The evening started off with musical chairs/jump on each other. This is their own version of our normal musical chairs game. We explain how musical chairs works, we play the music, they run around the chairs and when we stop the music for some reason they all have to jump on each other to sit down. We don't understand why, but this is what they do. They also think they're all out, but there's usually a few chairs still open.
We just kind of go with it...
After the game came worship and then the talk. The topic at Gap last night was anger. I focused on how we get angry because people hurt us and how it's not okay to explode and just "klap" someone. I thought that, that would work best with the Gap kids because they come from a community where it's okay to just "klap" someone, stab them or do any type of harm to someone who makes them angry.
I started off the talk by sharing a story of where a friend once made me really angry and how I exploded. During the story I used an illustration of adding bicarbonate of soda to a mixture of vinegar and water to show how I was only a little bit angry and to show I was super angry and then exploded by raising my voice at my friend, I added a spoon of bicarbonate of soda to neat vinegar. The mixture bubbles over like mad, (I had put a tray under the glasses to catch the water to prevent a mess).
From that story I went on to explain how in life people hurt you and often we express that hurt by getting angry. When I asked the kids what they do when they're angry because someone hurt them they all responded by saying they would smack the person. We even had some role play where I thought I was going to really get a "klap" for telling someone I never liked their shoes. After she had stood up and I had screamed and ran away, she said she was getting into the example and thought she would act it out.
I then told the story of how David had the perfect chance to kill Saul, when he came into the cave to relieve himself. David chose not kill Saul in the end, but cuts off a piece of his robe. He then goes to Saul and tells him that he isn't going to kill him because he's gods anointed one. The story is in 1 Samuel 24:1-13. The point I used from the story was how David could have acted out in anger towards Saul, who didn't like him and wanted to kill him, but chose not to. We then discussed how you can't just go and get revenge just because people do wrong to you.
In small groups, I asked my girls what they learnt from the story and they all gave good answers, "Not to hit people, not to take revenge, not to take your anger out on someone else, etc" I then asked them if they are going to do all those things and they all said no and told me that they are still going to hit someone or beat them up if they hurt them or talk badly about them.
While I was driving back to the church after I had dropped some of the kids at home last night I started thinking about the kids and where they live. I came to the conclusion that in their immediate community in IY that's how they deal with things. Their parents, friends, extended family etc, all react to hurt and anger with violence. It's the only way they know how to deal with things. They some how have a culture built up in them of this is the way to deal with things. When we come along and present an alternative solution it takes harder to change or for them to even fully grasp. They understand the theory behind it but when it comes to practice they still think to hit someone is better that walking away or talking to them.
I think this is our biggest challenge at Gap. How do we teach them about living as a Christian and how Jesus wants us to live our lives, when so much of it is the opposite of how their world tells them to live. It's a way that is different to the way their community models dealing with things and living life. How do we minister cross culturally and teach them to live a cross cultural life where they don't do the "bad" things but still embrace their culture.
So many questions... but they are all questions that only God can answer and reveal to us as we continue to minister to the kids at Gap.
xKx
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