FSM 263 / FN 372 Educating Our Children!
SPECIAL ISSUE! DO
Copyrighted December, 1994 by Family Services, Zurich, Switzerland
Table of Contents:
Finding the Balance!
1
Our Four-Fold Education
1
Finding the Balance
2
Our Kids' Busy Days
2
Encouragement from the Lord!
2
Can We Fit It All in a Day?
3
How Can We Reach Our Goals?
4
Scheduling, Sacrifice and Sharing the Load
4
Taking a Little Time
5
Balanced Input for Our Children
5
Putting the Emphasis on Witnessing!
6
How to Give the Teachers Opportunities for Witnessing
6
Getting the Children Out Witnessing
8
Road School Scholars
9
A Lesson on Prayerfully Choosing Children's Tapes
12
Making a School Kit for Witnessing Trips
13
Travelling School Times!
13
News Article: Home Learning Recipes
14
Let's Take the Children Witnessing!
15
Children's Witnessing--A Time for Training!
16
Witnessing Adventures with Children!
19
With our renewed emphasis on witnessing, and each Home doing their best to spend more time out witnessing, winning souls, getting out the Message, doing follow-up, and gaining support, some of you may have wondered how to reconcile this with the emphasis you know is needed on other areas of our children's education.
Our Four-Fold Education
By "education", we mean everything that goes into the teaching and training of our children--which is a lot, if you look at everything our Family education includes.
Let's consider the four main areas we need to keep making progress in:
(1) Word study is a very important part of, in fact, the foundation of our children's education.
(2) There is the children's scholastic education, which is sometimes called their "formal" or academic education, which we often refer to simply as their "schooling". When we refer to our children's "schooling" or "scholastic studies" or "academic education", we usually mean subjects like reading, writing, mathematics, science, social studies, health, a foreign language, physical education, etc. To make things simple, we'll just refer to this whole side of our children's education as their "scholastics" or "scholastic studies".
(3) Then there are all the practical life skills we teach our children, which in time develop into vocational training, and eventually ministries. We will call this part of our children's education their "practical skills training", which includes personal care and all the little jobs and job skills they do and learn around the Home.
(4) There is another very important area of our children's education that also must not be neglected. We must teach them how to be active, soul-winning, witnessing Christians. Let's refer to this active Christian outreach training part of their education simply as their "witnessing training".
There are probably lots of other areas or ways in which we educate our children, but for now let's concentrate on these four main ones as we prayerfully consider how we can increase our children's witnessing experience and training, while at the same time still keep up with the other areas of their education.
Finding the Balance
Finding the right balance and taking the right course of action when we are faced with several demanding priorities is not easy. We want to find a way to teach our children how to reach the World, as well as keep up with their scholastics, be faithful with their Word studies, do their Home jobs--their practical skills training--and still have time to just play and have fun. Meeting any one of their main educational needs could take up all of their time and energy, and ours too! Witnessing is certainly one of our main concerns, but so are the other areas. In "The School Vision" Dad said, "to properly take care of [our children] and train them--the best and most potential disciples we could possibly have--is a very important job and ministry!" (ML# 2430:68) Our task, then, is to find ways to efficiently and effectively make progress in all areas of our four-fold Family education!
Our Kids' Busy Days
Mama recently commented on these important parts of our children's education: "How to increase our children's time for witnessing while keeping up with their scholastics and other training is a real concern in our Homes.... When you want to make improvements in one area, there are always other things you have to take into consideration, because so many things are interconnected.... In order to take the children out witnessing more, plus still keep up with their Word time and their scholastics time, the children will have less time each day to help out with Home chores. That is a very major consideration in itself, because our young people, starting with the OCs on up, play a very important part in helping out in our Homes, and that's where they learn many practical skills. Also, you can't let them lose their get-out and play time either.
"Considering all that needs to be done, it seems like an almost impossible situation to get all of these things properly covered in the short amount of time we have. Kids in the System hardly have time to put in their school hours and do their homework, much less have time for anything else. But what we wish for our kids is far more: We not only want them to learn scholastics, but include in their schedule three other major areas of education as well: Word studies, practical, or vocational training, and witnessing.
"So whatever we do, it is going to have to be very efficient and effective to keep up with our four-fold learning program. We are going to have to pack a lot of quality training into every moment of our kids' time if we hope to do Word studies, scholastics, practical skills training, & witnessing with them! We are trying to tackle a monumental job! And we are going to have to cry out to the Lord desperately for some supernatural solutions on how to do it. The need is there, and the Lord has said that He would supply our every need, so there must be a solution."--Mama, 10/94.
Encouragement from the Lord!
In preparing this series of FSMs, we have been thinking and praying about how to help you find a good balance in your children's education. What ideas or direction could we give you on how to make it work? We were sure that the education of our children in all these areas needed to be one of our main priorities, yet we weren't quite sure how the Lord wanted us to accomplish this.
It was very clear in the prophecies that had been received about the financial state of the Homes (GN 598) that the answer to many of our financial difficulties would be in getting out witnessing more. We strongly believe that that is the direction we need to go to get the Lord's blessing, not only financially, but in many areas of our lives. But the prophecies on finances and witnessing did not specifically address this question of finding the balance between increasing the emphasis on witnessing, while maintaining, and hopefully improving, these other areas of the care and education of our children. So we were very happy when Mama requested that a team go before the Lord in prayer, specifically asking the question outlined above: "How do we fit in all aspects of our children's four-fold learning program?" And the Lord gave some wonderful encouragement and direction in answer to this question. (Coming soon in the pub, "How to Have a Happy Home!") Praise the Lord!
Along with some specific direction about giving the children a good basic foundation in their education, and taking heed to the different talents and burdens the children may have, the Lord brought out again and again that each Home needs to seek the Lord more for help in the big task of raising and educating their children. The Lord said we need to "seek the Lord's guidance", "seek His face daily", "call upon Me, to lean and depend upon Me", "diligently and aggressively seek for answers". "In prayer and supplication, have ye carried your part of the load?" "Have ye carried the child before Me in desperate prayer?", "Cry unto Me and I shall bring these wonderful solutions. Cry unto Me and I shall open the riches of My Spirit, the riches of My Word" , "Cry out to Me daily", "Seek Me and ye shall find", "Look unto Me and be enlightened. Turn to Me and I will teach you the way", "Call upon Me and keep yourself open unto Me in complete yieldedness". Wow! How many different ways could He have said it? The Lord seems to be placing more responsibility on the individual, on each one's faith and connection with the Lord, and He promised to help us find solutions! Thank You Jesus! (These prophecies will be printed in full in the "How to Have a Happy Home" pub.)
We hope that this series of FSMs will give our Home Teamworks, parents and teachers some helpful ideas, and that the testimonies of others who have tried various solutions will be an encouragement. Of course, each Home and situation is different, and there is no single "perfect solution" for everyone, and you will still need to "seek His face daily."--But He has promised to answer! He has promised to teach us the way! We're sure that even if you do not find your solutions within these pages, you will be thrilled with the Lord's wonderful answers to your prayers! God bless you!--As you pray, He'll show the way!
Can We Fit It All in a Day?
To summarise, the main areas of educational concern for our children are:
1. Word time
2. Scholastics
3. Practical skills (vocational) training
4. Witnessing
Plus, they also need time for free time, play time and get-out!
That's a lot to fit in a day! In fact, it probably is not possible to do everything every day! But our children definitely need a balance of all these areas. So let's see how we can possibly fit it all in a week. Which must be done daily, and which can be done off and on throughout the week?
Word time is of course a daily necessity (and can sometimes be combined with scholastics if fun and vigorous).
Get-out is a daily necessity (and can sometimes be combined with witnessing and practical skills training).
Witnessing could be done several times a week (and can sometimes count for get-out).
Scholastics should be scheduled several days a week (and can sometimes be combined with Word time).
Practical skills training could be scheduled several times a week (and can sometimes count for get-out).
There! Can you see the light at the end of the tunnel? Did it surprise you that we said that scholastics could be done several days a week, rather than daily? Yes, you read it right. Formal time for scholastics does not have to be a daily duty, but could be done 3 or 4 or 5 days a week rather than daily. We are not minimising the importance of our children's academic education, as we all know how important it is for them to gain the knowledge and develop the skills they need to lead happy, fruitful, productive lives. However, many home schoolers have proven that a full day of sit-down-and-be-quiet-at-a-desk school work is not needed or necessary to educate children and keep them up to the standards found in most schools. Home schoolers often do only two or three hours of "formal" textbook type school work a day. Much of their learning comes from their other experiences throughout the day. And for our children, going out witnessing can be one of those "other experiences"--it can be very educational, and is a necessary skill to learn, though it is not thought of as "schooling" or textbook learning. (More on how to make witnessing a home schooling experience is found in the article "Road School Scholars" on pg.9, and "Children's Witnessing: A Time for Training" on pg.16.) So if our children have a few hours of quality school work a day--perhaps a total of at least 12 hours a week, they could still keep up to the standard they need to be at for their age. And these 12 hours could be 2 hours a day for 6 days; or 3 hours a day for 4 days; or 4 hours a day for 3 days.
But in order for this to work, and for these hours of schooling to meet the mark, they would need to be concentrated school time. Those teaching them would need to be well aware of their daily goals, have the teaching materials ready, and make very good use of the time. Remember it's not so much the time spent doing school work as the quality of the time that will make a difference to the children. Prayerful preparation and planning will make all the difference in the world!
How Can We Reach Our Goals?
