Adventures in Bluefields Nicaragua: The Children's Programs

Matthew 25: 40 states...

"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.' "

The children of Bluefields are about at the bottom of the list when it comes to earthly status or importance, but Jesus tells us that this perception could be not further from the truth. Amongst all the hard work on the church building, we dedicated three afternoons to serve the children. The real blessing came as a result of giving of our time and talents! One thing is for sure, kids are kids, no matter where you go or whatever circumstance they come from. Their laughter, enthusiasm and desire to play and interact with us will remain in our hearts for a long time! The only sad faces we noticed were on our last day as we said our "goodbyes" - and that was not exclusive to the children.

In the valley just below our work site was a rodeo with grandstands - to Rigo, this was a perfect opportunity to introduce himself to the owner. Along with Dave Leahy, a veterinarian back home, Rigo offered to have Dave check out his stable of horses... all were AOK per Dr. Leahy! Rigo then asked if it would be OK to use the rodeo for three days for the children's programs during the week. Not a problem, he said, so there e had a wonderful setting - in the shade from the intense Nicaraguan sun!

Led by Pastor William, Lesly and Carla, our teams began with music and interactive songs with the kids to prepare them for the Bible lesson. The music filled the valley and seemed to call children from all over - each day's total was different, but there ere no less than 90 and as many as 200 in attendance. The Bible lesson were taught by the use of puppets, or titares en español - the common chant by the kids in anticipation would be "¡titares! ¡titares! ¡titares!". Between Pastor William's musical talents and Lesly's zeal to reach these children, the program was a complete success! The team members would act out their parts once prompted by Lesly with a tap on the shoulder... all this was behind a "stage curtain" made of a bed sheet. It was fun to watch the "behind the scenes" action and to hear the excitement of the children as the Bible lesson unfolded.

After the puppets' third or fourth return to sing, the children began the craft of the day - day one was a paper plate Noah's Ark. Day 2's craft was vests made from Kraft paper shopping bags and day 3's was a salvation bracelet made out of string and colored beads signifying how Jesus is the savior of the world.

On the third of the children's programs was a special treat - we presented every child with a "grab bag"of treats... including toothbrushes (thanks for Butler Gum for their donation of over 200 pairs of toothbrushes), graph paper notebooks (special thanks to MeadWestvaco for this kind donation - some of the kids used them as autograph books... it as fun!) to crayons, pencils and stuffed animals - all very simple gifts, but it meant a lot to the kids!

I will leave you today with more photos and the lyrics from a song that caps off our experiences with the people we met in Bluefields. The song is In My Life, made famous by The Beatles, then so beautifully sung by Selah - it was re-composed with the song, If We Never Meet Again, by Albert Brumley...

In My Life/If We Never Meet Again
In My Life (John Lennon, Paul McCartney)
If We Never Meet Again (Albert E. Brumley)

There are places I remember

All my life, though some have changed

Some forever and not for better

Some are gone and some remain
All these places have their moments

With people and friends I still can recall

Some are dead and some are living

But in my life, I loved them all
But of all these friends and loved ones

There is no one compares with you

And these memories lose their meaning

When I think of love as something new
Though I know I'll never lose affection

For people and friends that went before