Last Day in Sweet Home

Hello Friends and Family! Kim and Rachel here to update you on our day!

Today was the team's last day in Sweet Home. We were able to train the CHEs on a couple of different topics. Taylor walked the CHEs through how to build an effective resume, and was able to answer questions about where to look for employment. He really emphasized the importance of building relationships with people in the community. At the end of this training, we were able to pray for God's provision in employment within Sweet Home.

Next up, Karissa and I (Kim) got a chance to provide some training for teachers from the informal school. We started the training off with a hands on experience to help them understand the importance of learning through play. I passed out some paper plates, and then, I gave each CHE some playdough. I thought I told everyone to start creating, but somehow there was a little miscommunication and a CHE may have eaten some playdough. Not to worry. She's fine and we got it all sorted out. The rest of the training went well. We continued to share information with them through hands on activities. They learned how to encourage students in their language/literacy development as well as their math skills. During each activity, I could see how much fun they were having as they took on the role of a student. I'm praying that they hold on to that memory and create an environment where their students see how fun learning can be too.

I want to give a huge shout out to Rachel, Kate, Julie, Sarah, Danielle, and Jeff who did an awesome job entertaining over 40 kids while these trainings were going on. Again, it's been so encouraging to see how our team supports one another. Their willingness to sing songs over and over with the kids kept the distractions to a minimum during the trainings. That was a huge gift to the CHE's to be able to focus like that.

Back at the Academy, we continued with our same after school activities as yesterday. Apparently, the Bible Rap Off's were even more intense today. These students can really throw down the Word of God to a beat. They were also able to learn some more hip hop and fitness moves today.

Tonight, it was another great night with the students. We were able to pray over another Matric (grade 12) and spend some time learning about how God is our Confidence. Danielle led an encouraging devotion about this and it opened up lots of discussion about how we can sometimes doubt God's plan for our lives. Again, you could see the Spirit moving and encouraging the students to ask questions about their future and God's truth for their lives. After ending the night with the students, the team had the opportunity to have dessert at Clive and Di's house. They have blessed the team in so many ways while serving as Academy and Retreat Center Director, and they have become our team's South African mom and dad. We were able to pray over them and just affirm how important their role is here and how big their hearts are for serving this school.

We wanted to share a special moment the two of us had today. Both Kim and I were able to spend some one on one time with our students that we sponsor here at Bridges. It was a great opportunity to bless them today with some ice cream and conversation. We're both so thankful that God has called us back to Bridges again this year to continue to build these relationships that have been growing over the past few years. It was a time of laughter, but also, a time for us to go deeper individually with these girls and encourage them. This afternoon was a gift and answer to prayer for us. Oh, yeah, we let Russell and Goodwell crash girl time too (but not our photo shoot). The three of us just wanted to celebrate how God has brought these three specific students into our lives. We're very thankful for the special time we got with them today.