Teaching Adventures

  • 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.

  • Memory Maker #2

    It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas! Well, actually there is no snow yet and its just getting cold but since we’re putting up the Christmas tree on Friday, we decided that we gotta make some ornaments!

    Yes, the kids dumped in the ingredients and stirred up the dough and had a blast with the cookie cutters. It’s going to be a great Christmas!

  • Such JOY!

    It’s such a pleasure when little babies smile and giggle!

    No wonder then that we can’t get enough of this little man’s smile! Of course we can’t get a good picture of it in action either. He’s sitting in his bumbo, looking for toys to play with, eating like a monster from planet buffet and bringing smiles to everyone, including the under 5 category!

  • Skyping with Grandma

    Skyping with Grandma!

    For many, sitting down and having a little chat with Grandma is no big deal. But our kids do most of that over skype, so it was quite impressive when Jay stopped flicking the light switches and running down the hallway long enough to put on the headphones and have a little conversation with Grandma! Not bad for this active little guy.

  • Washing those Dishes

    The real deal. Not just practicing this time, Cassie has finally stepped over the line. First time ever she washed some dishes without any rewashing. YAY! She was in deep, even scrubbing with the brush but she got those plastic dishes clean as can be! What an wonderful little girl big girl we have!

  • 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.

  • Be Bold

    “Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far one can go.”
    – TS Elliot

  • 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.

     

  • 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!

  • Memory Maker One

    Memory Maker
    Star Date 4207
    Pizza and Pepsi, Ice Cream and a Movie

    We’ve started a new family tradition. Once every week or two, we will have a specific family event called a Memory Maker. The purpose is to do something that makes family memories. The event isn’t the important but doing something together and making some memories. Sometimes as simple as a special movie, roasting marshmallows or going bowling. Every Memory Maker will include a photo. At the end of this year we will take all the photos and put them into a book which will become something of a family album!

    Today was our first Memory Maker. We ate frozen pizza’s, of course they taste better frozen. Just joking. And it wasn’t Pepsi, it was Coca Cola. And then we all sat on the couch and watched Toy Story together and mom brought us some ice cream. What a great night! Jay even cleaned up the bowls after the movie was done – all on his own, without anyone suggesting it. Kaiser was in a great mood and Cass even held him for a bit during the movie. Ang put it all together! And Ben enjoyed holding his kids. So thankful to have each other!

  • Monday Nov 5, 2012

  • The Titus Project Experience

    An interview with Angela after 3 weeks of Bible Teacher Training. Here are some highlights from the participants and staff before they go out to teach for 2 months.

  • 6 months is coming!

    Kai, your big gummy smile is one of the best things that start our day! It is so fun to watch your little body develop and grow. In a week you will be 6 months old! Time for real food (well, if you can call rice cereal food!). Exciting! Pictures to come soon.

  • Reasoning and empathy skills

    Jay loves to talk. It is so great because he has lots of interesting ideas and he is starting to reason really well. If we ask him “Jay, why do you keep banging the truck against the table?”  a few weeks ago he would just answer, “Because I am.” Now he says, “Because I like the way it sounds.” It helps when we also use reason to explain why we say no to certain things. However, now we need to keep working on helping him understand how others feel. Another big challenge for parents. “Please don’t hit Cassie in the head, how do you think that makes her feel?” Ah…. siblings!!

  • Saying goodbye is hard

    “Mom, can we snuggle?”

    “Of course Cassie, are you okay?”

    “I’m sad because I won’t see my friends here for awhile.”

    “It’s okay to be sad honey, do you want to cry a little?”

    Emotions. They are healthy, good, and help us to really experience life to the full. The challenge with our life, leaving and travelling to so many places, is that our kids naturally have to experience separation a lot more. Our goal is that they truly learn to feel the feelings of sadness, and also the love and joy of new friends, without shutting down their emotions, hardening. Pray for us to have wisdom as parents- and of course to not shut ourselves down as we constantly meet wonderful friends, deepen our own friendships and open ourselves up to more pain when the separation comes.

    Thumbs Down for Goodbyes!

  • 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.

  • Forgiven

    I had a new friend invite me over to his chair the other day. He wanted to ask me a question. “Have you ever hated someone?”  It’s not everyday I’m asked that.

    He explained a little more and I suggested he give this book a read, “The Hiding Place” by Corrie Ten Boom. In it she shares about some personal and terrible experiences that shaped her life. One day, after teaching about how she lived through them one of the perpetrators asks her for forgiveness. Can she? If you haven’t read the book and harbour some resentment or bitterness to someone you need to give this a read. Click here to find it for free delivery on book depository. And yes, I have hated. But living with hate is tiring, time-consuming and painful. Say the words out loud to someone and get your life back!

  • Ukraine

  • Romania

  • Central Asia