Ecuador: VBS & Sports Camps

There's me in the middle of a bunch of kids! We got to spend three days ministering to these kids - we sang songs, made crafts, and shared Bible stories. This was my favorite activity of the trip, and I wish we could have spent more time there! I have a few pictures to explain our time with them.

Before our program started, we had small activities for the kids. The first day I had a big piece of paper for the kids to draw on like a mural. This is Gilmar counting all the hearts that he drew! Another day, I organized relay races for the kids - they loved to run back and forth! In fact, they enjoyed it so much, they didn't stop after each person on their team went down and back to declare a winner - they were happy to just get back in line and run again and again!

We did two Bible stories with the kids each day. We had pictures, videos, and skits to make them interesting. Here is Carol explaining the days of creation.

The kids loved to sing with us! We did several songs in Spanish and many had hand motions. The last day we asked them, "Would you like to sing another song?" They answered loudly with, "SIIIII!" [Yes in Spanish]

This is Jared with his baby Jesus and cross crafts. He was in my group each day for craft time and would always be humming or singing the songs we had sung that day - I was thrilled to know that the tunes and words were sticking!

After VBS, the older kids played soccer (the boys) or basketball (the girls). We provided 4 different colors of t-shirts for each of the different teams. The front had [in Spanish], "God so loved the world" with a number 3, and the back said, "that He gave His only Son." with a 16. It stood for John 3:16, which we explained to the kids. The sports camps were a neat way for Rob, the missionary, to connect with the kids - hopefully a relationship that will continue! We also brought a lot of sneakers and shoes with us, and the kids wore them proudly!

While the older kids played sports, I would hang out with the younger kids blowing bubbles, giving piggy-back rides, playing cat's cradle, doing hopscotch, or anything else we found to do! This picture shows the second day when a bunch of kids stayed inside and wanted to color. I colored with them for almost 2 hours! They got so excited to show me their pictures and always made sure they were using the right color. Some of them gave me their artwork, and I brought it home.

I definitely enjoyed my time with the kids - I had been looking forward to my time with them for weeks! I pray they were able to sense the love of God through us and were encouraged by our love for them. Pray that Rob will continue to find ways to connect with and minister to the kids from this school.