There's a loyal band of Bible Club volunteers who arrive early. They organize the rooms, pack the brown bag dinners, and set up the registration tables like clockwork every week.
Similarly, there are always a few kids who show up weekly before the doors open. They're so excited for the day that they line up in the shade in front of the building and excitedly giggle about the activities about to start up inside.
We can't let them inside until registration opens, but sometimes the volunteers will head out to get first hugs and help the kids count down the minutes until Bible Club begins!
One day, I stepped outside to see quite a few early arrivals and was surprised to see that they were all seated silently against the wall. Then I saw that one of my little second graders was sitting in the middle of all of them. Her bible was open on her lap and she was calmly reading aloud from the book of Isaiah, while several younger kids sat listening as though mesmerized.
I whispered a greeting to her before I moved to duck back inside and she grinned up at me and then put a solemn finger to her lips as she continued to read.
I ran back inside to grab several other teachers and share what God had shown me about the way his name is spreading through the children of Marks Village!
~Abby