Here is a picture overload of the VBS camp. A little background knowledge on how this VBS got set up... There is a family in Albania called the Farrici Family. They have a ministry in Hamallaj, a village about an hour outside of Tirana, the capital. They serve in this village working with the children and families. They are part of the church, The Cornerstone, that we work with. Therefore, we started working with them last year to do this VBS outreach. They are an amazing family that loves the Lord. This camp took place the first week we were in Albania. We had about 50 kids this year which is quite a bit more than last year. We had 7 groups with 7 Albanian teachers and American helpers in each group. Each day we started with prayer and worship and man do these kids love that! Then we get into groups and they have a bible lesson, a craft, and snack. These precious children love love love the crafts! After these activities some of the Americans organized games and they played soccer, volleyball, jump rope, obstacle courses, and much more. We bring over a bag full of sports equipment for the kids to use and at the end of the week we leave it for the Farrici's to use in their ministry. During sports time, a group of us make lunch for the kids. We make sandwiches and they have fruit, chips, water, and cola with their lunch. This is served after the games. After lunch each group leader does a closing prayer and then the kids get to enjoy 10 minutes swimming in the water and the leaders are the "lifeguards". The camp lasts about 3.5 hours then we head back to Tirana each day. The last day (Thursday) we head back to Hamallaj in the evening and have a grill out and award ceremony. Each child gets a certificate for the camp and we all eat together. Then we sadly say our goodbyes. This is the hardest part. The children hug us and chase the bus after us.
This year I was the leader of the VBS camp so I didn't get to be involved in a specific group as I was last year. I was mostly running around making sure each group had their supplies and making sure we stayed on time. It was a learning experience and God definitely showed me a lot about myself and things I need to work on to be a better leader. But I'm so thankful for the experience and I cannot wait until next year!
In the time prior to starting camp and after camp before some of our VBS team left we were able to do some sight seeing. We went to Kruja to a castle, below you can see pictures. It's a beautiful town!
Be warned, there are a ton of pictures below... and many more to come in upcoming posts! Enjoy!
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