From my journal: "Today was super fun because we were finally in the swing of things...sorta! Haha!"
So, it started off like it always did: We went to Gateway! The food was incredible as always and the community and fellowship with my team, Matt, and Alf and Kelly was such a blessing!
After we had finished stuffing our faces, we went to Rahab's House in Svay Pak for day two of service.
CPR class went really well! I was expecting to have to reteach most everything we had learned the day before because of the language barrier and the difficulty of the information anyways; however, I was pleasantly surprised! They had studied their notes from the day before and remembered almost every single thing I had taught them on Monday. These kids are so intelligent!
Next, we went to another brick factory location. We fed more people rice, fish and sauces and shared the gospel with them. I liked this day better than Monday because we got to walk around and see their homes and the area to really get a feel for the culture. We fed about 90 families on this day.
Then, we met the woman that my church, 1:21 Community Church, had helped to free from the brick factory.
A little set up for this story: People get into debt and work at the brick factory to pay it off. The brick factory provides them housing and supplies at a heavily inflated rate. This traps them into the work because they can never earn enough to pay back their debt and buy supplies at this rate.
So, the woman we met had been bought out of the brick factories for just $350. $350. That's all. That is not a big number to us in America, but it is what was holding her in perpetual slavery. She now runs a little shop to sell necessities and food to the workers at a very low rate.
We went to visit her shop, since we had heard about it at church. We spent $5 there. Alf said that had probably made her entire week. But with all of the happiness we gave her with our business, she was much more happy just to meet us and pray with us.
When we had wrapped up at the brick factories, we went back to Rahab's House for Kids' Club! The disciples were such a help! I don't know what we would ever have done without them! They led dancing and singing with the kids to help us kill time and they always made sure to help us direct everything to Jesus!
Chris Clayton sang a few worship songs to get the morning going. Next, Dave introduced our group by teaching the kids a break dance move (and what break dancing is in the first place!); he taught them how to do the worm with their arms. Some of them got it, but I still can't do it to save my life! Dave is very talented, though!
Then I told our story with Ratanak as my translator. He must have been making it funny, because I would say three words and he'd talk for a minute and the kids would bust out laughing! We told the story of Jesus Calming the Storm.
--Start with two people holding a sheet stretched out (calm water) and everyone else off to the side.
Narrator: Jesus had been performing miracles all day long. As evening approached, Jesus said, "It is time to cross the lake."
--Jesus gestures towards the sheet (lake) and Jesus and the disciples walk behind the sheet like they are on a boat.
Narrator: It had been a long day, and as soon as they were all on the boat, Jesus fell asleep.
--Jesus stretches and pretends to be sleeping. Disciples still chilling on the boat.
Narrator: Just then, a storm approaches! And the waves begin to shake the boat...
--Shake the sheet (rough water) and disciples freak out.
Narrator: All the while, Jesus still slept. The disciples were scared though, and they woke Jesus up to save them.
--Disciples wake up Jesus
Narrator: With a word Jesus calmed the storm and the disciples were amazed!
--Jesus does like a stop hand and the sheet stops. Disciples look super stoked.
Narrator: The disciples had been so scared by the big waves. They forgot that if Jesus is with them, they have nothing to be afraid of. And that is still true today; no matter how hard life gets, as long as Jesus is with us, He will get us through it!
This story is hard to teach because 50% of these kids are being trafficked and abused. It is hard to tell those kids that they have nothing to be afraid of. But, it is beautiful to teach as well, because it is true even for them, even while they are being abused.
They asked amazing questions. "How can Jesus calm the storm?" "Why were the disciples afraid?" "Why did God allow the storm to come?"
The craft of the day was to make a boat with disciples and Jesus in it out of paper plates and popsicle sticks. It was pretty legit! The game we played was with sheets and beach balls; we had all the kids make "waves" with the sheets and bounce the balls around. They would take turns being Jesus and calming the storm.
Then it was time for aerobics. God got me through it with so much energy! I have one thing to say though: Never do aerobics in flip flops! It will kill your back! Despite the pain and fatigue, aerobics was quickly becoming my favorite part of the trip!
Next, without time to change or dry off, we jumped onto the van and went back to the hotel (for a fast shower) and got dinner with Esther from World Relief. World Relief is the company that places girls into different forms of aftercare once they are rescued, so it is a friend of IJM.
Finally, we debriefed and made bracelets (You'll find out about that on Thursday!)
Thought of the moment: Today I want to talk about finding your worth in God and not in anything else -- not even serving God! God has been teaching me that serving Him is my number one most important goal. He has chosen me. He loves me. He has given me tasks to do. He will never leave me nor forsake me... What a GOOD GOD!
Verse of the moment: How can a young man keep his way pure? By living according to His word. Psalm 119:9 We must realize that God is what is best for us! He is what is most important. We can never attain our fullest potential without Him there to guide us in the path that we should go.
Song of the moment: All He Says I Am // Cody Carnes and Kari Jobe
We belong to God. We were bought with the blood of Jesus. We are not alone. We have God walking with us in every struggle!
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