This month, we were able to host our first “reunion” of our children from our English Summer Camp program held this past August. Our intention was to rekindle the interest in the program for next year as well as to invite kids and families to our many church events during this holiday season: Children’s blessing day, Kids Festival and Christmas Eve candlelight service.

We kept the program very simple with a few songs from the summer program, a photo slideshow, a short message from a visiting pastor from the Philippines, and a fun game with colorful balls. Our partners at Redwood Chapel also recorded video messages to share with the kids.

Flyers were sent out a couple weeks in advance, but we really had no idea how many children would show up, just like in August. We just knew this was something we had to do and to repeat several times before next summer’s English Camp.

A few days before the event we received some bad news: elementary schools in the area were in session on that day, a Saturday! Once every couple of months, elementary school kids have to go to school on Saturday and unfortunately, we picked that day for our event. That meant up to half of the potential kids who could attend would be unable to.

So the day of the event arrived and our expectations were low. A few kids and their families were there early to greet us including some of our volunteers. It was so good to see them and see the excitement on their faces. Most came with their camp t-shirts and one little girl even came with her original name tag.

As we approached the starting time, more and more kids and families came trickling in. In the end, about 50 children came, most with one or both parents. A few of the children had not even attended English Summer Camp but were invited by children who did. In the end, we had a great turnout and a great time reuniting with our kids, their families and some of our volunteer moms.

Once again, we find when we serve faithfully, God takes care of the details for us. A couple of the families who came also came to our Children’s blessing event the next day and took family portraits (which they can pick up at Christmas Eve service). We were so blessed to see how the seeds sown over the summer have already begun to take root. We envision and pray for a generation of children who will know God as the Creator, God as the loving Father, God as the Savior, and perhaps one day, Jesus as Lord.