Day 9 and 10 - Sunday Morning HBC Finale, Dublin, and Heading Home

First of all, as the Lord certainly proved to us this week many time, God is so good! Sunday morning we had no idea what to expect... How many would come? What kind of set up should we have? How much food should be made for lunch after church? We had no idea what would happen. Bob decided to start a little later as people kept coming in close to the service start time. By the time we officially started we had somewhere between 160-170 in attendance! We were blown away... Every chair we set up was filled, and even more had to be set up to accommodate all the people. This was a huge blessing to Bob and the people of Mallow Bible Fellowship.

The goal of the service was to get all the people in attendance to get the feel of what the children experienced throughout the week at Holiday Bible Club... We had the kids come up and sing, we performed a funny sketch as well as one of our serious skits, we recognized the kids that memorized verses and brought friends, and we even had a slideshow. After we had done these things, I had the opportunity to share with everyone why we, and Bob's church, have a heart for a HBC/VBS ministry, how much God loves children from Matthew 18, and the gospel of Jesus Christ.

All in all it was a fantastic morning that turned out to be more than what we ever expected! God is so good... Please pray that many of the visitors that attended would decide to return to Mallow Bible Fellowship in the Sundays to come. Pray that there would be fruit that would remain! (Jn 15:1-8)

We're now in the Atlanta airport on our way home... pictures from Sunday's service and Dublin are below!

Day 8 - 4th Day of HBC

1 Corinthians 16:13-16

13 - Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong.

14 - Let all your things be done with charity.

15 - I beseech you, brethren, (ye know the house of Stephanas, that it is the firstfruits of Achaia, and [that] they have addicted themselves to the ministry of the saints,)

16 - That ye submit yourselves unto such, and to every one that helpeth with [us], and laboureth.

4th Day of HBC
For our last day of Holiday Bible Club we set a milestone of 110 kids! ...and over the course of the week we had the opportunity to share the gospel to approximately 143 different children. Even though we didn't have any firm salvation decisions, there is no doubt that each child had a clear presentation of the gospel. We are finding that last year's trip and this year's trip has involved a lot of plowing. Some kids are beginning to understand the gospel, but many think they understand when they clearly do not. Even so, we are so grateful for the opportunities that the Lord entrusted to us! Please pray that fruit would come and that fruit would remain...

HBC Finale Service
Tomorrow morning we will be finishing up the HBC week with a finale service, very similar to the VBS parent night that we host back home. We will be doing a little bit of corporate singing and special music, but we will be focusing on doing a few of the HBC skits and songs to show the parents a small part of what their children experienced throughout the week. We will also have the chance to share the gospel and why we have a HBC/VBS ministry, so please be praying for wisdom, discernment, and soft hearts to hear the words of God.

Heading Home...
After the service we will be heading to Dublin to stay the evening near the airport. We will be heading home very early in the morning. Please pray for our safety!

Day 7 - 3rd Day of HBC

2 Corinthians 4:5-7

5 - For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus' sake.

6 - For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to [give] the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

7 - But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.

2 Corinthians 5:20-21

20 - Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech [you] by us: we pray [you] in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God.

21 - For he hath made him [to be] sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

Day 7 - 3rd Day of Holiday Bible Club

After completing 3 days of HBC it has been really neat to see the connections we've personally been able to make with many of the kids. We haven't had any kids specificly come to Christ for salvation, but we have continued to have the priviledge to keep plowing as the words of God continue to soften the dry stony earth of their hearts. Many of the children are continuing to share with each of us that they have learned more this week from the bible than they do anywhere else. Let's pray that the Spirit of God would keep stirring in their hearts long after we depart. His words shall never return void (Is 55:11).

Today was by far the most smooth day we have had administratively, and we were even able to pull off an entire group picture with all the kids, and there were approximately 95 today! The team God has put together is the perfect group for the work at hand... all of the kids have been very attentive to everything we have taught and exemplified. I cannot thank the Lord enough for each and every team member! Three days down, one to go!

How you can be praying for us over the next couple days...

• HBC would finish well and that the eyes of each child would be opened to see the simplicity of the gospel of Jesus Christ (2Cor 4:4; 11:3)

• We would have the opportunity to be a bright light as we sing with other members of Mallow Bible Fellowship in Market Square

• Many children and their parents would come Sunday morning for a special HBC finale service, and that the parents would be soft towards the gospel