Welcome to the Jungle: Easter Saturday

Today (Saturday) we took the gift bags that PYP put together out to the students at Kulin. If you remember from Christmas this is the community outside Pekanbaru where 90% of the people make bricks out of the clay. It is a pretty destitute area. In fact some of the people in our group who have been around lots of Indonesian villages said that this was by far the most run down area they had come across as far as where they have to gather for services. Don't tell that to these kids though. They were all smiles!

If you have scanned through the pictures you can probably guess that it was HOT! Holy cow, was it hot. It was probably about 95 degrees with 95% humidity and that was outside. Inside the shed that we were meeting in, which had no air conditioning, it was at least that warm and then you can throw in 130+ sweaty bodies. Very steamy and odoriferous!

This time there was no church service just games and awards. Once we arrived the kids, who were waiting quite patiently, were brought up for winning various awards for things such as a coloring contest, an essay contest and best song and dance routine. All of the contests were Easter themed. We were even treated to a few of the songs and dance combos. As the guests we were called upon to hand out the awards to the students. They were so cute. As a sign of respect when children shake hands with adults they take the back of your hand and place it on their forehead. It seems weird at first but you get used to it and it really is a sweet gesture.

After the awards the kids went outside for an Easter Egg hunt. There were ten eggs hidden outside for the 120 kids that were there. Those lucky ones who found one were able to get a prize. After a while most of the kids had given up finding the last three eggs and broke out in a soccer game. Some of those kids are pretty good for not having access to any teams or organized soccer available to them. Next up was the kids getting to eat hard-boiled eggs and homemade doughnuts. That place was pretty quiet for a few minutes as the kids chowed down.

As the kids were finishing up their food we started to bring in the boxes that had the gift bags in them. The kids, remembering the last time we came, had all eyes glued to those boxes, wondering what we had in store for them. They would have to wait a little bit as the teacher discussed how they were going to distribute the bags. When we passed out the soccer balls for Christmas it was utter chaos. This time it went much more smoothly with each class coming up and forming a line. Our friends Wendy and Shane purchased new Bibles (in Bahasa Indonesian) for each student. Wendy handed those out and then they came and got a bag from Syd, Marshal and Hudson. Again each child took the bag and then shook each person's hand. It was at this point that we all were all about ready to pass out from heat stroke. The getting up and moving around to get each child their bag had turned us all into dripping messes. That didn't seem to matter to the kids as they were all so thankful to get their gifts.

After we handed out the bags Ailsa set about explaining what you use floss for. To us it seems pretty straight forward but floss is not common here. In fact most of these kids will never have used a toothbrush before they were given one today, so a little dental hygiene lesson was warranted. After that we had to leave because the rain was coming and if we did not leave before it started our van would have been stuck in the mud before we could get out of there. So we all said goodbye climbed in the van and headed back home.

I won't rehash the specifics of Kulin. If you would like to learn more about it here is the link to our Christmas post that talked all about what goes on in this little Christian community. http://welcome2ourjungle.blogspot.com/2011/12/just-as-he-planned.html

We want to thank all of the dentists in the Stanwood, Marysville, Washington area who donated the toothbrushes and floss for the kids at Kulin. It will make a big difference for them! Thank you so much to those of you who donated toy cars. The boys were thrilled. A huge thanks the PYP kids who did an amazing job putting everything together and course their families who donated soap.

During this special time of Easter, when we remember the sacrifice that Christ made for us on the cross it is so amazing to see these little ones so excited about Him. They too are making a sacrifice to follow Him and we want to do whatever we can to support them in their walk with Him. Seeing how committed they are to their faith makes us that much more committed to ours.

Moving some logs into a low spot in the road. My pickup would have made it a lot easier than the minivan we were using.

Easter Eggs, Indo style.

Check this out!

A typical child's handshake to an adult.

Easter Care Packages.

Party favor for the girls.

Party favor for the boys.

Kulim

Structures where the bricks are stored.

Soil used to make bricks.

The new church sitting ready to be used.
The local government has blocked it from being used.

Inside of the church they are not allowed to use.

Finished except for the cement floor.
Ready for services to begin but will likely remain empty do to the persecution of Christians.

Easter Parties Rock!

Poising for the camera.

Good looking guys.

Beautiful girls.

Sometimes serving others is a HOT job!

Marshall passing out snacks!
Snacks included one hard boiled egg, a water and a powdered donut.

The Three Amigos.

She was so proud of her backpack. Check out that outfit!

She is enjoying one of the hard boiled Easter Eggs from the Easter Egg hunt. I love her dress. You could tell the Moms put a lot of effort into getting the kids ready for the party.