Our present goal is to increase our time spent on witnessing, yet keep the training of our children a priority. We need to do both. Let's list our goals and see if we can find some solutions:
1. Get out the Message and the tools.
2. Follow up on those we witness to.
3. Bring in support through the above.
4. Physically care for our children and our Family.
5. Train our children "in the way they should go" (including witnessing!)
6. Teach our children the Word!
7. Teach our children the scholastic knowledge and vocational skills they need.
Any one of these seven duties can consume our entire time. Is it possible to do all of the above and not leave any undone? How to tackle items 1 and 2 is covered in many Letters and pubs. Number 3 is covered in past Letters and in GN 598 and FSMs 261, 262 and 263. So in this FSM let's concern ourselves with exploring ideas and testimonies on how we can do numbers 4 through 7 at the same time as we put more emphasis on 1, 2 and 3. How can we have a good balance in physically caring for our many children, training them, teaching them, and giving them the attention, love and caring that they need, while still fulfilling the "Great Commission"?
Scheduling, Sacrifice and Sharing the Load
Much of the secret to success seems to depend on good scheduling, as well as, of course, a sacrificial willingness on everyone's part to devote their time and share the load of caring for our children. As you have seen in the Hope Mag (#52, and coming soon in Hope #60), the Lord has given many of our teens and young people the burden to step in and care for their younger brothers and sisters, and we are so thankful to see them filling the need in this ministry. And, thank the Lord, He has also given the same burden to many of our adults. The teens and YAs can help tremendously, and they already are, but remember, they also need to and want to participate in witnessing, follow-up and raising support. In "The `Teaching the Children' Dream", Dad encouraged the teens to become teachers, but he also explained that they need variety:
"(Mama: The teens enjoy caring for the children and they're good at it, but a big desire of theirs right now is to witness. So maybe they can do both.) Yes, of course! Teens need lots of variety. They love to get out there on the witnessing front and do Holy Ghost samples and demonstrations and skits.
"We've got to make sure we're taking care of our young people, and be sure we're giving them what they need.--Not only good training in childcare, but in witnessing as well." (ML #2845:20,25.)
As Dad has always said, our children are all our children, and we are all responsible, not only to give them the care, love and attention they need, but the teaching and training as well.
Some of you feel the burden for children and their care and training tugging at your heart, but you may be thinking, "How can I? I'm so busy with my other ministry--and now we want to put more into witnessing, too!" Well, to help out in the childcare ministry you do not necessarily need to take on teaching as a full-time ministry, but perhaps you can pitch in for short periods of time, perhaps teaching a certain subject regularly for a few hours each week. Each member probably has something that he or she can contribute or teach or share, talents and skills that will benefit our children and young people. "As a team we do it better", and as we carry the load together, we'll all share in the beautiful rewards and fulfilment of seeing our children grow in the Lord and progress until they are sharing and helping us in our great responsibility of reaching the World for Jesus. Praise the Lord!
Following is a testimony from one YA who shares how rewarding it is to be able to spend some time with the children even though she is involved in another fulltime ministry.
Taking a Little Time
by Joan Clair, 21, Pacific
It's always been my burden in the care of the Love Bugs (ages 3-4) to involve them as much as possible in "grown up" matters. For example, when new wine comes in and I happen to be caring for them that day, I try to summarise it for them (where appropriate and helpful, of course). In some ways I think maybe it helps to give them a bit of a broader outlook on life than just their little group and their blocks and legos, and to relate a bit to what the Family is doing in different places. One day I explained about the drought that was going on here, and we prayed for rain (it started raining that very day), and this was an opportunity to teach them to save water also.
I've found that when I really want the Lord to answer a specific prayer request, I go to the Love Bugs! The Lord always honours their simple childlike faith, so I try to take every opportunity I can to ingrain in them the principle that the Lord does answer prayer. When we prayed for rain, and later that day it started raining, I came running back to the room to find the kids, "Look it's raining! The Lord answered your prayers!" And of course they were all flipped out. And the next time I was with them they told me, "Can we pray for rain again?" Ha! So we did, and one of them prayed, "Lord, help it rain a lot!" And that evening it started pouring! God bless them!
I feel like the more I can pray with them for specific things and get them to see specific answers to their prayers, the more they will learn to rely on that as a concrete solution to their problems, so that hopefully as they grow up they'll just accept that as a normal part of their lives: "When I have a problem or a need, I can just pray for it and the Lord will answer."
Actually, for a while I've been less involved with the kids. After having been very involved last year, my work has kind of crowded that out until just recently. I'd been reading on "little things" and the Lord checked me about my care of the kids. Since our schedule changed I haven't been with them for devotions any more, so I started taking them at Quiet Time from 1-2. I've been doing it a couple of times a week so far, but the more I do it, the more inspired I am, and I'd like to start doing it every day, or at least the days I can.
That seems to be the perfect time because they come in from lunch and have story time before nap, so that's a good chance to tell them a story or testimony and then have good prayer together for whatever topics come up or whatever's happening. It's so exciting to see how many opportunities there are to teach them something in every situation.
I guess I'm just all turned on right now about teaching these little ones in every area, it's so exciting! I also remember how I used to love it when my mom would quote poems to us as we went to sleep when I was young, and those poems are special to me now and I can still quote them. So I decided to choose some feeding poems and Bible chapters, and read those to the children as they go to sleep, and I hope that it will help to expand their horizons a little. Besides giving them some more Word foundation and input, hopefully they will start to relate to grown-up things a little more, so that reading straight Word or Bible won't be foreign to them later. It'll be something special and they'll hopefully learn to love it, even though they don't understand it all yet. Like I found out from the input my mom gave me, they'll understand it later, and then it'll mean a lot to them, and by that time it'll be a part of them, and even help to influence the way they think and look at things.
This is actually something new the Lord is reviving in my life. As I said, although I was very inspired about the Love Bugs and I've been working with them (part-time) for the past couple of years, I've just been getting back into working with them for the past couple of weeks. It's thrilling! What a mission field! PTL!
Balanced Input for Our Children
From Eden, Joan Clair's CC Overseer
I like Joan Clair's point about reading different Bible chapters to the children as they go to sleep. I'm very excited to hear that she's imparting and instilling our basic principles of prayer into the little ones, and that she herself goes back even during the middle of her work, to explain or show that it's raining outside in answer to their prayers. That's what we need more of in the training and care of our children--those who will get excited and follow up and follow through and be turned on to teach the children, and then to glorify the Lord when He answers prayer, to increase their faith and show that we have a living God and when we go to Him in prayer He answers!
So I'm very happy about all this, and I think it's something that we need more of within our Family. Joan Clair has a full-time ministry, but she still takes that time to go in for that half-hour or hour at her convenience. That is important, and it's input for the children, it's power-packed, and then she follows up. She takes that ten minutes to leave her office to come downstairs and point out the pouring rain that they had prayed for.
The Lord seems to use our children to keep us in closer contact with Him and others in a lot of ways. I have noticed that those who do have interaction with the children--perhaps they aren't even teachers or full-time CC workers, but just step in to help with the children at different times, or have taken a particular child or children under their wing--these people have a different perspective on life and their relationship with the Lord and others. It seems to be the balance that we need in our lives, to help keep us well-rounded. When I talk about being involved in childcare, it doesn't have to be long hours, but just time here and there--fifteen minutes or a half an hour with someone that you've made contact with and have a rapport and connection with, time to hear their little joys or heartcries or see how they relate to things, and you often see how the Lord sees things, through them.
So my prayer is that we can implement this--and that we can get more folks interested. I think it's a very important part of a child's upbringing and building their character, to have influences from others, and not just a full-time teacher, and their parents. They need well-rounded, balanced input, and thank the Lord we have many Family members who are gifted and trained in different areas, who can instill a bit of that training into the younger ones.
Putting the Emphasis on Witnessing!
In order to give witnessing the emphasis that it needs, we may need to adjust priorities in our Homes somewhat. Let's explore some other ideas and see how we can "do the one [witnessing], without leaving the other [childcare] undone."
Many of you who have cared for young children can testify that they do best when they feel loved and secure, when they know what is expected of them, and when they know what to expect of those caring for them. In short, they do best with consistent caretakers. Older children are usually a little more secure, as well as in need of more variety and independence, so they do not necessarily always need to have the same teacher or caretaker. But they do need consistency in their care and teaching; they need someone who knows what is expected of them, who knows what they have read or what they have studied, and who is faithful to carry them through a good program of studies, both in the Word and in scholastics. And, of course, above all these things, they need to feel loved and needed, and to know you have faith in them. Keeping these points in mind, let's look at some possible alternatives in sharing the childcare and teaching responsibilities, so everyone can have a chance to go witnessing!
How to Give the Teachers Opportunities for Witnessing
Trying to give those most involved with children time to go out witnessing can be a challenge. One possibility you could try, if the available personnel and the location of your Home make it feasible, would be to have two teachers or childcare helpers assigned to each of the children's groups. This may mean taking a former full-time witnesser or person involved in another ministry and having them take on childcare responsibilities part time. Then possibly one person could be with the children for three days, and the other for the other three days. The three days when they're not teaching, the teachers would be able to go out witnessing. Setting up rotational teaching or childcare teams would assure that children would have consistency in their care and training, with a little variety as well!
If you implement a plan like this, some things to consider would be:
The teachers would need to keep good records of what they are doing with the children, so each team or person can pick up easily where the other left off.
Every week the teacher teams should take an hour or so to pray and discuss their group together. This united prayer and discussion time is very important and needs to be written into the schedule.
Perhaps one week of the month, the teachers could go out witnessing two days rather than three, so they could have a day for planning and preparing teaching materials, and reading childcare pubs. This is also a good time to discuss the children's behaviour so there is a united and consistent standard.
