A Most Unexpected Opportunity / A Most Amazing Blessing!

What an amazing week it has been! What an amazing thing it is that we GET TO serve God and others...and in the process God just blesses us right back!? But this week was that, and sooooo much more.

Every weekday of this week was jam packed with so much stuff to do, with about 95% of that stuff being VBS related. But within this jam packed week, I was able to experience so much joy, refreshment, peace, and flat out FUN! This week was like a prescription...not from the doctor though...straight from God. Despite the fast paced week (at least during the day) I was able to unplug from work and the stresses of everyday life. And it seemed as if God had kicked the doors wide open, allowing me to take part in this amazing opportunity to serve...He knows what He is doing...He is GOOD!

The following is some of the things that stood out to me this week.....

***Serving with my beautiful wife - this is one of the things that blew me away the most. The theme verse for our wedding was Psalm 34:3 Oh magify the LORD with me, and let us exalt His name together. This was the desire of our hearts. We have served together in the years we have been married, but this time it was different....the dynamics of our spiritual gifts working together....its as if there was loads of things for us to do throughout each and every day - and without fail we got through it together...working together...stepping in and stepping up to meet needs and get things done. The cool thing is that we were like spectators throughout the entire week, almost observing as if we were in the background....yet we were the ones right in the middle of the action. By days end we were both just in awe of what happened...and how it happened....day after day. It was amazing to see God using my wife in the giftings He has given her....just amazing!

***The Ninos - Getting to meet with the kids that were in VBS day after day was just awesome! Getting to know them was a really cool and amazing opportunity. We were able to build a foundation for friendship because we saw these kiddos day after day. And the most important thing of all, we got to share God's Word with 100+ kids throughout the entire week....HAAA! So cool!

***God's Provision - One of the other things that I observed throughout the week that was really really cool was God's provision for everything we needed to successfully complete our daily tasks. We had to build a ship, an island, a sea, a temple gate and walls, portals....everyday it was something different...and everyday we came across items and things to not only help build these things, but to be able to build these things in a way that made the entire experience visually stimulating and exciting for the kids. God provided EVERYTHING needed, every step of the way. And it was awesome to be a part of it. Interestingly enough, CARDBOARD is very very handy! Thank you Lord!

***Funny Stuff - while I didnt get to talk to many others about funny stuff that happened, there is one instance that happened in our classroom that I could not help but mention. PLEASE NOTE that I feel this was both heartbreaking and hilarious at the same time...but I am sure the little girl will have forgotten all about this by now. So....we were on day 3 and were acting out Paul's shipwreck on the island of Malta. We were supposed to have jumped ship and swam to the island, when Paul (which I was acting as) had come back from scouting the island to the kids with good news and bad news. Just as the "news" of the island is being shared sound effects come on with snake sounds. As I tell the kids that the island is crawling with snakes I hear this little girl say "I dont want to get bitten by a snake! I want to go home!" As she is saying this a CREW LEADER picks her up. Poor little thing! I felt so bad. What I felt most bad about was that the "show" wasnt even at its most climactic point yet. Within seconds I was supposed to go get some more firewood - at that point I was supposed to pretend like I got bit by a snake....WITH THE SNAKE STILL ATTACHED TO MY HAND! How could I continue....how could I go on...??? But I had to..."I MUST!" I thought....So I did. I threw the snake across the room and then asked all the kids to check my bite...and see if I was ok. I tried to show her that it was a fake snake after we were done...I tried to comfort her . Oh man.....as we replayed this in our minds while we were unwinding for the day, we couldnt help but find the humor in the entire situation.

***Church Fam - It was also very cool to see all the people from our church involved in the entire operation. People young and old....it was awesome to see people serving God and loving these little ninos. It was a great time of getting to know our church family better...God is so good! Thanks to everyone that participated throughout the week!

By the time the week was over, we were pooped, but sad that it was over. God and His Word are the most important thing in our lives. We had the amazing opportunity of sharing the Bible with these little ones....to reach into their lives and hopefully their homes and the lives of their family members. What a most unexpected opportunity...what a most AMAZING blessing!

Psalm 34:3 Oh magify the LORD with me, and let us exalt His name together.