What a week it has been! Each day our church was FULL of children and parents from all around our neighbourhood, having fun and being loved by Jesus and his people! My eyes filled with tears of joy as I stood and watched the kids singing their hearts out one morning as if they were fully aware that Jesus was with them. . ..in that moment I knew the Kingdom of God was breaking through the kingdom of this world. Kids were meeting Jesus and there is no greater experience than watching that happen!
An incredible ministry team from Denver, Colorado along with our good friends Andrew and Jenna Stout from Hamilton, NZ blessed Whangarei with "COLOURS" VBS/Kids Holiday Programme. Each day the number of children attending grew significantly. One day we had 26 kids, plus an additional 15 adult volunteers and parents roaming the premises. For our little church that usually runs around 20 on a good Sunday, this was HUGE and such a boost to our local ministry here at New Hope!
A contest between the boys and the girls was established at the beginning of the week to see who could collect more canned goods for the Salvation Army Food Bank and memorize more Bible verses. The team leader of the losing team would receive the honour of a pie in the face. Well, as you can see. . .the boys won, but only by one point! I got creamed. . .literally!
Please pray with us for the 26 kids and the families they represent. Some of these kids come from very broken home situations that we would never wish on our worst enemy. Others just need a little reminder that God does in fact love them and desires to be their Lord. Pray that our church family would follow up with our new friends and so the hard work of discipleship. After all, Jesus didn't call us to make "converts" or to hold a cool program once a year. He called us to make disciples, those that would follow in His footsteps and experience the real and wonderful life that He offers on a daily basis.
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