VBS in the Village of Kuç




VBS in the Village of Kuç


 These past few days has brought us overwhelming joy to serve in sharing the gospel through a very non-traditional VBS in the village of Kuç.  Each day we pulled up in the bus the kids were waiting for us and we couldn't get out of the bus fast enough before they would already be unloading the bus with our equipment, but the goodbyes were even harder with repeated hugs and pulling of heart strings as they did not want us to leave.  There were so many grateful children's hearts, along with the parents and that included ours. God  answered our prayers these past few days in bringing everything together, and the message went forth including the last day despite the 90% chance of rain that God held back in our little blue spot of sky with a 360 degree view of rain clouds and site of down pours.  Glory to God in the highest!


Words We Couldn't Speak

As I look back over the past couple days, I am in awe of all that God has done. I’ve looked on and been blown away as I watched the love of Christ light up the faces of the 30 something kids who attended our small VBS in the village of Kuç. I’m not gonna lie to y’all, we’re tired. We stepped out onto that small dusty lot the first day with doubts, headaches, and more than a little bit of nerves, but like He always does, God stepped in and provided. We traveled the short distance to Kuç on the 30th to give a small festival that invited kids to VBS, and as we prepared to go out I wasn’t even sure what to pray for. I was nervous about my message and scared to try and form relationships with kids who’s language I didn’t speak, but the second I stepped out of the bus God put all those fears to rest. It didn’t matter what language we were speaking, what country we were from, these kids accepted us with open arms and wide grins. Whether through the games, the skits and puppets, or the message, their joy as they joined in was contagious, and the smiles that erupted on their faces quickly spread to ours. As I stepped up to give the message I’d been stressing about all day, every doubt I had disappeared and God gave me a peace I never could’ve gotten of my volition. Going home that night a verse popped into my head: “Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words” (‭‭Romans‬ ‭8:26‬).


God used our small step of faith to take the fifteen minute drive to Kuç and though I didn’t even know what to pray for as we went out, I didn’t have to. The Spirit interceded and God paved a way for His gospel to go forth. Over the next couple days we saw opportunity after opportunity to share Gods love with these kids. Although we didn’t speak their language, and although I couldn’t find the words to pray, God made the next couple days some of the best of the trip. Even when our words lacked, the joy and love we got to show the kids, and the joy and acceptance with which they always greeted us gave us the opportunity to share Christ to them everyday and I know that God worked through our stuttering and stumbling tongues. “If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.” (‭‭1 Corinthians‬ ‭13:1‬), “We love because he first loved us.” (‭‭1 John‬ ‭4:19‬). - Mary





Giving 110 Percent
We pulled out all the stops for VBS in the village of Kuç this week. We finally decided on the theme "Time Machine" to make it more fun for the kids, but in doing so we needed to learn some sketchboard messages last minute. We also needed to add some object lessons to our repertoire so we could keep things fresh for four days. But through our team's hard work and God's grace, we've been getting it done.

We aren't the only ones working hard though, our Albanian counterparts have prepared a week's worth of games for the kids too, and the kids love every minute of it. From the moment we get there, they're so happy that they help carry our gear from the bus. We start by leading them in some games and songs to dance to (sometimes pulling out the puppets to sing along), then it's time to hop in the time machine and find out what part of the Bible we'll be going to that day. Using the sketchboard, one of us tells the story that we travelled to, then we use pantomime drama and fun objects and gospel illusion tricks to further illustrate what it means to believe in Jesus. We then get to have some more fun with the kids playing some more games and maybe even some football (soccer to us Americans).

After the fun has been had and the gospel has been preached, it's time to pack up and go (something we've become quite proficient at). Saying goodbye to the kids is everyone's least favorite part, and It'll be especially hard on the final day. We love every one of the kids and the kids love every one of the activities. Everyone on our team is doing an exceptional job, even with minimal preparation. The only way it could be better would be if we could see their faces while controlling the puppets (though we get a pretty good idea of what they might look like just from what we hear). - David













The faces of delight during the puppet show






The Time Machine









Trying to say our last goodbye, the kids all followed us to the bus




Driving Away 

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