A Possible Schedule
A schedule for such a teacher-witnessing rotational plan could be something like this:
Teacher A:
Monday: W&R day.
Tuesday, Wednesday: witnessing.
Thursday, Friday, Saturday: teaching.
Sunday: Witnessing or Family Day or school planning.
Wednesday evening: One hour meeting with Teacher B.
First Tuesday of the month: lesson planning and preparing day.
Teacher B:
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday: teaching.
Thursday: W&R day.
Friday, Saturday: witnessing.
Sunday: Witnessing or Family Day or school planning.
Wednesday evening: One hour meeting with Teacher A.
First Friday of the month: lesson planning and preparing day.
Try Variations!
Work out variations so that this fits your Home schedule, such as:
Perhaps you'd want to have one teacher witnessing two days, and the other one witnessing four days, depending on each one's skills and talents.
If in a small Home only one teacher is with a small group of children, say three or four, and she or he does exceptionally well with teaching them, perhaps the kids could go out witnessing one day a week with their own parents on scheduled days. The teacher could then only go out one day a week, or two evenings a week when kids are with their parents.
Teachers (who in many cases will be the parents of the children) may of course need more time to discuss and pray together about their children, and should not be limited to only Wednesday evenings. A short meeting several evenings a week could be very fruitful and help keep them united and reaching for the same goals.
One of the teachers might be given extra time to plan out Word and scholastics, and then the other teacher just follows through on it.
Try to arrange things so that sometimes the teachers are together with the children so they can see how each other operates and can correct each other, etc.
To help your teacher teams stay united, perhaps they could arrange to take one day a month together planning the children's schooling and activities, and reading childcare pubs.
Advantages of Such a Schedule:
Teachers could be witnessing up to 11 days of the month.
Children would have a consistent teaching team.
Teachers have a scheduled time to plan and prepare lessons.
Teachers have a scheduled Word and Rest day.
Try More Ideas!
This is just one idea on how to arrange for your teachers and childcare helpers to witness. But we hope that will help you get started, so you can come up with more ideas that will fit your situation. For example:
Maybe your Home is in an Area where it would be practical for the teachers to be with the children half days, and spend half days out witnessing. If that's feasible, then perhaps it is possible for them to take the children out witnessing daily or every other day. (Please refer to "Use Wisdom When Witnessing with Children" on page 9.)
Or, maybe the children and teachers could have three or four full days of school, and three or four days of witnessing with parents and others in the Home.
Or, perhaps you could implement a rotational schedule where teachers choose their electives and go around the groups teaching different classes or age groups, and a witnessing schedule could be worked out around that.
Or you could plan to organise your witnessing teams by family, each team going a different day of the week: Family Team 1, Family Team 2, Family Team 3, etc. That way, you know that every Monday (or perhaps on Family Day) your family goes witnessing--Mommy, Daddy and the kids together as a team. (They might only go out together once a week or once every two weeks, but they get to go out by families in teams. This insures that the kids get more parental training as missionaries, and the parents are mindful that it's their job to train their kids as witnessers.)
Or, perhaps families can team up together, or teachers can team up with the parents.
We know the Lord has a solution for you and your Home, so pray and discuss possible solutions to any problems together and see what ideas you come up with! Don't miss regularly reviewing your witnessing schedule to make any changes necessary.
Getting the Children Out Witnessing
Here are some ideas to try which could be fun and exciting!
1. Give all the children a chance to go witnessing on a regular basis, even those who are not so naturally outgoing. Of course, younger ones will probably only go out occasionally, and for shorter periods, but OCs and JETTs, should go out frequently--and YCs and MCs as often as possible. Whenever possible, try to have the same adults accompany the same kids witnessing over a period of time, to give the children consistency in their witnessing training.
2. If possible, make the kids' daily schedule include some witnessing, if they live in an area where this is practical. This would work best for Homes that live in an area where witnessing locations are very easy to get to, and where the children's groups are small enough for the teacher to take them witnessing with one helper (such as the cook). (For small Homes this would be easier. A few children can go on a two hour get-out/witnessing outing with an adult who also needs get-out.) Or perhaps the teens who are not normally with the children can be scheduled to accompany a childcare team witnessing for a couple of hours a week.
3. Schedule different children to accompany the witnessing, provisioning and follow-up teams on a regular basis.
4. Encourage all adults, YAs and responsible teens to learn to take children with them on their witnessing teams. They'll probably be thrilled when they see what a blessing the kids can be in their outreach. Those who take children on witnessing teams will need to be prepared to (a) take care of their physical needs, rest as needed, healthful snacks, etc.; (b) keep them inspired and happy with what they are doing; (c) be able to answer outsiders' questions about their schooling, (or else just have children out on the weekends or after school hours); (d) if they are not the parent, then show a document signed by the parent giving them permission to have the children with them.
5. Have some of the kids go for a full day of witnessing each week. Figure out how many people you have who could take the kids witnessing, and how many kids they could each take. Then divide up the number of children, and plan or schedule which children will go witnessing on which days. How often they go will depend on the number of children, and the number of adults available to take them. Perhaps three children will go witnessing every Friday. Or perhaps those three will go every Wednesday and Saturday. Or perhaps they'll go every other Wednesday, etc.
6. Take a singing group out on the weekends. Establish contacts where the children can sing and distribute tools on a regular basis: at restaurants, clubs, orphanages, hotels, senior citizen homes, etc.
7. Schedule the kids for monthly road trips of two or three days on the weekends. Think how excited the kids would be to know they would go on a road trip the last weekend of every month!--Or perhaps once every two months, depending on how many children there are.
8. Take longer road trips with the kids, where the adults learn to teach as they go, taking a couple of hours in the morning and an hour later in the afternoon for Word time and classes; the rest of the time is witnessing. (Parents are usually the best ones to take the children on extended road trips, as they are normally the ones legally responsible for them and their schooling. If one of the accompanying adults is not the children's parent, be sure they have a document signed by the parent giving them permission to have the children.)
Use Wisdom When Witnessing with Children
Areas where home schooling is fairly well understood and accepted are probably the best to do these extended road trips. Adults on such trips need to be prepared for questions about the kids' schooling, and have schooling materials available to show, plus records of subjects covered and when. (See the next article, "Road School Scholars".) A simple teachers' log book should be kept of all learning experiences, and children should also have notebooks where they are recording what they are doing. A good workbook is helpful for show-and-tell, and helps the kids progress through the basic subjects, if it is being worked on regularly and checked. The adults should have a good idea where they're going with the kids' schooling and follow some plan. Remember, home schoolers are not "locked" to a classroom--so travelling around is one of the freedoms you can enjoy--but you must have the faith for it. This isn't for everyone, and is not suitable for every place! Counsel with others in the Home, with Area Shepherds, and if possible, with other home schoolers in your area.
* * *
Road School Scholars
When it comes to teaching and the child's ability to learn, it is not so much a question of time invested as it is consistency and the quality of the teaching time. When a child is turned on, they can learn very rapidly and cover a lot of ground very quickly.
There is a funny little human weakness that people often refer to as "Parkinson's law", named after C. Parkinson Northcote, who jokingly said, "Work expands to fill the time available for its completion." In other words, if you have all day to do your school work, it will take all day. If you just have an hour or two, then that is how much time it will take. There seems to be some truth to this, and home schoolers have proven that an hour or two a day of schooling can be enough time to keep a child of normal intelligence on par with his peers, if that learning time is quality time.
The Road School Study Program
Here are a few ideas for our school-free scholars who want to witness more and study less, yet still do their best in reading, writing and arithmetic. We could call this approach to education the "learn as you go" approach, or "as they went they were taught". (Note: These ideas do not mean we should replace using a good textbook or workbook to study the main school subjects, but rather represent ways to supplement their main school studies.)
The first and most important skill we must teach our children is the ability to read well and with comprehension. Practicing reading with children while out witnessing is a pretty easy business. Of course, in non-English-speaking countries they might not learn English while out, but they will learn to read the local language. Cities are plastered with wording everywhere, like one huge, fancy, three-dimensional, full-colour, free textbook. There are bulletin boards, traffic signs, store names, titles written on office doors, directories, destination signs on buses, maps, etc. Children can read office building names and floor directories to locate the business or office they want to go to, look up names in the phone books, read menus, etc. An alert YA, adult or teen out witnessing with children can, in the course of the day, by making a game of it, provide top-notch reading experiences, word recognition, and vocabulary-building activities. The child could carry along a small notebook to record new words and spellings. Or the child can carry along a small, interesting story book and read it during lunch, on the bus or during quiet time.
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What Researchers Say Parents Can Do to Help Their Children with Reading:
a. Provide a good role model--read yourself and read often to your child.
b. Provide varied reading material--some for reading enjoyment and some with information about hobbies and interests.
c. Encourage activities and hobbies that require reading--for example, cooking (reading a recipe), or constructing a kite (reading directions), or identifying an interesting bird's nest or a shell collected at the beach (using a reference book), or caring for a pet (reading about cats, or a fish aquarium, etc.).
d. Establish a reading time, even if it is only 10 minutes a day.
e. Write notes to your school-age child; encourage written responses.
f. Have your child read to a younger sibling.
g. Encourage your child in all reading efforts.
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Spelling can be taught the same way. "What is the word for `bus' in the local language and how do you spell it? Don't look!"--"A-u-t-o-b-u-s!"--"Okay, look! Were you right? You sure were!" If the children have a small notebook with them, they can write down any new words they are learning in the local language, getting their writing practice in at the same time. Remember that posture is important for good writing, so it is best if writing practice is done when the child has an opportunity to sit at a table, perhaps in an office reception room, or a restaurant.
