Last week, VBS went extremely well! We had more children than we have ever had and they were so excited and learned lots about the fruit of the Spirit. We had 157 kids register and turned away another 60-70 (we even had to turn away some parents who showed up on Monday morning, wanting to drop off their children). With limited resources and volunteers we didn't want anyone to come and not be able to fully participate. The first couple days, we had about 120 kids and had 150-155 the last couple days. In total we ministered to 165 different kids. Yolanda and I (and the volunteers) were exhausted at the end of the week, but it was very worth it to work with these kids and plant some seeds in their hearts.
Some of the kids asked why VBS was only 1 week, when the school holiday lasts a month. Whenever we go to the high density area, there are usually some kids who greet us, "Hi Mr. Andrew. Hi Miss Yolanda." When they see our truck drive by, they run out of their houses, waving. This just shows how much they appreciate the week of singing, learning, making crafts, playing games, and eating snacks. Almost all of them correctly recited their memory verses each day (even a couple of the volunteers, from our Wednesday group, took parents' letters each day so they could memorize the verses). We heard of a boy from the April VBS, who went back to school in May and recited all 5 memory verses to his class. Now his teacher calls him "a little preacher."
We never know exactly how these seeds that are being planted will affect these children. We had an issue on the first day with a few of the 12-13 year old girls being very disrespectful, in words and actions, to our volunteers who were leading the crafts. It would have been easy to tell them not to come back the rest of the week. However, they are ones who came from the orphanage (out of 25 who did) and they were maybe ones who needed to be there the most. They have likely been abused throughout their lives in several ways and they are now realizing that once they turn 18, they will be thrown out of the orphanage, left to live on their own. The orphanage chose to hold one of the girls from coming the following day, but when she came on Wednesday, she showed up with a note of apology. We didn't have any more issues the rest of the week.
Below are some pictures from the week, followed by a short video. Hopefully you'll see the joy in the kids' and volunteers' faces as they participated in this opportunity that they would not be able to take part in if it wasn't for all of JM2Z's supporters! We are so thankful for the opportunity to teach them God's Word and provide a safe environment during their school holidays.
Some of the kids asked why VBS was only 1 week, when the school holiday lasts a month. Whenever we go to the high density area, there are usually some kids who greet us, "Hi Mr. Andrew. Hi Miss Yolanda." When they see our truck drive by, they run out of their houses, waving. This just shows how much they appreciate the week of singing, learning, making crafts, playing games, and eating snacks. Almost all of them correctly recited their memory verses each day (even a couple of the volunteers, from our Wednesday group, took parents' letters each day so they could memorize the verses). We heard of a boy from the April VBS, who went back to school in May and recited all 5 memory verses to his class. Now his teacher calls him "a little preacher."
We never know exactly how these seeds that are being planted will affect these children. We had an issue on the first day with a few of the 12-13 year old girls being very disrespectful, in words and actions, to our volunteers who were leading the crafts. It would have been easy to tell them not to come back the rest of the week. However, they are ones who came from the orphanage (out of 25 who did) and they were maybe ones who needed to be there the most. They have likely been abused throughout their lives in several ways and they are now realizing that once they turn 18, they will be thrown out of the orphanage, left to live on their own. The orphanage chose to hold one of the girls from coming the following day, but when she came on Wednesday, she showed up with a note of apology. We didn't have any more issues the rest of the week.
Below are some pictures from the week, followed by a short video. Hopefully you'll see the joy in the kids' and volunteers' faces as they participated in this opportunity that they would not be able to take part in if it wasn't for all of JM2Z's supporters! We are so thankful for the opportunity to teach them God's Word and provide a safe environment during their school holidays.
 Our Wednesday group ladies who volunteered are showing our actions for peace, gentleness, and love (from left to right)  This family sells snacks across from the church, so we gave the kids some fun glasses  On the Tuesday evening, even though Yolanda was so tired herself, she volunteered to hold baby Western for an hour and a half, so that Elizabeth, who was exhausted to the point of tears, could get a break (this goes completely against the cultural grain, as someone would not volunteer to take care of a maid's baby, let alone wouldn't let the child live on the property)  Gluing fruit of the Spirit to a tree  Relay race with a pool noodle and frisbee  We picked up Yolanda's mom at the airport on Sunday, which was much more crowded than usual (it's never crowded). There were people everywhere and all the spaces were full in the parking lot. This was because all flights to and from South Africa were canceled (except for Yolanda's mom's) Saturday and Sunday, due to Zim's head lady (I'm being vague) causing an incident while she was in South Africa recently. The two countries grounded each other's flights. You can do a google search if you want more info on what that was about. |  Two ladies (on the right) who work at the orphanage helped with snacks  The kids wore their best clothes for the ceremony on the last day  Putting together a memory verse puzzle  These little ones took pride in collecting all the cups after snack time  Singing about the fruit of the Spirit  This little guy was very animated throughout the week |
RSS Feed