Missions Update: Day Two of VBS - January 22, 2013

Day 2 of VBS

The dogs are back!! I woke up about 5am to the barking dogs. It had been so peaceful the past few nights. At breakfast Merlin said he’d been awake since 3am. Ray is the only one who seems to sleep until the alarm because when he takes out his hearing aids he evidently doesn’t hear the dog…or the rooster. 

 
Today was our second day of Vacation Bible School. The children have only been in school for two weeks because the school year begins in January. The youngest students are only 4-5 years old and this is their first experience in school. None of these children has ever been involved in VBS so yesterday they didn’t know what to expect nor did we. Today the kids are coming out of their shells…more smiles, more high fives and more singing. We are beginning to learn some of their names. The stick on name tags has been a lifesaver. The older class (grade 2) came out for song time a bit early and Merlin and I were able to greet each one by name and shake their hand. You could just tell they were so happy to be acknowledged by name. 

 
Buddy (our stuffed monkey) is really the star of the show. He shows up at story time and song time and the kids are always looking for him. Today he was sitting in Merlin’s hat with only his tail draped over his shoulder when story time began. The kids instantly noticed his tail and began to point and giggle. We are having the best time with him. 

 
This afternoon we walked into the community and visited six homes. The social workers had contacted the families earlier in the day and asked if they would like visitors. We had planned to do “Bring the Light” projects at three homes but when we arrived the families said that their landlord had changed his mind and so the supplies were hauled back to the school. The homes (shacks really) are very dark and during rainy season very damp. This is a breeding ground for pneumonia and other respiratory illnesses. “Bring the Light” gets permission from the landlord to cut a hole in the roof and replace it with a piece of translucent corrugated fiberglass that allows light into the home and transforms a dark, dingy shanty into a healthier, more welcoming home. There is no cost to the tenant or landlord but according to the social worker, the landlord evidently didn’t believe it was really cost free. He thought someone might come back to him later and try to extract a fee so he refused to let us do it.

We were also trained to use the teaching cubes that the social workers use. These are teaching aids that are used in the community to teach about HIV/AIDS and to present a gospel message. In each home we took turns presenting the lesson and then we prayed with each one. It was hard to tell if they were really comfortable having us in their homes but the social workers had encouraged us so it must be OK.

It was a really long day but I feel so good about what we’re doing. Tomorrow will be even more fun as we get better acquainted with the kids and they get to know us…and we’ll have more adventures with Buddy.

I’m attaching pictures of our kids in VBS. 

Blessings,
Elizabeth