Reaping a Harvest

            This is another one of those updates I am giddy about writing. I’m giddy about it not because I think it will impress anyone, but because it shows how faithful God is!

            It all started when a group of friends decided to come down here on a missions trip to help me with the club and to encourage me. I cannot tell you how excited I was to have some of my best friends coming down because they value me and the work that God is doing here.
            In preparation for their arrival I worked hard over the past few months introducing English vocabulary to the kids so that they could ask for the school supplies they needed to borrow from me in English. I also taught them all to introduce themselves in English, giving their name and age. It wasn’t much, but the kids LOVED being able to communicate with the team when they got here.

            In the weeks prior to the team arriving I started getting concerned. Attendance went way down. I had maybe 15 kids on any given day. Sometimes as few as 8 or 10. I am firm with the rules I have set, because many of the kids lack structure at home. One of those rules is that if you miss too many times you are out of the club and not allowed back in. It sounds rough, but it is the only way to get the kids to keep coming faithfully. I was praying a lot about it, but I was very worried. I literally begged the kids to keep coming. Kids that I should have cut from the club for their poor attendance would have to listen to a 5 minute speech from me every time I saw them as I tried to convince them that they needed to keep coming, if not for me, for the group that was coming all the way from Canada!

            On the last day of the club before the group came I had the oddest line-up of events. As I walked to the club from the bus stop I ran into three kids that I removed from the club. One of those girls I had removed from the club in September for never coming and for bad behaviour. As I walked with them down the street and talked to them I felt led to invite them back to the club for this one week. Only one of the three ended up coming. Johanna. And she brought her two brothers and their friend.
            Then as I was doing the club that day a girl arrived at the door who I haven’t seen in months. Wendy accepted Christ in December but soon after that told me in tears that she wasn’t going to be able to come any more and she disappeared. Well there she was at the door. She just wanted to say hi. I talked to her a bit, and while I was feeling led to invite her to the club, I didn’t out of fear that I might magically have too many kids the next week. She walked away and I regretted it. But she was back in 20 minutes and I invited her and her brother back. They both came all week.
            Kids who had hardly been coming to the club were there that last day and by the time Monday came around and the group was here we had 27 kids! Praise God!
            The group got here and home with no hitches. Nothing bad happened the entire time they were here. There was no drama, no fighting, no complaining. In fact, I cannot imagine a more easy-going group. I was nervous that I wasn’t going to be able to entertain them well enough, but I don’t think they could have cared less. I spent the entire week laughing with them and enjoying every moment. Cassandra, John, Keith, Kelvin, Mackenzie and Steve (alphabetical order so as not to show favoritism), you guys were a HUGE blessing to me and to the kids and I cannot thank you enough for coming down!
            The group planned puppet shows for different parables of Jesus. Every day we did 2 or 3 parables and then one of the group members would say something about the parables and either Steve or I would translate. They planned crafts, amazing snacks, games, and English lessons. While we didn’t get to do everything they planned, the kids loved every second that the group was here (with the exception of the celery snack which might have been one of the funniest things I have seen).

            Day one and day two went by normally. On day three I gave the gospel after the parables and told the kids that if they wanted to know more about salvation they could stay after. The Holy Spirit convicted 5 kids to stay after.
            I did not give a light and fluffy talk to them. I told them from the get go that this meant surrendering the rest of their lives to Christ. No turning back.
            4 decided that they were not ready for that commitment. But Katerine stayed. She was the first kid to accept Christ since December. And she is one of three kids that I would say I have the deepest connection with. She is like a daughter to me. I know I have no kids so I cannot know what it is like to have flesh and blood children, but I would do anything for her and her cousins Martha and Luis. They have the roughest family situations and they are the ones that God has changed the most in the last two years.

