Titus Project Work – Page 3 – Teaching Adventures

2013/09/05

A Turkish Summer

I remember reading as a kid the book ‘Narnia’ and all about the little boy who falls in love with Turkish Delight. Well, now I know why! After eating just one small square you definitely don’t want to stop! I may have over indulged a few too many times.

We had a great summer in Turkey. For those who don’t know, Ben has been leading a 9 month bible school that YWAM runs in many locations all over the world. It is called the ‘School of Biblical Studies.’ Basically what we do is take students through the whole bible studying each one of the 66 books using the inductive method (which is really just good reading habits like considering the authors intent and how the original readers would have understood what was written). The challenge is that because this school is 9 months long we have to figure out a way for our students to stay with us for 9 months. An easy solution was to be in Ukraine for 90 days, 90 more days in Turkey and then back to Ukraine for the final 90 days. That way we can just have our students receive the regular visas and not need to apply for temporary residency. Why Turkey? Because Turkey has some great archeological sites that date back to the time in the New Testament.

And so our website right now is filled with pictures from this summer in Turkey. It was awesome taking our students through the Old Testament. They just finished Malachi last week and this week begin studying the New Testament with Luke and Acts while they travel to these different archeological sites. We’ve both taught a lot of books this summer and enjoyed the routine of Ben usually going to work in the morning (sometimes I, Angela would go if I was teaching) and then at the end of the day Ben would come home, we’d have dinner and then head to the park with the kids (since it was the only time of day that wasn’t too hot – just 30C or so).

It has been an awesome Turkish summer and we are going to miss the Turkish Delight. But now we are in the Netherlands getting ready to run the 4th Titus Project Europe! 8 participants and 3 outreach locations! It is going to be awesome!

2013/07/12

Time Life The Lost Civilizations

Sandrine’s Titus Project Experience

What I liked the most about my Titus was the partnership and service of the local church.
In Magnitogorsk in Russia, we were able to work with one church for 3 weeks – teaching kids as well as grandmas, teaching during camps, bible seminars, youth groups,
house groups and Sunday service. This church was so active!

I was blessed by the hunger of the people. As soon as we arrived, they started sharing their expectation of our time together. And they took everything they could from us,
they were so eager to learn. It was such a privilege to see theface of many people being filled with the truth. I loved seeing people discovering that they can understand the Bible on their own and study it themselves. I loved having people coming up to us, asking if they can teach what they’ve learnt to others as they’d been so blessed and impacted by those teachings. I loved praying for people at the end of the sessions as they wanted to be free by the truth. It was great seeing people encouraging each other through the teaching they had just received. I remember a woman encouraging a sister about God’s character 2 days after
the seminar. They were applying the teachings in their lives and letting it bring life in them. Truly the Bible is an extraordinary book that keeps transforming lives among different nations, cultures, ages and time period and it is a privilege to be part of the process of seeing people’s lives transformed and changed by the Word.
Sandrine Freymond, 24 years old, Switzerland

(Sandrine has recently joined us on staff with YWAM Kyiv)

2013/03/09

Seraina’s Titus Project Experience

Situation 1: A small group of Kazakh Babushkas (Grandmothers) is looking curiously at me and the colorful visuals I put on the wall. All are ready with a pen in their hand.

Situation 2: Around 40 Kazakh men hang in their chairs, some are smiling in anticipation, some are just observing those strange foreigners. Apparently it is a group mixed with pastors and exprisoners who became believers while in prison. Some are out for a long time, some just for a few weeks.
Situation 3: A group of “normal” Russian churchgoers chat while I get my notes and PowerPoint ready.

What do I do in any of these situations? I take a deep breath and greet them with my broken Russian. In my heart I pray for God to give me words and help them to understand.

It is a joy to see them nodding, almost like a light was turned on in their mind and they understand things about God‘s heart they have not before, tears running down their faces. Others look at me seriously and I can‘t figure out what they think about my teaching.

