Working for the Weekend

     Well, that's it. We're finally done. All week I've been working in anticipation of getting to relax for the weekend and it's finally here. There was just the small matter of a camp, English lessons, games and Bible lessons to get through first. However, by the Grace of God I'm here now.

     It's been a long week. I feel like I've crammed two camps into one week. In a way, I guess I did. Anna, Katya (the third member of our teaching staff) and I managed to wrangle about twenty-six kids through lessons, cartoons and games every day this week. And almost none of it was easy. It was hot, noisy, hectic, and tiring. However, I think the smiles and "thankyou's" that I got at the end of the morning and afternoon sessions made it worth the trouble.

The whole morning crew together.

     We had basically the same schedule today except for shifting fun time to near the end and adding a time for pastor Sasha to speak to the parents. The fun time for both group was planned as a mummy-wrapping game but ended up being just mummy-wrapping outside. We wanted to connect it to the Bible lesson with resurrection. But we saw their focus was slipping fast so we modified it on the fly.
     That was a big part of the week, modifying on the fly. If one lesson went too short or too long, we had to adjust by adding new games, letting out a few minutes early or drawing something else out.

(L-R) Katya, Anna, and me.

     I guess I should have explained our staff arrangements earlier in the week. With all the craziness, it slipped my mind. The original plan was for myself, Rebecca the intern, and two ladies from Kharkiv to teach during the week. We would split each morning and afternoon group into two smaller groups and then teach each separately. I would pair up with Katya from Kharkiv and Rebecca would help Anna. The thought was that it would make the load on each of easier. But I've since changed my opinion.
     After Rebecca left, we had to combine our efforts. Anna and I assumed teaching duties while Katya took over for some of the support duties. Doling out snacks, escorting kids to the bathroom, running out to buy water, keeping an eye on the youngest in the afternoon group. We decided to teach the morning session as one group and the afternoon as one. While it was harder to keep everyone in line that way, I think it played to our strengths better.
     I, being the only guy on the team, needed to become the face of the teaching crew. Ukraine leans toward a much more traditional mindset as far as gender-roles go. Men tend to be the leaders, especially when it comes to Biblical teaching or leading a team of men and women. After the first day, we adjusted things so I would do most of the actual teaching. Even though Anna has more experience than I do at classroom teaching, she stepped back to do mostly translation duty. She did fill in for the moments where I didn't know the material or where she could explain it more easily. But for the planning of lessons, the tasks were split closer to 50-50. She can also give an impressive tongue-lashing in Ukrainian.
     We discovered two great games about half-way through the week. Dead Beaver and 10-Object Story. Dead Beaver involves sitting and being quiet for as long as possible. It was one of the few moments we had during the day to sit and listen to silence. The other requires creativity from the students. All the teachers have to do is make sure they stay on task. It's about as hands-off as we could get all week. And for whatever reason, the kids loved "Killer." It's a simplified version of Mafia.
     So, what are my impressions of the week? First, I'm glad it's over. It was a long, challenging week and it feels good to be done. Second, I'm ready for some familiar surroundings. Oleksandriya has been great (except for the heat). The people have been very friendly (except that I get more stares than in Kiev). However, it's just not home. Finally, I think that I'll have to think about things for a bit before I can make an accurate judgement about the camp. I'm fairly certain my mind is blocking out some of the less significant issues in favor of amplifying the big problems I faced. So after I have some time to reflect I'll have a better evaluation of what all when on.
     I'll leave it at that. Saturday is going to be another big day. Ostensibly, it's for rest. But I'm certain there'll be little of that. Two of the pastor's sons, David and Tima have taken a liking to me. They like asking me questions in Ukrainian. It's just close enough to Russian that it sounds similar. But for someone who's only been studying Russian for ten months, it's still difficult to understand it.
     Alright, have a good weekend and I'll talk to you again soon.

Closing comments from pastor Sasha in the morning.