Day 2 of VBS

It is hard to believe that half of our mission trip is already over and it will be no time that we will be returning to Wallace. Today was day 2 of our VBS. When we arrived this morning, the kids were already waiting for us to come. We have heard that they are very shy and don't really talk much, but by the end of the day, they wanted to get in the van with us to come home and didn't want us to leave. This morning, things went great and things seemed to fly by. We had great weather and the kids seemed to have a ball. Most of them didn't have school again today, so after lunch they stayed around so we pulled out some of the games we brought with us and they started playing them. We taught them how to hula-hoop, play catch with the velcro balls, and then some of us even played a game of soccer with them. It was so much fun and we really got to build the relationships with the kids, getting to know their names and celebrate with them when our team scored a goal. They think that since I know a little bit of spanish and can piece together phrases from when I took 6 years in grade school, I can speak the language and they will ask me questions and I don't know what in the world they are saying. We have 4 different translators that help us through the day, which is so helpful to grab one when we need to talk with someone, or understand what they are asking us. Several team members have had the opportunity to have one on one conversations with the mothers and learn about their story and how God is working in their life. It was neat to see the mother that we prayed for yesterday bring her kids to VBS this morning and stay the whole time, listening to the Bible story and participating. She was the one who doesn't come to church.

The afternoon went a little different than we planned. While we were playing with the kids and waiting for the next group to arrive, the clouds rolled in, the thunder started, and a storm was quickly approaching. We prayed that it would go away and we were able to get through our opening, but 10 minutes into our first station, the bottom fell out and it rained very hard for about an hour. We first tried to continue what we were doing, getting a little wet, but the tarps that were over our heads were caving in because of so much rain and there was mud everywhere that we had to revise our plans and do VBS all together in one station rather than 3. Thankfully people knew some more spanish songs that we could sing, and we were able to make it work just fine. The kids loved it, but were disappointed that they didn't get to play the games outside.

After a long day at VBS and most of us getting soaked to the bone, we were able to stop by the volcano that is on the way home. It was an incredible sight to see, and to marvel at God's creation, even if it was one of destruction at some point. Tomorrow is our last day doing VBS at Nehemias, and after VBS we will be leading their Wednesday night worship service to show their parents what they did while at VBS and Jim will be preaching as well. Pray that we are able to show the same enthusiasm we did on the first day as we do tomorrow. Pray that their parents will come out to see what they have done, even if they don't come to church regularly, and pray that God will speak through the children and Jim as he preaches so that those who don't know the Lord will not leave there tomorrow without making a decision. It is so incredible to see how much these people can love God and genuinely worship Him when they don't have anything. Here we are in America, where we have lots of stuff, and we just go to church on Sunday morning because it is the thing to do, and then continue with our life the rest of the week. We miss out on so much, and God wants to do much more in our lives if we would just let Him. We met one lady who it took almost 2 hours to get there this morning with her kids. She wanted to be part of it that she sacrificed so much to worship God. We can all learn something from these people! May we all strive to be in love with God so much that it shows in our worship at church as well as our daily interactions with others at work, in the stores, and at play!