The grunt of manual labor, the buzz of chainsaws, and the hammering of construction have all become familiar sounds at the Nest these last few months. But this cacophony was recently replaced with the joyful giggles of happy children.
What an amazing contrast of noise we experienced as we held our first-ever children s outreach at the Nest site a couple of days ago. Ranging from ages 2 to 14 we greeted around 40 children at the Nest as they were boated or bused in from the surrounding villages. Our partners at Breath of Life ministries once again provided fun dancing lessons, we shared Bible stories displaying the love of God and fed the little crowd from our own kitchen.
And it was a reminder of what we are laboring to accomplish, bringing children into a safe and happy place where they can experience peace and healing.
At one point in the day-long camp, we noticed the especially little ones getting tired from the dancing so in a moment of inspiration we laid down on the floor a big 4x8 piece of sheetrock ( to later be used in the bathroom building) tossed in some crayons and markers, and let the little kids do a wonder of graffiti. Seeing the wonderfully whimsical and colorful piece of art taking shape was a testament to all the days before of hard labor.
And just like that the boundless energy and imagination of children turned a construction zone into a happy jungle palace of laughter.
With love and gratitude
James
