Being the first night at a new project site, we weren't 100% sure how things were going to go. We had prepared and prayed for God to move in the hearts of the community. Now, we were ready and waiting to see what would happen. The first wave of vans went out into the neighborhoods to pick up kids. They didn't come back as quickly as we had expected. When one van finally came back, it had a couple of kids in it. We were super excited about those two kids, but at the same time, it was a different response than some of us were used to at other, more established sites. The driver said there was some apprehension on the part of the families they talked to in the neighborhoods. At that point, we did the only thing we could do. We prayed. I will never forget the image of the volunteers praying for something we knew only He could do. We had prayed before for the same thing, but there was more of a desperate need in the voices of the people. We needed Him to do it! Only He could, and we knew it!
The vans went back out. After a little bit, they returned, this time with a few more kids. Not van loads full but with kids needing to hear about Christ and His love for them. We thanked God and started loving on those kids. That was why we wanted God to move. Not to have a lot of kids there for our sake. For their sake. For the sake of them being loved on by us so they would begin to know about Christ and know that He loves them!
We loved on those kids all week! Whether it was with Opening Assembly time, which by the way included a clown named "Straws" who drove up in a bright yellow PT Cruiser (the only request by the way from our friend, Kasey, who led that part of the project...she wanted a clown, so we made sure she got a clown, and a good one!)...
...with fun praise and worship music...
...with crafts...
...with lessons about Jesus in the classroom...
...with lessons about Jesus in a nearby park where kids gathered to hear one of our volunteers share about His love...
...with silly skits for the youth...
...with musicians and speakers for the youth...
...with snow cones and playing games outside!
Looking back over the pictures from the week, I can't help but feel that one of the highlights for me and Jeff personally was not only getting to serve that community of people but getting to serve along side our kids. I pray they didn't just see us working hard that week but working hard to love God and love people!
Please don't ask how many snow cones he had that night! Sugar was one way we loved him that week!
"We love because He first loved us." (1 John 4:19)
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