A Valuable Lesson - C. Rogers

Today was day 1 of VBS for the group we are working with in Sav.  Our numbers today were a little low, having only around 130. Each day the numbers tend to grow, as does the excitement.  While Bible school and the work that we do here is not new to me, many things still are shocking.  So many here have such a sad story of a hard life I don't even like to imagine.  A life so foreign to us that it makes our material abundance and blessings seem wrong, or unfair.  They have so few things on this Earth yet are in most cases more content. Today I learned a valuable lesson in listening and expectation from a very unlikely source - a girl from one of the poorer communities. A girl that is known for the trouble she causes us each year, and has some days been left behind, as a result.  Today I set out with a different attitude toward her and was pleasantly surprised.  She is so angry inside and has no one to talk with, counsel her or any role model to look to.  She is still really rough and mean at times, but today I was able to see a glimpse of who she truly is and who she wants to become, and also what has caused her to be the way she is now. Knowing what I know now, it will be easier to tolerate not only her bad behaviors, but that of others as well.  I know she wants to do better and be better but has no one to teach her the right way.  She looks forward to our VBS each year, though by her actions for many years, you would not have known it.  Many here simply lack a moral compass that living a Godly life is a never ending uphill battle.  Though the kids hear about God daily in school and weekly in church, they rarely get to see real life role models, which brings the point of the mission full circle. We are here to encourage, serve and to teach and spread God's message of love. Thanks to this girl, I come away having been encouraged myself, and certainly learned a few things as well.  It happens every year - these kids just have a way of changing us, for the better. -Crystal Rogers, Middleburg, FL