Day 5: VBS, the hike and meeting Luisauny!!!

Saturday, June 13, 2015

VBS
VBS went so smoothly this time- we just felt no nerves about it, as we were more comfortable with the venue- it was on campus- and knew almost all the kids better since they were from Bobita. Also, there were less than half the kids that were in Rio San Juan, under 50. Instead of Dominican teens, we led the singing this time and it was fun.

Hippopotamus song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zjPfv8vK2zo
Watch the little girl dancing in front: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gf-cjKsBQ74

Our skit went well too. The little dancing girl wandered on "stage" and I drew her near me so she wouldn't get hurt. I think the Dominican kids all enjoyed the skit and got into it. Again, I was so proud of the SW teens.

The story went well and since the kids were divided into age groups, I got to adjust the story - keeping it basic for the little ones and asking tougher questions with the bigger kids. One of the central points I drove home was that God loves us no matter what- unconditionally. It sounds so basic, but when you ask the question, "Does God love us when we steal, lie, or hurt someone?" The instinct for the kids and us is to say no. But it's not true! I didn't want any of the kids, regardless of age, to miss that important point.  Also, it was neat because some of the Dominican teens had been baptized in the river, just like the jailer and his family so they had some background knowledge. We then had kool-aid and granola bars for a snack as part of this "station."

By the way, the story is when God used Paul and Silas to reach the Philippian jailer, saving him physically and spiritually after the earthquake that broke the jail open. Read more here: Acts 16:16-36

We ran out of the story/activity books I made, as well as the jail craft, so those books my students made came in real handy! One station consisted of several of us sitting with a few kids each and reading the books to them. They really enjoyed them and got to take one home after VBS was over. It's a project I will definitely have my kids do again in the future!

The final station was games, which is always a big hit. Here is a little video, although beware, it's a little dizzying.

Once it was over, we gathered everyone on the pad, thanked them for coming, gave them a bouncy ball that said "Jesus loves you," a book and a bracelet that said "Cristo me ama" (Jesus loves me).

Luisauny
Now comes my favorite part!!! My husband and I finally got to see Luisauny! She is just precious and we love her so much. Her first impression with Jeff (that she shared with me) was that she expected him to be more shy or quiet. He was very loud, laughed a lot and hugged her. She warmed up to him immediately. Her English is very good, so she can communicate with Jeff and Hannah :) She only just turned 15 a few weeks ago, but she'll be a senior (or 4th year, as they say here) next year. I like how instead of saying sponsor or sponsored child, in Spanish they said godparents and godchild. It's a relationship. We've been writing the past 2 years and I've loved getting to see her heart. I can't wait to get to know her even more!

We got her a Max Lucado devotional book in Spanish for her birthday and it turns out she LOVES Max Lucado!

The hike
We also went on the hike from last time. It was a beautiful, if hot, day for a hike. Everyone who went made it just fine and it was neat seeing ReNay blaze up the hill after she was so worn out the last time. We snapped lots of pix at the top, as the view is fabulous.

Jeff and everyone I normally hike with can attest that I never find anyone who likes to descend as fast as I do, so when a group took off running, I followed suit. However, they were far too fast for me, so I was quickly left in the dust. Besides that, I fell...a lot. The first time I was so focused on the riveted, rocky path that I missed a branch at forehead level. The second time, I was concerned about one of the little kids getting away from his dad and lost my concentration. The third time I was just clumsy and realizing I was a bit old and unfit to be running at break-neck speed down rough, steep terrain. I then continued more comfortably but still at a good clip, slipping through the barbed wire fences alone, until I came to a split in the woods with 3 possible paths. Just because I had no idea, I knew I had to go back and find the closest group behind me, which was a good 5 minutes. I found the Dominican girls and they slowed way down but we had good conversation and they were so busy finding mangoes for me the next group quickly caught us :) So we all made it back safe and sound, even if a little beat up. I was more embarrassed than anything at my knee that I was sure was just a tiny surface wound and would heal in a day or two. Yesterday (3 weeks later!) the last of the scab finally came off.

This was my favorite day so far and I'll give you one guess why...