During the last 2 months of teaching I learned SO MUCH! We taught various audiences, as you can tell, which was a big challenge but also awesome chance to learn how to teach people according to their needs and ways of understanding. I‘m convinced that God was at work helping the people to understand the Bible for themselves.
The main point I learned was not trusting in the way I teach or my appearance but in what I teach: the Bible, God‘s
powerful word! I taught following the slogan ‘I will do my best and God will do the rest’. Looking back, I see how God helped me personally to grasp more of who he is and I can whole heartedly say that I am very glad that I did the Titus Project.

Seraina Monsch, 25 years old, Switzerland

2013/01/15

Great Questions

Recently we taught in a Discipleship Training School, a 6 month program that equips young believers to know God and then make him known – because he is a beautiful, wonderful God worthy of everyone’s worship. We were teaching about the Bible because it is God’s story and shows his wonderful plan for our redemption! We usually put out a little question box, where students can write any questions they have and so I thought I’d share some of the questions the students had for us. Most of them are well thought out and challenging, but it gives us a chance to help them see who God really is! So here they are:

How can we call God love and use when he sends people to hell. I understand that people “choose hell by rejecting Jesus”‘ but it seems like you are screwed if you are born to a muslim or a hindu family.

I get that there is lots of evidence for the accuracy of the new testament, but how do we know that its true? If I discovered a really old copy of the resurrection story I would assume it was fiction or something.

How do we reconcile the big difference between how the Holy Spirit acts in the New Testament and how he acts in our lives? The fact that its so different makes me think that the Holy Spirit just isn’t around or maybe he changed or maybe something else entirely.

How can I be sure the BIble is God’s Word?

What are the apocrypha?

If you’re wondering about one of these questions, or you have one yourself, don’t hesitate to write us and ask! We love helping and encouraging people to know what God is really like! Send us an Email here.

2012/11/24

Bible Jokes

Just for some fun:

A resident of one of the European countries – an atheist – became lost during a trip to Africa. After a while he came upon a tribe of savages.
Suddenly, he sees that the leader reads the Bible. Going up to the leader, the European said to him:
– Bible reading? This book is out of fashion – no one reads it anymore.
– A white man, it is your good fortune that a couple of weeks ago we visited a missionary, and that I am now reading the Bible, and otherwise you would have long been roasted on a fire.

Житель одной европейской страны – атеист – заблудился во время путешествия по Африке. Через некоторое время он набрел на племя дикарей.
Вдруг он видит, что вождь читает Библию. Подойдя к вождю, европеец ему говорит:
– Библию читаешь? Эта книга уже вышла из моды – ее уже давно никто не читает.
– Белый человек, это твое счастье, что пару недель назад к нам приезжал миссионер, и что я сейчас читаю Библию, а то бы ты давно уже жарился на костре.

http://uucyc.ru/humor/%D0%91%D0%B8%D0%B1%D0%BB%D0%B8%D1%8F

2012/11/23

SBS

It was a wild ride, reading and studying every verse in all 66 books of the Bible. Maybe it seemed challenging at the beginning. And maybe there were days when I just couldn’t do any more. But I walked away with a firm grasp of understanding of the whole Bible!

What does the Bible really say? Who really is Jesus? What is God’s will for my life? Is God really a Father? I hear so many questions about the Bible. I had so many questions about the Bible. Most of them are answered now. Of course I also have many new ones. Will any of them get answered this coming year? I certainly expect so. I will discover more about God and more about how I can be the best ambassador for him.

* The picture shows the students and staff of the YWAM Kyiv School of Biblical Studies 2007-2008.

2012/11/17

Teaching Oral Communicators

When was the last time that you took down the binder or journal from a conference, retreat or series of messages and read through them. I almost never do. Who actually has time for that? I certainly don’t. Of course, note-taking does help with the initial remembering and even processing of information, but except for rare instances become dust-covered relics.

Many people prefer to learn information through stories. Not just for the entertainment value but because they actually understand the message, the idea, better. One of the topics we cover in our three-weeks of intense teacher training is teaching oral communicators, that is, people who prefer to learn information in a format that is concrete and example filled, rather than theoretical and impersonal.

