Footsteps of Faith Easter 2017

On the weeks leading up to Easter,
the Footsteps of Faith kids memorized Bible verses and songs
to share with the congregation on Easter Sunday.

Our Theme this year was,
"Yes! Jesus Loves Me!"

The program started with the children reciting John 3:16.

Then the littlest children sang Jesus Loves the Little Children.

Romans 5:8  
But God commendeth his love toward us,
 in that, while we were yet sinners,
Christ died for us.

The children then sang the following song in a round-



Matthew 28:1-6
1 In the end of the sabbath, as it began to dawn toward 
the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene
and the other Mary to see the sepulchre.
2 And, behold, there was a great earthquake:
 for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven,
and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it.
3 His countenance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow:
4 And for fear of him the keepers did shake, and became as dead men.
5 And the angel answered and said unto the women,
 Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified.
6 He is not here: for he is risen, as he said. 
Come, see the place where the Lord lay.

Song: Christ Arose

John 11:25
 Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: 
he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:

Song: Christ the Lord is Risen Today

I Corinthians 15:3-4
3 For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received,
how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;
4 And that he was buried, and that he rose again
 the third day according to the scriptures:

Song: Jesus Loves Even Me

Isaiah 53:5-6
5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, 
he was bruised for our iniquities:
the chastisement of our peace was upon him;
and with his stripes we are healed.
6 All we like sheep have gone astray; 
we have turned every one to his own way;
and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.
Song: Wounded For Me

Acts 1:11
Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven?
this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven,
shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.

We made matching head bands as gifts for the girls 

and William, my brother, made origami birds for each of the boys' pockets.

Faces

Children, 

they drive us crazy,

 but they also bring such joy to our lives.

How is that?

How can they be so cute one moment and so terrible the next?

Let me tell you that working in a class of 2-4 year olds everyday,

 sometimes makes me feel like I am aging quickly 

and like they suck the life right out of me.

Like every mother of toddlers,

I wish I could harness that energy for myself and use it to wear them out.

Our days in preschool are filled with ups and downs.

Even on days when someone is being VERY naughty all day,

another one is terribly sick,

noses are ALL running ALL the time,

someone has an accident,

and it just feels like they are not getting what I am teaching -

- I go home saying that it was a "GOOD" day.

Why???

Because of those sweet little faces.

Those faces are what carry me through on days

 when I don't really want to be on my toes and wasting my breath.

The faces are little reminders that behind each face is a soul.

A little soul that I hope will belong to Jesus one day.

A person that we want God to use and bless.

So tomorrow, when I do it all over again -

wiping noses, 

repeating the same instructions,

singing the same song for the bazillionth time,

- it will only take one look at those little faces 

to be reminded of the precious job God has placed before me.

And again, I sigh in remembrance 

and know that the exhaustion I feel most days 

is worth it all!!!

{The Bemba woman in the pictures with my class is a faithful lady from our church.  She helps me a few days a week.  Please pray for her and others who help.   Also pray that the Lord would provide more teachers and helpers}

Many Hands

As our special weeks for Bible Clubs were approaching,

I wanted to do something different to make our classroom feel special 

(especially because it is the same room 

we always use for our large childrens' classes).

I had grand plans of making all kinds of decorations,

but knew that it would be too time consuming with teaching everyday.

Plus, where would I get all of the supplies to make nice things

 and where would I store the stuff after?

I decided to "keep it simple stupid".

So, on the way home from school one day I popped into the local thrift shop (which I love to go to, 

but because of school I think I only go twice a year.  

Which is probably a good thing.)

I found 2 white sheets almost the same size 

and almost the same shade of white.

Now, to make what is in my head go onto the sheets.

I cut the one down to the same as the other one.

Then had the idea to paint the scene on,

but because there is no place in Kabwe or anywhere that I know of here in Zambia to get those nice Apple Barrel Acrylic Paints, 

I tried using crayons.

They worked great!!!

Probably even better than paints because I already had them at church,

plus we never had to wait for paint to dry.

The work began. 

At first I drew out a bit of a sketch 

of the little lost and found puzzle I wanted to make.

After I began, another lady from church pitched in to help.

Lady from church made these beautiful houses

Then her daughters (10 and 12 yrs old) came along and did their little parts too.

10 yr old's work

12 yr old's work

After a few hours it was really coming together,

but there were just a few things that still needed to be added.

So, one evening I decided to finish it.

Adding animals and trees.

