Firewood

The past two Thursdays, Bill Yarbrough and I got our D-Groups together to take some firewood to an elder. The firewood was cut by some teams in the spring and has been curing over the summer. Last week we loaded the wood in the trailer and this week we delivered the wood, stacking some and putting the rest in a pile. Last week my guys were complaining, and it gave me a chance to explain how it's good to help our elders, especially a single woman who can't chop her own wood. This week, they didn't complain and went with it.

It was a good time with the guys and they had fun working together and competing against Bill's guys. I think they also enjoyed helping the elder and it made me really happy when she shook their hands and thanked them. She asked each who they were and talked about how she knew their grandparents or uncles and so forth.

The Troublemaker

When ‘the troublemaker’ climbed out the van, I immediately thought, “Oh boy. I’ve to keep an eye on him and he’ll be going home soon.” ‘The troublemaker’ doesn’t usually come to Bible Study and when he does, he winds up going home early. He hadn’t been around since April and May when he was sent home three of the four weeks he came. I didn’t expect much from him and kept an eye on him, waiting for him to throw rocks, hit a kid, knock stuff over, or cause mayhem. And, it never happened. He played well, ate supper, colored, sang, and eventually joined my small group.

Throughout the whole time with the children, ‘the troublemaker’ was exemplary. I ask my boys questions from the lesson, and it got to the point where I said, “Ok, this question is for everyone else,” because ‘the troublemaker’ was answering every single one and I didn’t get to hear from the others. As the evening progressed, I asked the kids, “What’s something that we learn about Jesus?” And he pipes up, “He heals us!” When we did the craft, ‘the troublemaker’ painted a big heart on his page, so I asked if he knew what a heart represented and he did. I asked him, “Who do you love?” And he answered, “I love Jesus.”

It’s amazing how God works in the hearts of the children. Even those we don’t see for months. How He convicts us of our lack of faith. How He shows us what He’s doing in the lives of these kids. I don’t know what the future holds for this kid, but when he left he asked me, “Can I be your helper next week?” My heart welled up with tears and I told him: “Yes, you did a great job tonight, and I’m looking forward to next week.”

Jesus Is God?

On Tuesday night, Chris Granberry was talking after we sang a song and mentioned that Jesus is God, and one of the boys sitting near me perked up and asked me, “Jesus is God? How can Jesus be God? I thought God is God?” I told the boy that Jesus is God and we’ll talk about it more during the story time.

I was excited because our lesson was about the paralyzed man whose friend brought him to Jesus through a hole in the roof. In the story, Jesus forgives the man’s sins, causing a controversy because only God can forgive sins. I don’t know if the child now believes that Jesus is God, but now he is exposed to the idea. It’s strange but normal out here for kids to grow up never hearing the idea that Jesus is God.

Week 2 & Baptisms

Week 2 is over and Team Week 3 is about to begin. It's been a really good couple of weeks mixed with lots of hearty hellos and sad goodbyes. Much work is being done on houses and Kid's Clubs, both here and in Warm Springs. I think we are all feeling a bit tired, but are pressing on.

We had another baptism service this week. I was really happy to see the baptisms of 2 children and 2 youth, who were part of children's ministry until they were recently promoted. It made me happy to think of the impact of children's ministry on the kids, both recently and in the past . You can see the video of the baptisms by clicking here.

Jesus is for Gangsters Too!

The first week of teams is gone and it was good week. We roofed 4 ¼ houses in White Swan, hosted Kid’s Clubs at two housing projects, and had Tuesday night Bible Study. The team in Warm Springs also had a good week!

This week at Bible Study, our lesson was on Noah and how just as the safe place for Noah’s family was in the ark, our safe place is in Jesus. One of our crafts involved a picture of a child that is glued on a picture of an ark, and one of my guys decorated his picture so that the child looked like a gangster. He has a fascination with gangsters, and left to his own devices would likely become one. When we were discussing the craft, he was showing me the gangster and I asked him, “Do gangsters need Jesus too?” He looked at me, slightly perplexed, and said, “Yes.” Throughout the night, he kept emphasizing that Jesus is the safe place for gangsters too. Although a small thing, it made me really happy that this guy, who really wants to be a gangster, also recognizes that everyone needs Jesus.

Last night (Monday), we had a special meal with the rising 6^th graders who are leaving Children’s Ministry and going into the Youth Group. While I was happy to see them maturing and taking a greater leadership role, I was also kind of sad that they won’t be in my group anymore on Tuesday nights. They are a good crop of kids and I’m proud of them.

Baptism!

Last night, I had the privilege, honor, and delight to participate in a baptism service in the Longhouse. It was the most amazing night of the year! We had 8 adults, 5 youth, and 6 children baptized. Of the 6 children, 5 are regularly involved with children’s ministry. I’m still beaming about the night.

I’ve never seen so many smiling faces, and I felt a sense of joy, happiness, and love like I’ve never before felt at Bible Study. The kids were behaved, everyone paid attention, and God’s love was proclaimed and demonstrated. You can see video by clicking here.

The teams arrive on Saturday and the intern training time was gone very well!

Warm Springs Rez

The interns arrive today which means summer begins and it’s going to be a busy/wonderful 11 weeks. Last week, I got to go to the Warm Springs Reservation, met our contact person Don, and see the place where we do Kid’s Club. It was a great visit and encouraging seeing what’s happening down there. The one thing that really stuck with me was when we were talking with Don, he was really excited about Kid’s Club. He pointed out that there were 50 deaths last year and they are on pace to exceed that this year. Warm Springs is small place with about 3,000 people. Because there are so many deaths, it can be a very dark place, especially for the kids. Don said He liked that Kid’s Club provides a time where the kids can just be kids, they get a chance to just have fun and for a time leave behind the deaths and funerals that are too common.

When Don said that, it made me happy to be part of that moment of light and joy for the kids. It also reminded me of Adventures in Odyssey, a radio program I used to listen to as a kid, and the opening monologue where Mr. Whittaker said that Whit’s End was a place where “most of all, it is a place where kids of all ages can just be kids.” While what we do is no Whit’s End and I’m no Mr. Whittaker, it made happy to think that in a small way, we’re helping the kids to be kids and brighten their lives.