Mission Portion Day 2

After a great night of fellowship, we spent our evening on Saturday practicing for our Sunday School class the next day. Thanks to a lot of sugar and some Coca Cola we were able to fight off sleep and have some fun as we prepared.
Sunday morning we drove to the church of Filadelphia -- a church that is truly being moved by the Spirit! Immediately we were greeted by our brothers and sisters in Christ with love and open arms. The amount of children was wonderful as we moved around the room and watched as the kids sang and played in anticipation of Sunday School. We began with an activity that you can see in the pictures below. Each of the children gathered around a table and were given their own space to draw. One of our students read the story of Esther in Spanish slowly. At certain points she would stop and give instruction to us all to draw out that portion of the story. We began with a King who then married Esther, the villain Aman, Mordecai's advice and the rescue of the Jewish people. Wow! The kids were amazing at drawing. They drew such beautiful stories and took such pride in their drawings. Afterwards we had some glitter paint that they used to mark their names and identify their creation. We were so proud of Lindsay who read the story even in spite of her nerves and of all of the students that worked one on one with the children as we recreated the story of Esther.
We then had another activity where the kids reenacted the story of Noah. They marched around building the arc, the animals boarding the arc, praying to God and ultimately finding dry land. How fun it was to see the kids enjoy themselves and at the same time display God's word to us and help us to see it in a new way.
We then spent the next hour serving lunch to the children. There must have been at least 100 children who were fed. For most of the children eating meat is really something special and not something they get to enjoy often. As we cleaned up bowls almost every bowl was wiped clean. Our students reflected on this and spoke about how much that meant to them. When we left we collected our remaining soles and dedicated it to be used to provide another meal for the students. Our kids were convicted about this and dedicated to trying to make a difference even in a seemingly small way.
We spent the afternoon with another group walking through the homes near the church. What a powerful experience this was for our students. Many of the homes are one-room buildings with a very unstable roof. They are built on a mountain and the further up you go the more disrepair you find. Our students were overwhelmed not only by the conditions of the homes but by the circumstances and the unbelievable hurts that these families felt. At each home we asked if there were things we could pray for and these are things tat we are still committed to praying for. Families with sick children or parents, physical ailments but also financial ailments. One family who literally only has Sunday to spend together. One student mentioned she was struck by how hard they work for so little. We prayed over each family and invited them to come to the Filadelfia church in hopes they might find fellowship and community. After only an hour our students were exposed to so much heartache and hardship but they handled it with such Christ-like compassion. Mrs. Isbell and I have been absolutely overwhelmed by the students on this trip. They have done everything without grumbling or complaining. They have served openly and been comfortable in every situation always serving others as well as each other. What a blessing it was to be with them every day!
Finally we finished our evening by praying over Nicole who is off to Haiti. We recognize that were she home she would likely have been sent off with prayers and blessings but instead she chose to be with us and serve others in her last few days before her discipleship training began. Nicole explained how she came to the decision to all of the students and we spent time encouraging her and praying over her. What a perfect way it was to end Day 2 in prayer for those we spent the day with to serve and one of our own who now goes on to dedicate her life in service. Praise God!