Christmas Kids’ Club

 

 Our goal in Yuty is to plant an independent, mature church.  Sometimes it seems like it won’t happen for a long time, as we have only a handful of believers so far, but there are encouragements along the way.  The biggest of those encouragements was this month’s Christmas Kids’ Club, dreamed up and organized by the two married couples in our church.  Using their different talents, they organized a Christmas pageant and taught English, sports, Bible stories, songs, and dance during six afternoons of VBS. 

The climax of two weeks of club was to be a program for the parents in which the kids sang, danced and presented their pageant.  Ladies cleaned the church and brought towels, sheets and string to costume up the kids.  Wouldn’t you know it – there wasn’t any electricity or water for the few hours before the program started.  We’re guessing that it may be because people weren’t able to shower after their hot days of hard work that only a handful of parents showed up to watch their kids practice and perform.  The disappointment about the small turnout was nothing compared to the pleasure of watching the kids enjoy presenting what they’d learned.  What an added blessing it was that God sent us a desperately needed, refreshing rain once it was all over and everyone had walked home!

            In some ways, this resembled a Christmas pageant production you’d do in your church.  Excited kids, some shy and some silly, forgetting their cues and wandering in at the wrong time, are undoubtedly in every Christmas pageant in every country.  But I’m guessing there are some uniquely Paraguayan aspects of our Christmas club that you’ve never had happen in the U.S.:

* It’s 98° F in the shade at 5pm when the club starts.

* The kids are so used to going around in their bare feet that multiple kids FORGET TO WEAR THEIR SHOES HOME!!

*The few cups are re-used for all the kids, not washed out or even rinsed in between uses.

*Most boys choose soccer over dress rehearsal, and the adults decide to postpone the program a day (only 24 hours before it’s supposed to take place!)  No worries about getting the news out to the kids and their families – it’s a small town!

*The girls learn a traditional Paraguayan dance that normally involves reciting poems back and forth.  Instead of the poems, they memorize parts of the gospel presentation to say to each other.

            Thanks for your prayers for our Paraguayan believers.  Pray with us that they will continue to look for ways to minister to their community, and for lasting impact in the lives of the children who participated in the club.