We woke up this morning with breakfast at our hotel. We enjoyed a buffet of both Cambodian and western options, everything from rice noodle soup, fried rice, papaya, fried eggs, mini bananas, coffee, and donut-like fried dough. And it was delicious! The wonderful driver picked us up to head to Stronghold. Our mission team hosts VBS today, which is always exciting!
The first item on the agenda was touring the community. The local primary school students were excited to wave and
shake our hands when they saw us. Besides that, we got to meet the principal. Jesse and Naomi shared a gift of paper and white board markers with them. Next we stopped at the plot of land the Stronghold team is in the process of purchasing to build their own facility on. This will help them avoid continual rent increases at their current location. Stronghold’s director, Jesse, is a visionary! What appeared to me as an empty plot of land was to Jesse a blank canvas brimming with opportunities to share the good news of the Gospel with the community.
Mission Team Hosts VBS
Once everything was in place and ready to roll, Stronghold students who had arrived joined us for lunch. VBS kicked off after a delicious meal. There were three activity stations: an interactive Bible story led by Pastor Kempin, a game led by Bruce and Anna, and a craft led by Julie and Mary Ann. Our theme was the story of Jesus calming the storm from Mark chapter four. First we started with a large group opening of songs and a dramatic pantomime version of the Bible story. Stronghold staff joined our team to act out the story while Pastor Kempin served as narrator.
Next the students rotated between stations in smaller groups. Lastly they came back together at the end of the day for large group closing. Thankfully all went smoothly and fun! By far the best part was spending time with the kids and watching them experience and enjoy what we had prepared! Parents of Stronghold students arrived after VBS was over. We shared a gift with them funded by the generous St. John’s faith family — thank you! The gift bags included soap, laundry detergent, fish sauce, olive oil, sardines, sugar, and salt.
Time to Eat Again!
Because the Stronghold team is so awesome, they drove us to a river boat for another amazing meal. Naomi prepared homemade spring rolls, fried shrimp, pork and veggies in a sweet and sour sauce, rice and even appple pie! Our mission team is tired after a full day of hosting VBS. But we are refreshed by the opportunity to share and study God’s Word with our brothers and sisters in Christ in Cambodia. We look forward to how God will work in the days to come and can’t wait to keep you updated on it. Therefore it is safe to expect many more hugs, high fives, and sm iles from the students! Thanks for your prayers.
Submitted by Anna Kruger on Saturday, January 11, 2020
You must be logged in to post a comment.