New Wind in my Sails

ARRR ARRR MATEY!!!!!

Camp Sonshine came roaring in on a pirate ship this year.  The more than 100 children who attended last year's camp were eagerly anticipating this year's fun.  But the fun was multiplied as Camp Sonshine allowed an open registration- allowing new children to join our "crew". 


At CCJ / ABA we were more than willing to take on new comers, welcoming them into our Little Giants program.   I haven't Heard a final count of children in attendance, but I would say the number was easily 200 children between the morning and evening.  As this coming week will mark our first class since the camp, we know not what to expect in the way of attendence but our expectancy is high.

Lots of fun-filled praise!

Last week boasted of three fun-filled days teaching children about what is truly of value in God's eyes: Treasures in Heaven.  Each day the Pirates taught a central Bible Verse and built upon it with games and crafts. The children thoroughly enjoyed the exciting songs.  It was a time of sharing God's love and purpose with the children of San José Pinula which will not be forgotten! 

Captain José

craft time!



my favorite Little pirate enjoying his snack!

But apart from the obvious blessing of having the camp come to minister to "our" children-- there was another blessing hidden away like a great treasure stored up just for me.

The families who came were a great source of encouragement to me.  As they listened to my hopes, dreams,and challenges they were able to laugh, advise, and tell of their experiences.  I valued their words like drops of gold. 

I was also able to glimpse into the amazing heart of my staff members.  Lilian and Xiomara in particular both expressed to me their deep desire to see this ministry grow and bless even more children.  They talked of their own personal devotion to the visión and their own personal desire to help make it happen. 

 Hearing them talk and knowing that my staff is fully behind me is like wind under my wings- pushing me along. 

a time of praying for the children

So, although the past week had its moments of extreme exhaustion, it was also a time of finding a new wind to fill my sails.

I invite you to hop on board and sail along on this adventure of changing San José Pinula- one child at a time!!!!

David and one of his new buddies

What My Children Don't Know

We live in Guatemala.  My children were born here.  Guatemala is home and the way things are done here is the norm to them. 

At times I am overcome with nostolgia, wishing they could live MY childhood which was so great.  But I suppose that everyone must live their own childhood and créate their own memories. 

Still, there are some things that my children don't know.

My children don't know about orange juice and lemonaide from concentrate.  They have never seen juice come out of a can and would probably be baffled at the very thought!  To them orange juice and lemonaide are squeezed by hand from oranges and lemons bought at the market for a Little more tan spare change.

making oragne juice with Mirian- the lady who Works in our home

mmmmm, sucking the oranges is just one of the perks!

My children don't know about cheese wrapped in plastic for individual slices. But really, can you call that stuff cheese?  We buy all sorts of cheese here.  Some of it made by hand locally.  The área where we live and minister is known for its lactose product production.  And some of it we purchase at the grocery store.  But NONE of it comes wrapped in individual slices. 

I recall a visit to Virginia when my oldest son was just over two years old.  We were visiting my grandmother who had set out a good old american platter of lunch meats and cheese for making lunch sandwhiches.  When Corban discovered that he could unwrap the cheese he was enthralled by this new game.  He kept offering cheese to aunts and uncles around the table, happily unwrapping each slice that was asked for.  Some of us ended up with several slices of cheese on our sandwhiches and I think grandma ended up with no left over cheese!  Of course, he doesn't remember that.

My children have no concept of people who take care of their own households with no outside help.  they don't know that there are countries in the world where entire households are run off the elbow grease of mom and dad alone!  This is reflected in my 5-year-old's comment one day upon hearing of a friend who had just had a baby.  "Well, she will sure need to hire a nanny now."  In his world, just about everyone he knows has household help, nannies.... or both.  My two-year-old thinks the iron and broom belong to the lady who Works in our home.  He gets highly disgruntled if I touch either one without permission!

But having household help isn't all about living a life of luxury.  It is also about necessity.  Living in a land where it rains day in and day out for 7 months of the year means that someone should alwys be on hand to bring the clothes in lest they get rained on!  Having the trashman come door to door to charge each month means someone must be around to open the door.  Having no dishwasher means a lot of dirty dishes pile-up.  So basically, I need to be around to tend my own home or pay someone to do it for me.

 Also, hiring someone to work in the home provides Jobs for thousands of women across the country who would not have work otherwise.  These are women who never went to or finished school.  They are often illiterate.  They have no skills whatsoever besides being able to keep a home.  It is the upper and middle class giving back to the lower class in a dignified manner.

My children don't know about neighborhoods, parking lots, businesses and Banks which are NOT guarded by armed guards.  Watching a hired guard walk by with a sawed off shotgun or semi-automatic weapon is so normal that they notice more the ABSENCE of them.  When we travel to Virginia they always glance around for the guard tower.  They have even asked on ocassion why they see no guards in the neighborhoods. 

My kids don't know the national anthem or the pledge of allegience.  Clearly an issue I must soon address.  However, in the schools they attend they are taught the Guatemalan National Anthem and the pledge to the Guatemalan flag.  It is what they need to know in this land they call home.

heading off to the first day of Kindergarten at a Guatemalan School

My children are Guatemalan.  As much as I insist that they are American,  and as much as their Passports attest to the fact that they are American citizens, in their heart, in their home, and in their culture- my children are Guatemalan.

