Long time no see! Sorry I haven’t blogged in forever. But life is been pretty busy! Last week, I taught two VBS’s like I said in my last post, and they were both super fun and yet super exhausting. Somedays I would literally wake up and want to cry…cause I didn’t want to go. But God got me through it. I so enjoyed having some driving time, as I find that being on the road is quite therapeutic. I love listening to music and praying as I go.
The first VBS was two hours long and was quite structured. The second…not so much. It took place at a lady’s house in a very small town, and the club consisted mostly of her grandkids plus a few. A lot of those same kids attended the first VBS for most of the week too, which made it more challenging to re-teach the stories and memory verses. But we had a lot more student interaction to “help” tell the story, which was fun. It was a three hour long club, and I was given a lot of freedom as to the timing, activities, etc. There were crafts and games planned, but it did feel a little chaotic. Sometimes I even stayed longer than the three hours, but if I did, I was a bit of basket case the rest of the evening. I really felt like God was teaching me something through it all. He started to reveal what “being” a missionary compared to “doing” missions looked like. Because I was with a lot of the same kids practically all day – morning and afternoon – often with a break in between – I had to really invest in them as people. I had to be a “friend”, not just a teacher, and yet they blessed me remarkably. I was impressed at how faithfully the other workers invested in the kids, and how the club hostess/grandma lived carried such a servant’s heart, despite the chaos.
One cute incident I had, was after the invitation one day. We were on the trampoline, and one little girl raised her hand to ask Jesus into her heart. When I talked to her after about it, she said that she had already done this before. I tried to explain to her that she didn’t have to do it again. Her response, “But it’s fun!” My heart seriously melted, and as she sat on my lap, we prayed again. I love that little girl.
This week, I’m teaching three clubs. So far…they’re going pretty good. The morning club has a bit of distraction, as it’s a smaller group, and I have a lot of “interesting” stuff laid out that little hands just want to grab. I would appreciate prayer for patience! Because it’s a shorter week, I’m trying to combine two days worth of extra story today, and that gets long.
Last night I only had two kids at club! They were both older. One girl was the daughter of the hostess and seems to know a lot about Jesus. But the boy, he seemed very new to a lot of it. They asked really really good questions and wanted me to clarify one or two things. The story went well, and I felt like I could go into a lot more detail with them. Praise God for open hearts and ears! Pray that more kids would come tonight, especially one boy who lives a few doors down. The club hostess’s daughter didn’t want to invite him, and I felt like I shouldn’t push it…at least not then.
Memory verses must also be combined. Clubs can get long, and it’s easy to run overtime, but my day was made a little brighter this morning, as me and four girls “sang” a memory verse, John 1:12, to the tune of Jesus Loves Me. We sang the song…then the memory verse. We should probably take it on the road. 🙂
I was working on my report this afternoon for last week. (I know I’m REALLY behind) It’s easy to get frustrated about how disorganized I can get, and I’m determined to do better this week. Please pray that I’ll be more organized!
Thanks for all your prayers!
Felicia Oostra
Hey! My name is Felicia, and this is my second year teaching 5-day clubs. I am excited and a little nervous for this summer, but I trust it's going to be great. In the fall, I'm planning to attend Ambrose University College in Calgary, Alberta. Prayer Requests: - That I'd be sensitive to God's Spirit and how he would lead me this summer - That I would stay healthy and energized - That I'd be able to navigate well as I expect to be driving to most of the clubs - That God would open up doors and soften hearts before, during, and after clubs