Holiday Fun Club...African Style

Donnie's Object Lesson Amazed Them

With so many students (40-45 in each group of three), it was easier to have three areas and move the children from area to area. The guys did games on the playing field (no grass, only layers and layers of dust...it hasn't really rained here in many many months); N/B/S/ and two recruited men did crafts; T/and I along with T/K did music with each pastor presenting a Bible story time on alternate days. The kids LOVED everything we did...they couldn't get enough...begging for more singing, stories and crafts. They were so proud of what they did and respectful (after Monday that is).  By Tuesday they were back to their routine and more manageable in such large groups and we had learned better how to make things work with kids who didn't understand us much of the time. We often say that children sound like angles when they sing, but we have to remember that angles don't sing, they speak. Perhaps only children can make truly beautiful music...their innocent and clear voices praising God and acknowledging the Lordship of Christ was so powerful that it brought us to tears and literally left us breathless...their enthusiasm was limitless...on Tuesday we woke to the sound of the children singing in the showers the songs we had introduced to them on Monday. They begged for us to write down the words to the songs so they would have them to take back to the camp over the weekend. They wanted to sing them to their brothers and sisters who don't get to go to school. I have a video of them singing but haven't been able as yet to make it work as a video. I need more than just click and post skills apparently.
This fun club was not really any different from all of the others I've done over the years (exhausting and rushed to get everything done on a time schedule), but every accommodation was made so we could do the games, crafts, music and Bible stories; every child was included with love and attention for the maximum opportunity to learn about Jesus; each staff member and team member involved themselves to perform whatever they were asked to do, often WAY outside their personal "comfort" zone; certainly the location is more exotic, the language barriers more difficult, and the altitude makes it difficult at times to catch a breath much less sing or last long in story telling, but God keeps reminding me that although nothing is different, everything is different; His children are the same the world over (at times I had to remind myself where I was)...and He wants them to have access to Him. I still don't fully understand why God called me to come...what I did this week could have been done by anyone...but He did call and I obeyed...the harvest is His, not mine.  Mine is the joy of growing closer to Him by doing what He has asked me to do and having fellowship with Him in the process as well as with others who are obedient to His invitation to join Him where He is working. He shows me more every day.