We walked into the chapel, where they ushered in all of the students, with the boys on one side and the girls on the other. I began my getting the kids revved up by seeing who could shout the loudest...the boys or the girls. Then we began teaching them a simple worship song (My Soul Sings by Cory Asbury). Everything was going well, and then half the team ushered the teachers out to minister to them during our teaching. And that's where things began to go nuts. We taught them the song "My God is so big, so strong and so mighty.." and we taught them all of the actions to go with it. They loved the song, and a few rushed into the aisle so that they could show off their actions. In this school they had prefects, which were basically responsible students who were left in charge in the teacher's absence. As is the custom, the prefects hit the children who ran into the aisle, since they weren't supposed to be there. The problem with that, is that kids have no problem hitting prefects back. In a matter of seconds there was a swarm of kids slapping, hitting and yelling in the center aisle. Ken and a few others ran into the middle to break it up while the principal grabbed the microphone and began yelling at them to sit down.
I urged the guys doing the skit to start in the hopes that the kids might settle down. Instead, because it was difficult to see, kids began to stand up and move forward, the prefects began slapping and it started the whole rumble all over again. I looked at Ken in desperation and asked what we should do. He looked as panicked as I felt and had no idea. It was one of those moments when you realize you are not in control and one wrong move could lead to utter anarchy. I really believe that we came close to exactly that. My brain was reeling trying to come up with something that would settle them down.
We had the people in the skit leave, and I asked Aaron to play something soothing on the guitar. The talking and shouting subsided relatively quickly and I told the kids to repeat what I was saying and I led them in a prayer, asking the Holy Spirit to fill them up, to touch them and to let them feel His presence. Then I told them we would come around and pray for each of them, but only if their eyes were closed. After the hour of chaos, I was stunned to see all of the kids close their eyes. They sat silent for probably 20 minutes as we walked around praying for them. I've never seen a group of kids sit that silently without a movie in front of them. I have no doubt that it was the Spirit that calmed the group and kept us from total disaster. After 20 minutes, we began to hand out candy to those who were sitting silently. The teachers eventually came back in, saw the kids sitting silently and smiled as I'm sure they imagined this is how the kids had behaved the entire time.
The principal then had a group of kids come up and sing "Lord I Lift Your Name on High" for us. They thanked us for coming and offered us some refreshments in the teacher's lounge. I did not have to be told more than once. I made a beeline for the lounge and collapsed in a chair, reminding myself that I made the right decision by leaving the teaching profession. Some people are made for that kind of thing. I, on the other hand, am not. Some of our team stayed behind to interact with the kids. David thought it would be fun to pull out some balloons to make some balloon animals for the some of the students. When I saw him later he looked almost shell-shocked and his once clean white shirt was caked in dirt. I couldn't suppress a smile as he explained that once he pulled out one balloon, every kid pounced on him. You could hear the edge in his voice that revealed the same hint of exasperation and panic I'd felt moments earlier.
We loaded up and ate lunch on the bus, which was another to go order from Crown Bakery, to our delight. We ate as we drove to a meeting with the intercessors of Sierra Leone. They led us into a building to an upstairs room surrounded by open windows on 2 of the 4 walls. The Upper Room, so to speak. We recognized most of the people at the meeting from the Pastor's Conference, although there were still more than a handful of new faces. We had a short time of worship, and Ryan stood up and spoke to them about the value of child-likeness. As he spoke, I spent most of that time photographing the people in the room, and getting a better feel for Erik's camera. Erik and I were in charge of taking photographs for the team, and although I love to take pictures, I have virtually no knowledge of how to photograph beyond aim and shoot.
Caroline then got up after Ryan and shared some of the most powerful ways to intercede. For example, joy and laughter are some of our greatest weapons, and declarations of what we want to see happen can shift circumstances. Then she shared a vision that God had given her about Sierra Leone. "God told me about a woman named 'Sierra Leone' who had been raped and maimed for the treasures she carried in her womb, " she said. "Yet through the power of the Holy Spirit God is going to restore her Purity and Dignity because she is the 'Bride of Christ'. In God's light she is going to sparkle like a diamond pouring out His great treasures to Africa."
That night for dinner we ate come amazing curry. Ryan gave us the option of staying at the hotel or going to Pastor Andrew's house to minister to his family. Throughout the trip Ryan was really good at scheduling rest so that we wouldn't become exhausted or sick.That was the only night where I really felt I needed a break, and I'm sure it had everything to do with the stress of children's ministry. So I opted out and practically fell into bed at 8pm.
