Loving and serving children is one of the highlights of International Celebration Assoc. We have a great time sharing songs, games and Bible stories with children in towns and villages. At these gatherings, we do fun praise and worship songs with lots of motions and activity. Then we have a Bible story with lots of props and use children as characters in the stories. Each child receives a bead bracelet when they enter. The bead bracelets help us explain the plan of salvation….. Black bead represents sin that separates us from God. Red bead represents Jesus’ blood that He shed on the cross for us to pay for our sins. White bead represents a clean heart knowing that God sees Jesus’ righteousness rather than our sin. Yellow bead stands for Heaven where believers will spend eternity. Green bead stands for growing in faith and learning more through Bible study, prayer and time learning more and serving. After the service, we sit across from each one and wash their feet and talk one one. We explain what it means to have a relationship with Jesus and then give them new shoes.
The other area of children’s ministry is working in the orphanages and girls’ homes. These girls have either been abused and taken away from their parents or abandoned by their families. We have done extensive work in one of these homes, updating plumbing, wiring and building more beds and installing gates for security. In another home, our Guyanese team visited weekly until Covid prevented them from going. Here they did Bible study and scripture memory as well as songs and games. We pray they will be allowed to start back soon.
We have had one adoption by an American couple who became the forever family for a boy from one of the villages. It has been a blessed situation.
