VBS Day

Devotional:  A Kingdom Erupting…
Matthew 13:31-32
“He told them another parable: ‘The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field.  Though it is the smallest of all your seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and perch in its branches.’”

This morning after breakfast, our entire group headed to a church closer to downtown Santiago for VBS.  As we stood inside the gate planning the activities someone asked, “So where is the church?  Where will we be meeting the kids?”  The answer was “This is it.”  We were standing in what most would consider a hallway with a gate at the top of a few steps where we entered from the street.  As Barbie and Morgan started singing, others went out to gather the children and one by one they entered and sat down.  The floor was filling up and they lined the walls.  Some were held by us and some were held by siblings.  Others peered in from the steps.  The space was small, but God’s presence was enormous!  After songs and skits, the kids where put into groups for crafts and several went out into the streets.  They made airplanes from popsicle sticks and painted on their paper plates.  Many ran around showing their masterpieces to anyone that would look and grinning when they were told it was “bonito”!  Once the toy bag was brought out of the bus, the kids went crazy and loved playing with the sidewalk chalk, jump ropes and frisbees.  Sharing God’s love was so easy, yet made such a huge impact on the kids.

After lunch, we traveled to a small church in a less populated neighborhood to do it all again.  With fewer kids and more space, we were able to let the kids create their own T-shirts and make airplanes.  Having the entire crew doing VBS also lightened the load on the regular VBS team and allowed the men on the construction crew to entertain the kids with their dancing skills during the songs!  Because this was the last VBS session, we were allowed to leave the left over supplies with the pastor who was very thankful for our work (in addition to the crayons and paint).

Traveling back to Calle 2, our bus took a detour so we could visit the baseball field where Will Partin started his ministry.  We didn’t have a lot of time, but did get to watch part of a game.  One week is just not long enough to experience how much of God’s work has been done here and how many seeds have been planted.

The group went out for empanadas for dinner tonight and then headed back to Calle 2 for devotionals.  For the women, Rachel offered to open us in prayer and if you have never gotten to pray with Rachel you have seriously missed out.  Her heartfelt reflection on the day and her blessings, prayers for the Partins and our group, was the perfect way to approach a prayerful state of mind.  We discussed how “community” is different in the DR and that we should try to not revert to our old ways when we come back.  Another consistent theme was how the DR children were described - artistic, affectionate, caring, intelligent, sympathetic….  One child cleaned the paint off of Stephanie’s leg before he wiped his own hands with his wet wipe.  Another child drew a hopscotch grid in the shade when she found out that Barbie could not be in the sun.  Yet another took the popsicle sticks, manipulated them differently, added some pieces and announced “JET!”

The Lord has given us all gifts that we need to recognize in each other.  We need to plant the seeds, water them and protect them so they can grow.  Please pray for these children who just need the care and love to grow into Christian adults with great potential.