Day 2 - Holiday Club & Sports/Crafts Camp

Well, another day is down in the books and it was another great one! We had the same number of kids at club today as we did yesterday which is awesome for this small town!  It's so encouraging to see this mission really beginning to blossom with a great turnout in the number of children attending and the number of mothers staying to have tea and a time of devotion with some ladies from the Free Church.  Perhaps even more encouraging is watching how the Nairnites are really beginning to take ownership of the endeavor here, putting a distinctly Scottish/Nairn touch on the club.  It is a true blessing from the Lord to have the opportunity to see the beginnings of the fruits of years of labor.

Here are a few pictures from club today... hope you enjoy seeing them!  The picture above is of the large group as things are getting started in the morning - many of them are decked out in their pirate hats & eye masks with their sashes either around their head or around there waists.  The color of their sash tells you which sea shanty group they are in... the yellow ones happen to be in the group I lead with Susan Matheson!

Here are Mud & Maggie, starting things off first thing in the morning.  For first-timers, these two have really jumped in head first to club this year and they are doing a fantastic job!

This is a shot of the kids dancing around in the morning to the portsmouth dance... it's a little different than what they've done in years past, but the kids are really getting into it (especially at the end when they get to throw their sashes up in the air)!

Mud brought the lesson today - and he is truly blessed with an uncanny ability to communicate the Gospel in easy to understand terms, especially for the kids.  He spoke to the kids about Jesus - he explained that Jesus was the most important and kindest man to ever live.  When he started, his first question to the kids was "Who has never ever heard about Jesus?"  There were several kids who raised their hands.  Mud went on to talk about how many people know about believe that Jesus really lived even if they don't believe what the Bible says about who Jesus was.  He went on to talk about how Jesus lived a perfect life... a life that we are incapable of living because we have hearts that are black and filled with sin.  But he encouraged the kids as he told them that Jesus, in the greatest act of kindness, died for us in order to forgive us of our sins and his death makes it possible for us to have pure hearts.  This is the lesson that we went back to our groups with and further discussed.  It's truly encouraging to see the kids listening and asking questions.  Please pray that the opportunities we have to talk about Jesus with these kids would be abundant and that we would be able to effectively share the Gospel of Truth with each of these children such that they may become a new creation in Christ as we talked about yesterday with the conversion of Saul.

Here's a picture of our trusty teen helpers... just a few.  They have all really been such a blessing and have really stepped up this year in so many ways.  We have a tendency to take our youth and their talents & service for granted so often, but these teen helpers have really been great, serving both the children and the leaders with such humility.

There is a spot each day for a brief game.  Today's game was much like our American game, Poop Deck... only this one had a few more tasks involved.  This is a picture of the "submarine" command.

Our drama today was about the story of Jonah and the Whale.  Our retired pirates were remembering the time when they came across a whale that then coughed up a man... Jonah.  Trey, Mud, and Morgan have made great retired pirates... but today, Jonathan stole the show as he was Jonah and had everyone watching his every move and hanging on his every word.  Kudos to a job well done guys!

Today's craft was a bandanna that the kids got to color on and decorate... then us leaders had fun tying them onto all their little heads!

Holiday Club wrapped up right around 12 noon and then we went for a bite to eat before returning for the afternoon sports/crafts camp.  Over 30 kids showed up for the afternoon activities today!  Elaine had a great craft planned thanks to the idea she stole from our own Elizabeth Fowlkes who considered paying actual money to buy a watch made of safety pins and beads... and the idea was born.  It was a tedious task, but the kids who made the watches were more than loving them by the time they were done!  And the guys were outside playing American football and another round of Ultimate frisbee with those who wanted to play sports.  Because the afternoon craft required so much tedious work, I was only able to get a few group shots of the craft group and no photos of the sports!  Sorry - but please enjoy meeting some of our great kids in these pictures!  We're also enjoying our Nairn volunteers as they join us for the afternoon activities!  What a blessing it is to have them around then too!

Here is Ceri (who has also handled all of the music for Holiday Club) with some of the girls.

Susan Matheson with Zoe, Kirsty, Kaylee, Angus, & Beth, and Ethan and Jack joined us after sports time wrapped up.

Here are Maggie and Susan helping Katie, Eve and Claire finish up their watches.

And here's Anne C. with several kids working hard on their watches.  Guy absolutely loved this one, and he's sure to be sporting his new watch if I know him...

Thank you all for your kind words and sweet messages.  They are so uplifting to us all.  I would ask that you continue to be in prayer both for the holiday club in the mornings and the sports/crafts camp in the afternoons.  Praise the Lord for the turnout we are getting and for the blessing of being able to see the fruits of years of intensive labor.  We are getting a great response from the community for both of these things and while it makes for some very hard work, it is truly very rewarding to be able to spend time with these children, sharing the Gospel with them and loving them exactly where they are.  Please continue to pray that the Lord will do a work in the hearts of each of these kids, for it is His work we are doing.  Please pray that their eyes would be open to see and their ears open to hear the Gospel of Truth and the freedom and peace that comes with it.  Please continue to pray for the Nairnites - all of our Nairn volunteers who have graciously made themselves available to put this club on for their community this year.  They are working so hard.  Please pray that we would be an encouragement to them and their efforts not only this week during holiday club but throughout the year!  Pray for our relationships - this mission is one that is based on relationships - relationships that have been built and sustained over the last few years.  Please pray that the Lord would bind us to one another through our common faith, that we would love one another and faithfully serve, support, and encourage one another in all things both when we are together and when we are apart.  I already know that Friday is going to be a hard day - not because simply because we will be tired and weary from a long week, but because it means the week is over and we will be returning home which means saying goodbye until next time.  Also, please specifically lift up a friend of ours who has faithfully volunteered with us over the years.  She is unable to be with us this year, as she has been diagnosed with cancer and underwent her third round of chemotherapy today.  Please pray for a miraculous healing for her physically and that spiritually and emotionally she would be strong and find rest and peace in our Lord.

Thank you for your prayers.  They are much appreciated and coveted.  We love you and miss you.  Everyone sends their love... the Scots & the Americans!

Cheers!