He is the vine, we are the branches...

Wow, I can tell this one's going to be long so I apologize in advance.

We've been leading VBS in Paterson, WA over the past few days and here is a recap of what's been going on. I have four 5-6th graders in my class- Trevor, Hunter, Antonio, and Cristina- and two helpers (who are pretty much their age)-Bre and Sela. Wednesday is the day in our curriculum when we teach about Christ's death and resurrection and what that means for us. We teach about forgiveness. And we teach the ABC's of becoming a Christian. So it's a pretty intense day what with the responsibility of communicating the most important information a child will ever hear all within two 25 minute segments and all the while keeping them engaged through games and activities. I'll admit, I got really frustrated. I got frustrated that we had so little time to actually spend on our Bible stories and prayer but got rushed off to crafts or games. I got frustrated that my kids wanted to play games and compete more than they wanted to focus on discussing how Jesus died for us and rose from the dead just as he said. And because of that I think I was really disappointed that none of my kids wanted to ask questions or learn more or pray with me. I know they're the oldest ones there and have the best chances of fully understanding what it all means. I passed out little cards to each student and asked them to check off which option was how they felt. The options were 1) I feel like God wants me to accept Jesus as Lord right now and am ready 2) I have more questions 3) I have already accepted Jesus 4) I'm not ready right now and want to wait.

It broke my heart to see that while 4 of them put that they were already Christians, 2 said they were not ready. I wanted to invest and make a difference and see the fruit of the labor now. But those two, although they participate in the class, haven't made a decision yet. So please pray for Antonio and Cristina.

However, through all this frustration God revealed that He is God (of course) and is bigger than a curriculum or a schedule. He is capable of invoking child like faith in the short time we have to teach. He is able, although I am far from perfect. He's given me peace to know that sometimes we don't see the fruit of the labor. Sometimes we simply plant a seed and trust that God will send workers into the field- to the harvest.

And we've also been enjoying all that Paterson has to offer while we're here. Tuesday afternoon the children's director Mimi and her husband Sam took us out on the river in their boat! We spent the entire afternoon being dragged behind on a really nice intertube. I read somewhere that we weren't supposed to exceed 20mph but the way those waves felt super fast. I had never done that before so it was a really awesome first experience. And thank goodness I did not fall out! Joelle did though... Well it was more like somersaulted out of the back of the tube. Ha but thankfully no one got hurt and she got right back on. The water was really cold but a thousand shades of blue and sparkled like diamonds in the bright sun. We were surrounded by great hills on both sides and were able to just sit and marvel at God's creation.

After it started getting dark, we headed back to Mimi's house. She is a viticulturist-which means she grows wine grapes- at Canoe Ridge Vineyards. She has 500 acres of vineyards all along these huge hills. It was really interesting because she is a very wise woman of God and used our tour of the vineyards to teach us some spiritual application. First of all, the vine is really thick and sturdy while the branches from the vine are more malleable and are what bears fruit. So when Jesus says that "I am the vine and you are the branches," it's clear to see that the vine is what provides all support and nourishment. The vine is the basis of the entire plant. BUT it is the branches which bear fruit. As Christ's followers, WE are the ones responsible for bearing fruit. When Jesus says, "Apart from me you can do nothing," it's very evidently seen with the grape vines. If you cut a branch off the vine it's no good. It can't do anything alone. An interesting fact from the viticulturist- once branches have matured and produced fruit, they are pruned back so that new branches can grow. Mimi told us how important it is to let God renew us daily. He is not a stagnant God but a living God! So following a truth He revealed to us ten years ago is good, but He has a plan and purpose for today and more/better fruit is produced when you daily seek God's will.

So our tour of the vineyard was breathtaking and vivid- we watched the sunset from atop the huge hill they live on and could see not only ALL of the sky but also acres and acres of grapes, the river reflecting the sun's colors, and the Blue Mountains in the distance. I have never seen such amazing views! But honestly when we heard about Mimi it was our Baptist instinct to wonder about a woman in the church working for a wine company. But as she shared her story with us my heart was convicted for that judgmental attitude. She started out working on potato and corn farms but was asked by her company to become the manager and viticulturist of Canoe Ridge Vineyards. As she prayerfully considered the options she opened to Proverbs 31. A chapter all of us have read and reread. But as she reread it again, she found that the virtuous woman buys a field and plants a vineyard with her earnings (vs 16). And throughout the gospels, Jesus used metaphors of grapes... in fact his first miracle was turning water into wine. Not just any wine though, Jesus made AMAZING wine. And Mimi told us that's her goal- to make amazing wine like Jesus did. Also as the manager she has a position to protect the employees which work on the vineyard. Many are immigrants or migrant workers and are easily taken advantage of so she has taken responsibility for their well being as employees.

Overall it was a fantastic day, full of words of wisdom and God's beauty. As the week continues we have been in prayer for the community of Paterson and their ministries here. Their church is so small that there aren't any youth centered ministries so we were excited to be able to have a Bible study with them this week... however, today was our last day to do that and none of them stayed :( But we went ahead and the four of us summer missionaries had our study.

I will have pictures coming soon! Comments and encouragement is very appreciated!
Love in Christ