VBS CAMP - PART 1

Laundry

"God created me!" Drawings

I love this one...

and this one!!!

We just finished our 2nd full day of Vacation Bible Camp.  We are busy, busy, busy... so, I will have to make this quick.

Our short-term team from Colorado arrived safely and is, to say the least, amazing!!!  

The Bible camp is going well - what a joy to serve!!!

Here are the latest prayer points:

• Health - A nasty cold is going around.  Abbi is not feeling great, some of our American short-termers are feeling physically down and our Didinga translator is feeling weak.  Pray for renewed strength.   
• Weather - The weather has been sunny and warm - absolutely beautiful!  Though we are technically in the middle of rainy season, it has not rained for more than three weeks!!!  We thank God for His provision in regards to the weather, but also do pray for the rain to return this weekend (while the camp is not in session).  Crops are getting quite dry.
• Teaching - Pray that we would teach with authority and Christ's love.  Pray that God would equip each and every one of us with culturally relevant illustrations/examples which bring God's Word to life, so that each camper would truly grasp a hold of the truth.
• Pray that we as "teachers", despite the craziness of the camp schedule,  would live in communion with Christ - taking time for individual pray and devotion to the Father.

Got to run,
KIM

Their coming...

Please pray for: Nicole, Amber, Ellanah, Ethan, David and Tim, our VBS short-term team, as they begin their almost three day series of flights to Nagishot, South Sudan tonight!!!

Pray that: · 

• Their flights would all be on time. · 
• They will be able to rest on the plane and not be too weighed down by jet-leg. · 
• That all the details would go smoothly. · 
• Their families back home would not be too worried or concerned for their new missionaries! · 
• This trip would be full of growth, learning and fruit for all who are involved. · 
• Our team would work as one in the Spirit. ·
• For spiritual, physical, emotional... 

and perhaps, mental health!!!

Thanks - and we'll be sure to keep you posted as the camps get started.

Two Weeks and Counting VBS Prayer Points

Progress on our Didinga VBS camps is going well and with only two weeks until go day, excitement is in the air!

The curriculum and logistics seem to be coming together well, we thank God for that.  Here are some more ways that you can pray:

Weather: Nagishot weather is unpredictable.  This week we have enjoyed beautiful spring-like temperatures, but last week we waded through torrential downpours.  We continue to pray for fair skies throughout the VBS camps. 

April showers have indeed brought May flowers to Nagishot, South Sudan!

Curriculum:  Our Colorado short-term team has been a major help in creating a workable VBS curriculum.  Please continue to pray for us all as we complete the remaining lessons.

Camp National Workers:  This Tuesday evening we will have our first National VBS team meeting.  Please pray for enthusiastic National participation.  Pray too that we would all be united as we minister to the youth here in Didinga

Campers:  Right now we have absolutely no idea how many campers will actually come to camp each day.  We are hoping to have several registration days, yet even with this planning in place it will still be hard to predict actual camp numbers.  Please continue to pray that God would send those children who are ready to hear and receive His Good News.

Short-term Team: Our team will be arriving in Nairobi, Kenya in ten short days!!!  Please pray that everything would go smoothly (flights, visas, health, last minutes preparations…).  Across the pond logistics (with little to no internet access) has not been easy task, but we know that God is in control.

Thank you for being a vital part of our team!!!

Prayer for Didnga VBS

This past week Abbi and I have been busy with Vacation Bible School preparations.  It has been exciting to see how God has been working out all the small details and pushing this camp forward.

Here are some more ways that you can pray for the Vacation Bible School:

Camp Curriculum:   Though there are some similarities in planning and preparing for a Stateside and foreign VBS, there are also many huge differences to take into account, such as: culture, language, illiteracy…  Finding a pre-packaged VBS curriculum, which would translate well here, has proven to be problematic.  With this in mind, we have been pulling from several different resources to create a solid lesson set.

Please pray with us for wisdom and direction in the preparation of camp curriculum.

Campers: Pray that just the right children would come to camp in May.  Pray that God would already be working to soften these children’s hearts, so that may be ready to hear and understand His word.  Pray too that their parents, their work (planting, weeding, shepherding, babysitting…), sickness, hunger… would not prevent them from attending camp. 

Weather:  Rainy season has already begun here in Nagishot.  By the time this camp roles around in late May, rainy season will be in full swing.  Weather could be a huge obstacle, as children will have to walk great distances each morning/afternoon, shelter will be minimal and we would love to conduct sports and other activities outside throughout the week.

 

Rain + Didinga VBS = sad face 

Of course, God is in complete control of the weather.  Pray for fair Bible camp weather (8am to 4pm).

Small Details: Provision of finances for camp food and supplies, flight schedules for Colorado short-termers, national translators, camp cooks, cross-continental planning for camp supplies, curriculum and logistics…

Thanks for praying!!!

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.  Proverbs 3:5-6

Didinga VBS!!!

In late May, we will be hosting three, three day Vacation Bible Schools here in Didinga.

We hope to use these Vacation Bible Schools as a means of evangelism, structuring the lessons with a clear and concise outline of the Gospel.  The camps will be open to children ages five to thirteen.

As a strategy for reaching more children, we will be holding these camps in three separate locations. 

The first location will be here in Nagishot.  Many children here in Nagishot have had some previous exposure to God’s word through the local church, Sunday school and daily Bible teaching in school. 

