Bible Storying

what a great saturday! i was able to go with christine to "girls club" today. we rode our bikes for what seemed like forever. ok it wasn't that long. i am just out of shape. they have not had girls club for a few weeks now because of school holidays or rain. people don't get out in the rain, especially when most of them walk a long distance to be there. so, we were not sure of the turnout.
when we arrived, there was just one girl and two boys waiting under the trees. the boys did not get the message that it was exclusive to girls. we invited them in anyhow. girls club meets in a classroom at the secondary school. the school is a rectangular cement building containing three classrooms. each classroom has several rows of wooden desks and benches. it is empty. besides the chalkboard in the front of the classroom, the walls are bare. at this time a few more girls join us. everyone finds a seat as christine gathers her materials. she begins by having everyone say their name. then we play a fun math game that teaches them how to use calculators. most of them have not used a calculator before. christine then prays and begins the "bible storying".
bible storying was created as a way to share the gospel in story form, specifically in the context of foreign missions. it has proven difficult for people to understand westernized sermons that use bullet points and jump around in scripture. bible storying allows for everyone, even those who cannot read, to hear the message of the bible and hopefully be able to share that same story with a friend. most of the students are learning english, and it is a good way for them to practice as they listen and answer questions.
christine begins by telling the story of jesus calming the storm. she repeated the story twice, being sure to speak slowly and clearly for them to best understand. she began the story again, this time pausing for the students to fill in the rest of the sentence. i was amazed at how well they picked it up. she then talked them through the outline of the story, making sure they got the key events in the story. the tricky part came when she asked them application questions. what does this tell us about who jesus is? this was more difficult for them. they knew exactly what happened and what jesus did in the story, but struggled to apply it. christine did a great job of walking them through this process, and by the end, they seemed to be getting it.
i really enjoyed being able to watch christine today and experience a different part of their ministry here. at one point during the lesson, i was hit with an overwhelming feeling of God's presence. here i was. in sudan. halfway across the world. watching students learn about jesus. it was just another way for God to show me all that He is doing in sudan. i am blessed to even be a witness.