May 31, 2012
Today was another amazing
day! I’m sorry, that sounds so
cliché. Let me make up for it…
We split off of the men today, as
they went to teach a Pastor’s and Worldview conference at the old children’s
center about a 10 minute walk away. We
once again started off the day with slight confusion to how exactly VBS was
going to go, but Pastor Tom’s wife Anna quickly solved our dilemma. We decided to combine classes 4, 5 and 6 and
to teach them all at the same time, followed by class 3 and ending with class
2. Classes 4, 5 and 6 definitely got the
box seats, as we took our time with the lesson, while class 3 was on the first
deck and class 2 was in the nosebleed section!
It may not have been that dramatic, but our lessons definitely became
more abbreviated as the day went on, with class 1 merely getting the radio
broadcast of the gift of a salvation bracelet without the lesson (to be fair,
though, they understand very little English, so we’re focusing on the older
classes more…)
Elise reviewed the previous day’s
material with the classes who had seen it before, and taught it for the first
time to the kids in class 2. The kids
were enthralled with her beautiful artwork depicting God’s glory in creation
and the incredible mess we made of everything.
Next, we had the kids make salvation card books- small index card sized
laminated books with each of the 6 verses typed in a cute font on its own page
with the salvation bracelet color represented as the background! The kids did an amazing job with it, and they
all pinned them to their shirts when they were finished (the books were bound
with safety pins- thanks Mom, it was a FANTASTIC idea!), creating a whole hoard
of kids who literally had God’s Word on their hearts which simultaneously meant
everyone was now wearing name-tags!
Then, I got to talk with them
about Jesus’ miracles. As most of you
know I definitely lack in the artistic realm of the world, I had to rely on my
sheer craziness and bouts of unfathomable energy to carry us through! But really, who could be bored hearing about
Jesus’ miracles?! I mean, they’re
AWESOME (thanks, Grace Bible Church for deepening my understanding of them over
the past semester!) and they so deeply reflect who God is! I honestly didn’t have to conjure up much
energy- it just boils over when I think about how amazing Jesus’ LIFE was here
on earth! I mean, feeding 5000 people on
5 loaves and 2 fish? Healing the
lame? DYING on the CROSS?! It’s incredible! Maybe that’s why God tells us to talk about
Jesus’ life every day!
After teaching 2 classes, we went
outside for a break with the kids while we waited for the rice to finish
cooking. Since we didn’t have time
during the lesson for songs, I pulled out the guitar and sat outside, and a mob
began crushing in as every child pushed for a front row seat, making the front
row eventually on top of the guitar! The
kids LOVE singing, so we can sing the same song 800 times and if I say,
“Again?!” they’ll exclaim “Yes!” I ran
out of the planned 4 songs within a few minutes, and in a desperate attempt to
not drive all the adults crazy with “Rejoice in the Lord Always” for the 801st
time, I asked the kids for some other English songs they knew. We played a few, but my favorite was by far
“Awesome God.”
Some of you know I have a deep
seeded love and passion for the musical genius of Rich Mullins and I’ve
probably listened to most of his songs a hundred times over. But “Awesome God” will always trump the rest,
and I’ve probably listened to it thousands of times! The story of creation, the fall, our
Redemption and God’s general awesomeness never fails to move me greatly. In fact, in typing this, I had to pause to
turn it on! But today I realized the
only thing better than Rich Mullins singing “Awesome God” was a shore of
African orphans, pouring out their hearts to God, singing with the rich African
tones of worship that I so envy! We may
have sung that one 8001 times! I just
couldn’t stop playing it, and they only sounded better over time! I found myself closing my eyes, hearing
angels in the highest join in the sweet fragrant worship of orphans, worthless
to the world, but priceless jewels in the kingdom of God. And off to the side, my 4th grade
boys were dancing and using the motions I taught them earlier. They were free, unhindered by fear or shame
in their desperate desire to sing to God.
And that brought tears to my eyes.
I know there’s probably a
thousand other things I could share from today with you, but that’s my take
away from the day- John 10:10, “The thief does not come except to steal, and to
kill, and to destroy. I have come that
they may have life, and that they may have it to the fullest!” Satan has stolen, killed and destroyed these
children. He has broken their spirits,
crushed their hope, and filled them with a sense of worthlessness. But Jesus came that they may have LIFE, and
not just in heaven, but today, in THIS VERY MOMENT, and that they may have it
to the FULLEST! And these kids have been
redeemed through this promise- they are living life to the fullest, one
twinkling smile on their face is proof of that!
And the beautiful thing is that God has saved you and I from no less-
Satan sought to steal, kill and destroy our lives, but Jesus has redeemed MY
life that I may live it to the fullest! I
pray that these beautiful orphans and our team will truly learn to live life to
the fullest, every single day no matter what Satan schemes against us! He who the Son sets free is free indeed!
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