Day Four of VBS and all the stuff we haven't told you!

Greetings from ever-sunny south Stockton! ;) It's Lauren writing this time and I have the big task of bringing you all up to speed on how our missions team has been impacting the migrant community of Stockton for the Lord!
Our VBS is going wonderfully! The local church that is graciously sharing their facilities with us has told us that they've never had this many kids before! We've had about 35-40 each night and we have them broken up into six classes based on age. Each night we open with a couple praise songs and then transition into lesson/craft time. All the students have the responsibility of teaching at least one lesson, and the results so far have been amazing! Mollie in particular has held her class spellbound as she never ceases to have visual aids and ready verbal illustrations to drive home the Biblical truths she is teaching her little six and seven year olds. :) We all love "our children" so much! It's such a joy to hear them ask and answer questions and get interested in the lessons we bring to them. They all come from very different homes, and most of them don't know the love of a whole family so it's been challenging to meet the diverse needs of love, attention, affection, and discipline that stem from the absence of true love in their lives. Please pray for us as we seek to wisely, patiently, and lovingly interact with these kids and show them Christ's love. Pray particularly for Sergio and Guadalupe, two different teens that our team has been able to share the gospel with. Pray continually for our opportunities to share the truth of God's Word with all the kids and adults we come in contact with. And lastly (well, there's always more, but for now...) pray for eight year old Fidel. Fidel is an energetic, bold, smart young boy who desperately needs discipline and love in his life (not to mention salvation!). Sadly, he knows too much of sin and depravity already, but in the short time we are here, several of us are working with him. The first night he came, he wouldn't sit still or listen so my best little sis Tracy got him out on the grass and made him do pushups to get rid of some of that energy! ;) It worked. Sean Guyle has also been spending time with him and giving him that balance of authority and love that every little boy needs. I think we've all realized just how wonderful it is to have Christian parents who love us to death and take care of us, whereas these kids have nothing to look forward to when they go home. Most don't want to leave us, and one of the boys was struggling even with the concept of "love" in the sense of family member to family member or friend to friend because its a concept that is completely foreign to him. So, friends please pray, pray, pray! Go before the throne of grace and lift us and all these precious people we are working with up to our great God!
Transitioning is hard because my heart is so full for these children. We have all grown to love them so much! But we have not only been on the giving end of love, but the receiving end. The church here has literally showered us with affection and...FOOD! Lots and lots and lots of Mexican food! Wow! All those Costco runs for nothing! ;)haha! I don't think a day has passed without some sweet lady dropping by without vats full of beans, trays of tamales, or crates full of tomatoes and more. One of the church members, Abel, and his wife and three children have visited us twice, bringing cake, tomatoes, cucumbers, etc and last night they stayed with us and sang Spanish praise songs. It is a very neat experience to witness and actally be recepients of the love of the body of Christ, even when we don't speak the same language.
Well, I have probably hundreds of other things to tell, but they'll have to wait until this evening or tomorrow morning because in about five minutes we will be leaving to go play soccer and get soaked by water balloons! The kids have loved getting wet and we've actually had several all-out wars! My arch-nemesis is "Little Bean" Jorge, who is about two-feet tall and the cutest thing ever, but for some reason has it in for me! I have almost dunked him in the cooler several times! So fun! Ok, I need to sign off now, I will finish soon!
Bye!
-Lauren