Letters to Campers

If you sponsored a camper and haven’t had the chance to write them a little note, you can now. I’ll be printing off the notes on Saturday.  The campers love getting a note from their sponsors.  If you didn’t get a chance to sponsor a camper, you can still write a note to encourage one! 

VBS at Diakonia

Two amazing sisters from Texas came and stayed with us last week.  They were full of energy and love!  Together we were able to put on a VBS for the children in our church and community.  The lessons were about the life of Jesus and we had some really great crafts and games.  On Sunday the kids shared songs and verses they had learned at church. 

Our old neighbors came.  I was able to give them money for buses and they came.  I truely feel the whole VBS was for these children and their step-mom.  They were excited to be there and they learned Bible verses and songs.  It was the first time the kids had heard the Gospel message.  Their step-mom’s grandparents were believers, but she did not grow up in a Christian home.  She loved being there and stayed each day.  She and the children came to church on Sunday and even brought the roommate.  The children even went to a birthday party of a boy they had met at VBS on Sunday afternoon.  I’m excited that the 2 older children will be able to come to camp this year as well.  God is doing great things.

VBS at Dorohoi

We had a wonderful week working with the kids in Dorohoi.  The amazing Mother/Daughter Missions Team from Wilmington, NC did a fantastic job preparing VBS lessons and craft projects for the children and teens.  The team was super flexible and seemed tireless as they served the children in the orphanage.

The VBS lessons were about Jesus.  Jesus is the Good Shepard, the door, the light, etc.  The children really enjoyed their time with us.  We also had the opportunity to visit some of the children in their apartments and share the love of Jesus.  As you may not know, the children live in apartments in groups of 6-8 children and teens.  They have 3 instructors who rotate during the week to look after the children and provide meals.  The instructors do a great job keeping the apartments spotless, children fed and homework done.  But often, they do not have the time to just play with the children. We however, did have that opportunity.  The first apartment, we visited, had 4 boys and a girl living there.  We brought playdoh and water colors.  The kids loved them. The team’s resident artist, Sarah, brought her face paints and created a jungle with an eagle, wolf, butterfly, lion, and a tiger in flames. The instructor was so happy that the children could have such a nice time for 3 hours on a rainy afternoon. 

We visited 2 other apartments of teenage girls.  The girls were taught how to paint a beach scene by Sarah and Kaitlin showed them how to make a decorative photo box.  The other apartment learned how to weave plastic cord to make bracelets and key chains.

The whole week was a huge success.  I couldn’t have asked for a better team, especially for the first VBS we have hosted at the orphanage.  Thank you Donna, Val, Sarah, and Kaitlin.