8000 Feet and Counting: Vacation Bible School

I know, some of you (or most of you) are thinking it is the wrong time of the year for this….but last week and part of this week is Vacation Bible School (VBS) [9 days here!]. I have been helping with the VBS in Porvenir, a congregation in the south of Bogota, where I have been helping with the women’s ministry. The women’s ministry is hosting the VBS, which is how I got involved, and I am so glad I have!

The week has been exhausting (to say the least), but also overflowing with love and laughter. In a lot of ways the VBS is very similar to a VBS in the states with songs, kid-style worship, crafts, games, and of course snacks. I have been in charge of the games for the week. It’s been fun and tricky for me. Some days have gone really well, and others, well, not quite as well, but still fun. Wednesday last week I divided the older kids up into two teams, boys vs. girls, for the game. Each group made a human knot, and had a race to see which group could untangle first. I really like doing this game as a race, in my experience girls-groups tend to do better (which I think is extremely important to their self-esteem and confidence in such a patriarchal society), and that is exactly what happened on Wednesday, the girls won by a long shot! The girls came over to tell me that they had won; I congratulated them, and told them how well they had worked together, and how proud of them I was. That was exactly the right thing to do, the girls had been very shy to talk to me before, but immediately they realized I liked them (and was happy they had won)….they didn't leave my side the rest of the day. I immediately felt like I was there for a reason. We spent the rest of the day talking about anything they could dream up to ask me; from my favorite Colombian food, to which I liked more: jeans or leggings!

If it's true, a photo is worth a thousand words, then some of my pictures from the week will say more than I can. It's been a great week!