And the Kids Came: Touching Hearts, Changing Lives

[Diplomat]

Re: And the Kids Came: Touching Hearts, Changing Lives

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Jazz</div><div class="ubbcode-body">CEW I always look forward to your reports... Fantastic narrating (not lazy like me)... Stunning pictures and OH I just so LOVE the pictures of the children - I always leave feeling warm and uplifted

Carry on - I am along for the ride!!! (mussi mi Bizi ah trow wud afta ) </div></div>
Hey Jazz, thanks for dropping in (((Jazz))) There isn't enough words to describe how amazing the kids were. I just love 'em!

[Diplomat]

Re: And the Kids Came: Touching Hearts, Changing Lives

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: SistaCtry</div><div class="ubbcode-body">soo sorry to hear about ur Mom~

CD, ur pics and narration are fantastic,

cant wait to see the rest of your pics..........i remember pics of the children from last year, and cant wait to see them again this year....btw, great job, good vibes, what cudda nicer!! </div></div>
Hey Sis, good to see you and thanks for the wishes on my mom's behalf and for coming along on the ride; I appreciate your company

[Diplomat]

Re: And the Kids Came: Touching Hearts, Changing Lives

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Bandanna</div><div class="ubbcode-body">
Love the kids singing and dancing and @ Mummy Carry

Great stuff CEW </div></div>
The mummy stuff still cracks me up!

[Diplomat]

Re: And the Kids Came: Touching Hearts, Changing Lives


Impromptu group pic with some of the kids and team leaders. These kids love the camera!


The over 6 and under 10 age group. We found it was easier to &quot;manage&quot; them when they were seated in a circle.


The 10 and older group. The guys here had a lot of fun with their Italian-Canadian team lead. Their first words of advice? &quot;Miss, you haffi learn fi talk to wi inna patois.&quot; Her response: &quot;You guys will have to teach me.&quot; She was awesome! She told them her husband was a police officer. The only thing they wanted to know - &quot;Him eva shoot anybody?&quot; Boys!


Some of the 6 and under hard at work.

[Diplomat]

Re: And the Kids Came: Touching Hearts, Changing Lives


Taking a break for the camera...


Proud of his work...


Some of our teen helpers hard at work.


Helping hands...

[Diplomat]

Re: And the Kids Came: Touching Hearts, Changing Lives

One of the wonderful things about seeing the kids again was seeing how much they had grown over the past year. And of course, the girls were even more fashionable. Considering the difficult communities these kids belonged to, we couldn't help but notice how well behaved, generally speaking, they were. Not only that, but every morning they came in well attired. Just seeing them and experiencing how engaging they were made our working with them so much more fun. However, as far as I was concerned, their greatest assets were their smiles. No matter how tired we were, those smiles lifted our spirits right up to the skies.

[Stormmey]

Re: And the Kids Came: Touching Hearts, Changing Lives

Church Dude.....the kids are exquisite......like we would say in Swedish sallsynt juvelen......rare jewels or close enough in English. Faces so alert and eager, hope that light never goes out.

[Diplomat]

Re: And the Kids Came: Touching Hearts, Changing Lives






The one on the right reminds me of Ivoree...


The one on the left was my shadow. Every morning and in between activities, she insisted I hold her in my arms. I did.

[Diplomat]

Re: And the Kids Came: Touching Hearts, Changing Lives

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Stormmey1</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Church Dude.....the kids are exquisite......like we would say in Swedish sallsynt juvelen......rare jewels or close enough in English. Faces so alert and eager, hope that light never goes out. </div></div>
We share the same hope. These kids all have so much potential, giving them a week of our time to stir up the gifts and abilities within them is a small price to pay for what they can become.