More writing: They can be put in charge of keeping the day's log: e.g., "2 p.m., went into the Twin Towers Building. On the 17th floor, office 1745, we met Marie. She is the secretary for Juan Spendzall, head of Spendzall Equipment Rental. Marie bought `At the Farm' Treasure Attic for her daughter. Marie's phone number is 8889. Marie is a Buddhist." Younger children could keep simpler logs about interesting events of the day. This has to be taught, and it may be best to take quick notes first of their name, floor, phone number, etc., then write the log later.
Math could be included by working out how many kilometers were travelled, how much literature was given out, making change for buses, adding or multiplying in their heads how much your tickets will cost, recording expenses, noting amounts of money saved, total cash received, net profits, etc.
Social Studies is largely just a matter of talking to the people you meet: What countries did they come from? What languages do they speak? Can they teach you to count to ten in their language? What is it like in their country? Do they have any stamps from that country? Do they know someone your age you could write to as a pen pal? (If your pen pal letter would need to be translated, ask them if they could translate it for you.) Where is that country on the map? What is the government like? Who is the leader of the country? What religions do most people in their country belong to? What do people of that religion believe?
Foreign Languages: If you are not in an English-speaking country, a national can easily teach the local language from billboards and signs when they are out. Or, if the person who is out with the child is an English speaker or someone who speaks another language, then both the adult and child will then be in the learner's seat in trying to learn the new language. In this case, it might be helpful to bring along a simple local language book and learn the local language together, especially if the adult is excited about doing this. To get the most out of the reading of signs and names around them, they might need to include outsiders in their language class, fellow riders on the bus, for example, to help explain the meaning of words and teach proper pronunciation. This could often be a good conversation starter in their witnessing.
On the other hand, foreign language study could also at times get a little complicated for the adult, and for such times, maybe they could just bring along and work on their English words and readers. In this way, at least they are making progress with their English reading and can save learning the local language for some other occasion when going out with a national.
This will all depend on the different people who go out with the children. An inspired brother or sister who is excited about learning the new local language can do wonderfully in teaching it to a child, passing it on with enthusiasm and a desire for learning, although he or she might not yet know very much. Others would do better in honestly confessing that they don't have such an aptitude for languages and would rather teach in English about things of interest they encounter around them.
Schooling Can Keep Going!
Schooling can keep right on going, whether you are out witnessing or not. In fact, the quality of learning could even be better if schooling is based on real-life experiences, and through meeting and talking to real people. And there are hundreds of practical skills and useful general facts and knowledge that the kids can learn while out. They can learn to make local and long distance calls, learn about banks and checks and what it means to have an account; they can be asked to point out 10 different means of transportation, or stop in a music store to learn the names of the different instruments, or have a photographer explain his work. All outdoors becomes a classroom, and everyone in it becomes a teacher that you can learn something from.
Planning & Recording Schooling
Of course, our busy parents and witnesses may find all this creative thinking and daily faithfulness to turn every situation into a learning situation a bit too much. But if you tune in to the children's interests as you go, you can find lots of ways to pour into them. Childcare workers and teachers who know where the children you take out are at in their schooling and what they are learning should pass this on in brief, so new helpers are informed. For teachers and teacher parents, it is important to keep a good record of what the child has done and what they should do next. This will not only help with authorities but will also help you provide suggestions and guidance to those who will be out with the child. "Yes, he's working on his five times table today! Quiz him as often as you think of it." To ensure progressive learning, ideally the same adults should strive to go out regularly with the same children as their witnessing buddies or `students'.
Following the Family Home Schooling Program offers an organised approach to what the children should learn. As an alternative, you could keep a simple record of what they are doing by using the "Curriculum Guide" checklists in Childcare Handbooks 2 and 3. Or, you could locate some good workbooks, especially in math and language arts, that provide a good, solid program on the child's level. Hopefully, most of their reading and social studies can be done from the pubs. (More counsel coming soon, Lord willing, on choosing school material for your children.) Whatever you do, keep good records of the activities your children do, so you and they can see the progress made, and if necessary, you can prove that you have been continuing to educate them.
Using Cassette Tapes
Another shortcut to teaching or a "teacher-in-your-pocket" idea that some may be able to take advantage of are educational cassette tapes on various subjects. (This may be something to ask grandparents for, or they can possibly be found in libraries, or in Embassy libraries if you need English tapes in a non-English speaking country.) If you do locate some good ones, be sure to pre-listen to them. (For older children, you may be able to hook up two sets of headphones while out, so you can "monitor" while your child listens to them in the car, or on the bus or train while on the way to or from a witnessing spot.) Be sure to discuss and clear up any untruths or discrepancies that you hear. Teach your children to be discerning about what they have heard, and help them learn to choose the good and eschew the evil. And please remember that the input your children receive in their younger years is very important, so even if you have purchased a whole set of tapes or been given a set by relatives, if you think the tapes are not giving your children the right input, don't hesitate to set them aside and say, "Oops! That was a mistake!" Two wrongs don't make a right, and just because you have spent money on them, or received them as gifts, is not enough reason to continue to have your children listen to unedifying material. Be discerning and prayerful! There are good materials available, but sometimes it takes quite a bit of digging through the rubble to find it. To be sure of the content of the tapes you use, you can dictate or read or have someone in your Home dictate or read on tape good material for the children going out. (See "A Lesson on Prayerfully Choosing Children's Tapes" on page 12.)
Review is Important!
It is important to review the main facts learned when out. Usually on such outings all the activity keeps you pretty excited and there are many impressions to absorb. The main principals and lessons are learned well in a positive learning atmosphere such as this, but things move along pretty fast and sometimes the important basic facts can tend to be drowned out by everything else happening. They can be forgotten quickly if a good review system is not established. This could be done by either going over the notes from the outing, not too long after it happened (double checking that you did get all the information right), or writing the most important information on flash cards, to be flashed regularly over a short period of time after the outing. Or, the children could have some "show and tell" time for the Home or their school class, where they relate their experiences, or perhaps draw pictures related to their outing.
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A Lesson on Prayerfully Choosing Children's Tapes
Excerpt from "The Story of Our Children"
"A very important lesson we learned was from the Superscope Storyteller Tapes, System Bible stories recorded on tape with a small book accompanying each one. Another Family had sent these Superscope Storyteller tapes to us, but we'd had them before and our kids had listened to them quite a bit! Because the kids liked them so much, I thought they were quite good, although they were `edited' for children, and even wondered if we should advertise in the Mag where other Family members could order them.--Boy, was I off!
"Maria came into our caravan one night with these tapes that had been mailed to us by Family members and explained that she and Grandpa had listened through only two of the six stories sent, and knew right away that they weren't good for children to listen to because they weren't at all what the Bible says according to the Scriptures! `It says that Shem was surprised that Noah wanted to build an Ark, when the Bible didn't say that at all! It said the animals came running down the street two by two to go into the Ark, and it called the pillar of cloud a pillar of smoke, but it wasn't smoke, was it? It says that the Pharaoh threw Moses and Aaron down the stairs when they entered the palace and he refused their request, which is not true! And if it's not in the Word, then it's a lie! If it's not the truth from the Bible, then it's not right!' Maria said emphatically to all of us!
"She mainly addressed this talk to David, but it was a super convicting lesson, especially to me, that if it's not the very best, then it doesn't qualify for our children to listen to! Leave it to the System to adulterate the Truth! `Daddy and I listened to those tapes to see if they were good enough for you,' she explained. Then she assigned a little project, that we go through all five tapes together and pick out all the mistakes and write them down. This we did in the next two or three days for school time, and it took us over four hours to listen to two 15-minute stories, since almost every phrase in the tapes was off from the King James version or not Scriptural at all! In the Noah story there were over 21 mistakes and in the Moses story, 38 mistakes! It was astonishing how wrong these Bible dramas were and how off I can get as well, Lord help me! I wrote an apology to Dad and Maria and was super convicted about this for a long, long time. I learned a great lesson in comparing, even the System flannelgraphs and Bible story books with the real straight King James version! Because of this, we even gave away lots of our books that were just explaining the story away and not really true to the Scripture, which could only lead the kids astray!
"Dad said, `I never heard anything so far off as those Superscope Bible Stories! Why do they tell the story like that when they could've used Scripture? Like I used to tell the filmmakers in California, "There's nothing more dramatic than the Bible itself! Why change the script?" He continued, `Well, even our own publications can be off if not properly checked, like some of those Endtime Flannelgraphs you all edited. It said there that the Antichrist will rule the World for only 3 and a half years! That would be a terrible error to teach our children, an awful thing to have taught them! You can read it right in the Bible that the Antichrist will rule for 7 years!'
"David dictated a little message to the other Family children to warn them against using these Superscope Storyteller Tapes: `Dear Family, We love you! We learned a big lesson about these tapes called 'Superscope Storytellers' made by the System. Mommy and Daddy listened to them and found lots of mistakes and things the Bible doesn't say! The stories are about Noah, Moses, Daniel, David and Saul, but they don't tell the truth. When we listened to the stories again and looked everything up in the Bible, we found so many mistakes, scores of them! So we should check all our tapes and books with the Bible. That's a lesson we should never forget. James 1:22--Look it up in your Bible. Love, Davidito--28 August 1980.'" (Story of Our Children, GN Bk. 19, pg.186.)