This is actually a great skill to learn for any teacher or leader because we all naturally learn better this way, though most educated people have been trained to learn through note-taking and theoretical discussions. So, whether teaching uneducated Christians in Central Asia (those countries just west of China and north of the Middle East) or college graduates in Germany, using methods that are practical for oral communicators becomes a critical tool in the teachers toolkit. Or binder, as long as one doesn’t just leave it on the shelf.

* The picture is of Manas, the hero from an epic poem that is 20x longer than Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey combined. He is basically the national hero of Kyrgyzstan.

2012/11/09

Asia Outreach Story

Here is an update from one of our teams in a post-Soviet country that persecutes Christians and represses those who follow Jesus. Which is why we can’t post a photo of the leaders who they were teaching. Here is their update:

Our last week in Kz was once again in another city – within a month we changed locations four times. The next day after we arrived we happened to attend the 10th anniversary of the church that received us and were invited to have lunch with the pastors who came from different parts of Central Asia for that event – what an honor.

There we worked with the Bible school that was organized by the joint efforts of several local churches. We had the class of 15 students and during 4 nights we taught the Bible overview and the Inductive Bible Study through Philemon. Seraina with Sandrine also led the worship before the classes. In the end of the week we had to test our students, which was a test for us as teachers and we learned from it.

2012/11/07

Ukraine Outreach Story

As you know, Titus Project has three teams out teaching and preaching in Romania, Ukraine and the CIS.
Here is a short story from our team in Ukraine:

“But why did Jesus have to die?” asked the woman on my left with a puzzled frown. The others, suddenly curious, leant forward along the length of the long conference table between us. “Excellent question” I began “Well…” The man to my right, a local psychologist, listened aptly with a considering expression on his face. Another woman further down the table, a linguist and employee of the Korean embassy, started taking notes. The young man beside her, a student at the polytechnic institute, wore a small, knowing smile as one of the three Christians in the room. This was our second week together since our team had agreed to take over the bible study through the Gospel of Luke hosted by the Ukrainian Education Center and I couldn’t have been more enthusiastic. We had been in the eleventh chapter of Luke for two weeks, first considering Jesus’ response to accusations that he was casting out demons by the power of Beelzebub and now discussing Jesus’ claims to be greater than both a Prophet and Philosopher in the following passage where the Jews ask him for a sign…

What a privilege it is for us to be able to teach the Bible, to ordinary babushka’s and high profile doctors and diplomats! The truth will set them free!

2012/10/23

Romania Outreach Story

After training 8 new bible teachers in Germany they all went out to teach. Here is what one of the teachers from Romania wrote:

That awkward moment when you walk into church and realize that you are the only one who is not wearing a head covering… oops… what do you do? You smile, walk forward, take your seat and pretend like you belong here.

A moment later worship band starts playing:

Zi de zi eu vreau
Sa respire Cuvantul Tau
Si ma rog, Doamne,
Tot mai mult sa Te cunosc,
Condu-ma in fiecare clip ace-o traiesc
Zi de zi Doamne, Vreau sa luminez mereu

So what there is no translation? The words sound so familiar…

Everyday, Lord, I’ll
Learn to stand upon Your word
And I pray that I I might come to know You more
That You would guide me in every single step I take, that
Everyday I can Be Your light unto the world

You join everybody in worship.

Our image of God increases every time we go to a different nation. There is something unique that each culture has in a way they see and understand God and it shapes our understanding of who God is as we share our lives with people, as we spend time among them.

There is something special, something greater as we bow down before God in prayer with people from different culture. We see how our trust in God unifies us.

There is no more difference in us.

Our diversity is beautifully united in worship before God.

We see bigger purpose in our lives as we go out. Every time it reminds us how great is the one who created heavens and earth. Who is all in all.

When we see difference of God in other people we understand God more, our picture of him increases, He becomes bigger in our minds.

