Teacher Helps Page for Form
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Background Information:
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Gennady and Mina Podgaisky, from Russia and Mexico (respectively), met when they attended seminary in Kentucky. After they married and finished their degrees, Gennady and Mina were led by God to ministry among the thousands of children between the ages of three and fifteen who live on or under the streets of Kiev, Ukraine. Kiev alone, it is estimated that there were at one time as many as 24,000 children who did not have homes. In the last decade, the situation has improved, but there are still thousands of street children in Ukraine. Many of the children are orphans. Some have been abandoned by their families, while others are fleeing from abusive situations. These children live together in groups in basements or underground heating tunnels. Often older siblings care for younger siblings as they live on the streets. The children are cold for much of the year, and many sniff glue regularly to escape their reality.
In 2002, the Ukrainian Baptist Union and CBF formed a partnership to minister to the needs of Kiev’s street children. The Cooperative Baptist Fellowship commissioned Gennady and Mina Podgaisky to serve in Ukraine and work to meet physical, emotional, and spiritual needs of people in Ukraine’s capital city. At feeding stations, the Podgaiskys are able to meet some of the needs of the street children. They give away warm clothes, serve hot meals, administer medical care, and provide funds for legal help. Through the feeding stations, the Podgaiskys are able to form relationships with some of these children and share the warmth and hospitality of God’s love.
The Podgaiskys were instrumental in founding the Village of Hope. Purchased in 2003, this former youth camp is being restored and reclaimed as a foster home. Since 2003, mission teams have traveled to Ukraine to landscape, renovate, and rebuild the buildings at the camp. The vision of the Village of Hope is to provide a place where Christian foster parents can create a home for some of the children living on the street and give them the nurture and love that they deserve. Each foster family can take five to seven foster children in addition to their own biological children. The camp could eventually house up to 10 families and 100 children. As construction on various buildings at the Village is completed, there will be more space for foster parents to offer a refuge to children in need of a loving home environment. The Village of Hope also serves as a site for Christian camps conducted year-round by the Ukrainian Center for Christian Cooperation.
In addition to work at the Village of Hope, the Podgaiskys have been active in a coalition of non-profit organizations that minister to at-risk children, have helped develop a Life Skills Manual that is used by children and youth throughout Ukraine, and have continued to share the gospel through their day-to-day relationships and weekly Bible studies in their home.
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Online Resources:
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Session 1:
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Session 2:
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Homeliving center - recipe for traditional Ukrainian bread with illustrations
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Nature center - pictures of day/night things
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Music and Movement center - picture of a bubon
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Session 4:
October 2011 - Who Is in Your Neighborhood?
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Background Information:
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In eastern North Carolina, Anna and LaCount Anderson are Cooperative Baptist Fellowship field personnel working to minister to those in poverty. They are giving help and sharing God’s love to those in need in several of the communities near Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina. Northeastern North Carolina is dealing with great economic difficulty. In the Andersons’ county 24% of the population is living in poverty.
In 2009 they began the Eastern North Carolina Poverty Network which is helping people in poverty while partnering with churches in their area. LaCount serves as the executive director of Union Mission, which houses a long-term residential recovery program for men. Anna serves as the minister of music and missions at Rosemary Baptist Church in Roanoke Rapids and assists in the work of Faith House, a homeless shelter for women and children in Enfield, NC. They are also beginning community gardens in several areas to provide for those who are hungry. Vacation Bible School and after school music programs have touched the lives of children. They both are part of the Transformational Development Team of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship (CBF) with other CBF field personnel who are seeking to move people out of poverty.
Anna and LaCount’s ministry is based on relationships. “It is not us (rich) and them (poor). It is all of us, from God’s perspective,” said Anna. “People in need have talent and ability to help in church. Our job is to show them the way to God and then involve them in local church ministry.”
Anna and LaCount strive to help those in poverty in their community, but their larger goal is to help churches know how to impact their communities. They are seeking to help congregations and individuals to be the presence of Christ in their own communities. They assist them in matching resources and abilities with the greatest needs of those in poverty. Anna shares, “I have such a desire to see churches do more, understand where and how they can serve God, and use more of what they’ve been given.” This unit will challenge you and the children in your group to make an impact in your own backyard.
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Online Resources:
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Session 1:
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Session 2:
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Session 3:
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Preview the YouTube video about the Andersons work
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Blocks center - picture of Union Mission and Faith House
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Books center - picture of bed
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Puzzles center - resource for preschool learning games
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Session 4:
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Missional activity:
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This month preschoolers will collect supplies for a local homeless shelter. Print off this sample letter and distribute to parents.