On my hands and knees in the living room,

I began to color in more trees, houses and animals.

The young lady who is staying with me (Brenda),

came in and asked if she could also help.

Brenda added a few little shops

It was such a blessing to work together to get such a project done.

We are so pleased with the way it turned out.  It really made our Bible Clubs special because we used it every week for our theme in the Bible Lessons.

Finished and ready for Bible Club!

Every week, I drew a few new animals that the kids had to find 

(going along with our Lost and Found theme).

I praise the Lord for the many hands that helped to make this possible.

The memories we all made together working on this backdrop for ministry really made it even more special.

I will definetly use the idea again for the next time we do something like this.

Lost and Found: the Search for Truth

We look forward to having a chance 

to have special Bible Clubs 

to share the Gospel with the children of Kabwe.

During the month of June, 

God brought 2 young ladies from the States

 to help us with our school and church ministries.

It is always a blessing to have more help.

So we decided it was the perfect opportunity to have

3 weeks of special Saturday Bible Clubs.

The American gals listening to memory verses

Boys working on learning their Bible memory verse 

A few of our Teens helped in this ministry

Our theme this time was -

Lost and Found: the Search for Truth

We took turns teaching.

Every week a different Bible teacher,

memory verse teacher, 

song leader,...

I am teaching the missionary story.

...new group games,

fun review games,

and missionary story.

Group Game Time

During those three weeks we had 

an average of 75 children in attendance.

We praise the Lord for the faithful Sunday School children who attended 

and for the visitors that they brought.

The Gospel seed has been planted and watered 

and now we wait on God for the increase.  

I have to say that I have seen wonderful continuous growth

 in the children who are faithful to our church.

Praise the Lord and thanks for praying!

"Joy to the World, the Lord is Come" - our 2014 Children's Christmas Program

Starting at the beginning of December,

we invited a group of kids from church to come on Saturdays 

to prepare for a Christmas Program.

We could not invite all of the Sunday School kids, 

because we usually have 200 or more.

Most of the children in this year's program have never been 

a part of a Christmas Program.

Rebecca teaching new songs

In fact, most do not know many/any Christmas songs.

We worked hard every Saturday for a few hours, 

singing the songs over and over again.

They rehearsed their lines so much, 

that some even knew the other's parts.

We planned and wrote this Christmas program with the

desire to teach the children the "Christmas" verses 

and that they would also be able to quote

 these Scriptures on Christmas day at their homes

 for their family and friends to hear the Word f God.

Angels

Narrators in back, shepherds in front.

More narrrators in back, shepherds in front.

Little sheep

Below is the video of our Children's Christmas Program.

(Turn up the volume on your computer and enjoy!)

Sunshine & Smiles Club

Since I have been home, I had the great blessing to be able to help start a new ministry through our Saturday Visitation Program at church.

This new ministry is called the 

SMILES & SUNSHINE MINISTRY

It consists of children ages 4- 12 yrs old.

While the adults & teens go out on door-to-door, follow-up, or bus visitation, 

we go out into the community or to one of our shut-in's homes.

Maybe I am really a kid at heart, 

but I greatly enjoy being a part of this ministry too.

Every week, we make encouraging cards for someone.

We practice our songs by the piano....

...or while Mr. Jim drives our bus to the next visit.

We talk....

...and we sing...

...until we get to the place we will visit.

We arrive at a shut-in's home with enthusiasm.

The children are excited to see someone that they have been praying for.

The group may sit around to fellowship for a while.

We share a little sunshine through song.

Many times we like to play a game.

This is a Bible character charades game.

We got alot of laughs from this one!

Sometimes we get to see the people's pets.

(The children love to see 'Cocky" a cockateil)

The purpose of the S&S Ministry is not only to bring sunshine & smiles to the people we visit by being an encouragement, but the other purpose is for the children to learn how to share thier testimonies & how to relate to others.

We were so glad to have the opportunity to visit Mrs. Berry, 

before she went home to be with the Lord.  

We went to be a blessing and we all left blessed.

The other side of our ministry is to go out into the community 

to share the Gospel.

We have been to the local park, nursing homes and the local police barricks.

On the way home, we talk about lessons we can earn from the day's ministry,  have a challenge from the Bible and share testimony of how we saw the Lord work in the ministry we took part in that day.

I will miss these children, but am thankful for the lives we were able to encourage, the Gospel we were able to share, 

and the memories we have made together.  

I am looking forward to hearing reports from their new leader 

on how the ministry will continue on while I am in Zambia.