BC VBS, Day 2 - Tooooooooooosday!

by Sue Chan Acuna on Tuesday, July 12, 2011 at 11:11pm

Tuesday, 8:40 p.m.

Sue and kids in their community

This morning I learned that one can UNzip a tent more quietly than one can zip it back up.  Driven from my sleeping bag by Mother Nature at 4:30, I stepped out of my tent - and had to stop to catch my breath.  The clouds above the eastern mountains were glowing a beautiful shade of pre-dawn pink.  A few birds sang, the river rushed and gurgled below the bank, and the temperature was surprisingly mild.  Tempted as I was to linger and wait for sunrise, I knew I couldn't function on only 5 hours of sleep, so I headed back to my very cozy bed (my air mattress is covered with a fleece mattress pad, a flannel sheet, an unzipped flannel sleeping bag, and a down throw) and managed to sleep for another 90 minutes.
I'd forgotten that a couple of the kids in our village gave me a new nickname last year: 

"Suuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuue!"  This year it's followed by, "You belong in the zooooooooooooooooo!"  Today it seemed like every time I sat still somebody stuck something on me.  By the end of the day I was wearing two strips of masking tape:  one said "lol" and had a smiley face, and the other said "Bob" (I have no idea why), and two adhesive gems (used for today's craft), one on my cheek and the other on my forehead.  At one point one of the boys said, "Hold my hat" and plopped his cap on my head.  It was all very amusing, especially when we returned to camp and I had to explain my tape and my gems.

Before dinner tonight Derwin asked for team members from each village to share how the day had gone.  Whereas yesterday's sharing had sounded mostly like, "I met a little girl named Anna; her favorite color is blue and her favorite animal is an eagle," today the stories were more about how the teens had found ways to discuss their faith.  Noah told about how he was giving a "shoulder back" (a ride on his shoulders, as opposed to a "piggy back"), when the little guy mentioned that his aunt had died.  He asked Noah if he'd ever known anyone who died, and Noah was able to share his own experience as well as his belief in Heaven.  I've asked everyone who has a good story to share it with me so I can share it with you.

The weather is still holding; today we had one short shower go through, but that was after a MUGGY day on the soccer field.  When the soccer players want to end camp early, you know it's pretty miserable.  Pastor Kahle's phone said it was only 22, but with the heat index it felt more like it was closer to 30.  (I've just discovered that my cell phone has a converter, so chatting in metric has gotten even easier!)

Derwin just took a large group of kids to the soccer field to practice for tomorrow night's annual Canada vs. U.S. match.  I believe the Americans have taken home the trophy the last 2 or 3 years, so the Canadians are out for revenge!  (Though most years the Canadian team ends up being a blend of both countries' players. . .)
The adult leaders who are new to this trip can't get over how energetic and enthusiastic our teens are, even after a busy day.  Their positive attitudes and willingness to help out with whatever, whenever, are inspiring to us all!

Please pray for stamina and patience tomorrow; Wednesday is usually the hardest day because the newness has worn off, and everyone is short on sleep.
Thanks for your prayers and your messages!

 

BC VBS, Day 3 - WINDSday!

by Sue Chan Acuna on Thursday, July 14, 2011 at 9:16am

Thursday morning, 6:40 a.m.

One of the amazing things about this - and probably every - mission trip is watching how hard the kids can push themselves from their comfort zones.  Take Alex for example, who is very shy, very artistic - and very quiet.  So quiet, in fact, that at morning campfire on Tuesday another adult asked me if he was okay because he was keeping to himself.  Yesterday in our village, I saw him with one little boy on his back, and ANOTHER little boy up on his shoulders.  I called him "3-headed Alex."  At campfire last night he shared how the two boys had asked him to pick them both up at once, but he'd told them he didn't think he could.  They looked at each other, then at him, and said, "JESUS could do it!"  And, as it turned out, so could Alex.

Yesterday was another hot sticky afternoon - 26 degrees, but so humid it felt closer to 30.  (Are you looking the temps up yet?)  In the morning I'd given my team a pep talk, warning them that Wednesday is always a hard day, but if they kept saying positive things instead of mentioning how hot and tired they were, they'd feel better.  In the heat of the afternoon, Erika kept muttering one of our camp songs:  "I'm alive. . .awake. . .alert. . .enthusiastic. . ."  We were sitting on the bleachers in the hot sun watching soccer camp, and everyone was sticky and droopy.  But Erika - and the others - still hugged the kids or kicked the soccer ball around with no complaining.  I was so proud!

Sarah shared how she'd used an EvangiCube, which unfolds and refolds to show different pictures, to teach 6-year-old twins about Jesus.  One of them asked, "Does Jesus only love white people?"  "No," she said, "He loves everybody!"  "But I thought only white people went to Heaven," he said.  "Everybody who loves Jesus goes to Heaven," said Sarah.  And the little boy let out a cheer: "Woo-hoo!  I'M GOING TO HEAVEN!!"
Victoria spent time getting to know a local teen who was visiting our campsite.  After a game of Twenty Questions, the two girls - one from Northern BC and the other from Yuma - were surprised to see how much they had in common:  they both love Bruno Mars, Glee, and Ryan Reynolds, they both really like to sing, and they share a birthday!  Her new friend also thought she heard Victoria say she'd like to "buy" an Italian husband, which sent the two girls off into giggles.

Last night we thought we'd get rain, but the thunder showers went right around us (again).  However, the wind picked up, flattening a couple of tents and blowing over a few chairs.  It meant that even though we had a guest team from Oregon visiting us in the evening, we couldn't light the campfire.  Thankfully, the wind dropped by bedtime, so our rustling tarps didn't keep us awake.

I have to feel sorry for RV-ers who pull into this beautiful, remote campsite, only to see kids everywhere: playing soccer in the road and volleyball in the grass, playing cards and chatting at the picnic tables, sitting around the campfire singing and praying together.  They don't know that half of those kids will leave by 10 p.m. - and the rest of them are the cream of the crop of teenhood. I'd love to tell every one of them how these kids have given up ten days (or more) of their summer vacations in order to spend a week smelling like bug spray and woodsmoke, getting too little sleep, standing in line for meals, and scratching mosquito bites.  But each one of them is here because they have the heart to share their faith with others, in the hope of changing a life - and maybe someone's eternity.

Tonight we will host Family Night, which is when we invite people from all four villages to join us for dinner.  Please pray that our team members will make the guests feel welcome - and that the rain will go AROUND us again.