November 2011 - Finding Family
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Background Information:
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For a refugee from a war-torn country, finding family can be difficult or even impossible. Unfortunately, this is a situation faced by many, many people in several different countries in Africa. Jade and Shelah Acker, two of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship’s field personnel, minister to people who have been displaced and affected by conflict.
In 2001, the Ackers were living in Sudan working at a camp for former child soldiers. They formed strong relationships with some of the boys and got to know their stories. When the camp closed, they moved to another part of Sudan to work on a relief project. They found several of the boys from the camp there living on the streets and were able to advocate for them. In 2003, the Ackers arranged for nine of the boys to go to school in Kenya.
The Ackers were commissioned as CBF field personnel in 2004. After several years in Senegal, they moved to Uganda in 2008. The Ackers have two young daughters, Anna-Grace and Kaelah-Joy, and they have legal guardianship of Lino, a teen boy originally from Sudan. The nine young men they helped earlier were able to continue their education, and many of them desire to return to their countries to make a difference there. Five of the boys have moved to Uganda to be near the Ackers and are part of their extended family.
The Ackers founded and co-direct a non-profit organization called Refuge and Hope International. While the ministries of Refuge and Hope International extend beyond Uganda into Sudan, Kenya, and the Congo, much of the Ackers’ daily life happens at the Center of Hope located in Kampala, Uganda. The Center of Hope offers refugees from Sudan, Eritrea, the Congo, and local Ugandans training in many different areas including English, computer, Bible study, and sewing. In addition, Jade runs an active sports ministry through the Center as a way to reach out to the young men of the community. In the Ugandan village of Greek, the Ackers are working to construct a community center, which can be a school and a place of worship. In the Kaberamaido district in Uganda, they are training widows and former soldiers in agricultural methods to create income and improve life.
As you learn about the Ackers this month, children in your group will think about how they might be the family of God to others and how they can support the ministry of the Ackers in Uganda.
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Online Resources:
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Session 1:
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Session 2:
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Session 3:
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Session 4:
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Missional Activity:
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This month, preschoolers collect money to contribute toward the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship's Offering for Global Missions. Through this offering, field personnel like the Ackers are enabled to stay on the mission field. Print off parent letters for the first session to help communicate about this missional activity.
December 2011 - Celebrating Jesus in the Middle East
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Background Information:
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Lebanon is a beautiful country in the Middle East. It is a mountainous country that borders Israel, Syria, and the Mediterranean Sea. Lebanon is unique in the Middle East in that it enjoys religious freedom, so the opportunity to speak about Christ openly there is available. While it is one of the top tourist destinations in the Middle East, it has endured conflict and been damaged by war. The people of Lebanon have undergone the threat of war in this volatile region for many years.
Chaouki and Maha Boulos are CBF field personnel who are natives of Lebanon. They spent 11 years in North Carolina after they were married because of the dangers of war in Lebanon. In the USA, they were involved in ministry to Arabs. In June 2002, they were commissioned by CBF and returned to their home of Beirut, Lebanon with their two sons.
In Beirut and the surrounding area, the Bouloses hold open-air evangelistic meetings called “Celebrate Jesus” revivals. They also conduct sports camps, Vacation Bible Schools, work with orphans, and have an after-school program for the Bedouin gypsy people. Maha works with a women’s ministry in a poor suburb of Beirut. The Bouloses are also constructing a conference and retreat center in the mountains called White Wings to be an oasis of peace for Christian churches, conferences, and seminars. As children learn about missions during the season of Advent, pray for peace in Lebanon and the Middle East and for the holistic ministry of the Bouloses.
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Online Resources:
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Session 1:
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Session 2:
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Session 3:
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Session 4:
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Missional Activity: This month preschoolers have the opportunity, with their parents, to give a gift to benefit orphans in Lebanon in the Home of Hope. Pass out the letter to parents at the end of the first session and remind them of this opportunity throughout the month. The holiday is a valuable time to teach meaningful lessons about gifts and giving!
January 2012 - Building Promises
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Background Information:
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A massive earthquake hit Haiti on January 12, 2010. Already a country facing poverty, the disaster left Haiti devastated. Immediately, the world sprang to action delivering aid to Haiti. It has now been two years, and Fellowship Baptists are still committed to rebuilding and working in Haiti. It is through teaming up with other organizations, churches, and individuals that CBF has had a sustained presence in Haiti over the past two years.
