Southend Mission Trip 2012: VBS DAY 4 ~ Jesus Gives Us Eternal Life

We had 102 children register for today's VBS and we gave each of the kids a special t-shirt that we had made.   It said "Jesus Loves Southend" and we had an image of rocks and someone jumping off the rocks which is what they like to do. We used the shirt as a visual reminder of Jesus' love for them and our love for them. The kids love to sign things so we thought it would be a great momento and so our craft for the day was autographing each others' shirts.

The lesson for the day was "Jesus Gives Us Eternal Life" and so we taught them that Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. The kids have done a great job of memorizing the daily Bible verse and today's verse was "In my Father's house there are many rooms." John 14:2     The music this year has been a big hit and the kids have been very joyous and energetic in their singing and actions.   The challenge has been in keeping the kids back far enough so everyone can see.

The weather did not cooperate so our whole team was unable to go to an island and net the fish for our shore lunch.  The silver lining was that we enjoyed our last full afternoon and evening with the Southend kids.   At one point, we had 38 people in the house doing crafts and singing the VBS songs! It was very busy but very fun.   Some of our team members were able to go with Joseph to pull the nets and bring home the fish. A couple of local men (Joseph and Hector) cleaned the fish and cooked them over a wood fire for us. It was a wonderful meal and we enjoyed visiting with them.

This was the last night for soccer camp and tomorrow will be the last day of VBS.   We are hosting a picnic for the kids and family members of both the VBS and Soccer programs. This week has gone by so fast ~ it is hard to believe our time in Southend is almost over. We are already looking forward to next year when we return, and so are the kids.