Party It Up!!

Luke 18:16 “But Jesus called them to him, saying, “Let the children come to me, and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of God.”

As I continue to learn and grow in my walk with the Lord, I am challenged to live as Christ did. It is my deepest desire to have my heart broken by the things that broke His heart.  In just one week, I have come across children from war stricken nations from all over the world. The pain and suffering that these children have seen and endured is often indescribable. I am so grateful that I and our volunteers have hope which we can offer them.

The past weeks have been the busiest of the summer, but they have also been the most exciting. We had the Family Fun Day, a group of over 100 people doing kids clubs in seven different locations, teaching English, leading home visits, and managing work projects; there was rarely a time to just sit.

Thank you for all of your prayers for the Family Fun Day, the Lord blessed us with a great turnout. The weather was perfect; it was a cloudy day in the mid 80’s with a few sprinkles. Most of our volunteers were supervising moonwalks and would have been in the blazing sun if it were not for the God-given clouds. We were so thankful. The kids had a blast and it was a great time to meet parents.

The next week, Teen Mania brought 127 teens and group leaders to run five day Bible clubs, help with work projects, and do home visits. The teens did a fantastic job and it was a joy working with them. The team broke up into groups and worked in seven different apartment complexes where the Family Heritage Foundation services. During the work projects, they did everything from cleaning garbage filled streams to helping sort donations and organize our storage unit. My highlight was getting to take different teens with me on home visits. It was neat to watch the Lord work in hearts.  For example, before going into the homes the teens were absolutely petrified but when they left they were begging me to stay longer. They were such a blessing and I know the Lord is not done working in their hearts.

During this same week, we also had a group of about 10 retired school teachers come to do a five day club.  “The Golden Girls” as Bennett calls them, really showed their experience as they worked with and taught the kids. The club ran seamlessly and the kids and I were very sad to see them leave at the end of the week.

English class is booming! Please pray that we would have a replacement teacher. We have about 30 students, most of them women ages 20-40. They bring their small children and try their best to work diligently though their vocabulary words each night. Last week I gave them an “Exam” which was really just a work sheet for each of them to do on their own. They passed with flying colors and as a reward I brought them ice cream. As we ate our ice cream, I ended the night with a conversation starter: Tell me about your family. Each student struggled with the language as they gave their description of their family, but I’ve noticed a special bond between the students since then. They are willing to help one another and are much less timid in class. It has been so wonderful. If you’ve never taught Intro English before, I’d totally recommend it. Also, if you know of anyone who might be up for taking over my class, please let me know.

As far as prayer requests go, I need prayer for this weekend. We are having a second Family Fun Day in a different apartment complex. We will be working with about 50-60 volunteers, Lord willing, and are planning on having between 500 and 800 participants. Mr. Bennett and I are the ones “in charge” so we would greatly value your prayers. Also, we will be signing kids up for the after school program during the event, so pray that the right people would sign up. I have about three more weeks left, and will be saying good bye to all my friends. I am quite sad about this, and am praying that there will be people who will take my place when I am gone. We have one more team coming next week and then we will have a week to finalize everything before the after school program begins.

 I will be traveling directly to Emmaus Bible College once I finish my time of service here in Georgia. I trust to be able to complete my senior year of Inter-Cultural Studies and prepare for my overseas internship.  I have had only a few opportunities to work at paying jobs on the side, so I continue to look to the Lord. I have seen God’s hand at work while I have been here, and I know He is doing a work in my heart, teaching me to trust Him more. Thanks for all of your prayers.

Who Knew I’d See 22 Countries in Just One Summer?

Oh, how time flies.  I have been in GA for a full month, but it feels as though I just got here yesterday.  The Lord has been so gracious in giving me the opportunity to be here.  The past few weeks have been filled with hosting various VBS church teams, teaching English classes, and doing home visits to get ready for the after school program.

Each week the Family Heritage Foundation has different church groups come to the community to do Vacation Bible School and other youth activities.  As hostess, my responsibilities are to make sure everyone knows where supplies are found, the volunteers are taken care of, to help with crowd control and so forth. 

Teaching English, the area I was least looking forward to, has turned into my favorite time of the week.  On Mondays and Wednesdays, about twenty refugees come to a small three bedroom apartment for class.  We all sit in a circle on the floor and class begins.  Depending on the day, there are other volunteers who also teach; my favorite students are the beginners.  Being a visual and auditory learner myself, I can see how the Lord has gifted me to teach English.  Saying the vocabulary words over and over again so that the students can achieve the correct pronunciation never gets boring.  The smallest little accomplishments thrill me!

During my second week, a church hosted a concert where we shared the gospel and invited families to join the after school program.  About forty families asked us to come visit their homes, and so I’ve been doing home visits for the past two weeks.  These times have been both wonderful and challenging.  Because there are refugees from so many different places, it is hard to know just how to act.  For instance, when going to the home of a family from Iraq, you will hug and kiss all the women; but when meeting someone from Burma, you bow the first few times visiting and then hug after that.  I found this out when I went to hug a woman from Burma and she practically lunged to the opposite side of the room.  The next time I came to her house, she gave me a hug and held my hand half the time.  It’s a constant learning experience. There are people from over 22 different countries and I never know what to expect!

            I wish I could take more pictures of the adults; many of the people wear their traditional garb and it’s so cool to see all these different ethnicities. These visits act as a foundation to build friendships and start conversations leading toward Christ.  It is always an adventure going from home to home as we meet people from different cultures, many of whom speak little to no English.  On one particular visit, an elderly Burmese couple invited the team into their sparsely furnished living room.  Sitting in the corner of the living room was an old dog kennel with a duck in it; the couple had presumably caught it in the trash-filled lake nearby.  The old man pointed to the kennel and said, “You eat, you eat?”  Bill, a gentleman who is doing church planting said, “Yes, we eat duck.”  The old man quickly got up from his place and ran to the kitchen to get a knife.  As he was reaching into the kennel, the duck quacking for dear life, one of the girls cried out, “No, don’t kill it.  Eat it when we’re gone.  I’ll cry if you kill it now.” This is just one of the many stories, so when you think of me, I am always in need of your prayers.

Thanks for those of you who have been praying.  We have a Family Fun Day this weekend and could use prayer for safety, our volunteers, that the program would run seamlessly, for good weather, and so on.  Pray that God would bless the relationships that are being built with the refugees.  There are several families that I have connected with, and I just need wisdom when I’m visiting them.  Also, pray for my host family, that they would be blessed; as they have been so generous in having me stay with them.  Finally, school is just around the corner, and I’m really seeking the Lord’s provision.  Thank you for all your love and support.