MAF Family Conference

Note: The bandwidth here is really slow during the day and it takes a long time for pictures to load.  However, I really want to get this update posted for all to read.  So, I'm going to write it and post it. I will try to upload pictures overnight and add them in tomorrow. So, check back for some great pictures to go with the update.

We did so many things this past week, it's hard to imagine the whole reason this trip came about was so we could be a part of the MAF Annual Family Conference.  Well, the conference is finally here and things are off to a great start.  

We start every morning with a time of worship, led by Mike and Mary Lou Koto.  Mary Lou also provides a little treasure hunt where the children hunt for papers on which the principles and Bible verses are written.  They get to read them to the group.

Then, the youth and children are dismissed to our classrooms. Mike (Martinez) has been helping me with the children and I am enjoying having him in there with me. We have seven children and they are all so precious and eager to learn about Jesus, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.

Monday we learned that everybody lands in the furnace...i.e. everybody has problems.  Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego's problem was that they wouldn't bow down to the golden image and so they were thrown into the furnace. We made golden images to represent the problems and trouble in our own lives.  

Then, we learned that Jesus is always with me in the furnace.  We had fiery furnace snacks and also made a cool fiery furnace craft that looked like real fire when they put a battery operated tea light behind it.

Today, Tuesday, we learned that Jesus sets me free in the furnace.  We tied up one of the boys in rope (yarn) and talked about some of the ways Jesus sets us free. Then, we cut the rope and set him free.  

We had freedom snacks and made a fun craft where they got to wrap the yarn around sticks, representing Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego and then set them free.  We also learned that Jesus heals--never harms-us in the furnace.  We did a cool experiment (that Miss Debbie learned last year at VBS) using baloons and candle flames to show how we are not harmed in the furnace. 

We had a short class today because we had a family outing (field trip) to a snake park.  The children were so excited about going but were still so well-behaved.  It was an exciting time at the snake park for sure!!  What was fun for me was to see these young children handling the snakes, even those who were afraid at first.  It is a great example of what we learned today...Jesus uses the hard times in our lives to set us free of things like fear.  It was hard for those children to reach out and pet and hold those snakes but in doing so, it helped them get over their fear of the snakes.  Once they touched and/or held them, they wanted to do it again.  We should have some great discussion tomorrow.

Monday evening was a very special evening.  I had the opportunity (along with Kristian Westom and Mary Lou Koto) of sharing with the MAF wives--mommies to these children--at the women's night.  God gave me a special treat to share with them and they all seemed to enjoy the evening.  Using the six principles from Joy in the Furnace, we went through several activities. 

1) We bound their ankles and put their feet in VERY hot water, letting them know the furnace is inevitable...everybody lands in the furnace...you can't avoid it.  And just like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, we are usually bound when we go into the furnace. 

2) I dropped an effervescent foot soak tablet into their tubs of water, sharing with them that God is always with us in the furnace. 

3) I talked about how God sets us free in the furnace and took of the ropes that had their ankles bound.  

4) Kristian, Mary Lou and I gave them foot massages as I share the truth that God heals--not harms--us in the furnace. 

5) I explained that the "ropes" which had bound their feet were actually candle wicks and were intended for something far more useful than keeping them in bondage.  As a reminder that God perfects (makes us who He wants us to be and fulfills His purpose in us), we used the wicks to make dip candles. 

6) We turned out the lights and I began light tea lights--one by one--as I explained that God receives all the glory through the furnace.

Tonight, we will have dinner with all the adults.  I so enjoy the children but am also loving the chance to hear the hearts of these missionaries. These families have given up so much to serve God here in the DRC.  You simply would not believe what their life is like unless you saw or lived it for a few days.  Yet they share their hearts with joy...pure joy.