Dycks In Thailand: VBS in Action

This week has been filled with teaching VBS (Vacation Bible School aka Kid's Club). We run 3 programs per day. The Dyck family leads the Klong Jao group and the Ens family runs the Bethel group in the morning. In the afternoon we combine efforts and lead the group at Knott and Koi's house.
The kids we are working with are great. Klong Jao is a local slum. One of the families allows us to use their space as our teaching area. The structure is basic. A dirt floor, tin roof and make shift walls. People and animals all share. Your kitchen is your garage is your living room...etc. (Our girls have become quite enamored with the resident pig. They've named him Ollo.) We've also become enamored with the kids. They come to VBS each day eager to learn, sing and play. They may have no material possessions, but they have joy and spirit. Their favourite game this week has been Duck, duck goose, however we didn't know the translation for duck, duck goose, so we used animals we knew in Thai. Gai, gai hmu (pronounced moo) translates to chicken, chicken pig. It's a big hit! We also pulled out the parachute today which was pretty exciting.
Our lesson each day consists of a 'Big Question' and a 'Big Answer'. The stories, crafts and activities revolve around these. Here are the questions and answers for the week:
Monday - Who is Jesus? He is the one true God who created everything.
Tuesday - Why can I trust Jesus? I can look up to Him. He is my friend.
Wednesday - Why do I need Jesus? Because of Him all good things happen.
Thursday - How can Jesus help me when I sin? When I do something wrong, he forgives me.
Friday - What does Jesus want me to do? He wants me to tell others about Him.
Most of these kids have never heard about Jesus and Christianity. It is all brand new to them. They are primarily Buddhist and so the concept of gods is not new, but having one true God who loves them is.
Our afternoon lesson is a repeat of the morning, just a new group of kids. Our afternoon group is a very focused, studious group. They come with their school bags, ready to take home any English or colouring sheets we give them. We handed out clay at the end of one class and asked them to make their favourite animals. EVERY child came back with their little sculpture the next day. (No excuses with this bunch.) The also love to learn all the English you can throw at them. It's very interesting to learn how the sounds of one language can be SO difficult in another. R's, th's, sh's, t's are incredibly hard for the Thai people. (I won't even mention how difficult Thai sounds are for English people.) But we all learn from each other. It's a gift for everyone involved.
This week has been tiring and absolutely inspiring (and also incredibly sweaty!)