And this is, indeed, creating very different memories for them than my own. 

The Fun of Things

Last week I climbed into the driver's seat of my car and felt a rush of nastolgia.  Cohen was buckled into the back seat happy as a lark to be going with me anywhere.  Memories of Corban so small and going with me places flooded my mind.  Where has the time gone?

Cohen sang songs all down the finally finished road from my house to the Bible Club.  It took 5 years or more, but at long last the road is finished and bump free!  At least for one year.  We will see what the road is like by the end of one rainy season!

We pulled onto a private dirt road and parked on the edge alongside a hedge of trees.  I greeted children who rushed by in their eagerness to get to the class.  Cohen, my timid one, was suddenly shy and asked if we could please go home.  I reassured him that this would be fun as we trekked up the hill to the chapel where the Bible Club would be held.

The Impact Team did an amazing job presenting the lesson that day.

 

Anita is truly gifted in choreographies.  She, Lili, and David led the children in some lively praise which ended in reverent worship.

I am awed and humbled to see how these children have grown in their relationship with the Lord in the years that we have been teaching them.  They have grown from 1 rowdy group of 20 to 3 hungry groups of 50 (or so).

After the praise and worship Tía Lili reminded the children of the rules of our class and how to win a prize for good behavior.

This always gets their attention!  Suddenly we had over 30 children sitting still and staring straight ahead with rapt attention!




 

David taught the Bible Verse and led the games.

 

The story of Moses was told using the kids as key actors in the drama.  The theme of the class was cooperating as a family using Moses and his family as an example.

acting out the story of Moses

And the youth were seperated to recieve their own class.

 

as always, we have older siblings caring for younger ones

by now Cohen was feeing at ease enough to push into the youth class!

 

Craft time for the litte ones.  As for many of our children, this was Cohen's favorite part.

Cohen stretched out "doing his homework"

Lili helping her group

Xiomara helping her group

It was a great class.  The children had a wonderful time learning how God wants us to cooperate in our families and help each other- just as Moses' sister helped.  The children left animated and hopeful for next week's class. 

Cohen was worn out from all the fun and ready for a well earned snack.  So after dropping the team off at the base I stopped my car by a tortilla stand and bought tortillas.  Cohen is a huge fan of fresh tortillas!

hungry after a fun morning

And so, with Cohen in tow... it appears that I am now back into the fun of things!

The Biggest Little Giants

Spread out across the floor of my office are various sheets of paper in various colors---

Scribbled on these miscelaneous sheets of paper are the testimonies of children who have grown up in the Little Giants.  They are not so Little anymore and their stories inspire us to continue.

Teenager after teenager writes about how coming to our Bible Club has changed their lives.    All of them mentioned enjoying the games, skits, and fellowship with others.  This didn't surprise me- what teenager doesn't enjoy these things.  But what really warmed my heart was to flip through page after page and come upon comments such as, "I have learned to apply the Word of God to my life", "my homelife is better since I have learned how to trust God", "I have learned that God has a plan for me", "I am learning the Word of God", and "I am now able to worship God in Spirit and in Truth."

It was about 7 years ago that I first started visiting some of the villages of San José Pinula.  The children who wrote these comments were then just 7 and 8 years old.  My staff and I have watched them grow and been privileged enough to have been a part of their lives and to have given them a platform of faith off of which they are being launched into adulthood. 

I am humbled to realize how so many people, like threads in a tapestry, have woven in and out of the lives of these teenagers weaving something beautiful to behold.  My heartfelt thanks to the teachers who came after me to weekly sow the Word and love of God into the hearts of the Little Giants.  My deepest gratitude to friends and family who have sown prayers, finances, and materials into the Little Giants program.  A sincere thank you to the countless mission teams that have left their mark forever in San José Pinula. 

Together we are sowing seeds of hope and reaping eternity. 

...but still they came.

The day dawned bleak and dreary.  The rain poured down in one single sheet.  It was not a day to be outside, but still they came.

This was the day of our Mother's Day Event. 

Despite the horrendous weather, we had nearly 70 moms show up- most of them WALKING and those who didn't came in the back of a hired pick-up truck. 

The room was beautifully decorated by the super creative ABA Impact Team.  They turned an ex-chicken house, now chapel, into a dainty, feminie atmosphere. 

The day's theme was Pearls in Formation- allowing God to turn uncomfortable circumstances into something beautiful.  This is especially applicable to these women who have faced hard times and are coming through them. 

Aby and David lead the women in a fun coreography.  We presented a drama to the women which depicted the typical life of a busy mom.  David, Lili, and Xiomara led games that had the women cheering, laughing, and generally having a great time.  It was good to see these overburdened ladies let their hair down for a while.  Seeing them playing and laughing together in a relaxed atmosphere was in itself a reward for the day. 

 

 

 I was able to speak to the ladies about allowing God to work all things together for good in their lives.  We prayed for all the ladies present.

What is a celebration without food??????

