VBS

A few weeks ago there was also the fabulous addition of two great men: Guy and Jeremiah. They came separate from all we are and were doing, just to help out. From doing research on line they got in touch with Glen Miller- the man behind Hands of Hope- and flew out here to do some much needed maintenance, plumbing, and electrical work. They've been quite fantastic and handy, especially in the light of John and my glaring lack of do-it-yourself skills. 

     Three days ago the rest of the team finally arrived, and we've been meshing together with them to see some more of the homes, giving them an idea of what it's like down here, as well as begin work on our Vacation Bible school program. On Sunday, we- the team- went out to Goshen Farm: 1000 acres of land donated to a Highfield Church that is being turned into a self sustaining village for orphans. last year a crew from Solid Rock came out here to start building homes on the farm and this summer one of that team has returned as our team leader- the fabulous Judge Tom Kohl. We had a church service out there with the locals and the team performed a hilarious impromptu skit based on the parable of the sower. We shared a few songs with them, and our own Andrew Bradey gave an exhortation from the great commission.

The day slowed to soccer and taking tons of pictures of the kids while some of our young ladies sang "this little light of mine" with them. All the kids love being in front of the camera and they break out into riotous hysterics when they see themselves in the camera. These kids are some of the first kids we'll be sharing VBS with this week. We're starting it monday at the Fernroad home with about 30 kids and it means a couple of things for this trip right now:

1) It means that we're working with another culture that we're all rather un-familiar with. To help, we have a crew of youth from a neighboring church that is helping us develop a program that will be a blessing to the kids.

2) It means that we're starting it today (as I write this at 12:45 am in my bed) with only a few days of co-ordinating, so we need the Lord to make up for our lack of prep time in working in the kid's hearts- not by our power God.

3) It means that in a weak we'll be doing it again for 300 kids, as opposed to 30 the first time around. 

We still have a lot of games, teachings, and crafts to organize and then execute for a lot of kids, so we'll be busy trying to keep up with our schedule here. But all this also means that 

4) God is going to work in the lives of kids whether we have a slick set up or not, and that this is a great time for us to just give up all the strength we thought we had, and lean into Him. 

So, as you read this, be praying for us and the two VBS weeks ahead.

Lastly, Im really terrible at blogging and keeping up at it, and Im trying to figure out how to put a slideshow up here so I can get a lot more pictures on. There is no way I can post all the stories and pictures here and my head gets over-loaded trying to handle all the possible content... this leads me to discouragement at having a blog at all and makes me want to gut it out, load it with gun-powder, and just light it off in the harbor to watch the whole thing go under in a blaze of thundering glory! ka-BOOM!! But... I persist. I might eventually figure out how to blog, but in the event that I don't, let's just go get coffee when Im back in the states, and I'd love to tell you all about it face to face. In the mean time, I will lay me down to rest, cause it's early, and I'll try not to worry to much about not being a world class journalist. Goodnight!

I mentioned deliveries, and here it is. These kids jumped up to help us load out these bags of ground corn, beans, kapenta, and salt. In the blue striped polo is our good buddy Farayi, supervising as usual. 

We've delivered food in the truck to nearly a dozen separate projects all over zimbabwe, with our recent trip taking us 170 kilometers into the bush, most of which was on less than dirt roads. Food is delivered once every three months to each of the homes and feeding schemes. A quick word on lingo: a scheme is good. It's a plan and a direction to benefit others, not a rouse to snooker people.   

John and I took a road-trip with Gary out to several projects deep in rural areas. Here, John shares a word from God to these kids. Most of them had never seen a white man, and none of them knew of america. 

It took a while for these kids to warm up to us, but eventually we had them playing tic-tac-to in the sand with us and trying to teach me how to make a bird noise with just my hands... I still can't do it, but I'll keep trying. 

These are most of the kids living at the 'Fernroad A' home, all in their uniforms before school. I absolutely love these kids. This home is part of three underneath the Philadelphia Project that Solid Rock supports. John and I spent four days at this home working on repairing the wood-tiled floors and painting it sweet and fresh.