Sunday School, Revisted

Last year at about this time, after being approached by our pastor and his wife, I committed to teaching Sunday School at Iglesia Bautista Esperanza to a group of 8-10 8-10 year-olds. I love being involved in church more than just as a pew-sitter, and this seemed to be a good opportunity to get more involved in the church we were calling home. Last year teaching Sunday School was both wonderful and stretching—I enjoyed teaching the group so much, but felt overwhelmed, mostly with the language factor of teaching the Bible story or lesson. While my Spanish was/is steadily (albeit VERY slowly) improving, and while my students were extremely forgiving, it was frustrating to NOT be the same kind of teacher I could be in my native tongue. I felt less fun, less creative, and less understandable. It was also fatiguing to teach every nearly single Sunday with no scheduled breaks and no substitutes. If we were gone, my students would join the 11-12 year old class, taught by the great team Maxwell and Carol, but it was already a large group of kids. 

As we prepared to leave last summer for our two months in MI and NM, a young man named Denis from our church joined our class as an apprentice/observer/helper, as did a young teen named José David. The idea was that Denis would be our “substitute” teacher while we were gone this summer, and José David would assist as needed.

This has turned out to be an answer to prayer that I had never even prayed. When we arrived back in Nicaragua after our time in the US, we took Denis and José David out to lunch to thank them for covering for me, and we were thrilled to find out that Denis and José David were willing (and excited!) to continue to teach Sunday School. So we made a plan: Denis would pick the theme and teach the Bible lesson, Facebook message me the scripture references during the week, and I would come with a related activity, game, and/or craft.

Denis, me, and Jose David

The “sharing of the responsibilities” is going so well! I can still serve and use my gifts coming up with creative activities, but alongside of Denis, a gifted teacher who the kids don’t have to struggle to understand as he teaches Bible lessons. Sundays are full of more joy, and less frustration. I can also miss a Sunday once in a while, for a Boy Scouts activity, illness, or to attend the English-speaking church, and someone is ready to take over!

God is good, and today I’m thankful to be part of a Sunday School team with Denis and José David.

Here's a few pics from our Sunday morning today:

Rushing out of the house in the AM always involves leaving a sink full of breakfast dishes!

Rainy season challenges:) Avoiding the mud puddles!

We did our 20 minute drive to church twice today because when we were almost there, we realized we had left behind the popcorn popper that Andrew needed for his Sunday School activity. 

Our Sunday school class (can you find Henry?), which meets from 9:00-10:00

Dennis, the master teacher

Mae is always proud to show off her own Sunday school work

As is Charlotte! 

Between Sunday School and church, we usually walk to the nearby park to buy some gum for the kids. Today, though, we had no small change so we just hung around. I got to hear what Jonathan has been learning in his piano lessons.

Danny also serves the church through music--he is a great guitar player!

Church begins at 10:30, and usually goes to about 12:00

Today, Ruth was serving in the nursery with a LOT of beautiful kids, for a very long service!

Our Sunday tradition: go out to eat after church! Air conditioning is a must!

Any guesses as to where we ate today?

Ruth Ippel, SN (School Nurse)

I love nursing because of the variety of jobs that go along with it.  This week I had a new “first” as a nurse: I subbed for the school nurse at NCA. I’ve always kind of thought I’d like to be a school nurse, mostly because then Andrew and I could blissfully enjoy free summers together, and these two days gave me a chance to give it a try. I know two days can’t give me a full picture what it is really like, and the fact that the nurse’s office is one of the few air conditioned rooms on campus probably really impacted my level of satisfaction, but I really did enjoy it.  By far the most interesting thing I did was pull a staple out of a kid’s thumb… he had an explanation, but I still don’t totally understand how it got there. The runner ups were irrigating an ear, and treating scraped armpits.  The first day, I had 36 “patients,” which made me wonder, how do schools in the US do it?  School nurses in the US have really become a thing of the past, with hours being cut and positions being replaced by health assistants or even just the school secretary.  At this relatively small school, I was busy all day!  I thoroughly enjoyed interacting with the students, hearing their stories, and being the recipient of their hugs.  I don’t know if I would want to do it all the time, but I would certainly do it again.

Seeing others through the eyes of a child

Yesterday Andrew led chapel for two different groups of elementary students at NCA. His task was to cover the topic of respect. One activity he did was to have students compare two different pictures of children, assuming that the kids in chapel would highlight the obvious differences between them. His plan was then to help the kids focus on the fact that despite the differences between us, ALL are created in the Image of God--we always have that in common.

We were surprised at the contrast in the responses between the younger (PreK-2nd grade) and older (3rd-6th grade) students.  When shown the pictures, here were their observations:

PreK-2^nd: “They are both smiling/happy.”

3^rd-6^th: “One is outside, one is inside.”

PreK-2^nd: “They are both girls.”

3^rd-6^th: “One is sitting in a wheelchair, the other isn’t.”

 

PreK-2^nd: “They are all boys.”

3^rd-6^th: “One is alone, the other has lots of friends.”

PreK-2^nd: “They both have long hair.”

3^rd-6^th: “One looks like she has a disability, the other doesn’t.”

PreK-2^nd: “They are both boys”

3^rd-6^th: “One can hear, the other can’t”

As the younger children gave their answers, it warmed our hearts… all they saw were the similarities and commonalities! As the older children gave the answers that Andrew had been setting them up for, we began to wonder…

At what point to kids stop focusing on similarities and start focusing on differences?

Is focusing on differences something that our children are learning as they grow older? If so, from where?

How do these differing thought patterns affect the way they see each other and interact with each other?

Which group do I think more like? Which group should I think more like?

I fully recognize that there is beauty in appreciating and celebrating differences, but I don’t know if this is the best place to start. I think that if we could model the mindset of these young children as we meet new people and build relationships, beginning first by focusing on our similarities, it could create a better foundation for loving each other the way that Jesus taught us to love.