Today, Monday, was our first full day at Kids Place here in Recife. We started at 7:30 in the hotel lobby with a team devotional that was a great start to our day. We decided to continue that each day. We boarded the bus at 8:00 in great spirits and anticipation! Kids Place is only 10 - 15 minutes from the hotel. The theme for our VBS is "Children are Special to God!" The order of the day was as follows:
Praise service- all the kids met together for a praise service. The energy was fantastic!
Divided into groups - Games - organized activities such as relays, races, etc.
Crafts - Each child drew a picture of himself and decorated the frame.
Storytime - Bible story about how God chose David to be King.
Lunch - We helped serve all the children a delicious lunch of rice, beans and meat stew.
Dismissal - Each child received a snack bag to take home with them as well as their "You are special" picture framed.
We had approximately 80 children from 5-10 years in age. We all agreed that the kids were beautiful, enthusiastic and such a blessing to us! We had a wonderful first day, despite the heat and the struggles to communicate.
After the kids left, we prepared for tomorrow. The team had a great dinner together with Lecio and returned to the hotel. We "debriefed" about the highlights of the day and prayed together that God would bless our time here in Recife.
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Today was a fun-filled second day at the Kid's Place. The smiling faces of the kids just filled the room with joy for God. They all want to learn more about Him.
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Today, God tested our ability to be flexible and our patience. An additional 40+ children attend the VBS. We had to adapt on the fly to prepare more crafts, food and special treats for when the children left for the day.
Our pride was also tested. We were asked to dance as a group in front of the children. It reminded me of a skit from Saturday Night Live. A bunch of Americans without any rhythm dancing to a song sung in Portuguese...you really had to be there. To say it was embarrassing is an understatement.
After the vacation bible school and preparation for tomorrow, Lecio took us to the site of the future Kid’s camp. The land was formally the estate of a banker that was purchased by Volunteers for Christ approximately 4 years ago. Volunteers for Christ is trying to raise enough funds to initiated construction. Lecio was in negotiations with the banker for a long time. The banker wanted substantially more for the property that Volunteers for Christ was willing to pay. Lecio was patience and was able to purchase the property for a really good price. God is Good!
We shared dinner with Lecio and Ilma at the Wanderly’s home. This was a wonderful time of fellowship and an opportunity to get to know Lecio. Ilma and their children better. As usually, we ended the evening with reflection of the day and a group prayer.
We are grateful for all your prayers.