Today was a very active day for the Vacation Bible School team at the batey we were assigned to serve. The children greeted us as we came off of the bus. Several young people were eager to practice their English with us. Today's Bible story was about Daniel in the Lion's Den. The children were so excited they had trouble sitting still and listening, but the storyteller, Estela, was animated and engaging and even got the children to repeat details of the story back to her. After the message was shared, the children were ready to make a lion puppet craft out of a small paper sack and coloring cut-outs. I noticed that some of the younger children did not appear to know how to color and our volunteers lovingly worked with them, along with their mothers and siblings. We had one girl with Downs Syndrome; she enjoyed coloring and frequently held up her puppet to show us her progress. Vacation Bible School ended with a snack and free play. This was a time for the children to share with us. They danced, jumped rope, blew bubbles, and posed for countless pictures. I had the opportunity to hold a father's baby while the child slept. I got to paint many little girls' fingernails. I made a new young friend named Alan. He followed me around and gave me numerous hugs. My prayer tonight is that Alan will grow up worshipping God and will rely on Christ to guide and protect him.
-- Tammy Owens
This trip is almost coming to an end and I have enjoyed every second of it. Today I traveled back to batey 106, where I have been for the past 3 days. When we step off the bus we are immediately greeted by big hugs, smiles, and the shouts of our names, and it is the best feeling in the world. We continued to shovel gravel and rock to the side of the house and build up the part that has eroded away. As hard as the shoveling is, there is never a break, because as soon as you are done shoveling there is a kid on your back walking with you to get water. I also love working with the guys that live in that batey, because they never fail to yell at the kids when they are in their way. The kids at this batey also love to help shovel and haul rocks from the pile to the wheelbarrow. Today me and Ryan talked to Ishma again. He is a 19 year old at the batey, and he speaks fluent english. He is extremely smart, and he is studying to be a doctor in La Romana. We play basketball with him a lot, and we lose.....very badly. He and all the other kids at the batey are always so happy, even throughout their harsh conditions of living, and it puts a smile on anyone's face, no matter what kind of mood you're in that day. I can not wait to finish the last day strong but I know it is going to be sad to leave them.
-- Jacob Colson
No comments:
Post a Comment