Meridian Day 2

Today we had a women’s VBS in the morning. We had 20 women show up. We were led in song by Mama Gigi. They sounded beautiful, like angels. We then had a bible lesson and then an activity – paddle ball. They had so much fun and so did we as we watched. The women also learned how to make paper beads. They were so quiet as they sat there working so hard. It was such a blessing to try and bring the love of Jesus to them. In the afternoon we took the orphans down to the beach. Who would not love that?!? I wish you could have seen the smiles on their faces as we played with them in the water and made sand castles (which the water quickly washed away). They loved going from person to person! I am not sure if it was more fun for the children or the adults!
-Melissa Hampton
Hey all! Melissa just shared the women’s bible study and beach time with you. Lisa Fowler here and I’m going to share about two other events in our jam-packed Saturday. A group of us traveled about an hour away on a road that would make Cornell Rd in Haslett seem like the smoothest road (which we all know is not true). The ride was a workout! This village that we traveled to was called Polvo (probably not spelled that way but that’s how it sounded) and it was out in the middle of nowhere! We were there to invite children to join us for VBS. We broke into three groups and walked around the village with our invitation. At first, it was tough to find many children but we talked to all that we could find. We were told by the adults that their kids could come but the interpreters told us to prepare to wait a little bit because they knew that the adults would want to get their children cleaned up and dressed in their best! Slowly but surely they began to file into the church. After our interpreter led the children in several songs, we broke the kids into two groups. Half of our group shared the lesson, which was about Heaven while the other half helped the kids string different colored beads on safety pins that signified the many promises of Heaven. We then put “stickers for the skin” (aka temporary tattoos) on their arms. That was a really big hit! A small group broke away and visited two huts to share the promise of Jesus. They said that it was amazing and that the families were very excited to have them and went above and beyond to make them feel at home. Sadly, it was then time for us to leave because we still had the hour drive back for lunch at noon. Around one o’clock the dance camp began. Girls from the Mole had been specifically invited for this and had to come with their white card to get in. They got their tutus and matching headbands and seemed to really like them. Emma and Katie gave a devotion and then with the help of JC, a female interpreter who also donned a tutu, began explaining and demonstrating the dance. They worked on the chorus today and it went really well! Emma and Katie were so thrilled too! They will have two more practices before performing the dance. Cannot wait to see the finished product!
I cannot believe how much we have already done and this was only our first full day here! And if this is indication of what the rest of the week has in store for us … then WOW! Absolutely amazing experience indeed! Bonnwit (good night)!
-Lisa Fowler