Amas a tu Jesus..

This year we are putting on Vacation Bible School at a church in a community called Nueva Vida, since I (natalie) am running around making sure everything is set for that, we are going to have guest bloggers for the next few posts. Today, y'all get to hear from a Senior Girl form Spring Branch...Jessica Carlisle! Enjoy her thoughts about our day today!



“Amas a tu Jesus en tu Corazon? Si! Amas a Jesus en mi Corazon!” (Do you love your Jesus, deep down in your heart? Yes, I love my Jesus Deep Down in my heart!)
Last evening we translated two songs from the Children’s Surf and Sand Mission slew of songs into Spanish to sing with the children today when we preformed Vacation Bible School. The Spring Branch group and Trinity group were assigned to one of the five feeding centers in Nueva Vida. Each feeding center is associated with a church where we are performing VBS. Our version of VBS Nicaraguan style included the bible story of Zacheus, coloring, a memory verse, and a key phrase.

The morning went fabulously! We feed the children, ate lunch, and then began our VBS for about 40 or 50 kids. The drama included Kurt Werth as a tree that Zacheus, Ben Crismore, climbed up to see Jesus, Logan Berns, all while Connor Clark read the bible story in Spanish. The kids were so engaged and they really enjoyed the songs as they danced along. Our VBS ended with small groups where each kid colored a picture and recited the key phrase to each Gringo (that's us, the white kids).



Next, we headed to the pool just as the lightening, thunder and drenching rain showed up. We loaded all the gringos onto the bus and added thirty of the children from the feeding center. With a packed bus we drove out of Nueva Vida crossing flooded streets that looked like rivers through the mud. (The streets aren’t paved inside of the community.)

The rain cleared up just in time for us to swim in the pool, which was a turquoise green color (no worries there!) in the middle of gorgeous fields and mountains. Even though most of them weren’t great swimmers the 60 Nicaraguans splashed, laughed, and truly enjoyed each other’s presence and the presence of the 60 gringos for a few hours.

Today was a long day, but not once did I hear someone complain. The amount of joy that fills you up after spending thirty minutes with the kids at the feeding center is infinite. Each of the gringos on our team have worked hard to make sure we are exuding every ounce of energy we have to ensure that these children hear the message of God. From patience in the pool with overly excited children to making sure that not a single piece of food is dropped while serving meals to singing and dancing to a song in a completely different language every one of us are serving God. Serving where it matters and where God has made it evident to us.



I cannot wait to see what tomorrow will bring and to see the amazing things we are blessed to experience.