Day 4 - First Day of VBS

I am so proud of our students on this trip! They have done such a great job. It has been such a blessing to be a part of this team and experience what God is doing in and through them here in Jamaica.

Today's adventure included a VBS, some beach evangelism and team bonding. Our VBS took place at the church we went to yesterday morning. The pastor was only expecting 15 kids, but we had over 50 show up! Our students told the story of the Great Samaritan and challenged the kids to be good neighbors to everyone they meet.

Because today is a national holiday, the beaches were full with people. Our team met on the beach and watched Natalie get baptized and then split into two groups and went to two different beaches. It was nice to get in the water, but our main goal was to meet new people and share the love of Jesus. The kids were amazing. There is no way we could have had so much contact with these children in America. I hung out with 2 little girls for almost the entire afternoon while their aunts sat directly behind me and watched our entire interaction. Neither one of them knew how to swim, but I did teach both of them how to float on the water. They were so excited every time they did it. I asked the girls if they knew Jesus and they said that they asked Jesus to come into their heart at church. We spent a lot of time talking about Psalm 23. They were able to tell me what it meant that the Lord was their shepherd. It was sad when they had to leave.

There was also a man that tried to sell Kevin and me a very large star fish and some aloe vera. We declined, but were able to overhear a conversation between him and Kari. Shawn told her that he believed in Jesus and knew that he was not living how he should, but the culture makes it hard to live right. He has to take care of his family. We were able to get him a New Testament and he asked us to pray for him to do the right thing. Kari prayed for him on the beach and Kevin bought some aloe which is helping my sunburn very nicely!

The team was also able to experience the Amazing Creator tonight at Glistening Waters. The lagoon has a microscopic organism that glows when agitated, so our team got to swim in the water and watch it glow all around them! How did God think of things like this?!?

Tomorrow is another exciting day. It's hard to believe that we only have 3 days of ministry left and one debrief/rec day. Thank you so much for praying for our team. Our experience would not be the same without you! -Sarah H.