He has power to unite nations and languages.
He brings unity in diversity.

2012/09/14

Titus Staff

Last week we introduced you to Hurlach, Germany and Castle Fest, the annual open-house and party for the castle here. Well we caught the Titus staff in their Bavarian uniforms, traditional dresses for the ladies and for the men – lederhosen.

From R-L: Ben, Saana, Yulia, Ang, Sonya, Joshua. Just thought we’d give you a quick introduction to our team.

Saana hails from Finland. She joined us as a participant in 2010 in Sweden and then led a team with Yulia last year in Kyiv. She has been to Armenia and Ukraine/Russia for her outreaches. She’s our dancing star!

Yulia comes from Russia. She joined us a team co-leader last year with Saana. This year she will co-lead a team to a central Asian country and finish in Russia. She’s always ahead of the ball.

Sonya is from Ukraine. She completed Titus in India two years ago and went to China last year. This year she will lead a team to Romania. She’s got incredible skills in procurement and “getting it done!”

Joshua is Canadian. He staffed our first Titus Europe in Sweden two years ago and has led teams to Armenia and Hungary/Latvia and this year will take a team back to Ukraine.

We’re really proud of the staff on our team and its a real pleasure to work with them!

2012/07/27

Titus Project Prep

Our Titus Training Program will be starting in just 7 weeks. We have 10 participants from all over Europe (like Sweden, Germany, Lithuania, Switzerland) in three teams heading to nations like Romania, Russia and Ukraine!

We’re so excited to see these SBS graduates go out and teach the Bible and how to study it. After having put in 9 months of very intense study covering all 66 books of the Bible they are ready to begin training in how to present that information so people learn it and use it.

Awesome! And we get to be a part of it! Please, pray that participants will have a good rest as they prepare for 3 months of travel, learning and teaching. Pray that the people they go to would be hungry for God’s Word, open to listen and determined to seek God and change their lives as He speaks to them. And pray for us as we do it for the first time as a family of 5!

2012/07/23

Which is English?

We have travelled and taught and studied multiple new languages with such variety as Mandarin Chinese, Indonesian and Russian. Of course, as teachers it is incredibly important to show humility by also being a learner, of culture and language, so that we don’t think we only have something to offer without also realizing that we have something to learn.

Anyway, the point about all this is to say we came across a nifty little game (thanks to one of the language learning blogs we subscribe too) which I’m sure will become very popular in no time, especially with wordies (that is, people who love words – kind of like “foodies”). Anyway, the game is found at whichisenglish.com. You, as the player, are presented with two words, one is real English and the other fake. Pick it correctly and you’ll get a slightly more difficult pair, get it wrong and you’ll get an easier pair.

Anyway, I thought I must mention this somewhere because all of our friends who teach English or learn English or Russian should have this up their sleeve for fun during class sometimes. I personally am looking forward to the Russian version which is on its way.

2012/05/12

Property Work Day

Taking care of the properties used for serving people is clearly important. Whether its a building used for meetings, a van for transport or a beach for camps, the time spent in cleaning, maintenance and repairs is part and parcel of the opportunity to use them.

Here in Kyiv, we have a property with some buildings, fields for soccer and games, and a beautiful beach. Each gets used in different ways and by different groups. So for us its vital to be a part of taking care of them. Our visiting family (Ben’s sister Lisa and her husband Mike) contributed to our property care during the most recent property work day by spreading sand, picking rocks and building walls (part of an addition to the kitchen). Thanks for helping out!

2012/04/05

Central Europe or Bust!

One of our teams headed to central Europe, to Hungary for the first month and then on to Latvia. They had some really cool opportunities, from teaching Revelation to entering a post-soviet prison teaching inmates how to read and study their Bible. Listen to Silvi share about some of her experience:

When I looked at their sincere eyes, smiles, and eagerness to participate I forgot that we were in a high security prison, sitting among murderers, rapists and thieves. We had been checked with a metal detector, our bags had been searched, the soda we brought smelled for alcohol, and our Bible’s leafed through for money. Even though the heavy doors were closed with a startling clang and if I ever wanted to go to the washroom I need to be escorted there by a guard – yet as we began to teach it was as if the window no longer had bars. The door was no longer locked. We were one family captured in the world of ‘Bible Overview’ or the story of Jonah.

