let the parties begin.

Every Saturday our Burmese church hosts a children’s program for migrant kids in local communities. They pick everyone up in multiple trips with the church van and cart everyone to the church for songs, a bible story, coloring, and snacks.

Many of the kids in our neighborhood go each week, which is part of the reason we chose this Burmese church to begin attending and partner with.

This Saturday was their Christmas program–an extra-special Saturday where they expect nearly double the usual kids. We decided to come out and help manage the chaos, as well as spend some time with the kids from our community.

We discovered quickly that “our kids”–those from the communities surrounding us that we know from English classes and medical needs and community events–were nearly half of the kids that came! They were absolutely thrilled we came and nearly knocked us over with hugs and high fives when we arrived.

This is a jelly candy container that–as a bonus–you can suction to the side of your face when you finish!

Because there are multiple car loads of kids picked up, we had about 45 minutes of waiting. After you give hugs and take photos, things get crazy very quickly. So we tried Duck, Duck, Goose in the form of Duck, Duck, Pig (since we didn’t know the Burmese word for goose) and waited for the rest of the kids to arrive.

Then the fun began! We sang songs, listened to the Christmas story, and played a few balloon-popping games.

A lot of the littlest ones felt asleep, since it was prime napping time in the heat of the day.

Then the older kids had some competitions, including singing and coloring. And the best part–the kids have been memorizing Bible verses! They had a competition to see who could recite the most.