Our next location will be in Thuguro, a neighboring village.  We anticipate these children to have had some exposure to the Gospel, though not nearly as much as the children here in Nagishot. 

Our third and final location is planned for Napep.  Napep is a true Didinga interior village, and due to its very remote location, its children have had little to no exposure to the Word.

Abbi and I see the potential impact this camp could have in reaching Didinga children for Christ.  We also realize that this is a huge undertaking and would be extremely difficult to pull off alone.  With this in mind, God in His goodness, has provided brothers and sisters in Christ to assist us with this project. 

A team from a small Bible college in Colorado - three women and three men - will be joining us in this great endeavor. Pray for them as they prepare to come to Nagishot in just five short weeks!!!

Would you like to be a part of this Didinga, Vacation Bible School?  

If so, here are some ways that you can help:

•   An AIM project fund has been created to help with upcoming VBS costs.  To give directly to this AIM fund go to: https://giving.wesupport.org/gift2/gift.php?GUID=B259EAB9-5D37-46C5-A37B-C5089310A397&i=1102&c=A-Catalog&dt=1 and type in my last name (Davey) in the search box - our project is called "Nagishot VBS". 
  

• Financially assist a Bible student with their airfare costs.  Contact me for information: kiminsudan@gmail.com.

• Sponsor camp craft materials and/or sports equipment. Contact me.

• Pray!!!  By far, the greatest help in this whole endeavor is prayer. We greatly believe that with prayer everything is possible. We will be posting weekly prayer requests for this camp and ask that you join us in bringing these items before the throne of grace.

We have prayed for this opportunity and through a series of circumstances, God has opened the door for this project. God’s timing is often not our timing. May is just around the corner and there is much work to be done! 

However, we are expectant, eager to see how God will not only provide for the financial camps needs, but also how He will use this Vacation Bible School in the lives of children here in Didinga. 

In Him, we go forth and by grace declare His glory. 

Thank you for joining us!

They're not all sweethearts...

Remember Nyokolaci? 

He's a real sweetheart.

In July of 2012 he blessed me with six rows of sweet potatoes!  You can read all about his kindness here: Surprised by goodness...

Did you know that sweet potatoes take quite some time to mature - about 8 months!!!  

That is 8 months of weeding and 8 months of sweet dreaming of sweet potato fries.
 

 
Now, do you see this yellow bowl?

Well, this little yellow bowl and one other partially filled bucket comprised my much anticipated, though desperately pathetic, sweet potato harvest this year - in full.

If in fact you are still reading (thank you for that), I am sure there are assumptions flying as to the color of this authoress's thumb.  And though I love taking the ol' stab at "living off the land" as much as the next guy, I can't pretend, even for one New York minute, to know all the ins and outs of gardening.  

However, I can say, even in my current state of novice sweet potato farming, that I am pretty sure (maybe 97.3%) that sweet potatoes don't dig themselves out of the ground.  

Would you agree?

That brings me to this charming story of cross cultural missionary living...

Abbi and I were welcomed back to Nagishot from our Christmas holidays away with a traditional Didinga welcome - ie. robbery.  You see, while we were away with family, sipping eggnog, cuddling other peoples' white babies and dressing in bulky outdated layers, our neighbors were busy stealing buckets and bath products from our outhouse and our clothesline from the yard.  Have I mentioned that this is our fifth, or is it sixth, stolen line of the year?  I am seriously considering the installation of an electric clothesline.    Are you shocked??? 

Running with this same train of thought, I think that it's pretty safe to say that my missing carrots and sweet potatoes did not simply get up on their own and walk away.

Which brings me back to my previous assessment - they're not all sweethearts! 

Faith in the Face of Giants

Do you remember the story from Numbers, the story of Moses sending the 12 spies into Canaan, into the Promised Land?

All 12 went into the Promised Land and all 12 laid witness to the land’s productivity.  They saw a land flowing with milk and honey.  However, they also saw Canaan’s fortified walls and its inhabitants, the ancestors of Anak, men who were quite literally, giants.

All 12 of these spies returned to Moses having seen and experienced the exact same circumstances in Canaan.  However, out of the 12, only two, Joshua and Samuel, continued to trust in God's promises.

You see, God had promised the Israelites this land of Canaan, this land flowing with milk and honey.  He’d delivered them out of slavery in Egypt and parted the Red Sea. He had brought them through years in the desert and provided manna for them daily.  God had cared for them and repeatedly shown His faithfulness in spite of their waywardness.

Yet, only two of the 12 spies, when faced with opposition, when faced with fortified walls and giants, trusted God.

We shared this story of faith in the face of giants with our Bible study group this past week.  As we studied God’s word, I could not help but wonder - which one am I?

When faced with trials or difficult conditions in my own life and ministry here in Didinga, do I trust in God’s faithfulness, do I intentionally seek to see His daily gifts of provision, His consistent manna, or do I doubt in His goodness?

Sadly, I am confronted with the stark reality that I am often more like the 10, than the two.

I doubt God. 

I dwell on past disappointments, grumble about my daily gifts and forget that I have God the Father, God the Creator, God the Almighty on my side.

For you see, these ministry frustrations, the repeated disappointments, the lies and the corruption that we so often are confronted with, well all of these “giants” have already been defeated by our mighty God in heaven.

For it is not my battle, but His.  Though I am weak, He is strong. 

He never loses.

May we all have the faith of Joshua and Samuel when daily facing our "giants”.