The second place our team did a VBS was at Open Arms Christian Ministry. Remember them? They were the first ministry we started feeding about a month ago. This organization is just outside of Port de Paix,in a more rural area. Most, if not all of the kids that are a part of this feeding program have never had a VBS (Vacation Bible School) done for them, and many have never heard of the Gospel either. They were fascinated not only by the six whites who sang with them and shared a story with them, but also seemed pretty interested in the message of the story too. Oh how we prayed their little hearts would understand and they would come to know and love Jesus!!!

So of course since I was in charge of feeding the team while they were here, I thought it was fitting to have them all try the food that OTB cooks, the Feed My Starving Children Food. And instead of eating it in the comfort of our house, I also thought it would be fun to have a little picnic. So after we all hung out with the kids from OACM, before we went back into the crazy city, we found a quiet shady spot on the side of the road and pulled out extra food we made. The consensus? Pretty good stuff!! All ate it for lunch and said they liked it. The funny part was, even though we were only stopped for a few minutes, we immediately had visitors. A dad and daughter approached the truck and simply said with arms open wide, “you can take my picture”  We all laughed, but of course did since you don’t always find people that willing to let you take your picture. After we did, we offered them a plate of food. They were so excited! As they walked away, they shouted at four other people walking down the street telling them we were giving away food.My first reaction was to be annoyed, but rather I was able to appreciate that in their own way, they were just looking out for their neighbors making sure if they got free food, they wanted others to get some too! We gave them each a plate, but then decided we had better go before word spread too quickly!

So, turns out I’m not the only one who thinks Rose and Edris are simply amazing. We decided to take the team there, to meet the family and meet the kids that are receiving the food.  The team prepared a great VBS, and I loved it. I’m not sure what was my favorite part: The way all the kids listened intently as JD told the story of how Jesus healed a paralytic (as they even kept glancing up at the ceiling almost expecting a man to come climbing right through it!), or how JD and his son CJ sang and interacted with the kids as father and son, or the way they boldly tried to sing songs in Creole and the kids loved it, or how when the team gave the kids a picture to color you could tell some of them had never colored before (they were 5yrs old to about 8yrs old) and they loved it. Oh what a great afternoon.

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SO fun !  Christmas in October!!

As I was making dinner the first night, each person from our team came into the kitchen with their hands full. They had packed almost four huge bags just for Brandon and I!! Some of the things they personally had bought and brought over. Others were from our church in Carlsbad where JD is the pastor. He asked the entire congregation to bring goodies or anything they thought we would love and drop them by the church the few weeks before he left. People gave us movies, books, magazines, candy, snacks, Starbucks instant coffee, nailpolish and some even threw in hand written notes of encouragement!! I cried as I saw the love and thoughtfulness that so many people had put into the big and small gifts that touched our hearts. Thank you to each and everyone of you who  gave us fun treats that made our day, week and month!!! Really, it did!!