The very first day, Hilary, Melody, Victoria, and Hope got there early. We were given our team numbers and waited (in the hot sun) for our kids to show up. We were told that we would have about 10 kids each, but we had 11 girls altogether. We ended up combining our groups anyway, just to make things easier.

 

So the typical day at VBS went like this: 

 

We had a combined group session in the sanctuary (about 400 kids) where we would sing, dance, learn our memory verse and theme for the day, see a puppet show, and maybe some people dressed up as a panda, tiger, clowns, etc. Half way through we would go get drinks and snacks, but in a different building, so we had to take the kids down two flights of stairs, cross the courtyard/parking lot, go into another building, take the lift up to the 5th floor, and all the kids would get into the gym, and I can't explain it besides that it was havoc! Kids running everywhere!! After that we would finish our group session. Then came lunch, which was also in the gym, so we had to transport the kids again. In the afternoon we would have crafts, which the children were responsible for bringing most of their own supplies. Then games in the gym again. Then back to the sanctuary, where we might do some more songs and dancing, there was a skit maybe, and a short video. Afterwards the kids were dismissed by group number. All of the kids call us 'Auntie'.

 

A huge difference between the kids here and the kids in Canada is how competitive they are. There were 4 teams: Boomer (ours), Lulu, Pogo and Fez. There was an offering competition, crafts competitions, games competitions, memory verse competitions, theme memorization competitions ... so much!! At the end of the week all the winners were announced ... our team came in second overall. There is a lot of pressure to perform well here, especially in school. Good grades are super important. I realize in Canada when doing children's ministry we have competitions too, but here its so different - so important to excel.

 

It was great to be working with the kids that week. We all had alot of fun, and it was great to see how God has been moving in the lives of the children here. The Church did an excellent job organizing the events, and we were glad to be able to help facilitate that. 

 

While 3 of us were working with the kids, Adrianna stayed back with Monique to help with the Jewelry Business. She had a great week helping Monique organize and spending time with the ladies. She taught the ladies how to paint - some of them had never picked up a paint brush before in their lives! The ladies really enjoyed themselves and it was great for Adrianna to spend her time with them that week.