It's late and everyone has already gone to their cabins (even after drinking cans of Goombay Punch). But today was a beautiful day watching what our students did when the work wasn't necessarily there for them to do.
Our morning started out with VBS, which went so well! The children have been dancing and singing during worship, listening carefully during the lesson, and having fun with craft and games! We're starting to have a lot more children show up. Yesterday was around 25 ... today we had about 50 children by lunch time! Stephen did a great job presenting the issue of sin (which is not easy to present when you don't continue the message into Jesus), but he left them wanting to know more.
Our afternoon is normally when we do more intense manual labor. Yesterday was all the cement work. Today ... well, today moved a little slower than we thought. The project construction manager didn't want us to do cement work in the afternoon, so he had us move a pile of wood and then seemed to be satisfied ... and it was only 1:00! So we decided to clean up the entire campus. For the past 2 years, there have been rusted cars sitting int he backyard where the children normally play. They were finally moved this year, so we spent the afternoon cleaning out all the garbage that was behind them. We had some sweet Haitian kids running the wheelbarrow for us and picking up garbage. We also had some "fun" run-ins with cockroaches! But after we were able to pick up a lot of broken glass, empty bottles and cans, and random car parts, it really made the property inviting!
My favorite part of the day:
Two years ago, one of our student, Jake, saw the "basketball hoop" the kids were using ... a plywood board with a broken milk crate nailed to it. So Jake decided they should have a real basketball hoop (because they deserve something new too). So our project leader, Rich, went and bought the materials. After the board was put together we found out the police actually break the milk carton off the board because it is illegal to post anything on a telephone pole. There was the problem. So two years that basketball board has been sitting in a part of the church, unused. But that changed today at 2:00! The one outside wall of the church is finally finished and so we were given permission to hang up the hoop! All the kids (even neighborhood kids) came around, held the ladders in place while nails got driven into the cement. And we had the honorary first shot into the hoop! TO know that there something at the church to provide a safe place for kids to come and play basketball and get to know the staff and members at New Haitian Mission Baptist Church is awe-inspiring. We are so excited to see a vision one student had come to fruition. That's mission .... being in it for the long-haul ...
Check out pictures from the last two days below!
God is good.
Good night.
ABSOLUTELY love hearing about the days so far and the pictures!!!!
ReplyDeleteGreat one, Connor and Peter!!
You all are doing AWESOME work!! How great that you are not only sharing the gospel, but more importantly, acting it out, even when things don't seem to go as anticipated.
"The real test of a saint is not one's willingness to preach the gospel, but one's willingness to do something like washing the disciples' feet, that is, being willing to do those things that seem unimportant in human estimation but count as everything to God." Oswald Chambers
You all are making an eternal difference. Keep it going for Him!!!
With love,
The McDonnell's