Members of the CBF Haiti Team include Brenda and Mike Harwood, C.J. and Jack Wehmiller, Jenny Jenkins, Nancy and Steve James, and Tori Wentz.
Brenda and Mike are CBF representatives, hired in 2010 to coordinate rebuilding efforts in Haiti. They build rubble homes, empower women through self-help groups, and have a water education program.
C.J. and Jack were commissioned in 2010 as field personnel working with Haitians in the Dominican Republic to install water purification systems, to build an orphanage, and to bring medical mission teams to the Haitian neighborhoods in the Dominican.
Jenny Jenkins is one of CBF's field personnel who serves as a nurse in Grand Goave, Haiti, working in remote mountain villages, building relationships in the community, and coordinating medical teams.
Nancy and Steve are CBF field personnel who focus on medical work in another part of Haiti. They treated earthquake survivors after the disaster and in the cholera outbreaks that followed.
Tori Wentz is also one of CBF's field personnel who worked as a nurse for several months in Haiti after the earthquake.
These individuals, in partnership with many other people and organizations, are working to rebuild Haiti and rebuild lives. The progress is slow, but there is hope.
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Online Resources:
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Session 1:
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Parent letter to print
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Nature Center: world map
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Music and Movement Center: large letters for children to jump on
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Session 2:
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Homeliving Center: Haitian spaghetti recipe
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Art Center: Facebook link to post pictures from this activity
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Music and Movement Center: songs available online
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Missional Activity: There are two opportunities for giving in this unit. Session 2 suggests collecting and donating school supplies. Session 3 suggests creating and distributing First Responder Care Packets. Pass out the parent letter at the beginning of the month so that parents are prepared for both of these opportunities.
February 2012 - We Need Each Other
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Background Information:
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In 2008, CBF began a partnership with the Ghana Baptist Convention. Together, these two organizations assist one another in prayer, church planting, leadership development, ministry infrastructure, community transformation, and facilitating church-to-church connections.
In 2010, the Ghana Baptist Convention appointed the Rev. Dr. Robert Owusu to be the church planter-facilitator for North America. His job is to work to establish Ghanaian Baptist congregations in North America. He also pastors Amazing Grace Baptist Church in Atlanta, GA, a Ghanaian church. CBF partners with the Ghana Baptist Convention and Rev. Dr. Owusu by providing funds, networking links, office space, and other resources for the church-starting initiative.
Many Ghanaians come to the U.S. for economic, educational, and family reasons. They work in fields of medicine, education, and the service industry. Ghanaians who come to the U.S. generally work and live in larger cities. There are member churches of the Ghana Baptist Convention in New York, Massachusetts, Virginia, Ohio, Colorado, Georgia, and Canada. However, there are many other places in North America where Ghanaians have settled.
The church starting process begins with Robert connecting with Ghanaian communities and associations. He makes phone calls to gather information about the communities and names of people to connect with in the city. Once he finds a concentration of Ghanaian and other West Africans in a city, that area is given priority for a new church start. Robert and CBF need each other in this process. Robert is able to make connections with these communities and CBF provides networking assistance with CBF area coordinators and churches where the church start is needed. Robert’s goal is to plant eight Ghanaian Baptist churches in North America by 2013. He is working with CBF connections in Texas, Oklahoma, and Illinois to begin congregations. It is through partnerships like this Baptist Christians can accomplish things in Christ’s name that we could not accomplish on our own.
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Online Resources:
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Session 1:
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Session 3:
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Session 4:
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Session 5:
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Missional Activity:
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In Session 3, your group has the opportunity to send letters and drawings to the Amazing Grace Baptist Church in Atlanta, GA, or to the children at Christiana Owusu's school in Ghana. For either of these options, send mail to Amazing Grace Baptist Church, 2108 Briarcliff Road NE, Atlanta, GA 30329. Another option is to send letters to an international community in your own town.
March 2012 - Changing Lives in Miami
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Background Information:
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When many people think of Miami, Florida, they think of miles of beaches, sparkling waters, multi-million dollar sports stars, and a vibrant nightlife and club scene. But Miami-Dade County is also home to Overtown, one of the most impoverished communities in America. Overtown was founded in the 1890s by many of the African Americans who were building Miami’s railroads. The community was a flourishing and celebrated center of African-American life until the 1960s, when newly constructed highways dissected Overtown and negatively impacted its population and economy.