Katerine and me

              Day four came and we did the same thing; Bible story followed by the gospel. Once again a large group stayed behind. One of those that stayed behind was Shirley who had stayed behind the day before but decided that she wasn’t ready to give everything to Christ. I later found out from Steve that she said she had been thinking about Christ non-stop since yesterday. At home, at school, and on the bus. She gave her life to Christ that day, along with Johanna who I invited as I walked down the street the previous week. Luis and Carla brought the total for the day to 4 kids!

Shirley overjoyed.

Johanna

Luis Fernando

Carla

            Day five and again a large group of kids stayed after. One of them was Vanessa, Shirley’s best friend. Shirley urged her to stay after and she did. So did Shirley’s brother, David. I explained to gospel and it was clear that Vanessa got it right away. She gave her life to Christ, but the others either didn’t understand that salvation is free or they didn’t take the conversation seriously. I let them go to craft and David, who had also stayed behind the previous day wouldn’t leave the classroom. “I need to get this” he told me.

Vanessa

            So we talked until he got it and he joyfully gave his life to Christ. After our previous conversations I would ask him, “if you die today, where will you be?” and he would answer “hell”. After he finally understood that salvation didn’t depend on him I asked him, “if you die today, where will you be?” and he said “with Christ!”

David

            Brittany stayed after as well. She has been the most anti-“free salvation” kid at the club. She would critique other kids for abandoning the saints. She told me on multiple occasions that salvation was not free, and that only good people got to heaven. So I asked her what made her change her mind. She essentially told me that hearing it straight from the Bible she had to believe it. Salvation was a free gift and she wanted it. By the end of the week 8 kids had come to Christ!

Brittany

            As we rode back to the orphanage where we were staying I said, “I don’t know what I have been doing wrong. No kids have come to Christ since December. I give the gospel and they don’t listen. Why now? Why this week?” I don’t know if they noticed, but I looked out the window and cried. I was so overwhelmed with how good God is. So happy to know that 8 kids that I love are all going to be in heaven with me again one day. This is not the last time I will see them. And so happy to know that these kids are going to be with Christ! He bought them at a great price, and they recognized it.

            On Monday there was no story planned so I went through some verses with the kids, explained what it means to call myself a Christian, and invited them to follow Christ again. Luis Sayay and Bryan stayed after and both gave their lives to Christ. 10. 10 kids decided that it is worth surrendering their lives to Christ because He surrendered His life for them. And I cannot explain the emotions that overcome me. One kid would have been amazing, but God used me and the group that came down to bring 10 people into God’s kingdom. If you have prayed for me and the kids, if you have supported me with cards, money, or with a visit, God used you to accomplish this amazing work! This is why I am here. This is why I do what I do. This is why many of you have chosen to sacrifice time and money to support this work! God blesses us when we are faithful. And what a blessing this is!

Luis Sayay

Bryan

            I asked why. Why now? Why this week? Why not any of the other weeks? Why not any of the other countless times they heard the gospel in the past few months? Was I too busy? Was I not in tune with the Spirit? Was it just because the group was here? What was it?? And the only answer I have is that, it was time. The harvest was ready. God allowed my friends to be part of this amazing experience and I am SO THANKFUL that they were! God works all things for His purposes and He does not use my timing. His ways are perfect and mysterious.
            As I get ready to go back to Canada in July I am more confident than ever that the future of these kids is in God’s hands. I often worry what will happen when I leave. I wonder how these kids will grow in Christ and how they will keep religion and relationship separate. But God has all the kids in His hands, and I trust Him to care for them. I will be praying for them constantly, and I ask that you do the same. Prayer does work. Prayer does make a difference. Prayer is strong. Please pray!
            And please pray for me. This is going to be a very hard and emotional month. I cried like a baby last June and I knew that I was going to be back in September. This time, knowing I will not be back, I am nervous about the wreck I will be. The kids already cry when I mention that I am not going to be back next year. Pray. Please.
            Thanks again for every one of you who have supported me in any way! But my biggest thanks goes right to God! He brought me here. He led you to support me. He did all the work and He will continue doing it! Praise our Almighty God who is so faithful!

All the kids on day one with the puppets they made. Thanks craft-lady, Cassandra!