A lesson on being prepared

This past week I was taught a lesson on always being prepared.

For a class here I am given the opportunity to work with a local ministry to see how they do ministry in Uganda.

Off-Tu mission is the organization I chose to work with. The mission originates from Germany, but the people running the program are Ugandan.

Off-Tu does several different things here. Including a water treatment branch, outreach to street children, they also run a nursery and primary school and they have a home set up to house vulnerable street children.

Tuesday consisted of time in Kampala doing some ministry with children living in a slum. Being my first time there, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect, but some of the other interns who had been the week before gave me a general idea. One of the workers at Off-Tu would lead some songs and give the gospel message, and then we would head back to school. Simple enough, right? Upon our arrival everything seemed to be going exactly that way, until it got close to the end. The leader split up the children into two groups, almost as if we were going to play a game. After dividing up myself and the three other USP students between the two groups, we were informed that it was time for us to tell them a story. “A story?!?” We asked. “What story?”   “Any story” was the answer. A story? On the spot like that? We completely blanked. Being put on the spot like that while having 15-20 kids staring up at you expectantly is not an ideal situation to be in.

Myriah, a fellow USP (Uganda studies program) student suggested Rapunzel, but didn’t think she could remember the story well enough to tell, and once Rapunzel was suggested, I immediately thought of the Goldilocks and the three bears. Thus is how I ended up telling the story of the three bears, best I could remember, and with some minor tweaks to help out the interpreter, to a bunch of children who may not even have known what bears were.

Wednesday came, and having been put on the spot the day before, I should have come prepared with something, but apparently we hadn’t learned yet.

Upon our arrival to the school, Off-Tu academy, we were told we would be teaching computer class and part of Religious Education (RE) class.

The other two USP students immediately decided to teach computer class, which left me with RE class. This time having to come up with a Bible lesson interesting enough for a large class of Primary 4 students, and I didn’t have a Bible.

10 minutes later with a borrowed Bible, I was introduced to the class as Madame Jennifer, and left up front with a piece of chalk. Uh oh.

After a rousing story on Lazarus, I was expecting the teacher to take over for the rest of class. Apparently I was the only one that thought that, for when I finished, I was informed that the class went until 3:45, and it was only 3:00. After singing every single song I could think of, including some twice, learning a verse, and playing a game, I was finally relieved of my new teaching position. 

It was definitely an experience, and a lesson I won’t soon forget.

Always be prepared.

Maybe next time I can tell the story of the lost sheep………. =)