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Making a School Kit for Witnessing Trips
From Mercy (of John), Pacific
Recently we went on a SWIFT trip for two and half weeks, and since it wasn't a school holiday, we took along a mini school with us in two briefcases for our 6 children. I hadn't taught all my children for several years so I was quite nervous about how I was going to manage, and unsure about what to take. After praying about it and taking things step by step, I soon had my mini school bags packed. I was amazed at how easy it was for such a short trip, and that I didn't really need so much material and equipment. I packed pens, pencils, erasers, pencil sharpener, scissors, glue, sticky tape, paper (both lined and unlined), some photocopied worksheets for the younger ones, cardboard folders for each child's work, and a few of our basic text books. For me, getting this organised was the key to having our mobile school set up and ready to take with us anywhere! We concentrated mainly on the 3 R's in our paperwork, while the 3 G's were covered by the excursions we undertook and all the new things we saw along the way. We also took a TV and VCR with us and borrowed interesting documentaries about the local areas we were travelling in as we went along. School was much simpler than I had thought it would be and we could quickly set up and then put away again. I guess I could sum it up with this quote, "Little is much if God is in it!"
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Travelling School Times!
From Becky, Australia, mother of 9
Recently I've been taking one of my children out with me when we have been travelling to the different Homes for a week or so at a time. This has also given me a golden opportunity to get really close to them on an individual basis, as when we're all together at home I'm often so busy with the little ones there is less time for individual time with each one. This has helped me to tune in more personally to their shepherding, their spiritual growth and walk with the Lord, and also to their schooling.
One thing we've been trying that has worked well for us as we're travelling, mainly with those of my children who are OCs, JETTs and teens, has been to sit down together at the beginning of each week and make out an assignment sheet of their weekly goals to accomplish in their schooling and also their Word time (unless there is something they can join in on in the Homes as we visit). In our assignment sheets we try to set out what we both feel are reasonable goals to accomplish; for example, we may decide on one main essay for language arts on a topic of their choice, which may also cover a social studies or history topic they will then need to research; a certain amount of drillwork pages in math and grammar, etc., something on a science topic; or to write an essay about the area we are visiting, the type of people and countryside, main features, etc. Then I've been working with them to teach them how to plan their own time to accomplish these goals by Friday, to give them lots of choice in how they plan their time and how they plan to go about doing their work.
Then usually we have a little time together each day to touch base and see how it's going, if there are difficult spots they need help with, or if other exciting things have come up instead of our initial plan that we could make a change to allow for, such as a witnessing adventure with the local Home or a special excursion! We've been finding it best to make the plan pretty open to allow for such changes, especially while on the road. We do try to document what we're doing in some way for our records--either by taking photos of a special activity or witnessing spot or something we visited on our trip, by collecting brochures of places we visit, by writing a simple account in a Project Book or Journal, or even by drawing a simple illustration.
We've also been finding it helpful to teach the older ones how to keep their own student's log or diary of activities and travels etc., as I sometimes have trouble keeping up with this all myself, and they love to help with this! We've continued to refer to the "Teacher's Planner" for basic guidelines of what to cover, but more often than not, while we are travelling and "teaching on the go", we don't always follow this, but find we can cover a whole lot just by following along with the interesting and fun things that come up as we go. I've also been learning to try not to "put things in a box" but allow for lots of fun new ideas and ways of doing their work which they have come up with themselves.
For example, my teen son had to cover the topic of "Air", for his science assignment one week and I assigned him the appropriate pages from the Beka text we had available. However, since he's not so paperwork-oriented, and he wanted to negotiate for an extra day out witnessing in this new & exciting field, he wasn't in favour of such a detailed research project right then. So he and another teen simply read the material in the Beka text on "Air" and composed a humorous poem that covered all the basic facts he needed to know about "Air" in an hour and a half of work! So he covered the work on "Air," as well as writing an original poem that covered his Language Arts assignment at the same time, and got to spend the extra day out witnessing which he had wanted. We've been having lots of fun doing our school this way, and it's been a good change for my children to try something new with their schooling. Praise the Lord!
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NEWS ARTICLE:
Home Learning Recipes
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Parents can use trips to the grocery stores to reinforce children's math skills, or meals at the local Chinese or Italian restaurant to help them with their social studies.
These are two of the "Summer Home Learning Recipes" included in a series of Education Department pamphlets designed to get parents more involved in their children's education. The pamphlets were made available Friday.
"Parents and families are the first and most important teachers, but for busy parents it can be a real challenge to keep coming up with interesting, involving things to do," Education Secretary Richard Riley said. "If families teach a love of learning, it can make all the difference in the world to our children."
Studies show that knowledge retention drops during the summer months, when children are away from school. The problem is most critical among poorer students, who may not have access to books and computers or home environments conducive to learning.
The department describes its "recipes" as "starter activities to get your ideas going. There are opportunities everywhere for teaching and learning."
Among them:
--For children in kindergarten through third grade, there's laundry math. "Sharpen skills by doing a necessary household job. Ask your youngsters to sort laundry--before or after washing. How many socks? How many sheets?"
There's a side benefit, as well, the pamphlet said. "You may find a lost sock."
--The young elementary school child's reading skills can be enhanced through a game called "hidden letters." The pamphlet describes it this way: "Find five A's or three C's or any number of letters or combinations on cereal boxes, soup cans, bars of soap."
--For older elementary school children, the department suggests a trip to the supermarket to sharpen math skills, with the child deciding on best-buy items and adding up the total cost of the goods purchased.
For a "foreign touch" in social studies, it suggests travelling abroad at home by visiting ethnic shops, food stores and restaurants. Children can find the different countries on a map and then talk about what they've learned about the countries from their visits.
--The pamphlet for children in grades six to eight suggests teaching them how to budget and promoting good citizenship by encouraging them to write a letter to the editor of the local newspaper about an issue affecting children.
--Problem-solving skills are the focus for high school students. For those families who have trouble coming up with problems to solve, the pamphlet offers a few: Who gets to use the car? Why is it bad to smoke? What happens when I take a test without studying for it?
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Let's Take the Children Witnessing!
From Kanah, N. America, mother of 8
In many Homes I have been in over the past few years, I have seen a need to help the children get out witnessing more regularly. In some field Homes, there are a lot of reasons why it is difficult to have a regular witnessing schedule for the childcare department. Often the teens and YAs get out quite regularly and this is very challenging and exciting for them. Also the teens go out on special pushes like during Christmas and summer outreach, but it seems harder to schedule the JETTs and children to go witnessing.
In many cases, getting the children out witnessing regularly has a very positive effect on their behaviour, plus it helps them feel needed and a part of the outreach in their Home. It increases their vision and gives them a purpose for their studies and memory work, and even the house work they do daily. For example, we have a 6-year-old who has such a love for witnessing! Although she can be quite a handful at times, when she gets out witnessing, her attitude improves and she becomes much easier to handle. This seems to be a key for her.
We've also been thinking about the toddlers and the preschooler in our Home, and how good it would be for them to get out on some of our teams. When praying about this, we were reminded of how our YAs and teens got out regularly when they were tiny, as they were the only children we had at the time! When they were quite small, they seemed older to us because they were our biggest kids! We expected a lot of them and they did it! They went on faith trips and out litnessing and played their little guitars and quoted verses and even whole chapters for visitors. The Lord used them to touch hearts and open a lot of doors in countries that were pioneered. We saw how in the past this gave our children a pioneering spirit and love for souls. Of course the Homes are so much busier in recent years, but it seems if we can get our little ones out, it will help them spiritually, as well as help win many friends who fall in love with our beautiful children.
When we had first reorganized our small childcare groups a few months ago, we had a lot of great-sounding ideas of how we could get the kids out regularly, and how we were going to make it a priority. The plans lasted a few weeks and then fizzled out due to many other things coming up in the Home. There were some practical reasons why the children's witnessing got crowded out. When we tried to take groups of children out together to the park or other places, it was fun and they enjoyed it, but after a short time it was hard to keep it up. This was often due to lack of vehicles or teachers who were free to take the groups out. Then the teachers and kids tended to get discouraged because they wanted to go out a lot more often, and sometimes their witnessing trip would get canceled. When we would take personal time with the children and JETTs, we would see how much the witnessing meant to them. Often one of their biggest trials was that they didn't get to go out witnessing often.
Recently we were praying about how to get the children out witnessing more, and the Lord reminded us of some simple, practical ways we had tried in the past, which gave the children a challenging ministry and were quite easy to work into the busy Home schedule. It was a simple plan that we had tried in a couple of other Areas and countries. Since it worked there, we are experimenting with it here, and so far it is going very well. Basically, we simply integrate the children into a lot more of our daily trips out instead of waiting for a big plan to work out. We now have a few children go out regularly with a team that needs to make a pickup or has a friend to follow up on. This makes it easier to get the children out. They take turns, with one or more of them going on the different teams.
When we shared this idea with some of the Home Members, and asked if they had ideas about where the children could go, we found that one brother had a lot of friends and contacts he had made while out on business. It seemed like a perfect place for the kids to start. The first day this brother and the YA CC overseer took a few of the children to follow up on a man who had donated over 40 meal tickets. The children had their lunch at his restaurant and had an enjoyable time getting to know him. They came back very excited about their experience, and soon went back again. Since that time, he has visited our Home where he watched the Family Outreach video and got to see a sample of how we live. Now we have plans for the children to go on lots of these follow-up trips. They learn to personally witness through the individual attention and help they receive while out in a small group.
We had also been trying to get a small singing group going for some time, and although we had made a start, it was going slowly. Our Home is like a one-room School House with a small number of children in different grades, and at first the children and JETTs weren't very inspired about singing with the younger children. We had been praying about how to inspire them, knowing what a blessing a singing group could be. When they returned from their first day out on our new follow-up program, they had a renewed vision! It was fun to see them so inspired about singing, and they were working out the actions on their own with big smiles! The change was so inspiring now that they had caught the vision!