[Diplomat]

Re: And the Kids Came: Touching Hearts, Changing Lives

Three hours had just about flown by. Our first day had gone as well as we could have expected. The buzz in the air, the chatter of voices, the enthusiasm of the kids and volunteers, all combined to create the kind of &quot;magic&quot; we had hoped and prayed for. The first day's lesson - God Gives Us Hope - was an important one as it set the foundation for what we wanted to pass on to them. In the Old Testament book of Jeremiah we read of God saying, &quot;I alone know the plans I have for you, plans to bring you prosperity and not disaster, plans to bring about the future you hope for&quot; (29:11, GNB). It was important for them to know that whatever they aspired to become, they could become. In talking to some of them, they had big dreams. Among the groups were aspiring doctors, pharmacists, teachers, pastors, to name a few. For some, their family situations were far from ideal and they will need lots of help to realize their dreams but fanning the flame within them was an integral part of their growth experience.

If nobody fans that flame, what would become of them? Another young man lost to violence, another young woman with an aborted dream? If they have no hope their lives would be without meaning and purpose and none of us believed that was God's plan for their lives. That's why we were here. Our group members may be different every year but the purpose would remain the same - to use our gifts and abilities to touch hearts and change lives.

But now it was lunch time. As was the case last year we were providing lunch to every child this year. Here is what it looked like.

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Next, night service. I could hardly wait.

[goldilocks]

Re: And the Kids Came: Touching Hearts, Changing Lives

This is just excellent! another five flag report!

[Compry]

Re: And the Kids Came: Touching Hearts, Changing Lives

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: ChurchDude</div><div class="ubbcode-body">

</div></div>

Sweetie...something about her.

[Diplomat]

Re: And the Kids Came: Touching Hearts, Changing Lives

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: goldilocks</div><div class="ubbcode-body">This is just excellent! another five flag report!
</div></div>
Thanks goldie, I appreciate the sentiments and your tagging along

[Diplomat]

Re: And the Kids Came: Touching Hearts, Changing Lives

i have said it before and I'll say it again - there's nothing like the Jamaican worship experience! Hand clapping, foot stomping, no hymnals but everyone knowing every song worshipping and praising God with total abandonment. Over the years I have come to admire this group of people for the simplicity of their faith. It didn't matter what was going on around or with them, one thing they knew was that God was good to them. Unlike in North America where we tend to measure God's goodness relative to the degree of our material blessings, they measured His goodness by the very fact that they were alive. Every morning they wake up was enough reason to express thanksgiving; everything else was a bonus.

On Sunday night we had a tremendous service, and it was just a taste of what would follow the rest of the week as on this particular night (Monday), they were up to more of the same. They had come from all over, some walking for miles, others piled up in pickup trucks/vans, and as if they couldn't get enough, some of the kids from VBS were back as well. Watching them was in itself a treat. Oh, the smiles as if they didn't have a care in the world and maybe they didn't because as we talked and as they shared their testimonies, it was obvious that the simplicity of their faith allowed them to, as one person told me, &quot;take everything to God in prayer and trust Him to work it out.&quot; It seemed so simple yet I have seen more mature christians struggle to do just that.

Interestingly, I didn't see much of them with Bibles. As a matter of fact, quite a number of them couldn't read but that didn't prevent them from quoting passages that had not only seen them through difficult times but which were the driving force behind their convictions. I chuckled a number of times because at times they didn't get the verses quite right but they knew the Bible stories and more importantly, what was intended in the teachings and how to apply them.

It was hot, they had started to come in, and service was already underway with the local worship leaders in full swing.

Remember Tyrone from previous trip reports? On this night he was on the keyboards and my pal, Junior, on the drums.

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I have been hearing this song for years and still don't know all the words

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My first time hearing this song and I loved it!

I'll add some more service clips later.

[esp]

Re: And the Kids Came: Touching Hearts, Changing Lives

Wow! Lovely, lovely report ChurchDude! The kids are gorgeous, simply adorable. It warms my heart to see the wonderful work your church is doing. Keep up the good work ...

BTW your pics. are awesome!