CBF and numerous partner churches and organizations have made a commitment to serving this poverty-stricken community through Touching Miami with Love (TML). TML’s mission is to share the love of Christ by offering hope, opportunities, and resources to individuals and families who are faced with poverty, substandard housing, failed education, and constant exposure to violence and crime. Integral to this mission are two of CBF’s field personnel, Angel and Jason Pittman, who serve as Director of Development and Volunteers and Executive Director, respectively. Angel and Jason choose to live in the community in which they serve. Living among the residents of Overtown builds solidarity and trust that give the Pittmans even more opportunities to share who Christ is with their neighbors. “You cannot be the presence of Christ if you’re not willing to be present,” Angel said.
Touching Miami with Love provides a number of services for the Overtown community, including tax preparation assistance, fax and copying services, and helping residents connect to various government social programs. Perhaps the way TML makes the most difference in the community is through its programs for the children and youth of Overtown. Through after-school activities and summer camps, TML provides children and youth a safe environment in which to learn valuable skills and explore who God wants them to be. Children in the ToMorrow’s Leaders program receive instruction in literacy, math, computers, social skills, physical fitness, and various creative arts. Through the Today’s Leaders Youth Development Program, high school students participate in life skills classes, character education, computer class, recreational activities, entrepreneurial projects, and creative arts opportunities. The staff, volunteers, and partners of TML know that these children and youth can have a great impact on transforming the future of the Overtown community, and TML wants to give them the best possible tools and resources to help them navigate a sometimes difficult and unstable world. TML embodies the love of Christ by nurturing and mentoring these young people and developing relationships within the community that witness to God’s love and care for all God’s children.
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Online Resources:
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Session 1:
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Session 2:
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Session 3:
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Missional Activity:
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Preschoolers are asked to collect money for the CBF Offering for Global Missions, which supports the ministries of all CBF field personnel, and features the ministry of the Pittmans at TML this month. Learn more at www.thefellowship.info/ogm.
April 2012 - Teaching English=Making Friends
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Background Information:
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This month preschoolers will learn about the important work of Fellowship Baptists who are teaching English in China. Learning to speak English is an important skill desired by the Chinese people. Beginning in the third grade, students are taught English. Most can read English well, but speaking it is much more difficult. Because students are taught English in school by Chinese teachers they learn a spoken form of “Chinglish.” The ability to speak English leads the Chinese to find Americans with whom they can converse and study. The need for American teachers of English provides an important opportunity to those wishing to share the love of Christ with the Chinese.
In this unit we are learning about the work of individuals connected with CBF who have used their assignments to teach English to make friends and be the presence of Christ to the Chinese they teach. Cynthia (Cyndi) Levesque, after a successful secular career, was commissioned as one of CBF's field personnel to teach English in China. Cyndi and her husband, Marc, moved to China in August 2008. Cyndi taught English classes at Guangxi University and also at Gong He Lu Church (a large Chinese protestant church) in Nanning. In September 2010 they moved from their apartment on the university campus and Cyndi began working as a trainer and English teacher at the church. Her responsibilities include continuing the free English classes for the public as well as the church members. She also assists the children’s Chinese Bible study leaders to learn new teaching methods such as puppetry and new craft techniques. Cyndi is able to use the gifts God has given her to make friends and share God’s love.
Kamille Krahwinkel and her husband Mickael Eyraud were commissioned in June 2010 by the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship to serve in China. Kamille teaches English classes and Mickael is studying Chinese at the university in the Hainan Province. They minister among the college students building relationships, inviting students to their home, and providing extra opportunities to share in English conversation. Mickael and Kamille also spend time each week with the children at an orphanage and leading an English language worship service. Kamille and Mickael are making friends and sharing God’s love in China as they work and serve.
Another missional person who served in China is Ed Laughridge. Ed retired in 1996 from missionary service. After his church, Second-Ponce de Leon Baptist in Atlanta, GA, began partnering with a church in China, Ed was asked to go on a three-week mission trip. After much thought and prayer he went and soon after returning he signed up to teach English to Chinese school teachers seeking to further their education at a university in Bejing. One of Ed’s greatest joys during his time of teaching was making friends with the students in his classes. He continues to have e-mail and other contact with many of the friends he made.
So we meet four very different people in age, in experience, in background, but all serving as Christ’s ambassadors while teaching English in China. Through teaching and ministering, they are building friendships and are being the presence of Christ.
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Online Resources:
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Session 1:
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Session 2:
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Session 3:
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Missional Activity:
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Collect realistic (non-cartoon) stickers for Cyndi Levesque to use while teaching English. Print this label for sending the stickers to China.
May 2012 - Showing Kindness