It’s 11:25 pm…. do you know where the Bahamas group is right now? Well, if you said ready for bed, you’d be RIGHT. But we didn’t get to this point by sitting around all day…..
After boarding this jitney this morning with our “choir” friends, we headed back to the Nazareth Home for Children. Our color of the day for our Vacation Bible School was red, to show Jesus love for God and others. So, it was an INCREDIBLE welcome when we went to get the kids and they came pouring out of their cottages each trying to show us the different shades of red they wore – it was awesome! We were so excited that THEY were excited, so it was a great start to the day.
Today for our VBS we shared the story about the greatest commandment, which is to love God. When we arrived on the island, 
we had no idea whether or not these kids would have even heard about God. Little did we know, when we were “teaching” them the song, “Jesus Loves Me” today, they not only knew the words and the tune, they had their own words and motions as well. It was incredibly humbling.
The craft group helped the older kids make windsocks, and then everyone got a chance to work with shaving cream and food coloring art projects. I’m not sure if more shaving cream ended up on the construction paper or on the kids, but everyone seems to have a great time all the same – and the staff wasn’t to upset either… once we got the kids cleaned up outside. The games group also had the opportunity to teach a bunch of the kids “Rock, Paper, Scissors”, which went over quite well. However, I think one of the favorite events of the day was when some of our leaders decided to teach them the Macarena. (stay tuned for the video!)
After we ran our VBS this morning, we headed over to the H.O. Nash Junior High School. After a very light lunch, we spent the remainder of the afternoon cleaning up a science lab and giving the forgotten, dirty walls a fresh coat of paint. We not only met the Vice Principal of the school, but also a couple of secretaries, teachers, security guards, and the principal himself. He took SUCH pride in their school and shared with us many of the programs they offer many programs such as choir, band, and agricultural science (yes folks, they keep chickens, goats, pigs and many other farm friends and plants right behind the building).
By the time the jitney picked us up around 4 PM we’d painted the entire room, and will be going back tomorrow to finish up another one. When we got back to the hotel we took a quick trip to the beach to relax, grabbed some dinner and worshipped with the whole Mission Encounter group in a place called the Rainforest Theatre. We talked about John Wesley and the incredible grace of God. Tomorrow, instead of worshipping together again, we’ll be heading to a local church to worship with around 100 Bahamian youth who are gathered for an event this week. They invited us to join them for their service and we can’t wait to see what it’s like!
Until then, it’s time for some rest for this leader.
Blessings,
Kathleen
PROUD! So often we go to teach and end up learning more.
Thanks for keeping us updated. I am enjoying your notes, Kathleen.
Thank you Kathleen for the wonderful blog. It makes a parent feel secure. Let the group know it was as hot here today as it was there. Hopefully it will cool down a bit before you get back. Give it all you’ve got on your last day with the children.
Love
Cheryl