Kitchen Duty

We have had an incredible week in VBS (or Holiday Club as they call it here) at Ocean View township. The numbers in all of the VBS locations have steadily increased. Monday we had about 180 children in Ocean View and today, Thursday, an enthusiastic 215 children! The children come to us everyday--eager and ready for the day to begin. Many are waiting for our van as we arrive, some with no jacket or shoes and most in the same outfit they've worn all week. How precious are the faces that come...they love to be in close proximity with any of us. The children want to hold our hands, sit in our laps, and touch our hair constantly.
Our day begins with a Call-Out, which consists of many of us walking through the township with a bullhorn, calling the children to come to the "Multi" where VBS is held. Those sweet faces greet us on the streets or look out from windows, wondering what the commotion is all about. Several join our group on our walk through the streets. These streets may be dirty or desolate, but the children's eyes tell another story-one of joy and hope in the direst of circumstances. Some children cannot come on a rainy day simply because they will be punished if their one outfit becomes wet or dirty. Their sparse concrete buildings are laced together with clotheslines...reminding us to never complain about doing laundry again.
Is it because we have so much that we think they have so little??? Do they realize how little they have? Do they know?
The day is filled with fun activities, music, and Bible Study. The children have learned Bible memory verses, participated in biblical dramas, and we wish we had recordings of their sweet voices singing praises to our God! Our friends will find this humorous...but Debo and Ellie have been referred to as "The Dance Team". We laughed out loud, as we are sure you will as well!
Every day in VBS, our children are fed a hot meal, usually rice and chicken necks. After literally licking their styrofoam bowls clean, they neatly stack them on the table along with their plastic cups. Today, we had kitchen duty and had one of the most humbling experiences of the week. The children had been fed and had left for the day, and we asked the cooks to show us what to do to help them clean up. We began to wash the styrofoam bowls in dirty sink water and drying them with a towel that had seen better days. One staff member commented that we didn't need to wash the bowls for tomorrow since the kids would be having hot dogs--they wouldn't need a bowl. Then a kitchen staff member commented, "The thing about that is, if it can be used, we cannot throw it away". We continued to wash away, marveling at the appropriateness of her words. So many times, we discard things in our lives as "trash", not realizing they can be used. Aren't we all thankful that God has the same outlook as our sweet kitchen helper? How easy would it be for Him to give up on us because we are dirty and unclean? Instead, in His mercy, he gives us another chance, washes us clean, and helps prepare us for use. May we all be so blessed as the children we have worked with this week. It's truly amazing to come to this foreign land hoping to bless others, and instead, have these children of our mighty God bless us.

Debo Morris and Ellie Axford