Tuesday, July 28, 2009

catching up

More than two weeks have passed since my last entry. The weather has been SO hot that I can barely tolerate in--and I usually love the heat. I spend most of my time in an attic room I like to call a "loft", but today I can't even go up there. The temperature is 98 degrees Fahrenheit--it sounds more than 31 or whatever, celcius. I remember once being in Madrid when the temperature was 40 degrees celcius. It was evening, and y'know, it was not as hot as we're having it now.
This week, my hubby and I, with the help of two of our sons, are busy with Vacation Bible School at St. James' Anglican Church. It's "Paul and the Underground Church". We're having a lot of fun, and it seems that the kids are enjoying it too--and learning a lot, too. Our rector, Fr. Mark Greenaway-Robbins, is playing the part of St. Paul, chained to a "guard" behind "bars" in the baptistry of the church, currently a "jail". In the nursery room downstairs, black plastic coverings have converted the usually welcoming area into a "cave" where the Christians hide their church. In the Upper Hall, we have a marketplace where the children can spend their denarii on making mosaics or learning about Roman Numerals or making wreaths and leather bracelets, among other things. During marketplace time, there is usually a two-minute drama, such as the freeing of a slave or hiring of an architect to build the emperor another villa. The day starts and ends with a worship time, consisting of learning some songs, and spending time in small groups ("families") setting up for the day and summing up the day. The programme is produced by Concordia Publications, and we're having a lot of fun with it. We chose that programme mainly because it can all be done indoors. Our church is located in the poorest postal code in Canada, usually called the "Downtown East Side" of Vancouver. To use one of the local parks, we'd have to clear away hypodermic needles and avoid possible intrusions by the prostitutes and drug-dealers. These people are always welcome in the church, but we don't have to take the children to play in their territory.
We still have three more days of Bible School to go, but so far we're having a blast!

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