Then VBS happened.
We had an opportunity to run a VBS in a small Moldovan village this week. Before the camp even started, the plan changed 3 times. I was the "Leader of the Week" this week (we have a different one every week), and it was a massive stretching experience for me. We ended up starting a day later than planned, and we had to completely change our plan for the week a day before it actually started.
I was teaching the Bible study portion of the VBS along with a fellow team member. I was really excited about this opportunity. This has been a big area of growth on DTS for me. Leading up to and even during lecture phase, I was very nervous talking in front of people. But on outreach, I have been forced out of my comfort zone, and officially been broken of this fear. I have come to really enjoy teaching people and was really excited.
There are only 800 people in the village, so we were mostly expecting younger kids. We weren't really expecting more than 20. "How many people in this small, poor village are gonna come out for this?" I thought. I prepared a lesson for younger kids and went in excited.
So we get there and are waiting to start the camp. A few younger kids come in. Plan intact. Then one 16 year old girl comes in. Followed by two more teenage girls....followed by 3 teenage boys.....
We end up with 40 kids, and half of them are teenagers. I'm freaking out. I have a lesson prepared for younger kids and I now we are splitting the older and younger kids, and I have to come up for something with the older kids on the spot.
The phrase F.A.T. has really been impacting me this week, and I wouldn't have made it through that first day without it. As I walked outside to collect myself, freaking out slightly (in a not so slightly way), I finally decided that I just needed to relax. I gave a grin, looked at a couple team members and said "Well, time to be fat. Here we go."
I was still struggling with what to say. We get through our intro part. Time for classes. At least I figured that I could get the younger kids first. As we're splitting groups, one of our Russian speakers says something, and all the younger kids walk out to English class. Older kids are with us first. There goes that plan.
So, as I stand there, I'm racking my brain, and all of the sudden I just feel this complete peace come over me. All of the sudden, God starts giving me the exact words to say. It was one of the most clear times that I've heard Him speak. One of our team members looks at me and says something about changing the plan, and I just said really without thinking, "Oh, we're fine. I know exactly what to say now." After I said it, all I could think was, "Uh....why am I calm right now?"
Long story short, I ended up sharing the story of the bible with the students. Thank God for Bible Overview week. I split the Bible up into the 9 parts that our teachers had for us (Creation, The Fall, Promise of Redemption, Call of Abraham, The Law, Eternal Kingdom, Jesus, Holy Spirit, and The Second Coming) and taught the kids about the story of the Bible. I shared personal stories from my own life, got the kids involved with some of the interactive stuff from our Bible Overview week in DTS, and I am still a little shocked to say that I actually ended up having to cut short what I was saying because I ran out of time!
The whole week was filled with examples of F.A.T, as well as God using our team to reach the kids. A small lesson that God taught me was found in a stuffed animal.
The guys in our DTS like to have fun, and back in Kyiv, I had purchased a stuffed snake as a joke to put on our door. I figured I'd take it on outreach as a joke and threw it in there. As we were getting ready for Bible study for VBS, I figured I'd bring it to use as an object lesson. From the second we got there, the kids loved it. They were playing with it, and passing it around to everyone. The rest of the team used it, and I know it was extremely useful in bible. Every time I pulled out the snake, the kids were immediately interested in what I had to say.
So on the last day, as I was looking at the snake, I felt challenged. "If God can use a stuffed snake that looks ridiculous to reach some kids in Moldova, then why do I ever doubt that he can use me, who He formed in His own image, and gave specific talents to reach people?"
This is something that I struggled with at times on the DTS, and I have finally received revelation and growth with on outreach. It is easy to feel sometimes that you're not good enough to do ministry. Not qualified or talented enough sometimes. But the reality is, there's only one attribute you need for ministry. You just have to be willing. You don't have to be good enough, or talented enough, you just have to be willing to do it, and love people, and you'll have an impact.
VBS was amazing. We taught the kids about Friendship, Creation, Who God is, and The Story of Christmas. We had English and Bible lessons, as well as crafts and games. We got a chance to present the gospel to the kids, and love them and form relationships. At the end of the camp, the pastor told us that he had done other VBS's before, but didn't think he had ever seen one have such an impact with drawing kids closer to God than ours.
On the last day, as I was teaching the kids about Christmas, I had another moment where I realized that I am really living Christmas this year. At the end of the teaching, I felt God prompt me to share the gospel with the kids again, (I had shared it the day before as well), and I ended up presenting the gospel to the kids. What better way to spend the Christmas season than drawing people closer to Him? As we were in the middle of planning for the end of the day, I got a tap on the shoulder from one of our team members. "They want you in the crafts room!" I run back there, nervous that there's been yet another change to the plan. "The students want you," our crafts leader says. As I get to the back of the room, one of the students hands me their craft they made for the day and tells me it's a Christmas present for me. I was already impacted and then he motions to the people sitting around him and I notice that there looking very shyly at me. Suddenly, I realize what he's trying to say. "From all of you???" I asked. "Da!" (Yes in Russian) they say excitedly! This is one of my favorite presents ever, and I will be keeping it.
At the end of the day, we passed out presents to every single kid there (remember the hundreds of presents that we moved? This was some of them, the rest got taken to other locations). It was life changing. This was their Christmas. It was such a big deal to them. Seeing the huge smiles on the kids faces.....I will never be the same after that experience.
Circumstances change in life. Plans change. It can be hard for us as humans to accept sometimes. This week, with the teaching on Christmas, I shared on Joseph. Even though his circumstances changed greatly, he still had to trust in God's plan for his life and follow him. In the end, Joseph had to be F.A.T. We serve a God that demands that we be flexible. Circumstances change sometimes. If we can't be able to change at times, then we won't be able to serve people. Situations change at times. We may not like teachings. But are we going to pout, or are we going to adapt and move forward with God? And the most important of the 3, teachable. If we cannot be humble enough to learn from every experience, we will not grow, and our ministry will become stale. All three of these are very important to ministry.
Tomorrow, we celebrate New Years with a local church. To give you a perspective on how Eastern Europe celebrates New Years, the party starts at 9 PM, and goes till 6 AM. It's going to be wild! Supposedly they go absolutely crazy, so it's going to be a fun night.
God is doing incredible things with me personally, as well as our team. Keep us in prayer, it makes a difference!
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