"89"

When Van Payne was asked tonight how she would rate the trip on a scale of 1 to 10, she answered, "89!" It was that good.

She and Brian Young both commented on how they expected to come here to serve the kids, but it turned out to be the other way around. We are the ones leaving blessed. Of course we hope we left some blessings behind here as well, but we're a little overwhelmed by the gifts God showered on us this week.

At devotionals this morning, Josh Burgess shared one of his favorite "a-ha" moments from the trip. One of the translators was shocked to hear he was an attorney. He said, "You don't look like an attorney at all." Josh commented that he'd gotten his hair buzzed for the trip, and the translator said, "No, it's not that, it's your face. You smile all the time, and you're just laughing and playing with these kids. That's not like a lawyer. You look more like a pastor." Josh said it was one of the highest compliments he'd ever been paid, and he's determined to smile more in the future!

We knew it was going to be an emotional day when we spent much of our devotion time fighting back tears (and failing mostly). But we determined to "leave it all out there" and give it everything we had, no regrets.

The whole morning of VBS was filled with an awareness that it was our last day. It's the natural cycle of VBS everywhere:
Day 1: Yikes! Can I do this?!
Day 2: Ahh, I'm OK. I can do this.
Day 3: Do I have the energy to do this again? Was it this loud the first two days?
Day 4: It's over?! This is the last day I get to do this?

Instead of running an official Game time today, we all hung out in the gym during that time for what looked like an elementary yearbook signing party. Brazilian kids and American kids and adults rushed around sticking pens under each other's noses, autographing in every direction. Cameras flashing. Hugs. Kisses. Gift exchanges. Tears welling.

But the kids still needed lunch, so we were OK. Of course that came and went quickly and it was really time for goodbyes. Ugh. More cameras, hugs, kisses and tears flowing.

But there was still an eye clinic to run. Wipe the tears away and dig deep for a few more hours of service. God moved and lives were saved as the supply of glasses ran lower and lower. We saw 97 patients today. That's an exhausting load! We got to see a few people experience that wonderful moment of "Glory to God! I can see!" That's thrilling and we cheered with them. Many people went away with glasses that will improve their vision, and all went away with prayers. Some even went away with salvation, the best prescription of all.

One of the beautiful things about a mission trip is that it gives you opportunities to serve in different ways, and God uses that to show you the gifts He has given you. Some on this trip discovered a true gift for evangelism, others for mercy, and still others for administration and encouragement. Everyone in the Body benefits when believers find and use their gifting. It was a good week for discoveries.

For those of you wondering how our children fared on this mission trip -- they did fabulously well. As parents we got to see new sides of our own children as God opened their hearts in this new setting. They stepped up to the plate and got the job done when needed, and they played hard in between. The picky eaters even managed to expand their palates some (after a couple of days of hunger strikes...). They made friends quickly, conquered cross-cultural/cross-lingual communication, discovered that the USA is not the center of the universe and that God is praised in many languages. And they discovered that Brazilians are amazing at soccer! (If it were possible for Zach McDonald to get his fill of soccer, he would've gotten it on this trip. Alas, it is not possible.)

We couldn't have done any of this without our amazing translators and Kids Place staff. I'm sure they don't read this, but you need to know that anyway. They are simply amazing. I wish I could take them all to Kids Kamp at CCBC to be counselors and worship leaders alongside our volunteers there.

I have to sign off as we have an early call tomorrow for about 18 hours of travel. I will post tomorrow if I can access wifi anywhere along the way, but that is doubtful. I should apologize to you, because I'm aware of how this blog has barely skimmed the surface of our trip. The "material" for blogging -- the richness and depth of the stories flowing all around us -- has far exceeded the time necessary to blog it all. But I guess it's like I keep saying -- you really should come on this trip! Just do it.