Saturday VBS; in the first village we actually had no kids show up because they all had morning school, not afternoon. So we hung around the village for the time we were supposed to be teaching and we were able to fellowship with Mr. and Mrs. Srong. Which I really enjoyed getting to do. Then one of the older girls that used to attend the advanced English classes they had there (who I had gotten to know a little the last time I was here). She is now in school in the city and skipped class to come see me. It was very sweet of her and it was good to see her again. She is going to be going to Israel for school in September and will be there for a whole year. Pray for her! We took Zachary with us on Saturday because Pastor Mark really didn't have to do anything because I was doing all the teaching, so he kept and eye on him. But Zachary got to see his best friends ever in the villages, the ducks. He loves to run and trap them make them fly and wack him with their wings in the process. Haha
In the second village we had a small amount, but that's normal, but it was smaller than normal because some kids had school too. This village was super sweet and we had an awesome thing happen. We had been telling them that we would be back on Saturday and some of them then asked 'can you please not come on Saturday because we have school and we don't like missing'. Talk about encouraging! It was cool to hear them say that (well it was translated for me ;) ). So we agreed, so we'll skip that village on Saturday and only do Sunday.
The 3rd village for the day we had about 48 kids. They were such a blast and they really love to play games. Their favorite; What Time Is It Fox? I thought for SURE someone was going to get trampled and hurt. Because when you have that many kids running in such a small area normally means injuries. Or maybe that's just me. I'm the injury prone person and that's where my mind always goes. :P the kids in that village were quite good with keeping their attention during the lesson and it was actually the 11-14 year old boys that seemed the most interested. One of them kept his focus on me the entire time like he was understanding every single word coming out of my mouth. He is a very sweet boy and every time I needed something to be handed out he's right there to jump in and help. He was also one of the boys that loved playing with the frisbee I brought. I don't know if they had ever seen one before but some of them caught on right away and the others just used the other kids as target practice, at least that's what it looked like. I think it was more so, let's see who can just wing it the hardest. But a few of them kept it gentle and made it work wonderfully.
VBS on Sunday was so fun! We had 23 or so kids in the village that we had zero in on Saturday. Which is a good number for that village because they are the kids that get a lot of persecution from adults in the village. So it was nice to have those kids there. They were rather active and had A LOT of energy. So running games were popular. Haha
In the second village we had a few more kids (the ones that asked us to not come on Saturday) and they are so interested in everything. The stories, craft, English. They love it all and are so well behaved! So enthusiastic about everything and was the desire to learn.
The 3rd village I brought 2 beach balls, and I'm surprised they are not popped yet. If they survive the next 2 weekends, I'll leave them with a village and they'll probably pop soon after I leave, but at least they'll have fun while they last. We had a few kids more than on Saturday in this village, which we were kinda expecting at least double since we had given out noodles for coming. That normally attracts a lot of kids because for some of those kids, that could be their only meal for the day. Some of the kids open the bag and start eating them uncooked and others took them home and maybe they eat them raw or they let their mom cook them. The kids in this 3rd village have really wiggled their way into my heart. They have started coming up to me and holding my hand and just coming and standing next to me. They want my help gluing their crafts together and not the help of the others. It cracks me up. Last time it took them a full 2 weeks to warm up to us, but I've only seen these kids 2 other times and they now are way more open to me. Some of the kids didn't want to play the games because it was in the sun and it was pretty hot in the direct sun light. So they sat there looking at me and smiling. So I took 3 pieces of paper and balled them up and started to juggle. The little ones were laughing like crazy and a few of the older boys were watching intently. It was so much fun!! They are a wonderful group of kids and I am so thankful to have had the opportunity to work with them!! I'm going to miss them terribly when I go home in 2 weeks!
Thank you all for keeping us in your prayers. We are all doing well and our translators (who were both sick on Saturday and only one came, but they both were good for Sunday) are doing well! I am so thankful for them and the time they give this ministry. Especially since they have to give up a whole extra day these 2 weeks. Both our translators are teachers and work every day. It was fun working with them.
Only 2 weeks left. It's crazy!! Time had flown since coming here. In one sense I'm ready to come home, but in another sense, I'm so not ready to!! Going out to the villages is such a life changing experience and just plain awesome. I love these kids and love being able to minister to them and work with them. God is so good!!
Thank you for the prayers!
Sharon
Thank you for the prayers!
Sharon
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