Jamaica 2008 Week 2

Today was an exciting day. We all kind of woke up with a little trepidation. We knew we had to do two programs today & that Monday was exhausting.  We got to Sav and began our program. About 90 minutes in, we realized that we hadn’t planned enough stuff. We were already done with our Bible Story, craft, and Chadder.  We quickly improvised a few games and actually had enough to fill all the time.

Ben & Zach were our models for the clothes relay. We brought along two sets of clothes — pants, jacket, glasses, shoes, etc. The kids had to pass the items from the back of the room to the front and the boys had to put it on. Then they modeled their outfits down the middle aisle of the church. Everyone went crazy.

Our Bible story was Jesus walking on the water.  Our waves were Lori C. and Carol. Rick was Jesus and, yes, he walked “on the waves.” The kids really enjoyed craft time. We made hacky sacks which the kids bounced and tossed around them around all day.  We gave the kids “biscuits” and “Juice bags” for snack.  That translates to cookies and frozen juice in bags which the kids suck on. They LOVE them.

Pastor Greg tried to surprise the group with lobster patties when they got on the bus after the morning session. Our driver, Mackie, went to Juici Beef to order them, but since lobster “isn’t in season” we couldn’t get lobster and had shrimp instead. Definitely not the same thing. Most people didn’t like it. Oh, well –he gets an A for effort!

The afternoon was spent relaxing and preparing for the evening session and Thursday.

Wednesday Night was, by far, the most exciting and rewarding event of the week. We returned to Llandilo and this time we were met by a crowd. We began with about 12 kids who started coloring their hacky sacks. When we began 10 minutes later, there were about 25 kids present. By the end of the night, we had almost 70!

The  kids were VERY well-behaved and excited to be there. We sang several songs and then watched a video by my friend, Jim Zarbaug, who works for Prestonwood Baptist Church. They put together an evangelistic video for the iPod that can be used internationally. It’s been translated into about 15 different languages. Jim sent me a copy that was Shoutable (projectable) and we showed it before giving the gospel presentation.  To see it, click here ishare video on YouTube.

We gave our gospel presentation with Reactor Paper. Kids dipped their finger in ammonia and touched the paper. It immediately changes from goldenrod to bright red. When it’s sprayed with vinegar, the red disappears illustarting how our sins are washed away by Jesus.  When we gave the invitation 4-5 kids raised their hands that they had prayed!

We showed the rest of Chadder (3 episodes in one night is way too much Chadder for anyone) and closed with some singing. When we were done, the girls from Sav presented us with cards that they had bought for us. One of the girls, Antonia, read her card to us:

Because of you, there’s someone who is thanking God today.  Someone who appreciates your warm and caring way. Someone who’s remembering the special things you do and wants to say the world’s a brighter place because of you!  You do so much to bring people joy, to share God’s love, to shine His light, to reach out with His kindness, to show compassion, to encourage goodness, to inspire peace — God bless you for being so wonderful!

This is a girl who was saved at last year’s VBS, has been baptized and joined the church and is now part of their leadership team.  So many times, we come and we serve and we come back year after year and we wonder, “Are we making a difference?”  Antonia is evidence that we are!!

Llandilo holds so much promise. After our program ended, a lady came up and offered her (larger) yard for us to use next year. She gave all her info to Pastor Wright’s wife and said we were welcome any time. Several adults expressed how much they wanted Hope Baptist to reach out in their community.  One mother (with the cutest kid named Mario) said, “This is fantastic, but I could really use more than two days.”  Our whole team is looking forward to what God will do in Llandilo.

When we returned to the hotel, Chris and Francine had set up a reggae concert for us and the rest of the guests. So, to end our evening, we were serenaded by  Rasta Ralphie (he’s actually REALLY good).

Anyway, it’s now almost midnight your time and we’ve got a BIG day tomorrow.  Pray for us as we present the gospel in Sav that we will see many more Antonia’s come to know Jesus.