We took photos of the children praying with people, singing and witnessing. We included these photos in our photo album, and now when we travel or provision, the children show the album. We've had good reactions from people seeing the children's sample from the photos.
We began having our one JETT in the Home here go with the team who gives regular Bible studies to a friend who was a former member. Besides the weekly Bible studies in her own home, this friend also comes to our Home weekly for our fellowship meeting for friends and visitors. The children often have a skit prepared for this meeting so they can have more opportunities to pour out to visitors. This is a fun way for them to witness, and one of the teens helps them put together the skits, with all of the props.
This regular visitor gives a donation each time she sees us, and we began a new plan for how to use her gifts, while at the same time getting the children more involved with regularly following up on her. Since we had a need in the Home for a childcare budget to get some of the urgent needs, the Lord gave us the idea to save the gifts she gave us in a special childcare fund for these needs. We told her about the plan, and now each time she gives a gift, the children make a Thank You card for her to show their appreciation. The children are so thankful because it has solved the problem of having to wait a long time to get some needed personal items or school supplies. We still will be taking the children out provisioning, but this helps for all of the little items that we don't have a contact for yet.
Another ministry we have for the children is making cards and sending pictures of Jesus to some men we write to in prison. The men have written back such sweet letters, and some even wrote special poems for the children with their names in the poem to show their appreciation. So as you can see, as we've worked the children into our witnessing schedules, they've been an asset and it's borne good fruit! God bless them!
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Children's Witnessing--A Time for Training!
By Mary Mom, Europe, mother of 10
I have had a burden for a few years now to see our younger children be more involved in witnessing. It is definitely an area of their training that has been lacking. For the past four months I have been pioneering a witnessing Home with our team, and I have been able to experience firsthand the excitement and the challenge of involving our kids more in witnessing.
Witnessing with the children can be so inspiring!--There is just something about getting out there and obeying the Lord and doing what we can, regardless of how many mistakes we make, that brings on the Spirit and Life of the Lord! I am so happy the children can get out witnessing, but the fact remains that the children could learn so much more and grow much stronger in many ways if an effort is made to simply plan out what they do, and then document it with them so they know what they are doing, why they are doing it, and how to follow through on it. We will have to train the children in witnessing, not just expect them to absorb it somehow. Of course, they will absorb a lot just being out there and meeting people, and seeing us witness, but there are also a lot of ways that we can specifically teach them and guide them. Rather than just taking the children along, I feel our kids could be getting much more out of their experiences witnessing if the adult members would remember they have a little person there who needs to learn about witnessing, and who may be experiencing the World for the first time.
I know that as folks get more of a burden to really make this witnessing push work, the children will just have to be more involved in witnessing. If they aren't, and if the childcare people aren't involved too, then we could easily just fall back into having only one team of two or three people doing the major outreach. There are plenty of children, even in a small Home, and so the time has come to change our way of thinking. Our habitual way of looking at it is that a Home has to have certain support staff in order for the kids to do their scholastics, have their get-out, eat their meals, have their Word time, etc., and if we keep up with this old way of doing things, then the children won't get out. But the children need to get out, and we need to find ways for our kids' witnessing experiences to be more meaningful, rewarding and educational, rather than just "taking them along".
Children Shouldn't Feel Burdened by Financial Pressures
Sad to say, we have been so pressured by our financial needs that we tend to spend a lot of time discussing our financial situation. And I think this is not having such a good effect on the children. I am very much behind all that has been written about gaining finances, and it is very needed, helpful and beautiful counsel--Heaven-sent!--But when it comes to the children, I think their witnessing needs to be approached differently than the adults' witnessing. They shouldn't have to be so aware of the financial pressures and burdens, and get caught up in a battle that is too big for them. (Editors note: Even adults should not have finances as their main goal in witnessing. God has promised to bless us as we obey and pour out the Message!)
Our teens and YAs have talked about how much fun it was for them to go witnessing when they were little. I can say that at that time, much of my children's witnessing experiences didn't involve money pressure at all. The Lord provided what we needed through gifts and pledges and forsake-alls, and the cost of living seemed to be less, so when we took the kids out, it was pure and simple witnessing where we could do performances and minister to the people and pass out literature free. They didn't feel the brunt of the financial pressures.
But now, I think our kids feel financial pressures when they go out witnessing, simply because we are all going through these major battles to overcome our financial problems. Some of the reasons are:
(1) The adults aren't so geared to witnessing with the children anymore, and if they are obviously pushing for finances, the adults and teens often talk about how much they are making as they go along.
(2) They approach people to buy a video, and because they want to get on to the next person to try and sell another one, there isn't much actual "witnessing" being done. As an example, my children, after a days' witnessing will say at Parent Time, "Did we get the rent today?" Most of us adults don't remember our parents concerning us with the rent, and those of us who do remember that confess that we felt sad and burdened thinking our parents were worried about paying the rent, or wondering where the next meal was coming from. I will then ask my kids, "Who did you talk to today? Do you have someone to send a letter to?" They usually say, "No one really." Of course, this is our fault and perhaps others will do better than us in this respect.
(3) Witnessing is simply a flabby muscle in some of us adults, so the kids don't see as good a sample as they have in the past.
(4) The adults need to have the vision that the kids need their time out to be a learning experience in some way.
Is Your Witnessing a Home Schooling Experience?
The reason we can have the liberty to have our children out during the day is because they are being home schooled. However, in order to make that work, we have to make a home schooling, documented experience out of the time. This is something we have to make an effort to do, and everyone in the Home should try to make it work for the kids when they take them out. Not only can they learn different scholastic and social skills while out, but witnessing itself is a learning experience. The children need to be trained and schooled to witness, and witnessing needs to be a part of their curriculum. The children these days also have to answer for their own schooling, and if they are questioned about what kind of home schooling they are doing, they need to be able to tell about the things they are learning while they are out, as well as their witnessing curriculum. They should be able to describe their program of witnessing training, including communication skills, Bible study and memory work, foreign language study, etc.--a program which needs to be emphasised and followed through on with their teachers and parents.
Selective Witnessing Experiences and Tips for Witnessing with Children
I think we need to be very selective in the witnessing experiences we involve the children in, to guard them from being negatively affected by the World's strangeness and cruelty. While we want them to learn what the World is like, we should protect them from upsetting or frightening things such as the ugly and strange pictures and billboards which often face you when in the city, the cursing or rude speech of some people. We should try to guard them from people who don't like them, people who criticise them and complain about them not being in school. We should go out of our way to find the sheep as much as possible for them. I do believe "it can be done", because we are having to do it here. Here are some tips I would like to offer:
1. Have a team of adults pioneer places where the children can be scheduled to perform and witness to a captive and prepared audience. For example, I have recently been visiting nursery schools, day care centers and what they call Play Centers. The people in these places know children and have a pretty good attitude about my wanting to train my children to make others happy and to witness. I present the Videos and also ask them if there would be a time when I could bring the children to do a performance and then let my kids mingle and talk with the other children. There are definitely open doors for this to happen. The Play Centers are mostly for single mothers of middle to lower class whose children go to these centres after they get out of school to wait for their mothers. These centers also have activities and programs for the mothers and children, and this is also an open door for witnessing with our little show.
In order for these people in some of these centers to get the Videos, I would need to have a sponsor buy these Videos. So my appeal project can be that I want to provide materials for some of the volunteer projects caring for children of the streets, and projects caring for single mothers who can't afford the Tapes themselves.
2. Another open door is going to apartment building complexes after school lets out and doing a show right in the parking lot. The mothers and children are gathered there with nothing to do, and several moms have said I could bring the children and do our show so the kids could witness. The women themselves are having to pool their finances in order to buy Videos to share.
3. The children should have a time to study the Posters and talk about the Videos and songs on the Tapes. Talk about why we ask for donations for them, read some quotes along these lines and help them be more aware of what they are giving the public. Talk about how other children live their lives, and how these Videos and Posters will make them happy and give them something they can't get in the World.
4. Have pow-wows about the World, and memorise verses about "our relationship with the World". Talk about the importance of not looking at bad pictures or bad people, but to pray against these things.
5. Pow-wow the needs of old people and orphans and handicapped children. Go over stories in the Bible and our Pubs about all the needy people and memorise some verses about ministering to these people.
6. Do skits and pow-wows on manners and how to relate and talk to people in the System. Do skits and talk about not eating junk food that's offered, not touching people's belongings, no arguing in public, and about being a good sample. (For most of this type of training, I always refer to Esther's class in Heavenly Helpers 2, which is like a children's witnessing handbook for me. It is very complete.)
7. For children who are going to be out all day, there are many ways to make the times out a learning experience. For example, if they are going to the airport with a team, the teachers could send along a little school pouch complete with airport words to learn. Ask the team captain to take the child around during a break and learn about the ticket line, weighing luggage, different airlines, and gather brochures and tourist information from different stands. Learn about different types of airplanes, etc. Take a picture of the child with someone who got saved, a picture of the child with someone at a ticket desk who explained all about his work. Write down new words. Pull out a times table chart and review. Review a couple of verses.
8. Teachers should get together and plan out a witnessing curriculum to prepare children for more witnessing. This could include: reading the Posters so kids can pick their favourite ones to pass out; making a "witnessing pouch" for the kids so they can take down names and addresses of people they witness to; helping the children prepare little gifts they can give to people they personally spend time with, like a book marker with a verse on it, or a promise from the Promise Box. Have a time when the children get home to file their new addresses and spend a little time writing something to someone they meet.
