I’ve been at Noah’s Ark three days and have already become a
permanent fixture in their weekly staff meetings. Now, these meetings are not
for all the staff here—they are for about a dozen people in various leadership
roles throughout the compound. So much for stepping down from leadership and
playing with babies for the next three months.
(I did get to play with babies today, however. There is one
who is quite… well, round. You might call him a roly-poly little guy. The funny
thing is, that description would be literal. He can’t crawl yet, so he gets
around by rolling himself over and over again until he gets where he wants to
go. Combine that with his toothy grin and he’s a fun one to watch!)
Anyway, Daniel led me to believe (unintentionally, I’m sure)
that tonight he and I were going to meet with Mama and Papa to discuss my role
for the next three months. Imagine my surprise when I showed up to the meeting
and there were already ten people there! As it turned out, I was invited
because tonight we started the planning process for our first ever Christmas
cantata. Papa wants to start a Noah’s Ark tradition in which children and staff
put on a Christmas gospel presentation through music, dance, drama, and a
message. It will be presented a handful of evenings shortly before Christmas as
a way to connect with the community and help them see that Christmas is about
more than food and new clothes, which is typically what characterizes the
holiday in this culture. We all think it sounds like a great idea, but it is
going to be a chore putting the whole thing together for the first time,
especially considering that Mama and Papa will be in Holland for the month of
October.
SALT, The “W”, High School Camp… I am getting my fair share
of putting together guinea pig programs and having no idea how they will turn
out.
I am one of two people charged with the task of doing some
research to find out what similar programs have been done in other places, what
resources are available to us, and to begin piecing together the major elements
and overall flow of the program… and it just hit me what a big task this is. Seriously,
as I wrote that, my eyes bugged out a little. When Papa asked if I would be
willing, it seemed like I would mostly be watching YouTube videos of other
cantatas. That is so not the case. Here goes… something.
God, you surprise me
so often. I did not expect to have an opportunity or task like this while I was
here. Please help me rise up to the challenge. Give me the humility and courage
to ask for help when I need it—humility to admit there are a lot of things I
don’t know, and courage to ask someone I haven’t met or who seems altogether
too busy already. Infuse my mind with creativity as I consider what this
program could be. Help me be a fast learner as I try to better
understand everything from how the internet works here to what elements of
Ugandan culture to include. (Why couldn’t they be planning something I have at
least done before?) Please encourage me when I am frustrated. Most of all, as I
research and plan how to best share your amazing message with others, may it
take root in my heart in a brand new, captivating way so that I can not only
present this to a target audience, but I can also be the target
audience.
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