Thirty sets of eyes gazed upon my clueless face. My mind was racing for any ounce of thought or idea for me to spew to my audience. My petty improvisations had concluded that the most effective method was a visual kinesthetic approach. I was to recount the birth of Jesus, the Nativity Story. My gallery consisted of twenty three orphans and seven staff members of the orphanage. I was given the amazing opportunity to spend my Christmas day with the orphans at Grace Children's Home.
I immediately volunteered all the staff members to be the actors in my mini recreation. One was Mary, Joseph and the donkey. With no hesitance I asked one of the women to stuff a balloon under her shirt and act as if she was in agony to portray the exhausted pregnant Mary. Moses, the orphanage supervisor, got down on his knees to be the donkey while another man acted as Joseph and showed moral support to his labor-stricken wife. The children brimmed with laughter and smiles as they watched their caretakers partake in the ridiculous spontaneous reenactment.
With no time to waste I jumped to the scene of Mary, Joseph and the three wise men. I asked some of the kids to come up and act like the animals in the manger. Slowly the sounds of animals filled the room, BRAWK-BRAWK, MAAH-MAAH! Then three children with drawn mustaches entered the room and sat beside the new born Jesus and pretended to give him gifts. To conclude, I finished the rest of the story.
I had not realized that by reenacting the Nativity Story I was teaching these children about Jesus. The children's eagerness to listen and learn was profound. These little day experiences have planted a desire to live a life of service. Pepperdine's mission says it all. I want to be a part of a community that puts faith, learning and service as their top priority. A university that says otherwise could not be considered. Pepperdine's commitment to the highest standards of academic excellence and Christian values has only increased my desire to attend a university where their students are strengthened for lives of purpose, service and leadership.
I immediately volunteered all the staff members to be the actors in my mini recreation. One was Mary, Joseph and the donkey. With no hesitance I asked one of the women to stuff a balloon under her shirt and act as if she was in agony to portray the exhausted pregnant Mary. Moses, the orphanage supervisor, got down on his knees to be the donkey while another man acted as Joseph and showed moral support to his labor-stricken wife. The children brimmed with laughter and smiles as they watched their caretakers partake in the ridiculous spontaneous reenactment.
With no time to waste I jumped to the scene of Mary, Joseph and the three wise men. I asked some of the kids to come up and act like the animals in the manger. Slowly the sounds of animals filled the room, BRAWK-BRAWK, MAAH-MAAH! Then three children with drawn mustaches entered the room and sat beside the new born Jesus and pretended to give him gifts. To conclude, I finished the rest of the story.
I had not realized that by reenacting the Nativity Story I was teaching these children about Jesus. The children's eagerness to listen and learn was profound. These little day experiences have planted a desire to live a life of service. Pepperdine's mission says it all. I want to be a part of a community that puts faith, learning and service as their top priority. A university that says otherwise could not be considered. Pepperdine's commitment to the highest standards of academic excellence and Christian values has only increased my desire to attend a university where their students are strengthened for lives of purpose, service and leadership.