ROP - VBS - OMG - and NO AC

I discovered this week that I am a wimpy servant!  Any one who knows me, not deeply, just knows of me (that's all it takes) knows that I do not like to be hot, not even hot, I don't really even care to be warm.  I like to feel the complete absence of temperature or on the cooler side of things. 

This week has not been that week for me.  Last week, Memorial Day, our AC broke.  Tuesday my husband called the repair service, Thursday was the soonest they could come.  Part needed to be ordered, it was here the next day but the AC guy, he couldn't get back until yesterday.  It was hot. 

Insert - A list of my some of my least favorite things:

Sitting on the ground esp. grass, dirt, or cement (hmm... what else is there)

Eating with out a table

Traffic or Road Construction

Sweating

Getting Sunburned

Being hot

Monday was the 1st day of the the ROP (Restoration Outreach Programs) VBS (Vacation Bible School).  Now, ordinarily, that would scream "Not Cija's 1st Ministry Choice"... summer, daytime, sun, heat, sweat (you get the general idea) but... my friend Kashia needed help and I know what it's like to need help when there's no one willing.  So I decided to suck it up and just do it. 

It's 93 degrees on Monday.  It was HOT!  I was melting! 

Then there was Delaney, she got in trouble for climbing in the tree, my heart was tugged as she hide around the back side of the tree and slid to the ground in a full on pout.  So, I sat on the ground and we talked.  I kept thinking to myself, "Cija, you are seriously disturbed all you can do is sit here and imagine the smell of doggie dodo!!"  Imagine my relief when Delaney bolted up and said "Ooooo, there's poop!"

I made it through day one, I met some sweet kids.  Karla was cool, she was stand offish and hid her art projects from everyone's view.  Alexandra was hot and then cold.  Jonathan was light hearted and funny.  Xemenia... oiy, her name was my nemesis.  

Day 2, was... Hot! and the mosquitoes were hungry.  IT was picture day for me, I took a step back and watch the day unfold from behind my lens.  I offered to help make lunch but the oven didn't work so well and we had 264 taquitos that needed cooking in a kitchen where the air conditioning was no longer working.  It was... hot.  By the time I got home on Tuesday night, I was exhausted and my head was pounding and all I could think about was having to go back on Wednesday. 

Day 3 - As I drove to the rec center, I thought of the staff at ROP, the one's that do this stuff everyday.  My mind drifted to the people who serve in foreign countries with little or no comfort and I realized that I am a wimpy servant.  Oh, I was nice to the kids and was willing to help but I prayed that I could do it in the shade!  So I prayed, I asked God to forgive me for my wimpiness, I am blessed to the point of spoiled and  now I would need His strength in exchange for my weakness. 

Alexandria rushed over to hug me when she arrived, we sat next to one another during the welcome and held hands as we walked over to worship.  During worship we sang "He knows me, He loves me" and God reminded me that He knows me (the heat hating me) and He loves me.  I was glad I was wearing sunglasses because the awesomeness of His love for this wimpy servant overwhelmed me and the tears started to flow.

Karla sat next to me (on the ground) during the slap it game, I needed a lot of help understanding the premise and she was happy to help.  Later we made crafts together during freetime and played a mean game of Foosball, she was no longer stand offish, she and I were friends and I was blessed because of it.   

Today would be my last day at the ROP VBS, and while I am happy to have made it, tonight I feel I have a hole in my heart for I will miss these precious kids.  (Karla, Esperanza, LaLa, Carol, Hector, Luis, Victor, Donovan, Angel, Xemenia, Angela, Jemily, Alex, Gabby, Jonathan, Delaney, Armando, Joshua, Leonel, Sebastian, Alexis, Jose, Jesus, Jasmine, Ruben...  I wish I could remember all their names because they are all worth mentioning).

It's true this would not be my first choice for volunteer ministry but I will never regret it.  I was blessed to be a part and you would be blessed too!!

http://www.restorationoutreachprograms.org/

Your donations can help make a difference in the lives of these kids!