"This is the day the Lord has made; We will rejoice and be glad in it."--Psalm 118:24

There is a children's song, that many of you are probably familiar with, which uses this verse for its basis. It has been one that runs through my head as I am waking in the morning. Each day is filled with so many blessings and oppurtunities to spread the Good News to vast numbers of eager hearts. 

I cannot rememeber the last time I have had as much fun as I did today. We celebrated (and are still celebrating) Tom Tom's 21st birthday...African style! We went to Holy Cross School for the morning. It amazes me how excited the kids still are to see us. I figured that after awhile they would get used to us being there and we would lose our novelty. But the opposite seems to be happening. As Mwangi (our driver) makes his way up the large rocky hill to our school, we know we are close when we start to hear excited shrieks of joy. We can hardly get out of the van because they are packed so tightly against the door jumping up and down, smiling their beautiful smiles, and waving enthusiasticly. While the kids might show their excitment more openly I can assure you that we are more excited to see them every morning than they are to see us. (Or it's at least a tie.) 

We spent the morning doing all sorts of joyous activities. From playing volleyball, football, hopscotch, duck-duck-goose, chasing bubbles, styling hair, snuggling,  coloring pictures, to running away from the  crazy leaping monkey (Jordan), there is never a dull moment. The students made a circle around the birthday boy and serenated him with a joyous birthday song. Then the kids taught us all sorts of Swahili songs and dances. Their joy is contagious and you can't help but to grab someone's hand and dance around. These kids are the happiest kids I have ever met. They have so little, yet they are content. Being around them is very humbling and makes me realize how much I take all that God has given me for granted. Many of them don't have shoes or a lunch to eat, some don't have parents to go home to. Yet they are so joyful. They are filled with the joy of their Savior and sing and dance with all their hearts to glorify Him. These kids are teaching me so much more than I am teaching them. 

This afternoon we went to two different schools in the area and taught our lessons. The first was a primary school (1st-8th). The kids were very eager to here the message we brought to them. There was one kid that answered every single question that we asked the group. He was extremely intelligent. Tom shook his hand and told him he should become a pastor when he grows up after we finished out lesson. 

Next we went to a Secondary School (High School). Today I was faced head on with one of my worst fears- public speaking. We entered the auditorium where over 600 students had gathered together. I was shaking I was so nervous. I took a deep breath, said a little prayer, and carried myself to the front stage to begin our lessons. This experience enforced in me how much I have nothing to do with the message that God gave these students today. I am simply a vessel through which the Holy Spirit is carrying  out His work. 

As Paul says in 1 Corinthians 2:1-5,"And I brethern when I came to you, I did not  come with excellence of speech or of wisdom  declaring to you the testimony of God. For I am determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. I was with you in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling. And my speech and my preaching were not with  persuasive  words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of Power, that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the  power of God." 

As we go through our daily lives we have to fight off Satan's lies with these words of God. Satan contiually tries to fill our minds with doubt and tries to convince us that we are to weak to do the work of God. We must remember that the Holy Spirit is giving us the words to say and He is the one doing the real work. It is not about the messanger, but rather about the message that we bring. 

2 Corinthians 12:10,"Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ's sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong."

 --Kate Oster