Written by Ingrid, Norway
This fall, a group of 16 young adults have turned their heads towards North Africa to serve the locals and a community of refugees.
The team is a mixture of boys and girls between the ages 18 til 21. Earlier this fall they all attended a school located in Bergen, Norway with their main course called International. After months of solid cultural studies they have come to North Africa for the outreach, with their main focus on serving the local community through prayer, teaching and practical tasks.
Throughout the first week the team has been focusing on adapting to and getting to know the culture as well as connecting with the locals. Both girls and boys have been making new friends, practicing their poor but very helpful arabic and tasted a lot of new, amazing food.
Though language can create some difficulties, they lay it at the Lord in prayer and at the end of the day it creates good laughs. By spending plenty of hours exploring the city, the team have got to know the incredible warmth and kindness of the local people and they LOVE it!
The second week the main focus has been towards ministry, particularly in a Sudanese refugee school. In groups of two and three each team prepared about an hour and a half of a program they have been teaching for the kids. The classes are varied and contain everything from stories and balloon figures to singing, acting, games and science.
The team divides tasks based on the gifts and strength the Lord has given each individual.
At the same time they try to challenge themselves and take steps out of their comfort zone. To ensure quality of the lessons, each team only has one lesson that they teach in every class, with some customizing to the kids' ages.
Another task has been to bless the school through painting. The team has been in charge of decorating the walls in both classrooms and common areas. The goal was to make a beautiful environment for the kids through educational pictures such as a world map, the solar system, the alphabet etc.
With a lot of new experiences, the team is ready for what is yet to come! Excited to see the ways God will lead and praying for wisdom to serve people with love and respect they step into each day.
Please be with us in prayer for wisdom and guidance in both teaching and conversations.
Pray that the Lord will give health and strength each day. And pray that in all things the team will always look to the Lord and His strength. Thank you.