Day 6 is GRADUATION DAY!!!!
Dressed in our choral outfits, we sang Lamb of God, Do Lord, In His Time, Shine on Us and He Knows My Name. The reverberant acoustics of the room inspired us sing. The lyrics of the songs even came out very clear which touched our hearts in more ways than one. Impromptu at the end of the program, those students from last year sang The Lord Bless You and Keep You. They felt an emotional bond to this song because it reminded them of the time they wanted to give back and to bless those from FEC who came to last year's graduation. At that graduation, they had goosebumps as they sang.
Lots of picture taking occurred especially because the Hyder*b*d team would be leaving this afternoon. Those who bonded during the week, bestowed blessing upon each other and waited in the lobby of the Center we were staying until the team actually left. It was a tender time to reaffirm our commitment to pray for one another.
After the ceremony, all of us headed to the coffee/tea table for our refreshments. The Music teaching team met the parents of the diligent and hard-working assistant to Tim. They were able to join us for lunch as well. Interactions at this point were very important such that even lunch time was at its premium.
At the beginning of the day, it was important to undergird the activity of the day with the Word and prayer. The music team had a time of prayer for Tim. The passage for today encouraged us to trust in our Dad and to glorify Him for the things He continued to do for us. Tim's encouragement to everyone was to continue to do journaling of what we learned from the Word. He gave his own example on how he did his. As a result, he had greater enjoyment with our Dad and knowing Him deeper.
Eugene led a very meaningful devotion about 4 friends who helped a paralyzed friend down from the roof. The One recognized the trust of the friends and healed and forgave.
One important feature of our activity here is cutting the VBS craft materials. Starting Day 3 from 4pm-7:30pm as well additional hours on Day 5, all of us would sit together in three separate tables to cut some intricate figures that was very time consuming. Figures like the crab and the bee had a lot of components to them that cutting the nooks and crannies of the crab claws as well as the parts for constructing the bee headband would test even the most patient person. What made this seemingly mundane activity become priceless?
One thing for sure, this afforded a lot of opportunities to talk while cutting. We came to know more about the person sitting next to us than in any other time slot. We heard a lot of personal stories that otherwise we would not know. Even language learning came in. Mari learned words, phrases and basic greetings in Telugu from the native speakers of this language. Every once in awhile as they came across each other, these Telugu native speakers would quiz her followed by congenial laughter. Also, a lot of jie-jie/mei-mei type of interactions occurred also as well as gege/didi --very heartwarming to see….
We also noticed specific abilities of individuals especially the quiet ones. Here is one young lady who could churn out quickly drawings of hearts and wings because she had a very steady hand. As a teacher by profession, she was used to doing these crafts for her young students. So, we who noticed this ability would assign her most of the drawings which she would execute gladly and quickly. One other student is one of the two youngest in the group (a 15-year old). This young man is seemingly very shy. He did not say very much, and would isolate himself from the crowd. The breakthrough came through constant attention to him in little ways like asking him to join our table for meals, or beckoned him to join us for tea/coffee breaks, or interviewed him about his family background. He blossomed during the cutting activities. He was assigned to monitor the number of craft items completed which he did diligently. He found ways to expedite the production of specific figures. He was very patient, not complaining, quiet but effective in the way he did his work.
These crafts would bring a lot of joy to the children who would receive and treasure them. These children would hang them in their homes and would be reminded how much fun they had, how much they were noticed, and what lessons they learned.
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