September 2006
Dear Friends,
Another year of camps has come and gone. At the end of July we spent a week in the mountains with 26 kids. As I have said before, this was my first year to go with the kids to camp (in the past I've always gone with the street boys) and I loved it. Yes, it was a lot of work and all that, but getting to spend so much time with the children we love so much was great. I think that's the overall impression I came away with – I simply loved being with the kids 24 hours a day for an entire week.
Our days, as always, were full. The leaders started the day with a short devotion time in the morning before waking up the children. Then we all did calisthenics together to help with that waking up process. Once we were sufficiently awake and had our teeth brushed there was a time for devotions with the kids (broken down into different age groups). We ate breakfast together and then had some organized cleaning time – you know, cleaning up the courtyard, scrubbing toilets, all the things kids love to do on vacation.
There was an hour of Bible study each morning after the cleaning. This year Lenuta led the time, focusing on the life of Joseph. As you remember, Lenuta was an elementary school teacher for years before joining our staff last fall. Well, it shows. She is really gifted with the kids. She's also a good storyteller. The kids loved hearing about Joseph. They got upset in all the right places – Joseph's brothers selling him into slavery and lying to their father, Joseph being wrongly imprisoned because of Potiphar's wife, etc. And they cheered in the right places, as well – Joseph interpreting Pharaoh's dream, Joseph reconciling with his brothers, and especially Joseph reuniting with his father.
After the Bible study we played games until lunch. After lunch we had a short nap time. And then we had a full afternoon – an hour of art, more games, playing soccer, going down to swim in the river, walking to the store for snacks, and even some free time to just hang out together. After dinner, we had a time of worship followed by nightly entertainment. The children were separated into four different teams for the week and each evening one team led a short game, another sang us a song (usually funny), and a third recited a poem or two or ten. But the main attraction each night was the fourth team, the one doing the skit. I won't go into details here, but let it suffice to say the skits were hilarious. I especially liked the one about the bird-flu and how to verify if your chickens have it.
So camp was good. It was, as it should be, a highlight of our summer. Having returned from camp, we are now in full swing preparing for the coming school year. Schools here don't start until mid-September, so we still have a little more summer fun mixed in. We have started having homework times with the kids again in preparation for school, but we're also still playing a lot and doing our weekly outings together on Fridays. Those trips to the pool, to the museum, or to a park are always lots of fun.
Please pray for the kids this month as the summer winds down and as they return to school. Pray also for the staff as we make plans for this coming school year, taking time to reflect on the past year and to seek the Lord's direction. Pray that we would follow the wisdom of the Spirit and that the children will sense the presence of Jesus with them as they return to school.
I have some sad news, as well. Marius chose to leave the boys home a couple weeks ago. Please pray for him as he returns to live with his sister and her family. It is a situation that is not healthy for him. Pray that he will hear the Lord's voice of comfort and of concern. Pray also for the workers in the home and, especially, for Moise. It is difficult to open your home and your heart time and again only to be repeatedly disappointed.
Love,
Paul
paul.rase@wordmadeflesh.com