Day 11–VBS Concludes
Hello friends and family! Thanks for checking in! Today was a wonderful day full of laughter, singing, dancing, crafting and so much more. We woke up this morning, earlier than we would have liked, rolled out of bed and headed to the dining hall for breakfast. We enjoyed our meal, the staff headed off to training, and the team and kids started our third and final day of VBS.
Ms. Parker taught a lesson asking the question “Who is my neighbour?” The kids participated in discussions and we wrote out all of our thoughts. After the lesson, the kids had the opportunity to make bracelets! One for themselves, and one for a neighbor. They also were able to make a necklace. The kids had a wonderful time making their creations. Even though the beads were a tad bit tiny, the kids giggled and talked as they worked thoughtfully on their bracelets. Some kids finished sooner than others and skipped outside to play, while others stayed to keep making bracelets! By the time lunch came around, some kids didn’t even want to eat because they were having such a great time making bracelets for all of their friends.
While waiting for lunch, some of the team had fruitful and encouraging conversations with some of the kids. Alongside the HFTF staff and kids, we all ate some delicious lunch and headed off to our fourth and final session of VBS. After more songs, our final lesson, and a cotton ball rainbow craft, the kids had talked through four key ideas. “What is love?” “How do I love God?” “Who is my neighbor?” and “How can I love my neighbor?”.
As the afternoon progressed, the rain came down HARD. We stayed inside the VBS room and played some epic games of Duck Duck Goose, played with balloons, coloured some butterflies, taught some kids how to play guitar, and had a jolly time.
After the rain stopped, the kids were set free. Maybe not set free, but they went to play outside. During our free time, kids headed to the playground, Alysa and Ms. Jenny gave some spanish lessons, Emily gave guitar lessons, Reese and Aliana loved on the kids, Mr. Big Sean got to demonstrate some coding techniques, and Ms. Rachel got to have intentional conversation with some teens.
Dinner time came around, and the rain started down pouring again, so we all headed into the dinning hall. However, as I was trying to hustle my way over to the dinning hall, I tripped on my own legs and fell right onto the ground. Only some slight cuts, but some pretty epic bruises.
We all enjoyed a late dinner and headed off to bed, ready for some very needed rest. Well, until Ms. Rachel got locked in the bathroom, courtesy of Ms. Parker. Who knows if it was intentional or not. ☺️
Today we had opportunity to keep connecting with the kids, strengthen relationships, experience joy alongside the kids, love on each other, and overall have an incredible day with our beautiful Ethiopian friends. We are thankful for our opportunities to grow in relationship, create memories, share stories, and praise the Lord together.
Please continue to pray for the health of the team, overall energy for the team, and that we can continue to be the hands and feet of God as he calls us. We are so ready to begin STEM tutoring tomorrow and see what else the Lord will do with this trip. Thank you for your prayers and support!
Happy Trails!! (Emily McInturff)
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