Despite the cold and gray outside, the inside was warm and cheery.  All in all a great opportunity to share with and minister to the moms of our Little Giants, celebrating them for all they do and thanking them in person for trusting their precious Little ones to our care once a week.

The morning was much too exciting for some of the attendees!!!!!!

Silence is Golden

Silence is Golden they say.  I don't think that applies to blogs.  It has been a while since I last wrote.

You might think this means that there was nothing much going on.  On the contrary- between preparing a team retreat, preparing for a mother's day event for over 70 moms, going to school events, helping with school projects, doctor's appointments, banking errands, ministry purchases, sorting out mission teams, hosting my mom for 3 weeks and my dad for one--- well, I just didn't have time to sit down and put my thoughts together. 

On Friday I took my dad to see the ABA feeding center in action.  There is something so much more captivating about seeing the feeding center in person rather than just hearing about it.  When you see dirty children in torn clothing rushing eagerly down the hallway with grins as big as the Cheshire cat, well, it does something to you.  When you see matted hair on top and holes in the shoes on the bottom of children who are so generous with their affection it stirs something in you. 

Outside the children waited (im)patiently for the doors to open.  As children will do their was some measure of bickering.  Once the doors opened they tried to rush in like a flood.  I stood at the door to hold them at bay.  By greeting them individually and asking about school, family etc I was able to encourage them to walk up the stairs one by one.

They piled into our activities' room and the fun began.

Abi and Anita taught the children about Saying NO to temptation.  The children participated in the class.  They enjoyed the song and the game and wiggled a bit during the teaching.

And at last it was time to come back downstairs for their now full plates. 

It was rather poignant scene as smaller children sat quietly on the steps awaiting older siblings to help them carry away the meal.

What a wonderful way to end the visit with my dad who left the very next day.  I am so thankful that my parents are keenly interested in what CCJ does here.  What a blessing to have parents who are interested, supporting, and standing behind us.  Can't wait for them to come back and hope I don't have to wait another 2.5 years for that to happen.

And to all of you who help us feed these Little ones- THANK YOU AND GOD BLESS YOU!

Multiplication

Many, many years ago I felt a soft, almost silent, tugging at my heart to teach children about God and all of His wonderful promises.  That tug slowly and gently pulled me into the place I am right now, overseeing an energetic ministry that reaches hundreds of children and their families for Christ.

They say experience is the best teacher and over the past decade and a half I have lived so many exciting and not-so-exciting experiences that I feel I have at the very least been promoted a grade or two.

It would seem that others share that opinion because of late we have been asked more and more to help area churches and other missionaries in the area of chidlren's ministry.  When Pastor Antonio approached me a Little over 6 weeks ago to help him get a children's ministry up and running in his church I was thrilled. 

A very prevelant problem in Latin America is the lack of resources, knowledge, and interest in children's Sunday School.  This church was no different.  Despite being a thriving church of several hundred members, the Sunday School was basically non-existent. 

To start things off, the pastor invited me to speak at a mid-week service to get the congregation aware of the need and importance of children's ministry and to get them excited about the possibility of a vibrant children's ministry right in their midst.

Then came a series of 4 Friday night clases to train the interested children's workers. 

The first time we met several people expressed verbally that they had only come out of curiosity.  Others because as parents they wanted more tools to apply in the home.  A few stayed quietly behind and with an embarassed darting of the eyes confessed that they could not read but vowed to do their best anyway.

Needless to say, it was a motly crew that was only half interested.

But the atmosphere became charged with expectency as more than 30 students gathered to gleam from our knowledge and experience.  Each night the time slipped by un-noticed as the ABA Impact Team assisted me in making children's ministry come alive before their eyes with songs, skits, stories, dramas, prizes, and more.  Each Friday night our students became more enthusiastic.

By the time the series was complete we had been witness to the fact that the gifting and calling of children's ministry that had been laying dormant in so many had become stirred up by the laying on of hands.  Also that by making the visión plain this group of teachers was finally able to run with it.

On the very last night, before the diplomas were handed out, we asked for testimonies.  We expected to hear a few people share about how much they had learned.  What we Heard was so much more. 

One man told how as a child he had never recieved love in the home and although he WANTED very much to be an effectice children's leader he had no previous example to go by.  He now felt that he had recieved something from us he had never recieved before: unconditional love and a godly example of children's ministry.

Another told how he had grown up without a lot of guidance and had never been taught how to speak lovingly and patiently to children, he felt that through this course GOD had sown into his life a knowlege of how to treat others and speak words of life. 

One woman told how she had come to learn how to be a better parent, but that during the 4 weeks God had touched her heart with a passion for children's ministry and now she has decided to form a permanent part of the children's ministry team.

Another girl shared how she had never felt a desire to serve God at all.  She had only wanted to come to church but never serve.  Out of mere curiosity she came to the course and had since made a pact before the Lord to serve Him wholeheartedly in the Sunday School.  She was teary-eyed as she spoke of her eagerness to serve God. 

In talking with students before and after class we Heard testimony after testimony of how GOD touched and changed lives through this Sunday School Training Course. 

Just one more way your partnership with us is bringing the góspel to children in this town.  Just one more way the passion and visión is being multiplied.