#BUMP15 -- Dedication and Determination

The Philly Bump 2015 team is sitting eating dinner right now, as I am writing this, and if a stranger walked into the room they wouldn’t know that the team consisted of three different churches from three separate states. We are 41 strong this week and we’ve come from Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Connecticut. The unity of the Body of Christ is a beautiful and precious gift.

We arrived over the weekend, some on Saturday and some on Sunday. It was go time from the time our feet hit the pavement. We spent Sunday in church and orientation as well as doing some VBS set up. Monday was all day doing VBS prep work and running VBS itself. The phrase above and beyond does not begin to cover the work all of these students have done. They are a group full of servant’s hearts and joyful attitudes. They engage with the kids even as exhaustion drags them down. They are eager to encourage and cheer each other on as well as their leaders.

The kids who come to VBS are so excited by all the activity and the lessons that are going on around them. Some are easy to love and some are a challenge, but each and every one of them is worth it. One of the preschoolers was so excited by what she was learning she shared the Gospel with her crew leader (who had already shared the Gospel with her)! The kids love the leaders that are here and some even came in requesting certain leaders they had met earlier that day in the park.

The teams have gone out and done work projects as well. They went into Mantua and cleaned up some of the streets around the city. A man named Antonio talked with them for hours about the city and the local sports. This man was one who was so dedicated to the community around him. He knew almost everyone he ran into on the street and he knew them by name. The students serving were given a tangible way to serve the Lord. A way that cleaned up His creation and blessed His people.

We also went into the park for several hours today and played games with the kids there. We had face painting and hula-hoops. Some kids played with a jump rope while others colored with sidewalk chalk. We also had sports and a popcorn machine! The biggest hit was the water games. The kids spent the afternoon pelting each other with water and the leaders loved it just as much as they did.

It has been a joy to watch these kids so selflessly serve and to be the hand and feet of Jesus with such grace and humility. They have stepped up and stepped out. I’m anxious to see what the Lord does with the remainder of this week and how He transforms each and every life that is here.