Another VBS. Much Larger Scale!

Hey Solid Rockers, family, friends, and other blog followers! Regrettably, this is the first blog post in four days. I apologize for this. The internet has just been down quite a bit lately. I know you would all like to see pics too but I'm not sure when or if we will be able to get those on here. But here at least is another update...
So as I told you, the last VBS went great. That one took place last week and was attended by around 45 kids. This week God is throwing much more responsibility at us. We have close to three hundred kids and are expecting even more tomorrow! Instead of splitting the kids into three groups like we did last week, they are in nine groups. This means that each of us is in charge of three sessions (teachings, crafts, or games depending on the person) each day. Since the people at the Highfield Church over here want their youth to gain more experience in teaching and leading, we are doing a bit more delegating this week. For instance, I have been doing the first two teachings every day and then having my Zimbabwean assistant (Daniel, who also interprets for me) teach the third.
Just like last week, we are teaching on the Parable of the Sower in Matthew 13. We taught about the first three seeds (falling on the path, the rocky soil, and among thorns) on Monday, Tuesday, and Today. Tomorrow we will talk about the seed that fell in good soil and give them kind of a recap. I am sure the kids have been very blessed this week. They've learned lots of new songs, stories, and scriptures. But they have blessed us far more. Tom and I were talking this morning about this. Tom pointed out how we came here expecting to bless them, only to be blessed by them. And it is so true. Working with these kids has been amazing for all of us. They are so joyful, especially considering their circumstances.
After VBS, the rest of our typical day is relatively free. On Monday, some of us used this time to go out to an area where there are lots of huge rocks perched atop one another. Picture Pride Rock from The Lion King. There is a very poor community of people living behing these rocks. Mikayla and Christiana were able to share with some children with Jephat as an interpreter. Evan, Becca, and I were allowed into the village where we met the community leader, handed out a lot of snacks, and practiced some Shona. We believe that God used us to plant seeds in that small community.
Yesterday's free time was spent partly at the market where we had a chance to find some souvenirs. Some of us even acquired intense bargaining skills! Then we spent today's free time driving through some wildlife parks. We saw lions, cheetahs (and bears, oh my!), wildebeast, and warthogs. Girikai and I even got to chase a small herd of wild zebras and catch it on film! As you can see, we have had a wild time! God has blessed us in so many ways on this trip!
In closing, I would like to list a few prayer requests. Number one is that God will do His will in us as we spend our last five days here. Second is that Glenn Miller is returning to the States tomorrow to undergo hip replacement surgery. Pray that he will heal quickly and that he would be a messenger of God to the nurses and surgeons in the hospital just as the apostle Paul evangelized Roman guards. Number three: pray that the remainder of VBS will run smoothly. It has run pretty well so far, but if I told you that it has been without a hitch, it would not be the truth. This week has had its share of trials. Just pray that God will go with us as we complete the week. The fourth request I would make is that you pray for our team's unity. God has put together a great team to do His work, but among any group of people there will likely be a few disagreements. Please pray against anything that Satan may send to cause disunity among us.
Thanks for reading and thanks again for praying for us! In Him, --AJBrady