I realized anew, last night, how truly blessed I am to have the privilege of teaching at Emanuel. Last night was the annual Christmas program, so very different from the Winter concerts schools I've taught at have had in the past. For starters the theme was Dios al mundo amó (God so Loved the World), which coming from my experience in public schools in the States, as an incredible difference that we were now allowed to talk about God and the true reason we all celebrate Christmas, but the fact that it was an outreach to the community made it even more incredible, in my mind. Every single child (well, at least those who showed up, which was nearly all of them) had a part in the program, from the little not-even-3yrs old preschoolers, all the way up to the teenagers. Some kids danced, some sang, some acted, some recited and some played instruments, but all kids had a chance to do something in the program. The drama that the high schoolers put on was really good, especially considering they only had just over a month to practice for it. It was entitled "The daughter of the king" and was about a king and queen who were celebrating the birth of a prince and in the process forgetting about their daughter. The princess got jealous and decided to run away to show everyone that she shouldn't be forgotten. She got kidnapped by some evil gang in the forest (Robin Hood and his men gone bad). The king sent some soldiers to rescue her, but all except one were killed. The king then decided to send the remaining soldier back to the gang, this time carrying the infant prince, in hopes that the gang would respect the new life and send the princess back. The gang accidentally kill the baby prince, but as a result forget about the princess. This allows her to escape back to her parents with her brother. The last scene brings her home, weeping in shame for having caused the events that lead to the death of the newborn prince. Her father, the king, says that was the baby's reason for being, to bring about peace in the kingdom, just like God sent His son to take our place in death, to bring peace on earth. I enjoyed the message and thought that it was a different take on helping people understand the sacrifice that Jesus made for us, although I have to admit, I enjoyed the funny parts at the beginning more so. :) Some of the high schoolers are already really good actors and it was fun to watch a different side of these kids that I see every day.
I realized anew, last night, how truly blessed I am to have the privilege of teaching at Emanuel. Last night was the annual Christmas program, so very different from the Winter concerts schools I've taught at have had in the past. For starters the theme was Dios al mundo amó (God so Loved the World), which coming from my experience in public schools in the States, as an incredible difference that we were now allowed to talk about God and the true reason we all celebrate Christmas, but the fact that it was an outreach to the community made it even more incredible, in my mind. Every single child (well, at least those who showed up, which was nearly all of them) had a part in the program, from the little not-even-3yrs old preschoolers, all the way up to the teenagers. Some kids danced, some sang, some acted, some recited and some played instruments, but all kids had a chance to do something in the program. The drama that the high schoolers put on was really good, especially considering they only had just over a month to practice for it. It was entitled "The daughter of the king" and was about a king and queen who were celebrating the birth of a prince and in the process forgetting about their daughter. The princess got jealous and decided to run away to show everyone that she shouldn't be forgotten. She got kidnapped by some evil gang in the forest (Robin Hood and his men gone bad). The king sent some soldiers to rescue her, but all except one were killed. The king then decided to send the remaining soldier back to the gang, this time carrying the infant prince, in hopes that the gang would respect the new life and send the princess back. The gang accidentally kill the baby prince, but as a result forget about the princess. This allows her to escape back to her parents with her brother. The last scene brings her home, weeping in shame for having caused the events that lead to the death of the newborn prince. Her father, the king, says that was the baby's reason for being, to bring about peace in the kingdom, just like God sent His son to take our place in death, to bring peace on earth. I enjoyed the message and thought that it was a different take on helping people understand the sacrifice that Jesus made for us, although I have to admit, I enjoyed the funny parts at the beginning more so. :) Some of the high schoolers are already really good actors and it was fun to watch a different side of these kids that I see every day.
Ecuador is one of the most beautiful countries of South America. Enjoy it.
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