Dance

Dancing. It is something that we all do. Good or bad, we all dance. I love driving down the road listening to loud music and dancing. Playing drums on my steering wheel is on of my favorite things to do.

Dancing is something that we go do for fun. It is a from of entertainment. There are different types of dances for different types of people. TV even has a show about dancing with famous people. I want to tell you about dancing with a famous person.

This past week I was in Odessa, Ukraine working with four students to develop the arts of clowning as a use for children's ministry.  They learned every thing from magic tricks to skits to juggling in the mornings. And in the afternoons, we would go to different orphanages, hospitals, or parks to practice. (I was not a clown for most of the week because  I was taking pictures for everyone.) There were two places that we went that really got my mind rolling. The first was a hospital for physically handicapped children. As I took pictures and watched these kids smile I found myself in awe of them. I wasn't staring awkwardly. I wasn't turning my back ashamedly. I was smiling because of the joy they possessed despite the difficult times they face.

The second place that will be embedded in my mind forever was the Down Syndrome Orphanage that we visited on Monday. This time, I was talking to Kate (a Ukranian) about her experience there. Tearing up she told me this story.

"I was playing with one little girl who has never been able to walk. She has been in a wheel chair her entire life. As the puppet team was singing its last song, she asked me to dance with her."

So they danced.

I can only hope that through all the adversities I face in my life that I can dance. I pray that we can be filled with the same joy that David had when he was able to bring the ark into the city of David.  He danced before the Lord because he knew that he could not bring the ark into the city with out the Lord.

These children understand that there isn't much they can do without the help of others, and when this girl had the opportunity, she chose to dance.

I hope that we choose to dance with joy for the Lord because we know we are incapable of doing anything without Him.

Follower

Well, it has been a while since I have posted. We had camp this past week and it was absolutely incredible! There is nothing better than spending an entire week with kids and just loving on them and having a GREAT time! I have a couple of stories I want to share with you all from camp.

For those who don't know me, I love to give high fives and fist pounds. One of my favorite things to do with all the kids is to come up with a handshake with them. So throughout the week, different kids and I come up with new handshakes. Well, I met this one little 11 year old girl who is absolutely adorable. Her name is Stefania (pictured below), and we came up with a very simple hand shake and did it all the time.

On Thursday we went on a hike, like we always do. I was carrying a bunch of water and walking at a pretty fast pace. Stefania stayed right by my side the entire way up. If I stopped to fill up someone's water bottle, she stopped and waited with me. When I started walking again, she started along right by my side. If she got in front of me, she would look back just to make sure I was there and then wait for me to catch up. On Friday night, we had the invitation as we normally do, and she was on of the people who made decisions to follow Christ. There is just something about seeing someone you know, especially a child, come to know the Lord. I am so very proud of her.

The team from Florida had to leave on Friday night to get to the airport on Saturday morning. So Ade and I went with the team on Friday night. The kids don't go home until Saturday morning so we missed out a little bit with the kids but Friday night is probably my favorite memory of all. After worship, I had to go up to my cabin to pick up my bags so I could leave.  (The boys pictured to the left were in my cabin along with two others.) As I got up to my cabin, all 5 of them were waiting there crying . They all ran up to me and hugged my legs and gave me different crafts that they had done throughout the week. As I finish giving all of them hugs, I hear some people outside calling my name. I thought it was time to go. So I pick up my bag and one of the boys takes it for me. I walked out and there were 15 to 20 children waiting at the bottom of the stairs to give me a hug.

I don't understand it. I never will. I simply come to love on kids, and they end up teaching me much more then I can imagine.

For those who are praying for me, we are traveling to Ukraine tomorrow morning and I am very excited about that. Health has also been an issue this past week. Ade wasn't feeling good on Thursday morning, I was throwing up and had a bit of a fever on Thursday night, and so health and energy are ways we need prayer the most right now. I thank all of you very, very much!