Yesterday afternoon my mom and I went to a town an hour away, called Zamora. There is a little house church there and my mom goes there every other week to teach the kids while the adults have a Bible study/service. Anyway, I've gone with her twice since being here this summer. And I love it so much! There are between about 12-15 kids and they are absolutely crazy. Loud, energetic, from about 2 years old to about 15. We drive around with the woman who basically started the group, driving around the entire town, going to all these houses collecting kids. You should see how the kids literally pour from the houses, bouncing up to our car with shouts and greetings. Its kinda like a circus, one of those cars that has all the bazillion and 12 clowns streaming out. We squish kids in and getting out is like someone released a dam. Haha. The car ride is just great! Everyone shouting and yelling at once, some starting to sing songs and we all join in until we disolve into laughter because we messed up the words. And when we aren't singing-or sometimes even when we are- each kid is shouting suggestions to my mom as to how to best reach the next person's house. Sometimes the hills we go up are so steep! And FULL of ruts and holes. With so many bodies in the car, heads inevitably get bonked against the window, or other heads. Its a little like playing dodgeball.
When we get back to the house, we herd the kids into our desginated room-- bare concrete floor, plastic chairs, a little plastic table and no door on the bathroom. After songs (with the kids getting louder and louder with each verse, as they become more sure of themselves), we have a story. My mom asked me to tell the story--about Rahab and the spies. As I begin describing how I, Rahab, was in my kitchen making "arroz con pollo" for lunch when I hear a knock on the door, its so great to see how attentive some of the kids are. The big smile I get from a girl who correctly tells me that the Israelites, God's people, were liberated from Egypt by Moses. Or the huge, round eyes of the girl who wiggles in her chair as the soldiers from Jericho knock on my door when I have the enemy spies right there in my house! And, of course, there's the boy who's handing out sunflower seeds instead of listening. But, hey, it was a good day for them. :)
And craft time? That's nearly the best part! Chaos that rivals even that of the car ride. All 15 of us are at the one table that's only a little bigger than a coffee table. There is paper flying everywhere as the kids cut out the memory verses. The girls so enjoy teaching the boys how to braid the 3 red strands of cord we gave them all. I run, er, bump, my way from one kid to the next, skillfully placing little dots--or sometimes, unintentionally, big blobs--of glue on their crafts, all the while answering calls of , 'Profe, profe'. "Yes, you can have another paper since you messed up on that one. I'll get it in a second. No, you can not have an entire extra craft to take home for your brother who didn't come. Oh, you still need a safety pin for that part? Ok, have this one. Be careful not to poke yourself. You need help with it? Just one moment. And yes, I'll be careful not to stick myself. No, I have not forgotten about that other sheet of paper you asked me for; I'm still on my way to get it. I haven't quite made it that far, yet. Glue, glue, more glue--I'm coming!" And then, of course, the boys proudly showed off their finished crafts, glue oozing out the sides, as we oooh and aaaah. Within minutes of finishing, the room empties out as the kids rush to the grown up's room. Mom and I are left in a silence that is a little bit of a shock after the incredible noise of the past forty-five minutes. Slowly, we begin picking up the mess as a much needed breather before going back out into the craziness to take everyone home.
The car ride to drop them all off is just as intertaining as the first and it makes my night to get big hugs from the two girls who beg me to come back next week. :)
To top it off, the black night sky is full of stars as we wind our way through the silhouetted Andes mountains, on our way back to Loja, reminding me of God's promise to Abraham and how, someday, I'll get to sing in heaven with hoards of brothers and sisters in Christ. And, oh, what a joy it will be!