9. Teachers and parents should document the children's adventures and experiences in their files, complete with pictures and responses from the people the children meet.
10. Children should be encouraged to ask sheep to call and talk to them, or get the people's numbers so the child can call. The children could learn to give people a feeding verse for the day.
11. Witnessing MO Letters of all kinds should be read to the children to help them understand people's needs. I pull out all kinds of Letters to read before bed the day before witnessing to give them something new and exciting to hear. I just leave out the paragraphs I don't want the children to hear, or fix up the things I am reading, My 4-year-old cried at "Solitaire" and has a real burden to find some grandmothers to witness to!
12. Children should be prepared the day before they go witnessing. They should know where they are going, who they will go with and what their mission is. (Editor's note: This is also very important for adults.--Everyone should be able to pray and plan and prepare the night before.) They should know what their part will be. It can be spelled out clearly if the team plans properly. Even if the child is just going along to be cute you can say, "Johnny, you are going out with Phoebe to meet her friend. Your part will be to give this man lots of cheer for the day. He will want to hear about your school time, so you can talk to him all about the visit to the castle. (Have the child go over with you several times what he is going to say, so he will be confident when he says it.)You can give him this bookmark you made. Ask him if his children can come and visit you, and tell him that you want to do a show for his children." Then the next time in school this child can either write about this experience, or draw a picture about it and trace a verse that goes along with it.
13. We need to generate lots of ideas to help our people make these experiences for the children something they can really build on. Teaching children to follow up on people and to know that their part is vitally important to our witness is a very important part of their training.
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Witnessing Adventures with Children!
Following are a variety of witnessing experiences with children. These have been collected from your TRF Comments and Suggestions and other reports over the past several years, so they are not all current news. However, they are all inspiring testimonies of the good fruit of going out witnessing with our children--with some helpful tips and ideas that you might like to try, too!
Tips on Witnessing with Kids!
From Libby, Europe (July, 1994):
Our four children, 1 JETT, 1 OC, 1 MC, and 1 YC are getting so excited about going out postering and personal witnessing. It really took off when we got together with them for devotions one morning and had a class on the Seven Proofs of Salvation from Dad. They all got their Bibles and we marked down the verses that they would find most useful in leading people to the Lord. We discussed how now that they are all getting older, they need to have a deeper witness with people and be able to show them where our beliefs about Salvation come from in the Bible. They all got super inspired and we did some skits, making up teams and witnessing to the different members of the Home who would come along.
We are within walking distance of a very good witnessing spot, so we all set off there. The kids could hardly wait, and within half an hour they had won 19 people to Jesus! It was wonderful to see them using their Bibles and taking more of a personal interest in the people that they witnessed to. A few people asked if we could pray for them, and the kids have been faithful to put them on their prayer list.
The Lord even rewarded them with an ice cream from an ice-cream van that was right opposite where they were witnessing. As a shiner prize, we got them some little books to write down the addresses of the sheep they witness to. Now they don't want to even go for get-out without taking some tracts with them and they are becoming real faithful witnessers. We were so touched to see how very simple it was to rekindle that flame in them, and how with very little effort they have become so turned on to witnessing that it has become their favourite thing to do!
Free Day Witnessing!
From Marie Teen, Pacific (June, 1988):
We found that free days are one of the best times to witness, as you're not pressured by time or things you have to do. One free day we went to a park and a family with three children asked if they could play kickball with us. After the game, they all got saved and invited us to their home to visit and have dinner! We went to the same park again and met two sweet teenagers who played with us and got saved too! We invited them to our Meaningful Meeting and we found out that one of them had been searching for something real; now he's found the Truth and wants to start helping us. They're both now catacombers! Thank the Lord! We can witness anytime, anywhere!
Winning the World with OCs!
From Obede, Clara, Sara and Susanna, Latin America (November, 1992):
Saturday witnessing has been real fruitful in both Poster and Tape output and also in inspiration! The OCs have been able to get out more now, which has been such a benefit and blessing for them! The Lord is raising up our OCs as real pastors during the witnessing. One day one of them exclaimed to his mommy, who was looking at a car that was for sale, "We don't have time for that now, we need to go witnessing!" Another OC was insisting that he go to witness to an old lady, "as she might die tomorrow." It is convicting for us all to see their fire and sincerity and single-mindedness in wanting to win the World for Jesus! "A little child shall lead them!"
Blending Schooling and Witnessing!
From Becky, Pacific (April, 1994)
Gideon shared some inspiring testimonies of how he and his OC group made their little vegetable garden the basis of the science study for this first marking period and how much the kids had learned from this, as opposed to sitting inside to copy down notes from a text book. He then documented their learning in various ways other than long pages of notes, such as taking lots of photos of them working in their garden at each stage of the process, and they made up a big project display together on this. Each child also had their own little "Gardening Journal" in which they wrote a simple sentence or two in their own words on what they had learned that day, and then used the rest of the page to illustrate it in some way!
He also shared their group's testimony of meeting a neighbouring farmer's wife on their get-out walk and asking for permission to have a picnic beside her beautiful water lily-covered pond. They later took her a specially-made thank-you card, and since this time have made several follow-up visits to meet her family and go fishing in her pond. The children have been able to witness to her and her family, and this coming week they will visit our Home. In this way, and by similarly meeting and visiting neighbouring farmers and becoming more involved in the little local farming village community, they have a whole new witnessing ministry there which is winning the support of the whole little community to our cause as The Family! This was a beautiful little example of one teacher and his little group seizing a golden opportunity to develop their home schooling experiences and learn to make it a witness too!
Educational Excursion Plus Witnessing
From Marty and Heaven, Pacific (April, 1993):
With the follow-up push in full swing, we've been trying some new approaches. One is where we have asked a few of our contacts if we can visit their business with some of our JETTs on an "educational excursion" (if we think it would be educational or interesting enough for them). The owners of these companies are usually quite happy to show us around, and carefully explain to the JETTs how their company operates. They also often cordially introduce us to all their employees, from whom we can collect name cards. Then there is usually time later to fellowship and witness in a private waiting room, as by this time, they're quite relaxed and open.
"A Little Child Shall Lead Them"
From Gabriel, Mary and Esperanza, Latin America (January, 1993):
We were able to sing at a Catholic mass that was hosted by a well-known furniture company here. Our friend, who owns the company, was very thankful, and ended up donating a whole set of dining-room furniture for the work. During the mass, we were able to sing many of our Family songs, as well as many Psalms put to music. At the end of the service, the children were able to do their little show. One of our children stood up on a chair, and invited everyone to receive Jesus into their hearts.--Everyone enthusiastically accepted the offer! The priest admired all that we had done, and stated, "A 7-year-old child was able to do more for my parish than I could have ever done, by getting them to pray from their hearts." He congratulated us over and over, and asked us for some of our Christmas Posters, which he planned to distribute as a witness of the real meaning of Christmas.
We then received a phone call from the secretary of that furniture company. She thanked us for having participated in the mass, and said that many people were moved to tears because of our message. She also asked if we could do a small show for the people of her neighbourhood.
Two-Family Road Trip!
From James and Faith Davidson and Daniel Blessing, North America (August, 1991):
This month our Home planned a Summer Witnessing Attack Team (SWAT). After reading a lot about Family Time and the FSM Witnessing testimonies, our Home decided to send two families on a special witnessing road trip. Our "SWAT" team was 4 adults and 8 children ranging in age from 2 to 13 years old. The week before going, our team read from the Acts of the Apostles and gave the children the vision that we are still living that Book today. So, packed with lots of materials and faith, and expecting God to do miracles, off they went for two weeks. Here are some of their testimonies:
"Everybody seemed to want to help. We provisioned all the hotels we needed and almost all the meals. Truly He never fails to supply!"
"At one restaurant the manager was constantly making sure we were being taken care of. There was a hired singer who was in a wheelchair. Gaby (10) went over and witnessed to him and he received Jesus. He was so touched by Gaby witnessing to him that he sang a song about how a child gave him happiness."
"They can't stop our rain! One day, we took all the kids to a mall because it was raining. The security guard came and told us we couldn't witness there. We went outside the mall to witness, and the guard came again and said we couldn't witness, so we went to the office and asked permission. They said we could witness for one hour, and the guard went off in a huff. During that hour we passed out 80 Posters and led 20 people to Jesus! The children were so turned on they didn't want to leave!"
Lasting Effect of Christmas Witnessing
From Miracle Pillar, Europe (February, 1994):
We had been singing boat-to-boat at Christmas time two years ago. In most boats people were very receptive, but on one boat where people were not very receptive we met the cook as we were leaving and decided to witness to him. Now two years later he sent us a letter, "Dear Ana and Kids! Merry Christmas! I don't know if you still remember me. I still remember the beautiful song that your kids sang for me: `Jesus loves you.' And believe me, I love Him very much! I hope to see you one day. Love, Jose." He certainly didn't ever forget that Christmas. We might underestimate our influence in the lives of people we witness too, but a little love really does go a long way.
Whole Home Helps in Christmas Campaign!
From Tim, Joy and Dan, N. America (January, 1993):
The FSMs on follow-up (FSMs 228-230) have been such a blessing in our Christmas Campaign. Our Home had already been following some of the guidelines, but using the tips and suggestions has been causing a witnessing explosion!! Primarily, the unity and motivation of each Home member have been the important keys to make it work. But of course, without the Lord, it would have all fallen flat, as at times it seemed we were juggling a lot of balls at the same time. God bless those few that stayed by the stuff during the Christmas Campaign!
