Today
was the last day of our VBS and it ended with a lot of laughter as well
as sadness as our official VBS missions drew to a close. But we are
confident in our Lord Jesus Christ to complete the good work He has
started in the hearts of those we have ministered to these two weeks and
look forward to seeing many (if not all!) of the children who we have
preached to one day in heaven. :) :) Today's update comes from Kristin
Ho, 11th grader:
Hello dear parents!
This morning we rose early, as usual,
and traipsed to our final day of VBS. We
had our daily worship songs and skit, small group lesson and memory verse
memorization, and crafts and English lesson.
In all honesty, this last day of VBS did not seem to contain the same
attachment and emotional intensity as the last day of the Tai Dong VBS – for me. My group of kids in Taidong seemed to be
comprised of half little angels and half little demons, but in the end, since
the group was so small, it actually felt like leaving MY kids, and in Taidong,
we were able to witness a lot of growth, or at least change in attitude and the
kids’ relationship with us. There was
something kind of unforgettable about them.
The Taipei children, though, were mostly good-natured and well-behaved
during the whole VBS. Some of my kids
were really loveable; they did hilariously weird things and played with each
other with easy-going attitudes, even when they accidentally hurt each other.
About
two thirds of the kids in general had
been to church before, but those that did not were exposed to the gospel
repeatedly throughout these past four days. I learned, though, that you
really do get out what you put in. In Taidong I really put in all my
effort and
felt like everything that could have been done was done, and leaving was
a glad
occasion as well as a sad occasion. In
Taipei, mostly the whole team began the VBS feeling unusually tired, and
I did
as well – the week continued in a more subdued way because of its
beginning. Many of us were also hit with stomach aches. The kids and
us counselors did become closer
as we spent time teaching them gospel and Bible truths in small groups –
by the
end everyone knew how to do Jesus stretches and to call Nancy “Granny”.
At the end of the day’s VBS we had a parent presentation, in
which we had the kids perform songs/English/skits and played a video of the
past four days’ VBS activities. The kids and us counselors parted ways, half
the girls in our team left, and we went to dinner with the Taipei team at an
extremely fancy buffet chosen by the Taipei coworker, Chris. Dinner was great;
there was smoked shark and smoked salmon and made to order pasta and other
tasty dishes. Most of the guys tried a
wasabi-heaped cracker each and two of the guys had wasabi-lemon drinks. Ray looked 20 pounds heavier after he finished
eating. We then walked for about an hour
back to the church and parted ways with Taipei team again before spontaneously
deciding to go to Teacher Alice’s house for a little to rest. When we came back, everyone was tired and in
strange tired-high spirits; it feels to me like we’ve spent a lot of a special
sort of energy.
Please pray for everyone’s safety – the team split into
various different places this evening – and for the souls of the kids from this
week and last week’s VBS. Also pray that
we stay healthy and that the kids and their parents who haven’t gone to church
before consider coming to church for the first time.
Again
I want to express my deepest appreciation and thanks to our incredible
prayer supporters on behalf of this missions team. I thank God so much
in every remembrance of the people back home who sent us here and who
continue to faithfully pray for us! It is my joy and honor to be a part
of this team and see the amazing work God has done in the children we
have ministered to as well as to see the work God is doing in each of
our youth.
The youth have the day off tomorrow for touring and shopping, it will be a well-deserved and much-needed break for everyone! ^_^
In His love,
Lynn :)
