Day 7 - 7/6/2017 - Beauty in the Details

1 Corinthians 14:12

So with yourselves, since you are eager for manifestations of the Spirit, strive to excel in building up the church.

            While many of us no longer seek out the classical gifts of the Spirit (prophecy, speaking in tongues, and interpreting tongues), we should all still push ourselves to our utmost limits, different though they may be, in serving the LORD. And as our missions trip has progressed, I've come to realize that this philosophy must trickle down to even the smallest of details, for when days become routine and repetitive, it is then that we can and must zoom in and appreciate everything small and normally overlooked.

         
             Today began for us boys with a slight twist; rather than eating store-bought breakfast, we enjoyed a delicious meal of fresh eggs, bacon, and fruit as Pauline woke up early to cook for us. Again, there is no way to thank our hosts enough for being so unbelievably kind and invested in the details of our lives here.

             When we arrived at the church, as always there was some free time for us to spend with the children and the youth. I can't speak for everyone, but I know that I certainly enjoyed that time, since playing games with many of the children at once allowed me to speak with some kids from other groups that I normally never interact with. Just from watching Josh and Edward do pushups with the children rooting them on, I hope and believe that everyone feels the same way.

              I'm not sure if this has been mentioned before, but each one of our groups is planning to put on a performance for the parents on Friday. My group (Boston) will be dancing to One Way and 主恩典, and the other groups will be dancing and singing as well, so we took some time in the beginning of the day to practice for tomorrow.

           After our worship and practice time, Josh delivered his lesson on American sports. His presentation was polished and logical, and I think that really helped the children be able to retain much of the information in it. By describing each sport methodically, linking it to popular culture, and providing videos, he did a great job in ensuring that the children really learned something. Most importantly, however, he cleanly tied in the Gospel and Christianity by connecting four details: teamwork and sportsmanship in sports along with mutual support and humility among Christians. Thus, the details of Josh's presentation worked perfectly in teaching the children and reinforcing important points.

           To hammer in Josh's lesson, we played a game of football shipwreck and a few rounds of sharks and minnows. Although they weren't particularly fond of shipwreck, it was clear that they all enjoyed Josh's time as teacher, and I hope he remembers that.

           The late morning and early afternoon were mostly uneventful, so I'll skip straight to one of the most powerful times of the day. One of the church parents came to end the day with a set of some of the most powerful bible stories including creation, Daniel, and Jesus' sacrifice. Yet the stories themselves weren't the most memorable part of the session; rather, the prayer time periodically dispersed throughout the stories became a truly beautiful memory. When all the children's heads were bowed and all their eyes were closed, the teacher asked how many of them were willing to take Jesus into their hearts forever right then and there. Stop for a moment and think about what that really means then make a guess as to how many raised their hands.

           About 2/3 of the kids opened themselves to Christ at that moment. 40 lives set on the path to salvation in a matter of minutes, though it was the culmination of days of our effort and years of God's quiet work. Thank you so much to our bible story teacher today; your efforts bore spectacular fruit.

           We capped off our day with a visit to an all-you-can-eat hot pot restaurant where Edward and Josh again pigged out on meat (sorry, but it really is an awful choice of diet). Our table also played a rather silly game of truth or dare; I'll spare you the details, but let it suffice to say that it was as rowdy as one might expect a group of teenage boys to get. Ultimately, this was a great way to end the day, as we were able to simply enjoy the details of each other's company after a deeply moving conclusion to our day of VBS.

           Tomorrow, we will try to seal many of the children's lives in Jesus by spending one last day with them, and we will try our best to leave a mark on their families as well, but today we just give thanks to God for his goodness and love.

           Please continue to pray for all the children in our camp, both the ones who have already made the leap of faith and those who continue to doubt or do not yet understand. Furthermore, many of our youth are tired and unwell, so please ask the LORD for a final spurt of strength for tomorrow. Finally, we ask that you give continual thanks to God for all the blessings and lessons he has imparted to us on during this mission trip.