Day 7: Jezus is Redder

"For God so loved the world that He gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life."   John 3:16

Today was Gospel day!!  Thank you so much for your prayers all week, but especially on such an important day.  Valére taught the parable of the Prodigal Son emphasizing the Father's forgiveness, and Claire used Dean Chollar's gift cube in order to share the gospel with the children and explained that Jesus is our Savior.  They were all mesmerized by the cube and were able to recall and retell components of the presentation throughout the day.  During Bible application, we made gospel (wordless book) bracelets for the children to wear and explain what they learned to their family and friends.

Valére teaching the lesson.

Claire sharing the Gospel.

Intently making their bracelets

Yet again, God has given us another beautiful day to be outside for recreation! Jeb and Nathan organized an obstacle course in the field today using a variety of materials.  They also had help from Michael and Jochen, Luc's sons, in constructing and demonstrating the course.  Each of the kids were timed (the fastest time was recorded as 56 seconds). It was a huge hit! The kids kept saying "Again! Again!" Each day, the group has been given clues and has had to guess what animal they will be eating. Today's snack was Sea Turtle sandwiches.  In craft, the children turned empty water bottles into piggybanks to remind them to be wise and save their money unlike the prodigal son, and also because of the pigs he had to feed in the story!

Hop into hula hoops, duck under the limbo beam, then blow a bubble...

run between the tables, then throw rings, and hop on one foot to the finish!

Sea Turtle Sandwich

Making piggybanks

For lunch, the team went to Amadeo for pannekoken and waffles (obviously we are very nutritious). The woman who owns the shop is very kind and offered to open an hour early to accomodate us. Milt and Val usually eat here at least twice a trip, and for 14 years, she remembers them by now! Our afternoon mainly consisted of VBS prep for tomorrow. Jeb also worked with Bert to put together a sideshow for the barbeque tomorrow so the parents and church members can see what the children learned this week. Our hope is that non-church families will get connected and come back and also that the church members might be inspired to join in to run a VBS next year on their own.

Pancakes for lunch!

In the evening, our team split in several directions: Milt and Jeb attended the Diepenbeek church's elder meeting and praise team practice, Sheri rested at the house due to her allergies flaring up, and the rest of us went swimming at an indoor water park. There was a wave pool, lots of slides, and something similar to a lazy river, but faster and with no innertubes. (Sorry, no pictures! We were wet!)

Praise: Three new boys came today, and we had a total of 17 kids again!

Prayer: Sheri's allerigies have been acting up recently; please pray that she can breathe and not be tired.  Please pray for one child who is distracting others during the lesson and not listening to the leaders.  Pray that tomorrow, we will be able to better assess each child's spiritual condition through the Belgian team members having one-on-one conversations.  As we have an extremely busy and packed day tomorrow, pray for effective time mangement during VBS as well as during the set-up for the barbeque. Pray for logistics with the barbeque tomorrow: setting up, enough volunteers, good weather,  and enough food :)  The gospel will be presented to roughly 100 people, so please pray for the Holy Spirit to work in unbelievers' hearts.


Stephanie & Sheri