Day 2: “Burn them to death with fire.”

I’ll explain the quote in the title a little bit later. First, let me tell you what’s happened since our last blog post!

We wrapped up VBS in a stellar fashion yesterday. The kids were great and the Texas students were great with them. We shared stories and talked about some of the things that worked and things that didn’t and tweaked the program for today. After that, lunch and canvasing/service project. We split into smaller groups and walked around town meeting people and having conversations. We invited them to the field where we play games in the evening.

One group went to shorts bar, a beach on the Big Salmon River and met some students, inviting them to VBS. Others walked around town going to Back Eddy, Mountain River Outfitters, and River Rock. We even went to the library and bought books from the sale they were having. A few of us took naps right after VBS and went canvasing a little bit later. Good conversations were had on these canvasing excursions.

Three students also went to Buck and Jeanie Fitch’s house to do some work in carpentry and caulking. The service project was a success as far as I understand.

Then it was a delicious dinner made by Anita, Celia, and Pauline and off to the field at 6:00. We had a bunch of teens show up at the field to hang out with us. We threw the Frisbee around and played a game called “Signs,” before grouping up to hear a gospel presentation from Clint and testimonies from Nathan and Kirby. They did a fantastic job of sharing their stories and telling us what God has done with them. After that it was showers in the houses of congregation members and family time. We wrapped up about 12:10am for bed. Needless to say, family time was informative and the discussion just kept on going. Again we shared stories about the teens we had talked with on the field and kids from VBS so that we know how to pray for one another while on this trip. This morning we were all a little groggy, but we got VBS rolling on time. I’ll let you know how it goes tomorrow!

Stories:

A few stories about things that happened yesterday…

While teaching the bible lesson about Jesus healing the ten lepers, Joshua asked the class the question, “What did Jesus do to the ten lepers?” Gabe, Pastor Jim and Mrs. Judy’s grandson, said in a serious tone and straight face, “Burn them to death with fire.” Evidently it was shocking enough that there was a sizable silence following this statement. Did I mention? Gabe is 4. We’re going to have to keep an extra eye on this kid.

Last night when I asked for prayer requests at family time, Benjamin said, “Pray that I don’t get beat up again.” We were all slightly confused and asked what he meant. It turns out that is second graders led an organized attack on him and literally took him down. We have a picture of it that Clint evidently took, which is a perfect example of what we leaders do: When one of our students is getting beaten up, we don’t help… we grab a camera.

When we announced yesterday that today’s theme would be crazy hair day, Matthew, Pastor Jim’s other grandson, stood up in the crowd and yelled “Grandpa! Don’t brush my hair! OKAY?!?!”

While playing at the field, one of the boys we met, Blake, was messing around putting cups of water on different people’s heads. He put one on Joshua and Joshua grabbed it and tossed it backwards, hitting Blake dead on with the water. We all had a good laugh about it and Blake retaliated by trying to go for one of Josh’s pressure points. Josh calmly responded, “Fool. Pressure points don’t work on me.”

Prayer Requests:

Megan, one of the teens we met our very first year here and who came to Christ that year as a result, has been growing in her faith over the last six years. She also keeps us up to date on what’s going on in Riggins during the year when we’re not here. She shared with us about a friend of hers who is going through a very difficult time with her faith. Her friend has been introduced to a poor mentor who is teaching her false doctrine and causing her to question her own salvation and drive her into depression and anxiety about what is true. Please pray that this bad influence will be removed and that if we can minister to Megan’s friend in any way that we would. Also pray for Megan as she has more conversations with her friend that she will be a positive influence that counteracts the negative one.

Another student we met at the field is a rather big talker, a smart kid, and pretty sure of himself as an atheist. I’ve started talking to him trying to figure out his worldview and hopefully use some apologetics, as he is the type of person who would benefit from it. Prayer for me in that relationship is much appreciated. Pray that I won’t get caught up in the arguments and forget the heart of the matter, and pray that this student will be open and willing to dialogue about what he believes.

Two more students, Joshua Salmon and Erin Williams, will be sharing their testimonies tonight on the field. Pray for them as they consider what to say, and for me, Stephen, as I present the gospel tonight.

We are suffering from sore throats all around. Between the yelling and singing at VBS and the heat here, its averaging 98 degrees, we need to take extra care of our voices. Please pray for healing and more diligence in drinking enough water!

We are also asking for boldness in VBS, canvasing, and at the field. We want our timidity exchanged for power, love, and self-discipline.

Finally, those who are teaching have asked for prayers that they will communicate their lessons clearly to the kids.

Thanks so much for reading and come back tomorrow for more stories and summaries!

For HIM and only HIM.

1 Thess 4:11

*STEPHEN*(curto)

The attempt on Ben's person caught on film. 

Kirby and Michelle are pumped to get started!

Me and Jordan a little bit wiped after VBS. My "Very Hungry Caterpillar" pillow is doing a great job of keeping out light and sound. 

The view from the field is always beautiful.

A few pictures of us playing "Signs" at the field yesterday.