This morning we woke up at 6 a.m. to prepare for our first day of Vacation Bible School for the orphans in The Bridge Christian Children’s Home. Our team rested well their first night here in the house. They buzzed with excitement as we anticipated being with the children. We scarfed some breakfast of toast, bananas, pineapple, fresh eggs and coffee. Then we headed over to the orphanage with all our supplies.
They were all sitting at the large table quietly waiting for us. Ericlee and I introduced the team to the kids. We explained the schedule. Gerby and Walquis helped us lead a time of singing to start off our morning. The kids sang a song about David conquering Goliath (one of the stories we plan to study later this week.) As the kids sang their voices climbed higher and louder. Smiles spread across their faces. I couldn’t help myself: tears began to run down my cheeks as I was overwhelmed by their joy.
These children were so solemn just a year ago. They were from broken and abusive homes. Some have watched their parents die because of illness. Others were born into families where witchcraft and voodoo were practiced. Others were practically starving in the streets. I think of Serline, one of the youngest, who gobbled down three plates of food at our table last summer and barely spoke a word to us. Her parents are dead and even her sweet grandmother who begged us to take her to the orphanage because she couldn’t care for her among the seven other family members just died in September. She is a true orphan. Today Serline was grinning. She was singing with explosive joy. Her cheeks are less gaunt and more round. Her eyes dance. I’ve even seen her mischievous side a few times in the last week!
After our singing, Bev introduced our theme for the week – The Armor of God. The kids said they had not studied this before so we were eager to teach them. Then we split up into our groups: Bible story (Bev Damm, Nancy Willey, Dorina); Crafts (Jenn Jenkins, Stephanie Farrar, Dana Johnson); Drama (Ericlee, Kelly Damm, Jeremy Schmidt). Ericlee is leading the games for all the children at the end of our day. We are all helping with that part.
Today’s theme is the Belt of Truth (Ephesians 10-11). Bev shared bout why a tool belt is important when doing construction work. She shared truths about God we should remember each day. The Craft group had the kids making belts out of glitter, paint and newspaper. The Drama group shared a few skits showing how important it is to carry all our tools on our Belt of Truth.
The kids were especially thrilled about Game Time. I got to see my husband in his element teaching fitness to the kids. It was so cute to see them doing push-ups, squats, running piggy back and cheering one another on.
1 comment:
I'm loving reading your updates! I so wish I had the opportunity to join the team. Maybe we'll make it there sometime as a family. Praying for you (and overjoyed to hear the update on sweet Serline).
Post a Comment