It was the sixth day of before Christmas and ...

Well, we are having a great week this week so far, filled with many exciting opportunities and blessing from our LORD!
Monday and Tuesday morning we were able to help out at VBS at the Tent City church. It is a nice opportunity having the children's school break at Christmas time because they are all thinking about Christmas, and so it makes sense to have VBS then (at least it does to me). Anyway, there was about 35 children who attended each day, and we had a lot of fun. The Christmas story, singing, prayer, and making a craft filled our time. It's a beautiful thing to see the children so excited about everything. They loved the colouring and cutting out of the characters in the Bible story.
On Monday afternoon, Karen and I worked on our dog kennel. We finished it off, putting on the cage, and the roofing. And voila there was the kennel! It was such a nice project to do, and we are so thankful because it turned out not half bad.
On Tuesday afternoon we ventured out looking for a crocodile pond that Ian and Andrew had heard was near the city. So we went looking for it hoping to see one or two crocs. Well, we found the operation. It wasn't just a pond but a whole crocodile business, the 3rd largest in the world. The manager, after informing us that it was not a tourist spot but a business, gracefully gave us a tour guide and we got a tour of the operation. They have about 30- 40 thousand crocodiles on site, from eggs to full size crocs. It was quite a site to see. That afternoon we also checked out the Swiss Mission, which includes a store with fresh milk, eggs, etc, and also a Christian book store.
Wednesday, this morning we had a nice morning, as it was raining so our plans were pushed back till the afternoon. In the afternoon we had an amazing opportunity to go to a settlement, Bumbu, where Ian and Andrew are planning to do a church plant. We walked through this settlement and met a lot of the people and spent time getting to know some of them. One of the guards from the compound where Ian and Nad live, live in this settlement, and he showed us his house. Underneath his house, as the house is on stilts, he has a pet crocodile which he caught in the river. He has been raising it for 2 years now, and hopes to sell it for some nice cash when it gets bigger. That was pretty neat to see. He doesn't have to worry too much about someone stealing it at least. Karen and I also tried our hand at playing marbles with a lot of the children. We were not that good at it, to say the least. It was a very interesting afternoon, as we also sat down, and discussed a plan for outreach in that area. We rejoice in seeing the excitement in the settlement already about the possibility of having a Reformed church there. Seeing the Good News go out is amazing, and just being able to share God's love with people is such a gift. We are so thankful for the opportunity. Please keep this in your prayers.
Tomorrow and Friday we look forward to doing VBS in Kamkumung, the other church they work at. We are anticipating a lot more children, with the same amazing message of Christ. I think we are also going to walk through the settlement there and let people know of the programs and of the church service on Christmas day. We prayerfully look forward to it.
Well, we are learning lots, having a great time with our friends here, having some great talks, playing some interesting Settlers games, and are enjoying the weather the sun, rain, heat and everything else. And we are growing in our faith and our passion for our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. We are seeing all around us the need to share the love of God with everyone, to preach the Good News, and to delve into the Word of God, sharpen our swords, and spend time with HIM, our All in All!
...I have to run now, but i hope to write more a little later. God bless!