Love A Lot

I tell you the truth, my sweet team of college students and young career folks were all too tired to blog last night.  Not because our second day of VBS/English class was especially difficult. But because, in sports terms, they “left it all on the field.”  After a challenging first day of structured activities we ate, came home, showered, had group time and sat in a circle determined to figure out how to make things run more smoothly.  So we put our heads together and found the little holes that were causing us to lose our flow.

The schedule was great, the plan was great, but we discovered that our energy had to focus solely on the task at hand.  THE PLAN: During the day we split into four teams that rotate through activities and large group sessions.  This allows four people to focus on a group of about 30 kids.  A pretty great ratio when compared with trying to spread yourself over the entire group of 138.  We came to the conclusion that within that group of four “counselors” each person must have a job. Crayon Police. Craft monitor. Snack distributor. Thinking ahead to what you must accomplish is integral to success at the orphanage.  I encouraged the team to own their particular job and focus on completing it while leading the kids through the activities.  This is no small feat my friends.  In the beautiful chaos of a day at the orphanage it can be easy to get distracted.  Take Butch Burns for example, he carefully passed out and re-collected the crayons throughout the day, helping us to preserve that oh-so-precious commodity.  During recreation time he began to pass out coloring sheets and crayons, being careful to give only two each with the intent to get them back from each child.  He let his guard down for just a moment to pass out a couple pieces of dried fruit, got swarmed and didn’t even get a glimpse of the smart little fellow who “lifted” the bag of crayons.  He confessed during our devotion time and we all had a good laugh.

The difference between organized day one and organized day two was this: focus and intent.  The team showed up on day one expecting the kids to conform to us.  One team member dubbed this the “Madeline” syndrome.  Expecting them to be sweet little enamored orphans who hung on to our every word.  That evening the team gave it to God and promised to put in the extra effort to conform to the children rather than the opposite.  The schedule stayed the same but the effort was adjusted. The result? A pretty amazing day for both kids and adults. Last night when we shared highs and lows the team shared many more highs than the first night.  They shared answers to prayers.  And we all slept soundly.

Today we will pray as we head to the orphanage.  We will pray for the children, we will pray for their caretakers, and we will pray that our efforts will not be wasted on idle activity.  We have been blessed so that we can be a blessing, and for these remaining days we will leave it all on the field.

Oh. And we did give Butch a new set of crayons.

-Erica

2 Thessalonians 3:13

“As for you, brothers, do not grow weary in doing good.”