Sara Rose Boy's Retreat

Kitwe Zambia March 19,2010. Sara Rose Children's Home Boys Retreat

I wish I could have taken each of the boys sponsors with me on this great weekend retreat!

The boys were lead in the retreat by Enoch and Joseph who are on staff at the Nehemiah Boy's Ranch in Garnaton. Both of these men are leaders in their churches and are gifted teachers.
They took the boys on an adventure through the book of Genesis as they showed them how to look up a verse, and then tear it apart for clear understanding of what the verse means. Enoch and Joseph used the Kay Arthur's "How to Study the Bible for Kids" as their study guide.
The boys were able to be given a verse and then look it up and played the game we play in our churchs with kids here where they must look up the verse and once it's found raise their Bible's over there head and say "I got it!" then read the verse. The boys loved this game!!!!! They loved it so much that the following Sunday in church when the pastor said what verse he was speaking from, I could hear the rustling of pages from the row behind me then an "I got it!" from Maxwell! The boys and the girls who had been on the retreats all were examples to the others in the congregation as they followed along and even wrote in their journals as the pastor taught.

These boys are a delight! They loved being together with other men who love the Lord.

It was refreshing to see them interacting with one another and with the men who were teaching them. They ate and ate at meal time! I think it was nice for them to have a change of food and to be able to taste some different things and also to not have to eat things they didn't like!! Shadrick (pictured in the white shirt) didn't like the greens, he looked at me and thought I would make him take some and when I said you take what you like he was filled with shock and joy!!!!

Jacob(in the grey shirt) has a hearing problem, but he didn't let that slow him down! He looked up verses and jumped up with the correct one faster than the other boys most often.



Here are the boys with Joseph. Maxwell, Shadrick, Anthony, and Jacob.
These are fine young men who are one day going to be great leaders in their country! They are filled with love and compassion. I could tell you story after story of how they showed over and over again the kind of young men they are during my 4 weeks in Zambia.
They truly are good kids, who are living in a good home and though they have been left without parents, they feel loved and cared for by the people God has placed in their lives.

Kenya Retreat

In Feb. I was blessed to be able to go to Kenya and lead a retreat for the older girls in our children's home called House of Hope.
The girls are precious! We were able to relax and enjoy one another and partake in lots of new foods! They have never had a hotdog roast or S'mores until this weekend! We went tubing on the river and watched a movie outside whiel eating pizza and icecream.
Our time was also filled with Bible study.
We used Kay Arthur's "How to Study the Bible for Kids" and began learning how to take a verse and tear it apart by asking the five "w's" & "h"-- "who", "what", "when","where", & "why" and "how". They really began to understand that the Bible is filled with lessons and promises from God.
We talked about it being their love letter from God to them and how they could discover a great deal about God and themselves if they would study His word.
We had a great time worshiping God and thanking Him for the great blessings he has given each of us. Lisa Hovingh brought her guitar and played for us, and Rehab came and helped translate when we needed it. I wish everyone could have been with me on this great adventure with the girls!
To see them begin to gain an understanding of God's word was such a rich blessing for me! I also enjoyed watching them discover new foods. Most didn't like the hotdogs, but the s'mores and pizza were a big hit!!! Movie night was a fun treat! We put a sheet on the wall and set up all the chairs and benches once it was dark and then showed the Bee Movie. It was so much fun to have an outdoor movie and to watch the girls laughing and cuddling up with each other as they settled in and enjoyed the movie.
They also revceived letters and pictures from their sponsors and were able to add them to their scrapbooks which is always a great treat for them!
We had a delightful time and I am looking forward to our next retreat and taking the girls deeper into God's word.