Soaking In

The team had discussed going to the beach before Bible School this morning. I must admit that I was hesitant to do so, because I wanted to make sure we had plenty of time to prepare (the planner that I am). Thankfully though, the group decided to go, and since I didn’t want to miss out on anything, I stayed up last night doing some planning.

Soon after breakfast, we loaded up and drove about two miles down the torn up road to the most breath-taking beach I have ever stepped foot on. I’ve stood on our beautiful white beaches, seen the tides change in Nova Scotia, chased my “brothers” down sandy dunes in New Zealand, stepped food in the Adriatic and Mediterranean Seas, and even parasailed at the tip of Baja, but none of those compared. The charcoal-black sand glistened as if diamonds had been shattered and sprinkled up and down the beach. Palm trees hung over the divide between earth and sand. The soft white clouds were perfect for finding shapes in as they floated across the baby blue sky. The ocean waves crashed loudly along the shore, but soft enough that they still seemed inviting. But the best part was that the beach was totally, utterly, completely deserted. If you looked as far as the eye could see to one side, you could see human structures, but in the other direction, only God’s structures of carefully placed boulders existed.

The warm ocean water was the perfect temperature for a morning swim. As I was floating along, letting the waves do all the work and only my face soak in the sun, I began to feel guilty. “I’m on a mission trip for heaven’s sake! This feels like an awesome vacation, a guilty pleasure.” But then, I stopped to think about how much of God’s awesome creation I was getting to soak in. The warm sun, tropical greenery, crashing waves, blue sky, soft clouds, salty water and shimmering black sand were all created by the Almighty, and I was getting an incredible opportunity to see, enjoy and soak it all in. I wrote “Life is Good” in the sand, even though that adjective seems incredibly inaccurate, but then again, are there any adjectives that can truly describe how blessed we are?

As we got back in the bus, I found myself feeling just as the children had felt when Maria took the kids through the Austrian country side asking, “Can we do this everyday?”

At Bible School today, things went much smoother. We were all better prepared and more into the groove. The kids were attentive and excited. When I told the story of the Good Samaritan today, I used the few resources I had – my fingers and a few sharpies to make a cast of very convincing finger puppets. (Funny how after several washings, Jesus is the only one that doesn’t seem to be coming off, but I like that.) With a new schedule today I was also able to spend more time connecting with the kids. We did the Hokey Pokey and danced like fools to “500 Miles.” Even though those things really have nothing to do with our lessons this week, the kids are having fun, and they can see we care about them. God’s love is truly in those kids’ bright white smiles. I hope they can see it in mine as well, because Lord knows, you can’t help but smile when you’re around them. I’m glad I was able to “soak in” the love of God through these beautiful children.

We have been very blessed as far as weather (and many other things!) this week. The air here is so humid that even papers left in our rooms become limp and damp. It is hot, but to be honest, I believe Birmingham is experiencing higher temperatures than we are. It has rained, heavily, each night here which helps to cool things off. Kelly and I stayed back tonight during the Golden Arches run during the rain storm. We sat under the tin roof and yelled at one another during the downpour, until I decided to make a mad dash to our second story “home.” Since it was just Kelly and I at the camp, and she was downstairs under the tin roof, I decided to take full advantage: by taking a shower and singing as loud as I wanted. The pounding of rain on the tin roof just above me combined with the trickle of water in my own shower made it near impossible for anyone to hear me. So, I belted out “Don’t Rain on My Parade” and “I Have Confidence,” but only the spiders and I could hear it.