In the initial days, after the outreach team came home, our nightly activities included mail ministry. We sent our Christmas newsletter, a Christmas card made by the children and a "Somebody Loves You" tract, first to all our provisioning contacts, then to our DFers and then to our relatives. Having everyone pitch in this way enabled us to finish up! Thank the Lord! (Later, while singing, we'd see our card and newsletter on quite a few company bulletin boards, and many called and thanked us for sending them.)
The Lord has used the singing outreach to touch many hearts. Our MCs, OCs, and JETTs had engagements at two senior citizens' homes and at a small mall where a shoe contact wanted them to sing. But the younger children wanted to be able to witness too. So for the last two weeks before Christmas we set up appointments to receive a small singing team with as many provisioning contacts and friends as possible. We rotated the children from the different groups, 3 to 12 years old, bringing about six each time to sing two or three songs, along with a teen or YA to play the guitar. As this is a very busy time of year for them, some of our friends and contacts said they would not be available, but they appreciated so much that we (and the children) wanted to do something special for them. For those we did visit, the impact was overwhelming! Many were in tears, some wanted us to come back, and nearly all would have donations, little gifts or refreshments for the kids. We were able to offer the Videos, Tapes and Posters at most places, sometimes for the entire staff, and win many souls!
For our regular weekly contacts at the market who give us fruits and vegetables, a small singing team went with homemade Christmas cookies wrapped beautifully in Christmas paper and a copy of our newsletter to present to each one. God bless the teachers and children who laboured in love to make and decorate about 400 cookies!
Also, for some special contacts that have been helping us for a long time, regularly or in greater quantity, one of the children made plaques with pretty designs and quotes from either the Good Thots or the Rhyme Book. We presented them with this gift whether we got to sing for them or not. Needless to say, they were overwhelmed! J., a DFer, who has given us enough paint to cover the entire house two times over, told us it was more than enough already to have the children come to sing, and then to receive a plaque also was too much! Then a week later, he called our answering service. First he said that they happened to have an extra turkey this year, if we'd like to have it. Finally at the end of the conversation, he confessed that after hearing the children sing, he had to go out and get us a turkey! God bless him! This same man had told us at an earlier time, when he got married, that the best wedding presents he got were the home-made cards that our kids made for him!
All in all, the children have felt involved in the Christmas witnessing this year, whether making cards, making cookies or singing. And the Lord uses our children "to melt the hardest hearts", as one contact told us!
YA Shepherds Inspire JETTs!
From Area Shepherd, L. America (September, 1994):
I had a chance to go busking one day with the JETTs, which was a beautiful experience. Not only was it fun and fruitful as far as witnessing and winning souls and getting out the tools, but it was also very beautiful to see the 2 YAs that I went out with in action.
Dear Carmen and Sharon G., who are two of the Shepherdesses of the Teens and JETTs, did a tremendous job in shepherding the JETTs throughout the whole outing. I was very impressed with how they handled the JETTs through the different typical battles of shyness and getting into themselves, and how they inspired them to reach out to others and shine for the Lord. The place where we went witnessing was like a playground where we know the manager, who also gave us free tickets for different games there. So not only was it a good witnessing and tool distribution experience, but they also had a lot of fun, which I thought was great! I was so glad to see how natural the YA girls were about this, trying to find the balance between witnessing and making sure they did their part in singing and tool distribution, but also allowing the JETTs to just have fun and go on carts and play games and all that, which was a beautiful time and at the same time very fruitful in giving us a chance to witness and just enjoy serving the Lord together. Praise the Lord!
Guidelines for Poster Distribution by Children
From John, Marianne, Dan & Leah, Europe (September 1992):
Question: Could we lay down some general guidelines about who gives which Posters? Even though we all want to get out the meat of the Word, we don't want to offend outsiders by letting OCs and JETTs give out controversial literature. Age wouldn't necessarily be the only criteria, but also to be able to "answer him that asks thee", because it might appear to some that if the child can't answer basic questions about the lit he's distributing, he probably doesn't even understand it and is therefore being "used".
Answer from European Shepherds: We suggest that whichever Posters the OCs and JETTs do give out, the adults make sure to read them with the OCs and JETTs before they go out so that each child has a clear understanding of the Message of the Posters they are distributing. Possibly you could use the Posters to make a witnessing class to help ensure that each child knows how to answer basic questions about each Poster text. If a certain child isn't able to answer basic questions about the text of a particular Poster, perhaps the Shepherds of each age-group could help decide which Posters each child will get out. We feel that in this case it's quite difficult to make blanket judgments on most of the Posters, and that in most cases it would have to be decided more on a child-by-child basis. Basically we feel that it is up to each Home to help shepherd and train each of their younger generation Endtime witnessers to be as knowledgeable and powerful personal witnesses as they can be, and that as you get to know each child's capabilities you'll be able to make wise judgments on which Poster and what type of lit each child is best suited for at that particular time in his or her life. By going on the attack in this area, you'll not only protect your children and witness, but also will help to increase the children's understanding of the Word and their ability to use it when witnessing.
(Editor's note: See also Activity Book 4, pg. Q108, "Heavenly Poster Games" for study questions and card games using the Posters.)
Ministering to the Elderly in Hotels
From "Nuovo Aurora" Team, Europe (July, 1994):
The tiny town we have come to is a hill resort where the water is well-advertised as being good for your liver. There are over 400 hotels, all catering to middle-aged or elderly clientele. It's more than a health spa, it's become a yearly social tradition for many of the old people. We have been ministering here yearly for three years now and have very good relations with over 60 hotels. For this reason, we are able to book a show at a different hotel every night on a rotational basis and the response is beautiful!
It's hard to imagine until you are there personally just how much our children and their happy songs and dances mean to these old folks. They respond so emotionally and are visibly touched by the Lord's Love through the children! After the show, we are able to minister to them personally and there is always a great harvest of souls. In addition to it being such an important ministry as far as reaching very needy souls, the Lord has used it to provide for us financially, as many take tools for their grandchildren or give a heart-felt donation for the Work.
This year we are trying to be very faithful with follow-up. Many of them confide in us and talk about their personal situation and we are able to help them find the Lord's solutions. This year our show troupe includes four-year-old Aurora, who steals the show every time with her cute singing and dancing! We also do the Heart Skit and about 10 songs in Italian, Spanish and English. The children are learning to personal witness as the old people are very interested in them and ask them many questions about our lives. It's been a growing experience for all of us!
Kids on the Road!
From MC/OC Road Team, Europe (July, 1994):
A sweet TS couple gave a donation for the Home to buy a caravan. The Lord supplied a nice, neat, second-hand caravan that is now being used by our Kids' Team! Thank You Jesus --a real answer to prayer!
Kids' Team's First Day Out: It's amazing how much the Lord packed into one day of witnessing! Our first stop was a furniture factory, where the owner had promised to donate some children's furniture. He called his employees together for a little break to hear the children sing. The owner then helped to load up some beautiful, brand new children's furniture for our pre-school room!
Next stop was a provisioned lunch at a pizzeria, where the kids also sang and led the owner to the Lord! For a special treat, the owner gave ice-cream to the kids after the pizza.
By this time the children were very encouraged and decided to do a little more singing at the town's marketplace. They first sang at the market cafe and gave out Posters. While the kids were singing, a man came over and asked if the kids would like to sing for the whole marketplace from the stage that was set up for the town's summer festival! The kids were a bit hesitant, as this would mean singing into mikes on the stage for about 500 people, but then boldly decided to give it a go, God bless them! The MC introduced them as "International Little Singers from the Family" and urged everyone to listen to their message! The kids sang six songs and it came out loud and clear for the whole marketplace to hear! Afterwards we again gave out some more Posters and collected donations in little baskets.
To top the day off, the kids saw a huge air-mattress castle that was for kids to bounce on. They had the faith to ask for free entrance, and so we went over to provision it with a couple of the kids. The man was very sweet and said: "Oh, since you've been singing here at the marketplace, of course we will give you free tickets to the bouncing castle!" The kids were overjoyed and thoroughly enjoyed bouncing and tumbling in the castle!
This was just the beginning, the first day out! Now our brave Kid's SWIFT Team is out camping in the caravan the Lord provided and having lots of fun every day with just as exciting witnessing adventures happening left and right!--And the Lord is just pouring out all kinds of treats for these wildly willing witnesses.--Just today He blessed them with a meal and play time in a "Tropical Water Slide Park"! Thank You Jesus for the SWIFT vision!!!
Follow Up with OCs
From Phillip and Gentleness, Europe (July, 1994):
We've been taking out the OCs for follow-up visits. They've been a real hit as they sing to all the contacts! The first lady we visited had helped us earlier with material for singing skirts for the teen/JETT singing group. When she saw the OCs she said that she wanted to get them outfits next! Before we left she gave us a good donation and told us to please call if we needed more material for the teen/JETT group.
We then went to a frozen food contact. They are very sweet people and help generously. When they saw the children had come to sing for them they called all their workers into the large front hall in order to hear the songs. It was really touching to see these poor workers so cheered up! Afterwards the OCs went and gave them all tracts.
We also went to follow up on a sweet clothing contact. He's a wholesaler, and while we were in his shop singing for him a customer stepped forward, put a donation in one of the children's hands and told us, "I want to help you too. I'm going to get some clothing together for you. Please call me in a week." He also invited them all for ice cream.
From there we went to a car dealer who helped with some spare parts for Gabe's van. He was also touched by the OCs and started opening up about his life and all the hardships he's going through.
It was so inspiring to see how greatly the Lord used our little "Kid Power" team, and we realised how much potential they have! Thank You Jesus!
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Copyright 1996 The Family