Sunday we worshipped at Southland Christian Church in Bell, CA, which is where we worked this week. They had contemporary worship songs and communion, both of which I really enjoyed. The message was from Isaiah 14, about humility. I’d been learning about humility all week, so the sermon continued that theme in my education. After the service we went to King Taco to watch the World Cup final between Spain and the Netherlands. We arrived during the second half, and it was scoreless at the time. Spain won 1-0 in the second extra time. I was so glad Bea, our teammate from Spain, was able to see the game, and she was super excited to see Spain win. I wished I was able to be in Madrid to experience the madness there.
Monday was a day of planning with our team and Pastor Dan, the youth pastor at Southland Christian Church. He has organized a Vacation Bible School in a park near the church. Tuesday was our first day doing the VBS. We had the 6 of us, Pastor Dan, and a young man from the congregation named Ray. We set up in a park near an elementary school a few blocks from the church. We estimate about 50 kids showed up, as well as many curious parents. I had a part in our opening skit, and Sam and I taught the Bible lesson to all of the kids. We divided them up into 4 groups, and we rotated them through crafts, snacks, games, and Bible lesson. The kids were fun and the setup was a bit easier on us, but there was definitely less personal interaction than we had with the kids last week. Also on Tuesday, I had conversations with and shared the Gospel with 2 people on the bus: Martin in the morning and Chris in the afternoon. The language barrier was tough too, because Martin spoke only Spanish. All I can do now is pray for them. We had a good Bible study tonight, our last with our staff leaders Robbie and Ken. The staff left yesterday, so the rest of the summer is led by the students. More on that later.
The second day of our 3-day VBS with Southland Christian Church went well. Probably about 75 kids showed up, and it was very hot. But Wednesday was good in spite of the heat, particularly our skit went well. There was a lot of slapstick, action routines in it, but that went well and the kids loved it. After dinner I wrote our project newsletter. It was finalized Thursday, and it will be ready soon. It gives an overview of our project, and includes stories from 6 students of what they have been experiencing. I'm not sure whether the newsletter will be mailed out from here in Los Angeles, or whether we'll take them home and then distribute them.
We had so many kids at our VBS this week that it’s really hard to get personal one-on-one interactions with them. But I could really see the Holy Spirit working in my interaction with a boy named Albert after the VBS Thursday. Afterward our closing rally, I for some reason felt like I should ask him if he wanted to talk more about Jesus. He said yes, and we sat down at a picnic table to talk. He asked a lot of good questions, including what happens if someone prays but continues to do bad things over and over. I explained that God doesn’t care as much about the words we say but more about what we mean in our heart when we speak to Him, which Albert seemed to understand well. I explained all the key parts of the Gospel, asking him questions to make sure he understood. And he asked me plenty of questions, too. By the time I asked if he wanted to pray to receive Christ into his heart, he was very eager to do so! He prayed by himself out loud, and then we talked about how to grow in our faith after we receive Christ. I gave him my Bible to keep. I knew we were being prayed for, and those prayers really were answered. I know there is rejoicing in heaven because of Albert’s repentance and salvation!
Friday we weeded at Southland Christian Church. Later, we had dinner with the staff, and they officially handed their jobs over to us students. I got Shannon’s job of administrator, and she’ll explain that to me more on Sunday. The staff will leave tomorrow morning and be gone until the last few days of the summer project.
We started Saturday with group prayer at 9. Communicating with God is always such a great way to begin the day! Matt, Hannah, Lauren, Bea, Josh, and I went to Venice Beach today and took the bus out there. It was a packed bus, but we didn’t have to worry about parking at all. Robbie and Luke drove and met us there a little later. We brought a few body boards, which were fun to try. I enjoyed walking along the water’s edge, laying in the sun, and playing Frisbee on the sand. The beach was very crowded, and the boardwalk was just as crowded as last Saturday.
Today our team decided to go to a church in Los Angeles called the Dreamcenter, a big church with dozens of ministries, all in the middle of L.A. The worship service was more like a rock concert, which I had trouble getting used to. After talking with my teammates about it, however, I am more accepting of the fact that this style is how this church reaches out to the young people it is trying to attract. Several of us went to see the new movie Inception after we got home, and it was the best movie I’ve seen in a long time! It’s such a thoughtful and complicated movie that I want to go see it again. I had a meeting with Shannon Norris this evening to learn about the responsibilities I’ll be carrying out as project administrator for the last couple weeks. It’s complicated, but they’re entrusting me with a lot, and I’ll do fine with God’s help.
Thanks for reading, and let me know if you have any questions! God bless!
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