GhanaAugust Begins Successfully!!!

Today was our first day of camp.  It was busy and full of kids and laughter and fun and running around.  The kids are tired out and I think the volunteers are even more tired!

This morning started with our opening and then the kids were split up into teams to practice soccer skills.  It was a struggle for some of them as they learned how fast…and sometimes…how slow time can move when you are doing an activity.  But the volunteers worked it out.  They did awesome!  I was so impressed with Christy and all the hard work that she did to get these kids working!

Bible time brought back so many fun memories.  Yes, it looks completely different from Swim and Gym’s Bible Time, but all in all, it’s the same.  The kids love to sing.  They love to dance.  They love to hear stories about God.  And it doesn’t matter what culture you are in, you are going to find opportunities to tell children about the love of God on their level.

So, we danced, we sang, and we told stories.  This summer, it all about being “Storytellers”.  We want to teach these kids the art of storytelling.  Jesus told stories to his audiences to help them understand more about the kingdom of God.  And these children can tell their own stories to those around them to help them understand the kingdom of God. 

After that, Kenneth and I took the community kids back home.  Our driver was gone, and I needed a little help with that huge bus, so he took over driving and I came with him to show him the way.  The kids helped a lot too.

When we got back, it was a mad dash to eat and then shoo the kids over to the basketball court for afternoon activities.

It was sweet to see all the kids working together to create team names and posters.  Even with the struggle of the English Language barrier (many of our new kids don’t yet speak English), the volunteers really did a great job leading them through the activities that Christy had planned.

When it was all over, Christy came to debrief a little about the day.  We talked about the staff participation (how to have them help us better), the volunteers level of exhaustion (pretty “up there”), and finally, she mentioned a sweet moment she was able to witness.  Israel was leading a team of older kids and before they left any activity, they prayed for the leader of that activity and prayed over the room for the next group to come in and participate.  What an amazing example of how to live in community for these older kids…and how to create a culture of prayer.  Sweet…sweet…sweet.

So, day 1 GhanaAugust Day Camp—Totally Successful!!  I am certainly grateful for all of our volunteers who freed me up to be able to get a little bit of work done and all the work they did with our kids today.  What an amazing blessing!!!