Monday March 22, 2010

Emotional is the word to describe my day. It wasn't the kind of emotions that were there because of sadness or frustration or even anger...the emotions were flowing because of the awe factor.

God is working...sometimes it is more evident than other times in my life...but right now on this island, i have a front row seat to watching Him work in your kids! my emotions were on such high alert because your kids would not stop amazing me! they jumped in with both feet yesterday. it was really cool to watch everyone work so well together as a team! guys...they lived out "love your neighbor as yourself."

we were split into 3 different teams...all at the same location though.

the day was planned with 7 guys working construction, 3 girls tutoring, and the rest of us doing P.E. class. when we take these jobs individually and look at them, it is easy for the enemy to tell us that we aren't doing enough or that we aren't impacting anyone. I will try to explain the enourmous things, though, that we accomplished because of the way our kids stepped it up.

the tutoring girls were Jensen, Kelsey, and Brett. They were in their element! i didn't get to watch them very much because i was working with PE...but when i went in to check on them, all 3 girls were in the same posture...heads and shoulders bent towards these little kids. the kids were either smiling big and singing (Jensen's), or concentrating really hard while trying to impress their "teacher" (Kelsey's), or opening up and sharing and asking questions (Brett's). These 3 girls diligently worked through 4 kids each! at the end of the day, kelsey rattled off all of their names, brett recalled story after story of things that they said...(you're gonna have to ask her about that one!), and Jensen sat amazed and wondered if anyone else heard what "her little girl" song was. They were pouring themselves out.

PE took on a whole different look. we had everything planned and had the people where we needed them to be. just a few minutes before we had the first class, luke walked over and asked if we could spare some of the guys to help carry block back to the construction site. so all of our guys...Brock, Blake,Isaac, Jared, Joe, Austin M., took off to carry block a LONG way... i bet it was at least 300Meters... So PE needed to be revamped and quickly. EVERYONE just took control of what needed to be done!....this is all making my day and job a ton easier! The first group came roaring (not kidding) down the hill...we quickly assembled them into groups and started our different stations (there were 4). about every 10 minutes we switched them. these kids are not like US kids. some are amazingly good, while others you lose your voice yelling at to get back into their group. We learned quickly that a stern loving voice went a long way with control. we had that group for an hour, and i felt the need to quickly call a team meeting during break. I could see a possible attack on the horizon and i just wanted to nip it in the bud. What happened or what i anticipated as a problem was the fact that we were going to be overwhelmed. These kids were not behaving and there were several that could be attitude busters...making our attitudes become negative. it was an overwhelming experience, these kids needed sooooo much attention...i don't feel like i am explaining this right...but bare with me....so we call a team meeting and i just look at them and say, now is the time to fight the fight...now it gets harder...i reminded them that the battle is not against flesh and blood and to fight the feeling of frustration. it was an awesome time for me to be able to visibly watch their faces get into battle mode. i told them that they needed to make a choice and i watched all of their eyes make the right one! so we went off and finished off the next 2 groups in amazing style!...some of the highlights for me were watching those boys. these jamaican kids were hanging on each boys back every second that they were out there. they were hungry and thirsty for male attention...and our boys, sunburnt and all, gave EVERYTHING that they had! blake mann's knee has been hurting him since we got here, and he told me that it was worth the pain to just carry these kids on his back. i heard this all day! 2 little girls told brock that he was their new best friend. Isaac Witmer...he loves loves loves these kids! every group had a kid that was running around wearing his sunglasses. Joe was such a gentle giant! He did exactly what i told him to do...love them and be bold too. he was chasing kids down to get back into their groups, while lugging a few of them on his back across the field during break time. Jared was a pro...i told him that since he had been here before, that if he saw things that weren't right or needed to be changed, that he could step up and be a leader...he took me seriously! austin mann actually took charge of a station and was leading these kids in the game. and the girls....o my word...taylor got her hair braided and also was lugging, no joke, 4 kids around. Audra and Olivia both were such joys and they were the floaters....and it seemed that every time i was getting overwelmed...there one of them came. i could go on and on....i am not discounting any of the kids that i am missing, i will write about them later...but i am running out of time, and this is becoming a book :)...

construction! these boys worked hard...harder than any of them imagined that they would work. austin A. and brandon were explaining how they were instructed to mix the cement by hand! they were just turning over and over this pile, relentlessly. they had this pile of cement which later they made into concrete...they then started layering the blocks for a wall. what touched me about this wall was the purpose for which it was to be built. as was watched the little girls running and playing in their innocence, a sadness washed over me as i pictured our strong guys, layering block after block to form a wall to encircle the school. a while back, a few of these precious girls, were walking in the woods behind the school...they were molested. i hope that you can just picture what i am picturing here...our boys, in their cut off shirts, getting burnt by the sun, scooping bucket after bucket of mud into a wall that will serve a purpose of proctection so that these little girls can keep their innocence. and all the while, they had no idea what our guys were doing. it was an amazing picture of love.

we ended the day at the school and went on to play the soccer match. it was so cool to watch our guys hit the field. derek, logan Y., and Austin were pegged as the good ones, but Shamari (one of the players) quickly added that we were not bad, we just needed training! it was funny to hear logan C. ask what off sides were...but it didnt' even matter that he didn't know the game well...he came running over to me and told me he was the forward...i told him that that was great...just wait on the 3 point line and he would be good to go! the kids were great to just jump in and play!! luke and bob were great as they were running with the young guys. we ended up losing, but in the words of the guys...it was awesome!

we ended the night at the fire pit which is located on the rock that i described yesterday. we all sat around it and prayed, sang praise and worship, and shared what touched us during the day. it was simply amazing....waves crashing...wind blowing, and stars shining. i ended the night by walking away as i watched derek sit by himself playing his guitar and just singing to his God....and it showed me what all of these kids are beginning to get....he was simply a guy with his guitar and his God....what more do we need??

i am ending this morning (finally:)) with some prayer requests for what is to come....today we are going to the infirmary...it will be tough for many....and also i was to share with you what we will be asking of the kids in the coming days. Dawn and I's Bible study brought out 2 points that i want to get across...."in this generation, certain people have been assigned and entrusted to you,. your unbridled obedience to God is paramount to their seeing the divine Hand of God in their lives. So get busy with the program while keeping your eyes squarely on the people." and "Every inch of ground we refuse to take with God we surrender to the enemy."

so be praying for your kids' hearts...we are going to challenge them big time this week! i don't have time to proofread this....gotta run...so forgive the mistakes! keep on praying! we feeeeeeeel it!!!!