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| This Sunday I took my usual seat by the kids. This Sunday one special kid, Bartholemew took a seat next to me.
Note: Fake names will be used in this entry to protect the confidentiality of the kids.
Well Bartholmew is a boy of about 8 years to 9 years old, and he is one funny kid.
I have two funny moments to share.
1st funny moment:
During the announcements before the praise and worship...
Bartholemew, (lets call him Barry for short says): Who's the pastor?
I point to the man sitting in the front row that comes to the front to pray each Sunday after the praise and worship.
Barry looks up at me, and with a slightly embarrassed smile but at the same time with realization he says, "Ohhhh... hehe I thought the pastor was Mr. Lam."
2nd funny moment:
While I'm listening to the announcments, I suddenly hear the words, "Jesus! Jesus!" in a passionate whisper.
I turn to my right, and it is Barry with his eyes wide open looking up at me, pointing to the button on his cargo shorts saying "Jesus! Jesus!"
Although I am touched by the passion in which he whispers the name of our Lord Jesus, I had to tell him, "Awww, Barry, that says "JEANS".
Hehehehe, awww that totally made my day. What a cootie patootie!
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| http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a96TmrxZRXY
This is so cute! And inspiring at the same time. : D
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| I recently remembered my Xanga Site Meter, and noticed my last one hundred vistors were from all over the world! Including Sweden, Germany, Austria, Hong Kong, California, Salt Lake City, Iowa, Washington, Victoria (B.C.), Quebec, Saskatchewan, and Toronto ;).
That was kind of neat to cee. :)
Anyways I was asked to update, so here I am. :)
So since I've last updated, I've begun my third week of student teaching. I'm quite enjoying it rather, its nice to walk through the halls, and be greeted by kids everywhere and to receive a handful of hugs as each new class files in. I guess one of the great things about teaching music, is that you get to teach every child in the school.
I'm really feeling like elementary music is what I want to teach, this was confirmed, after I walked down the Junior High section of the school, and all the kids seemed like they towered over me. It was nice to get back to my classroom of grade twos, and feel like a giant again.
Anyhow, so student teaching has been good. Quite a bit more challenging than my last placement though. A few of the kids seem to come from some difficult backgrounds and it is becoming evident in their attitudes. My first day, one of the small classes, that was a size of about 18, had about half the class thrown out of the classroom in a short 30 min period. I've never seen a whole class have such a lack of respect. The atmosphere of the school is also a lil different, I'm not quite sure how to explain it. I guess its things like seeing Bomb Threat procedures or Blue Code procedures by the staff phone, or hearing stories like how one of the staff had their car stolen from the school parking lot and then had their house broken into the same day. (It turned out that the thief found the address in the car, and decided to rob the house as well.) It is also hearing things like big kids coming onto the playground, spraying the children and stealing their belongings.
Anyhow, the school itself is a great place, the staff are so pleasant and friendly, and there is such a sense of teamwork among the teachers here.
Anyway, I have an encouraging moment to share, last week, we had a sub in the music class, and she was teaching the class a dinosaur rap. As an introduction, she talked a lil about dinosaurs, and the different types that there were. She then said, "There were no people during the time of dinosaurs." To that, a boy (this was a grade two class) raised his hand and said, "Was God there?" To this, the teacher replied, "Well if you believe in God, then I'm sure He was." To this, yet another child, a girl this time, raised her hand and asked, "Was Jesus there?" In response, yet another girl replied, "Jesus is God's Son", which caused yet another response, from yet another girl, which was muffled and I didn't hear it completely but it was something like "God....Jesus....... I learned that at Good Friday service." I was so amazed. There were four different kids having a small discussion about God and Jesus, in a public school music classroom. It was amazing to see, especially because these children were only a young age of 7 or 8. It made me realize that God is definitely working through this community, and it was just so encouraging to see.
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"NORTH AMERICANS ARE CLOSING THEIR EYES TO OPEN THE WORLDS' TO A WAR. BY LYING DOWN, WE ARE JOINING THE INVISIBLE CHILDREN IN NORTHERN UGANDA, AND DEMANDING THAT OUR GOVERNMENT PUT AN END TO THE LONGEST RUNNING WAR IN AFRICA, AND ONE OF THE WORST CRISIS IN THE WORLD TODAY. "
Please click on the link, and watch the video.
http://www.myspace.com/icwinnipeg
Please read below.
About Invisible Children Inc.
Invisible Children Inc., established in 2004, is a non-profit organization dedicated to providing financial resources to invisible children by documenting their true, untold stories in a creative and relevant way, resulting in positive change. Invisible Children Inc. was formed after the release of the film "Invisible Children: Rough Cut", which documents a war in Northern Uganda in which children are abducted by a rebel army and forced to fight as child soldiers. The filmmakers for "Invisible Children: Rough Cut", Jason Russell, Bobby Bailey and Laren Poole, are also the founders of Invisible Children Inc. Currently Invisible Children Inc. employs over 150 people in the war-torn area of Northern Uganda and is putting 300 kids through school, with plans to see that number grow into the thousands. The organization is based in San Diego, California.
SAN DIEGO, Calif. – March 28, 2006 – On April 29th, thousands of people across the country will take a new approach to ending a devastating war abroad – they'll take it lying down. Invisible Children Inc., an organization committed to ending the war in Northern Uganda where children are forced to fight as soldiers, has organized a Global Night Commute in 136 cities across the country.
