Cross Cultural Reports

Each year in the summer between their second and third year our students go on a cross cultural placement to enable them to see and experience ministry in another context. Over the next few weeks they'll be sharing what they've been up to. This week we hear from Andrew Gray:

I'm Andrew Gray, I’m a member of Armagh Baptist and a third year student at IBC. Back in the month of May, as part of my cross-cultural placement, I headed off for three weeks to Ethiopia and to Bingham Academy School in Addis Ababa. This came about through a conversation with my pastor, Ian Grant, who had visited Bingham Academy during his time working for SIM. Ian also had connections with a lady named Edwina, who was teaching at the school, who was of great help in organising this placement. Edwina is sent out from Grosvenor Road Baptist in Dublin.

During my time at the school, my main responsibility was to teach Bible classes, which the kids had each morning. I covered topics with the teenagers, such as the importance of the Church, an overview of the Old Testament, how to study the Bible and more. I also taught some classes with the primary school kids, looking at topics like the armour of God. While at the school, I took the staff devotions for a couple of mornings as well as two staff seminars. One seminar was on prayer, and the other on a theology of rest.

Between the classes I was supposed to teach each day, I also joined in with lots of the PE classes for all age groups. I found these were a great way to get to know the children of the school and build a better relationship with them, which really benefited our time in class. Additionally, I went and visited several of the local churches at the weekend and spoke at the local Kale Heywet Church at a youth event one Saturday. This was my first time preaching through a translator which definitely brings its own difficulties.

I was really encouraged by my time away by the level of teaching that these children are getting from teachers from around the world. The opportunity a Christian School like Bingham has, to have Bible classes every morning, means that these children, across all age groups, have an amazing Biblical understanding. One that should make us take a serious look at the level of teaching we think our young people here in Ireland can handle. However, this environment for teaching the Bible also comes with challenges. For some of these children, learning the doctrine of the immutability of God was of the same importance as learning Pythagoras’ Theorem in Maths. Instead of theology leading to praise, for some, it was studied simply for homework. Many of these children struggled with assurance because their understanding of the Bible was simply academic and in their heads rather than having it grip their hearts.

Please pray for the kids of Bingham Academy in this regard. That they would grow not only in their knowledge of God, but in a true experiential understanding of the love that Jesus has for them. Please also pray for new staff members to fill the gaps left by teachers who have moved on, and for the existing staff, that despite the challenges of teaching in a country like Ethiopia, they would be encouraged and grow in their own love for the Lord Jesus.