Imagine my anxiety when I first boarded the rickety bus bound for Flores armed with nothing but a soccer ball, a trunk full of crafts, and a flip chart of songs in Spanish. As we entered the Flores neighborhood I was shocked by the dirt roads, tiny dilapitated houses and trash heaps. My anxiety grew as we pulled up in front of our VBS site... a concrete, one-story building about 30 feet x 80 feet with broken windows and about six light bulbs hanging from the ceiling. "How in the world can we do VBS here?" was my first thought. Fast forward four days to my last morning with the kids we had been ministering to all week.
Tears welled in my eyes as I told them I was leaving and would not be back tomorrow. God showed up in a big way in Flores this week. He took the time and energy our team was willing to give, our trunk full of crafts, our songs and some soccer balls and showed these kids they are worthy to be loved not just by us, but more importantly, by Him. I witnessed genuine joy in the eyes of the children as we played with them, sat on the dirty concrete floor to help them with crafts, and as they heard the Word of God from our translator, Gaby. In that first day I realized you don't need fancy decorations, a big building, a playground, or videos to have a successful VBS. All you need are kids, a few people with a heart for showing God's love, any place to gather and God's hand upon you.
Some bubble gum, a soccer ball, and some bubbles don't hurt either! As I left the site today my thought was "how can we not do VBS here? I can't wait 'til next year!
Jerri Mortenson, first-time SLP Missionary
1 comment:
Jerri: What an experience that must have been. Sounds like you got as much out of being in Mexico as the kids there did. I'd love to hear more when life slows down a bit for you guys.
Amie Varney
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