On this night, thousands will commute to their cities' designated location and sleep outside on behalf of the invisible children of Northern Uganda. This event is a plea to theU.S. and Canadian governments to help put an end to this horrific 20-year-long war.
"It's a moral outrage to see thousands of children that have been abducted, that have been maltreated. They are going through the most horrendous torture by the rebel movement and that same group is now being neglected by the whole international community," said Jan Egeland, the United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs. "I cannot find any other part of the world having an emergency on the scale of Uganda with so little international attention."
The start of Invisible Children came in 2003 when three naive filmmakers, from Southern California, flew to Africa in search of a story that would change the world. What they found was a situation in Northern Uganda that disgusted and inspired them. They documented their findings of a 20-year-long war where children are the weapons, and the victims. The result was a film called, "Invisible Children: Rough Cut." After seeing the impact of their film worldwide, they formed the non-profit Invisible Children Inc.
The organization is dedicated to ending the war in Northern Uganda where children are abducted and forced to fight with the rebel army as child soldiers. For fear of being hunted by the LRA (Lord's Resistance Army), these children commute on foot every night to find safe places to sleep in their town centers. To date, more than 30,000 children have been abducted and forced into war. That's why Invisible Children is calling on the world to take a stand.
"The Global Night Commute is an opportunity for Americans to rally with one voice," said Jason Russell, one of the filmmakers and founders of Invisible Children. "We are asking people to lie down and close their eyes with us for one night, so that we can open the world's eyes to this unseen war."
As a media-based company, the filmmakers will create a music video 'mocumentary' to encourage people to attend the Global Night Commute. This video will be sent out via Pod cast, a couple weeks before the event. With this video, the filmmakers are pushing the envelope on how aid is perceived in the world. They are grabbing the attention of a younger generation with media that is both funny and touching. This music video is the biggest production to date for the non-profit.
What Winnipeg is doing about it:
April 5 & 6 at 2pm: UofM Firepit- INVISIBLE CHILDREN screening
April 21 at 7:00pm: Ellice Cafe and Theatre-INVISIBLE CHILDREN screening
April 29th at 6:30pm: THE LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY for the pre-commute rally, screening, and commute to Uof M sleeping in the quad overnight.
APRIL 30th 7:00pm U Centre- Multipurpose room 2nd floor (Above Tim Hortons) -INVISIBLE CHILDREN screening
An Email #1 from Rebecca (one of the organizers)
Hey Everyone,
Below is a press release from Invisible Children released on March 28th, explaining who they are and what the Global Night Commute is about. Lest you think the GNC has been forgotten and are wondering where we are and what's going on, we're sending you a little update.
We're working hard on last minute details for the GNC in the city. The province has decided that the Leg and Memorial Park are too risky an area to have a large group of people sleeping at overnight and so we're exploring other avenues for the Night Commute right now. Currently we're waiting on approval from the events coordinator at the Leg. to hold a rally/gathering before the actual Night Commute. This will include a screening of the film, and a few other surprises! At approximately 9:00pm we will be starting the commute to the University of Manitoba. YES...you read correctly, the UofM. The UofM has graciously allowed us to sleep on their property, most likely the Quad ( for those of you who know where that is, we'll be putting down tarps if the ground is still wet so that people can stay dry). They've given us the use of their security team for the night and also the use of BATHROOMS!!! *You can all breathe a sigh of relief.*
There will be a program for the night when we reach the UofM. Email us and let us know if you have any suggestions/ideas for what you'd like to see be a part of the program. We will take the Osborne/Pembina route and are thinking it will take approx. 2 hours, which is nothing compared to the children in Northern Uganda who make that type of commute EVERY night out of terror for their lives to sleep in a very sad semblance of safety.
We are currently teaming with YWAM-Winnipeg on a pre-GNC screening on April 21st at the Ellice Cafe and Theatre at 7:00pm and the GNC event on the 29th. Tell everyone you know and come out for the initial screening!! There will also be IC screenings happening on April 5 and 6 at the UofM in UCentre, Firepit area right across from Tim Horton's at 2pm. Again, tell all your friends and come on out!! I know it's mid-exam time but the film is only 53min and I promise it'll be life changing!!
I've spoken with the IC administration and we're working on getting Winnipeg added to the GNC list on their website. Until then please email this address if you're planning on being a part of the GNC on April 29th. We need approximate numbers to give to the Winnipeg Police for the parade permit. When Winnipeg is added to the website, we'll add your names to their list.
**Send us an email if you will be attending the Global Night Commute. We need approximate numbers. This is VERY IMPORTANT!!! **
And finally...keep checking the myspace site www.myspace.com/icwinnipeg We are trying to update the site regularly with updates from San Diego and from the IC team. There is also a calendar of events and screenings. Make a note of them in your calendar...tell your friends, your parents, your classmates, your co-workers, your dog!! We want as many people as we can get involved! The more people, the more media attention, the more pressure is placed on the government to do something!!
Thank you again for your continued interest and support!! We'll keep updating you as we get things worked out!
Rebecca MacLean (on behalf of the IC-Winnipeg team)
Help Raise Awareness.
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"It is much more important who is the music teacher in Kisvarda than who is the director of the opera house in Budapest...for a poor director fails once, but a poor teacher keeps on failing for thirty years, killing the love of music in thirty generations of children."
-Zoltan Kodaly
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