bit less accomodating. but thats a reason i love mission trips. God is so vividly needed for everything. from your tolerence with the heat to the sustainability of your stomache and health to your ability to love selflessly. you just cant be about your own comfort. you are praying and seeking the Lord like crazy. like your life depended on it. man. to prepare for Haiti lets do that here. need God. vividly.

alicia simmons