In the beginning God created...

My question to myself is... 

What, did you think you were going to teach the whole concept of God the Creator in one 35 minute session each with first and second graders? Ha!

But a beginning was made!

With the incredibly kind help of their "real" teachers, the first and second grade teachers who translated for me, a beginning was made.

Some of the children had (almost certainly) never seen a Bible before, and the pictures in the Children's Bible I used were too small for the classes of 15 & 18 kids to see.

 Tossing a koosh ball to try and get them to introduce themselves in English produced mass chaos (apparently tossing balls isn't a very usual mode of instruction!) And they don't yet understand basic English classroom instructions such as "repeat after me."

But they did enjoy picking out and identifying the plastic animals I  brought along, and the bug stickers I gave out as rewards seemed to be a hit.

The first graders really seemed to jam to the "God Made the World" song with motions but the 2nd graders may have thought it too childish for them. 

What do they make of the word "God"?  What do they make of this weird "Western foreign lady" with her bags of books, animal props, and song CD's?

I've heard that nearly half of the children commute everyday from the mainland.  Their parents make sacrifices so that their one child (nearly all are only children) can have the best education possible.

Seeing them sing "God made me" brought tears to my eyes as I thought about the adventure of life... and hopefully faith... which they are just beginning to explore.  

I'm incredibly privileged to be part of it all.

"God saw all that he had made, and it was very good."  -- Genesis 1:31