Vacation Bible School-African style is full of fun and challenges. We were greeted Monday morning with just about 200 kids that were hungry for both spiritual and physical food. Sarah and I partnered with the 5-6 year olds and spent a lot of time coloring and singing Jesus Loves Me.
It is safe to say we have a LOT more respect for full-time teachers after our week with the little ones. VBS in Africa is different from VBS in America in many ways, but mostly marked by the lack of aesthetic features. There weren’t any props, costumes, crafts, etc…but there was the presence of the Holy Spirit that more than made up for all of it.
We spent our days singing silly songs (that we can’t get out of our heads), teaching little ones how to stand in a line, breaking up tiffs, and just plain loving on kids. It was obvious that many did not get much cuddling or hand-holding and it was our pleasure to oblige.
VBS-Africa style also cames with a few challenges, most notably the language barrier.
Most of the older kids spoke very good english, but the littles ones struggled to understand us. No wonder they kept walking while we yelled for them to stop and come back! Some of us definitely struggled to understand the poverty that most of these kids exist in as well. One afternoon I had the opportunity to visit a squatter camp, Joe Slovo, and saw first hand the dismal living conditions. It was brutally cold and we were wearing at least 4 layers. We saw families that were literally wearing every article of clothing they owned and were shivering. I saw women hand washing their clothes outside in temperatures of about 35-40 degrees. My hands were freezing in gloves!
All of this to say that we have the utmost respect for the happy little faces that indulged us every day with silly songs, happy smiles and lots and lots of hugs. These kids taught us what it is to truly be content in all things. Thank you, Refilwe for the lesson learned. May God Bless you all!
ps..there are more pics in the pictures tab on the left. Thank you to all my supporters who are truly making this life possible!
