Currently I am teaching two online classes at Africa Theological Seminary (ATS) using a blended model: Hermeneutics and Pentateuch. For the beginning of each class there was five half-days of lecture via Zoom. This acted as an induction to ensure all the students could use the online tools and to hit the highlights of the course. Now the students are in ten weeks of purely online learning. Pray for these two courses that the students would learn and be able to apply the material.[1] Below are some pictures of what lecture via Zoom looks like for my students and me.
One thing I am particularly excited about is I finally found an Android Bible app that will work well for ATS students. Some of my requirements were: One, the app (and the Bibles on the app) needs to be free or reasonably priced—by Kenyan standards. Two, the app does not use Internet after installation. And three, the app has some basic Greek and Hebrew tools. The app that was found is MyBible available on Google Play. I put together some videos for my students giving an overview of the app and some directions for installations, the videos can be found at cox-net.com/mybible.[2] Praise God with me for this find and pray that it will be a blessing to the students.
Mid March I head back to Kenya to attend graduation (which is on March 20) and to teach an in-person class. Praise God that I am able to make it back to Kenya. Pray that graduation will be a blessed time where God’s achievement in the lives of these students can be celebrated.[3]
Lastly, following the closure of the Early Childhood Development Laboratory (due to COVID) at the University of North Texas (UNT), Donna was moved around and finally ended up scanning papers all day in a windowless office. So, after much prayer, we made the decision for Donna to leave UNT and start substitute teaching in Denton. The hope is she can get a full time teaching job in August. Pray for God’s favor in this endeavor. Also, pray for God’s provision. Our support is down due to COVID and substitute teaching pays less than UNT.
Footnotes
[1] Hermeneutics has been taught as a “hands on” class with a minimal amount of lecture and a large amount of class/library assignments where the teacher goes from student to student ensuring the students are skillful at interpretation. Pray that the students will be gaining the skills they need with the blended model.
[2] Keep in mind the videos are toward some of my students who are not strong in technology.
[3] If anyone would like to join me in Kenya for graduation, please let me know.