When you ask people in your home groups to read the book of Acts maybe one or two will last it out past chapter five. We asked these guys to read the book of Acts in two days time and it was done and they had their list of questions for us! These young men of whom most had flunked out of their high school, and some of them very poor readers, were our most attentive audience!

2012/03/10

Whew!

That is the sigh that came out of my mouth when I thought about the past few months :) We started a new ministry team, got busy teaching in local churches around Kiev, and now we are on a teaching/recruiting tour of the SBS’s in Europe. Two weeks ago Angela went to Sweden to teach Leviticus in the SBS there. Looks like 2 students will be coming to do Titus this fall with us from there. After that we got home and a day later we all drove to Germany. This is where we will run Titus Project this fall, so we came to build relationships and teach in the SBS here. Ben taught ‘How to Preach’ and our friend Josh taught 1 &2 Samuel. Unfortunately, we have been having some visa problems so now we will stay here in Germany until the end of the month, and hopefully get everything all worked out. Please pray for us. Our kids are sick too, so pray for the kids…and the parents- cleaning up after they get sick is never fun.

2012/02/19

Georgia … the Country, not the State

In Georgia our team had an amazing opportunity to teach at one of the only Kurdish churches in the world! We taught the book of 1 Peter to them, chapter by chapter every Saturday and Sunday Night for a month.

One particularly unique moment happened when we were teaching Chapter 3:1-6. These verses emphasize the influence that the behavior of believing wives can have on non-believing husbands. All of a sudden a few of the women started sharing that their husbands were not believers. We gathered them in the middle and prayed for them to have strength, wisdom and the ability to really live out this truth in their lives. The tears were flowing and the atmosphere was filled with a tangible presence of the Holy Spirit. It is moments like those that remind us why we are teaching God’s word!

2012/02/09

Crucial Conversations

The leadership team we are a part of is reading together through this book, Crucial Conversations. It has been the perfect book to read because we are growing and learning together about all sorts of important things regarding have healthy, helpful, safe conversations with people. Our brother Ike recommended it to us and I think it is one of those books that everyone should read! One of the things I thought was really good is that the authors talk about how we have this false impression that if you are going to have a ‘hard talk’ with someone you either will be honest and destroy the relationship, or not say anything in order to keep peace, but that is the fools choice. In fact it is possible to be honest and still maintain relationships. Something else that they talked about is how often we lose sight of what is important when emotions get involved. We start trying to ‘win’ and make our point instead of just looking at what is the main goal of the discussion. This has been a great book for Ben and I to read in our marriage, in parenting, and in leadership. We highly recommend it!

2012/01/29

Ukraine / Russia Article

One of the teams that we sent out stayed for one month in Ukraine and then moved on to the mid-west of Russia. Here is a quote from one of the interns, James from Germany:

“From the training time on God began to show me that teaching the bible and even teaching in general is not really about me as the teacher, it is all about honouring God and serving the people in my audience. As a teacher I can be so focused on myself and overly concerned with my performance and what people think of me, but I’ve come to realize that what really matters is what the audience “walks away with”. Throughout outreach I was able to put this revelation into practice and learn how to better make God’s word applicable to people of different backgrounds.

One of our main goals was to equip Ukrainian and Russian believers to study God’s word for themselves using inductive principles. We guided them through small books such as Philemon and Jonah and were amazed to see and hear what they “got out of it”. God gave us many opportunities to strengthen his body, the church, and encourage believers to dig deeper into the bible.
I think it is just amazing how God speaks to his people. Our audiences were encouraged by the truths they discovered and how these principles could be applied in their own lives. That is really what it is all about. We study and teach God’s word in order to be transformed, becoming more like him and giving him glory!”