VBS Day 3 - A Special Visitor, Grade 6 Outing & Hard Goodbyes
Team Blog - Last Day - Spinning, Laughter, Tears
Each morning this week after we arrive as we wait for Matteo to come, the teachers will turn on some music and kids who want to, come up front and dance. It's delightful to see them enjoy the children's songs and bring them to life through dance. Here's some snippets of the fun!
As with the previous VBS days, students participated in an activity, a craft, and a treat. The activity for the younger kids was a balloon stomp. This is where you blow up balloons and attach them to each students ankle. The rules were explained as follows. The object is to keep your own balloon safe while trying to pop others balloons. As soon as we said go ...... C H A O S! Fun chaos but chaos none the less. If a students balloon was popped, they went into revenge mode and stomped as many as balloons as they could. It was hysterical!
The snack for today was Rice Krispy treats, the crafts for the younger students was beading and the activity was tic-tac-toe. These 50 boards were sewn by Suzan Bellis. These will be kept by the school to play in down times. All the students thoroughly enjoyed beading bracelets and necklaces. They were excited to show off their creations. Even the pre-primary kids did well!
One of the main events for today was the car races. Joel worked with some local men to build a track to race the cars they had painted and created. This was the day to see who would be the overall winner. LET THE RACES BEGIN!
The highlight of the day was a special visit from Old Saint Nick (Joel). We picked up a Santa Suit at a local dollar store ($8) which wasn't the best but it was a big hit with all the kids.The night before the team worked hard to fill 155 red bags to give to the students as Christmas gifts. Thanks to all those who donated items, money, and beanie babies. Yes, we had someone donate 150 beanie babies to give to all the kids. We added apples, candies, plastic rings, chap stick, paper airplanes, socks, suckers, juice boxes, and balloons. Thank you to Caryn Rowland who found deals and purchased much of these items herself. See all the happy faces below!
The day that all grade 6 was looking forward to had arrived. After the epic morning at VBS, the grade 6 got to go to the amusement park to have their graduation surprise. Oh what fun they all had, laughing and sometimes crying in fear. Only a few were too afraid to ride all the rides. The teachers and team members were a lot less excited about the spinning machines and chose to watch instead of riding. The day ended with sausages, chips and Fanta for the students, who licked their plates clean. A day to remember!
It was here where we said our final goodbyes to the grade 6 students and teachers who accompanied them on this trip. Eyes blinked back tears, hugs were held longer than usual, and we all prayed that God would keep these kids in His care. Some have hopes of going to boarding schools where they can get a better education than the public schools that have 75+ students per class. We ask you to pray for them as well!
