The sounds of Saturday morning

Beth has done a beautiful job coloring the red sea.

We love weekends on Project Canaan. The farm is quiet as only the children’s campus staff is at work.  Saturday starts the same as every other weekday for the Maxwell’s, sitting in bed with a cup of coffee overlooking Project Canaan.  Ian and I have our time of quiet prayer, devotion and scripture reading and then we move along with the day.

Saturday’s are extra special because at 9AM the beautiful sound of tiny voices begins to float up the mountaintop, notifying us that KIDS CLUB has begun.

KIDS CLUB was designed for the children who live at the Emseni Campus (our big kids) and any other children living on the farm who are in preschool or above.  The children are divided in to groups and move through five stations, shifting every 15-minutes.  It’s a fun-filled morning that includes a craft (two different ones dependent on age groups), singing/dancing, a race or physical activity, bible story, bible verse memory time.

The idea of this is to teach the children the bible story that will be presented at church the following morning, and help them understand what the story is about.  By acting out part of the story, making a craft with the story theme, hearing the story read, memorizing the bible verse and then dancing and singing about it, children’s church on Sunday becomes much more interesting and engaging to the children.

This was the brainchild of our volunteer Program Director, Bryan Throgmorton, but is fully executed with the entire Emseni staff, with support from our long term and short-term volunteers.  The 75-minute club ends with a fun snack and is followed by free play.

I LOVE the people whom I refer to as our “CARE TEAM”.  The Care Team comprises of anyone who is directly involved in caring for our children and includes Aunties, Uncles, Gogo’s and big brothers.  Ian and I are “mom and dad”.  In siSwati we are called Make (pronounced Mah – gay, which means mother) and Babe (pronounced Bah-bay, which means father). 

We are thankful for our Heart for Africa summer interns!

Our goal is to intentionally make this our children’s HOME, and not an orphanage.  Part of that intentionality is being focused on each child developing their own personality, individuality and identity. KIDS CLUB is one of those activities that helps allow our children to express themselves in different ways, and I spend my Saturday mornings watching, listening and laughing as they bloom in front of my eyes.

I am so proud of the people who God has brought to us to help raise these children and for all of you who support us financially and prayerfully.

Live from Swaziland … I love Saturdays on Project Canaan.

Janine