Monday, September 04, 2006

The 1st Week of School


This was definitely a new experience for me in terms of a first week of school. My classes are great so far. The kids are really amazing and are very willing to engage in discussion. Other than the fact that I am super busy with lesson preparation, things are going very well with my teaching.
brief summary of teaching so far:

Geography- We have begun an introductory devotional time where we are looking at the source of Geography and all the things that we study in regards to it (Genesis Chapters 1-3)
It is really amazing to teach from a Christian perspective and allow God to take His proper place in an academic setting.
Discernment- Ok some of you may think this is a bit strange but my kids have really responded to it. We are currently viewing portions of the Matrix and using it as our metaphor for the class. For the class we are referring the world system that is currently controlled by Satan and used to distract us as the Matrix. Several of the scenes in the film can be used in an amazing way to illustrate several points from scripture. I hope to put up a post in the future that gives a bit more detail.
We are also reading The Screwtape Letters. This has been a real eye opener for the kids. It is really good, but many times it is difficult for the kids to understand. Pray that the Lord will use me to help the kids better understand this helpful book.
Worldview Survey- This is the one that I have felt a bit over my head with. It is a great class, but was taught by a guy way more intelligent than me (I know what you're thinking 'Thomas, how was there ever a person smarter than you?') His lessons were way complex and so I have had to do a ton of work to simplify things. The Lord has really blessed my teaching in that class and we are currently looking at Christian Theism in detail. Tomorrow I will be sharing the gospel through the description of Man's sinful nature and the need for God to provide a way to restore us to fellowship with Him. Please pray that this class would not be an intellectual pursuit, but would really touch kids hearts.
I will do my best to get some actual pics of my classes up as soon as I can.
We are currently still seeking a church home here, please pray that God will show us where He would have us fellowship in a church setting.
We are beginning a Bible study with some other teachers. Pray that the Lord will use this in our lives to teach us from His Word.
Soccer is going well. The kids are responding great to my coaching. The other coach and I have a real ministry with these guys. Pray that I will have unique opportunities to minister to these guys and that they will see Christ in me, my hope of glory.
Your emails and responses to posts are extremely encouraging to us. Feel free to shoot us an email if you have any questions about specifics.
-Thomas & Mollie

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

thomas, you always joked about your lack of techno know-how before you left, but i'm loving this website. it's great to read these updates and see exactly what you're seeing. shea and i pray for you often, and we'd love to talk to you sometime. what is your phone number?

daniel

Anonymous said...

Dear Mrs.Mollie, My aunt had her twins!!!They were born on Mr.Thomas's birthday, SEPTEMBER 8,2006!!!Mrs.Gardener was so excited that the twins were born on his B'DAY.The girl's name,is Kassidy and the boy's name is Jake.The girl weighs 5 pounds & 10 oz., and the boy weighs 5 pounds & 4 oz.The are so cute!!!!!!KAYLA