We have made it home safely and the team is slowly readjusting back to life in Colorado. But my mind and my heart keep thinking back to last week and what an amazing trip the 2016 Musana VBS team had.
The goal of the team is to partner with the Musana staff to take real Biblical truths and unpack them in a fun, kid-friendly way for all 800 Musana students. Truths like … Jesus gives us direction, Jesus gives us courage, Jesus gives us love, Jesus gives us hope, and Jesus gives us his power. The Musana teachers are so good at taking practical things to help demonstrate these abstract ideas. For example, science teacher Richard showed that a balloon will explode when exposed to a candle. But a balloon filled with water will not. Richard taught us that this is similar to Jesus living inside us, giving us courage to face every difficulty in life with confidence.
Or take how the Musana snack leaders Juliet and Tappy took various fruits like pineapple, and watermelon and mango and wrapped it with chapati. The chapati was “hugging” the fruit, just like Jesus does when he gives us his love. Or how Bible-story leader Esther taught from the Sermon on the Mount about how God is a good father and when we ask for bread, he won’t give us a rock. And if we ask for a fish, he won’t give us a snake.
We have been so honored to partner with the Musana staff as they taught students these important Biblically-based messages in fun and engaging ways. And we laughed and had so much fun with every kid as they got to experience some of these lessons for the very first time.
There are so many things I could write about this trip. From the sicknesses the team experienced, to my almost being arrested, to seeing the health center on its grand opening day providing hope and healing to sick people, to women finding hope and dignity in becoming entrepreneurs and starting their own businesses to support their families, and to so many other wonderful things.
But what I will never ever get over is just how much God has blessed this place. How much God has used a group of people who saw a need and said, “Go and send me.” How much seeing this place in person convicts me every day to live more and more in the purpose God made me. How thankful I am that 800 kids and growing get to grow up knowing that they haven’t been forgotten, that they are loved, and that they were made for a reason.
To all of our supporters—prayer, emotional, and financial—“webale” … thank you. Thank you for picking up the slack while we were gone. Thank you for taking this journey with us in our hearts. Thank you for listening to our stories and for being there as we process what God did in our lives in those short 10 days.
Webale,
AJ
The goal of the team is to partner with the Musana staff to take real Biblical truths and unpack them in a fun, kid-friendly way for all 800 Musana students. Truths like … Jesus gives us direction, Jesus gives us courage, Jesus gives us love, Jesus gives us hope, and Jesus gives us his power. The Musana teachers are so good at taking practical things to help demonstrate these abstract ideas. For example, science teacher Richard showed that a balloon will explode when exposed to a candle. But a balloon filled with water will not. Richard taught us that this is similar to Jesus living inside us, giving us courage to face every difficulty in life with confidence.
Or take how the Musana snack leaders Juliet and Tappy took various fruits like pineapple, and watermelon and mango and wrapped it with chapati. The chapati was “hugging” the fruit, just like Jesus does when he gives us his love. Or how Bible-story leader Esther taught from the Sermon on the Mount about how God is a good father and when we ask for bread, he won’t give us a rock. And if we ask for a fish, he won’t give us a snake.
We have been so honored to partner with the Musana staff as they taught students these important Biblically-based messages in fun and engaging ways. And we laughed and had so much fun with every kid as they got to experience some of these lessons for the very first time.
There are so many things I could write about this trip. From the sicknesses the team experienced, to my almost being arrested, to seeing the health center on its grand opening day providing hope and healing to sick people, to women finding hope and dignity in becoming entrepreneurs and starting their own businesses to support their families, and to so many other wonderful things.
But what I will never ever get over is just how much God has blessed this place. How much God has used a group of people who saw a need and said, “Go and send me.” How much seeing this place in person convicts me every day to live more and more in the purpose God made me. How thankful I am that 800 kids and growing get to grow up knowing that they haven’t been forgotten, that they are loved, and that they were made for a reason.
To all of our supporters—prayer, emotional, and financial—“webale” … thank you. Thank you for picking up the slack while we were gone. Thank you for taking this journey with us in our hearts. Thank you for listening to our stories and for being there as we process what God did in our lives in those short 10 days.
Webale,
AJ