Here is what my week typically looks like!
Monday: Usually a Sabbath day that I spend time with God, reflecting, journaling, listening to sermons, blogging, and worshipping. Sometimes a trip out to the beach to marvel at God’s beautiful sunset by the water.
Tuesday-Thursday Mornings: I help with L.K. Wolter School/Savage Ministries. The kids start pouring in at 8am. There are 5 classrooms (2 with 3-year olds, 2 with 4-year olds, and a class of 5-year olds).
Whitney and I help with a 3-year-old classroom. Carina and Sarai are the teachers in the class. They are a great team. The kids come into the room and put their backpacks in their little cubby/shelf. The first week was rough. There was lots of crying. Week 2, it was a much easier transition in the morning. Then, Carina and Sarai sing songs with them and they circle up. This just gathers them together until everyone arrives.
Next, it’s time to pray, set up the tables, wash hands, and eat a snack! Snacks include fruit, hard boiled eggs, yogurt, juice (lots and lots of spilled juice some days), leftovers from dinner, and cereal. They get about 30 minutes to eat their snack. I go around and help open containers and encourage them to eat and drink everything.
Next is recess! I usually help clean up the room (wipe off tables, sweep and mop the floors, and set up the room again) and then have some fun with the kiddos at recess.
After recess the kids wash their hands again and come back in for a lesson, story, or song. Then, the teachers usually do some small group time with about 3-4 children at a time where they paint with them, have them color, or teach them another lesson (colors, numbers, life lessons). While those 3-4 children are doing that, the rest of the kids play with toys in the classroom. The kids play with blocks, dinosaurs, cars, and little plastic figures. My job at this time is to make sure kids don’t run out of the room, take kids to the bathroom, make sure the kids are sharing and not fighting, or help the teachers cut out materials they need for the art project.
When 11:30am rolls around and it’s time to go home! We check their backpacks to make sure they haven’t taken an toys. We walk them out to the door and they wait until their name is called because someone is there to pick them up. After they leave, I help clean up the room—organize the toys, sweep, mop, and empty the trash. Then lunch is usually served between 12 and 12:30.
Tuesday and Thursday: We have siesta after lunch (siesta = a time of rest because it’s hot during 1-4pm). At 4pm, we head out to volleyball. We play at a variety of nets, but usually at the net that Fernanda owns. People from the community come to play with us. We normally play until about 7pm or dark and then have dinner around 7:30pm.
Wednesday: We go for a prayer walk at 5pm and then help run the church service that starts at 7pm. Maria runs the worship and then our group gives an encouraging word, testimony, and sermon (I did the sermon this week on foot washing!).
Friday- Usually our free day. We’ve gone to the zoo and ruins. This week I think we’ve decided to go sandboarding.
Saturdays- We usually begin with soccer for a few hours. Lunch. Planning for the children’s service and youth service. Then we help at the children’s service—They sing songs in Spanish lead by Maria (one of our hosts). Then our group normally performs a skit (We’ve done The Good Samaritan and the birth of Jesus) and runs a game. Next, they do an activity or lesson and we just help with that. We then have some free time before the youth service at 7pm. A lot of songs are sung, we run a game, someone from the group gives a word of encouragement (I gave mine the other week—check out my blog Unknown Paths), and then another word or so from someone from the church. This usually goes late and we don’t get home until 9ish. Then dinner and bed!!
Sundays- We have church starting at 10am. That goes until around 12. We come back and have lunch then siesta. At 4pm it’s volleyball time until it gets dark!
On our ministry days we also fit in team time which is usually anywhere from 1-2 hours long. We’ve been doing devotionals, prayer, feedback, sharing testimonies, and encourage each other with affirming and constructive fruit of the spirit feedback on one day a week.
Sometimes our free day gets switched around too and we help in the classrooms on Fridays! And last week a free clinic came to the school! So anyone in the community could come to get looked at and obtain free medications. We helped in that process by praying for the people when they left.
How are you putting Christ’s love into action this week?!?
Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited.Romans 12:9-16
Hi Kelly-
I’m a little behind with reading your blogs – we’ve been dealing with the sinus/allergy yuk!
But we’re doing better. I’ve also been praying that you and your team stay healthy during your journey! As I read your blog and then the closing scripture it prompted an idea in me that I want to run past a gal who does an outreach ministry. So thanks for continuing to post your adventures and scripture as the Holy Spirit leads. Love you loads – and we will miss you at Youth Camp!
So glad to hear you both are doing better! We did have to battle some sickness here to, but luckily it never interfered with ministry. Thank you for your continued prayers. They are always needed and appreciated. And God is so good!
I will miss you all at camp too–what week is it so I can be praying?