Monday, June 17, 2013

Pre-Holiday Club

This morning we visited a Catholic Primary school. Apparently the only reason we were welcome there is because we're ballerinas, so it proves to be a good talent of ours.
 
We performed three of our dances: Gratitude, Good For Me, and Loves Come For Free. All of them have Christian themes, and we introduced each dance beforehand and talked about the meanings. Aside from some brief technical difficulties, all three dances went very well. There were some audible gasps during Good For Me and Love Comes For Free. The principal of the school mentioned how much he liked our music. We then proceeded to teach some ballet to the students... boys and girls alike.
 
The boys were actually more excited than the girls, who took a more serious and shy approach to it. But everyone joined in and before long we had them stretching and doing plies and tendues and chenes. We talked about the steps they liked the most in our dances as well (the jumps). It was all so much fun.
 
Afterwards we had a cup of tea with some of the staff and a nice chat. It was a very good morning and it was very encouraging to see how much they all enjoyed it, including the principal. It's not every day we get the chance to share with Catholic students.
 
For the afternoon we went to Londonderry, the European City of Culture. It used to be a walled city, but it has grown quite large over the centuries so now it expands beyond the wall. Still, like all Irish cities, it has a ton of history. We walked almost all the way around the wall, stopped for some coffee, and then crossed the Peace Bridge.
 
Peace Bridge, as Trevor explained it, is kind of like a sign of peace between the Protestants and the Catholics. They've had a lot of history in Ireland and still today they don't get along too well in some places. But Peace Bridge is very cool and very beautiful, and quite a nice walk.
 
After all that we headed back to the Ballygawley church for some fish and chips and then started getting the hall ready for Holiday Bible Club. Kids started registering and we started painting (oh my gosh just wait until you see the absolutely fabulous clown painted by Elise, Brianna, and myself).
 
I don't have an exact number for the kids who signed up, but I know it's not a whole lot but not a terribly small group either. But we will take whoever we get, knowing that they're the ones that need to be with us.
 
Tomorrow we go to Richmond Primary School, then help out with some toddlers, then finish setting up the church, then dinner, then day one of Bible Club!
 
--Dexter
 
What you can pray for: Lots of team members are still struggling with sleep, so pray that we can get enough rest to keep us going. Always, for health as well. Pray for Richmond tomorrow as we dance and talk and teach, and for day one of Holiday Bible Club! That includes drama, music, games, crafts, worksheets, and general fellowship with the kids we'll be working with.
 

1 comment:

  1. Praying for all of you! I know that the Lord is working through you. I also have prayed that God would prepare tender hearts to receive His Word. Pam Turner

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