Southern Cone Retreat - MK Spotlight!

During this year's Southern Cone Retreat, from January 5th-11th, I was in charge of working with the Missionary Kids (MKs), which was not difficult at all since there were only 3 that fit into that age group! :) The other 20 some youth had their own services as well. But I was privileged to get to spend my time with Jeremy, Sofia, and Louise. In the mornings we first came together for a devotional time and worked on memorizing verses that corresponded with our lessons. The theme of the week was building our relationship with God and focused on spending time with Him each day, especially in prayer and Bible reading. I also gave the kids journals so that they could write their prayers and thoughts down. One morning we even went up on the mountain to have our devotion time...and it was very special.It was a wonderful time of seeking God's presence each morning and learning to listen to His voice. After our morning session, we did what all kids liked to do best...play!!! We would go down to a park or, more than not, head to the pool!! We loved spending the mornings in the pool...though the required swim caps definitely added a new twist to the experience. And then at night we had our own little service where we looked at people in the Bible who had been friends of God and who exemplified different aspects of knowing God on a personal level. We got into some great discussions and I really enjoyed those nightly times. One night we got into a discussion about water baptism because at the Southern Cone retreat many MKs are baptized by their fathers with their missionary family present. You see, for a lot of these kids, the other missionaries down here are their family and aunts and uncles since they see them more than their family back home. And to many of them, this special time is something they want to share with this family. After our discussion, both Louise and Sofia really wanted to get baptized. So, on January 9th when the time came for water baptism, both the girls were baptized, along with their older sisters. Here's a photo of the group:
Flynn, Sofia, Louise, Julie, Olivia, and Ed. Flynn & Sofia Clanton Ed & Louise Dalbello It was an incredible week, and I cherished the times with the kids. I am especially thankful that these three are all living in Argentina, because it means that I get to see them more often and continue the friendship that we built during this week.