New Update

Hi! So let me first start with the Vacation Bible School... it was a BLAST! The kids were all ages and a couple of us put together the programs for each day. Janet came up with the games, Annelies was in charge of crafts, and I put together some skits/stories. Our focus was on creation and the Christmas story and though we did not know what to expect, we made a bunch of costumes and props one afternoon and completely improvised the whole thing... it was hilarious!! We may have even had more fun than the kids... but the giggles and enthusiasm from them was the most beautiful thing of all. The pastors that we worked with here had such gentle spirits... that really spoke volumes to me and the whole team.

The other ministries have been going well... schools in the mornings, the Rock Cafe at night, and many friendships with the locals we have met in our free time. Today we went to a hospital... wow. To be honest, I was a little nervous, for hospitals have never been a safe place for me. But we went and performed a drama, dance, testimonies... but the plan changed when we got there, so again... flexibility. :) That's definitely been the key word this entire trip! There was more time than we were expected to have and they were waiting for us to continue... to improvise, Kelli and I have spent time together singing/harmonizing together, so we offered to sing a worship song. Lynnea sang some songs as well, and as the sounds found their way down the hallways, the others from our team went up to different people and asked them for prayer. It was truly a powerful experience, with many in tears, including our team. So though I was nervous, it was so worth it.

The singing reminded me of another cool story (there's so many with so little time)... when we were in mainland China, there was a day that our team split into groups of 2 to go out and do silent prayer walks. Kelli and I found a rock out near the market to sit on and ended up singing/harmonizing worship songs without the words for an hour. Many people walked by with smiles, some stayed to listen, and even the police brought out their chairs to sit and listen. It was one of the coolest things we've ever done... in a nation where God's name is more hidden than proclaimed... and though we could not just go out and tell everyone about Him, where we had to speak in code and were followed everywhere and had our rooms bugged and... the list goes on... we still sat out in the middle of many precious people, gently worshiping the one true God... I'll never forget it... never.