We’ve had a BUSY few days which is part of why we’ve been so bad at blogging J The other reason is that at times it’s hard to put into words exactly what we’re seeing and experiencing.

Last week we spent 4 days doing VBS at a MOHI school in Turkana. We were welcomed by the choir who sang us beautiful songs and escorted us to see the rest of the students. All 950 students stood there ready to meet us. They sang us song after song and we were in awe at the way they received us.  

We dove into our 4 days of teaching. Our VBS was based around two things: Passports and sports. We gave each kids a passport and we taught them what other countries were like. This opened their eyes to the rest of the world since many of them have never left the area. Rick and Dan taught about Italy. Anthony, Kate and I taught about Australia. Tom and Amanda taught about Mexico. The Brazil team taught about Brazil and all the kids agreed that they were the most fun class. We explained to each kid what a passport was and how it allows you to go different places. Then we told them that Jesus is like their passport and can get them anywhere he wants them to go. Jesus can do bigger things than anyone and will take these kids on to do amazing things with Him.

We talked about sports and connected it to our memory verse: 1 Corinthians 9:25 – “Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever.” We taught the kids about the sports that each country plays and talked about what it’s like to train for something. We explained how you can work for the crown that lasts forever by following Jesus. We encouraged them to keep studying the Bible, praying and going to church. We pointed the kids towards their teachers and told them that their teachers are great models of Christ.

I was amazed at how hard the teachers worked. Many of them have left their families to come to Turkana because they feel called to minister to these students. One teacher said that he knew that teachers were taking care of his kids so he wanted to help take care of kids, too. The teachers were so patient with the students and engaged them with everything they taught.

We washed their feet in front of the children on the last day. We wanted them to know how much we valued their hard work. We wanted the children to see us respecting their teachers, too. We loved getting to spend time with the kids and many of us grew to know some of the students well, but in the end, we’re not staying. The teachers are. With every lesson we taught we wanted to instill respect in the students so they would know that we weren’t there to take over, but that we were there to remind them that they have wonderful teachers that they should listen to.

We spent our afternoons playing with the children and getting to know them. Afterwards we went on home visits to nearby villages. These were incredibly powerful. We listened to people and heard their stories. We prayed for them. Anthony told a man named Phillip about Jesus and he decided to accept him as his savior. Phillip wasn’t from Turkana so it was truly a miracle that our group happened to come across him that day. We interacted with many other people and prayed for them. It was powerful to see God at work here.

As we walked the village we got a grasp of how little some people have. They live in small huts and don’t have many personal belongings. I found myself wondering what they do with all their time. It’s difficult for me to imagine a life like theirs because I live in a world saturated with belongings and entertainment. Seeing their lifestyles made me question my own. Why do I consider TV and internet necessities? It was good to be confronted by the blessings I have and how these blessings can turn into distractions from God.

For short term mission trips the question always is “Why go? What difference does it make?” On this trip, it was clear that it DID make a difference to go. We spoke with some of the teachers and they told us how the VBS opens the children’s eyes to the world. It gives them curiosity. One teacher explained how us coming shows that the children have value. They know that we traveled from far away just to see them. Each of us interacted with different kids and those interactions may have meant more to them than we know.

But when it comes down to it, it all goes back to the teachers again. We want to reinforce the ministry that we serve rather than create our own. By pointing the students back to the teachers we affirmed the work that they do and reminded the children how worthy of respect they are.

Keep the students in your prayers as they work diligently to learn. Pray for the teachers as they work in hard conditions to educate these kids and to give them value in the name of Jesus.