Upside Down Kingdom

Our theme for this summer is "Upside Down Kingdom." This idea is based upon how Jesus lived when he walked this earth and what he taught. In his famous sermon on the Mount, Jesus spoke these words:
"Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn,
for they will be comforted.
Blessed are the meek,
for they will inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be filled.
Blessed are the merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart,
for they will see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called sons of God.
Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you."

Did you get that? We are blessed when we are poor in spirit, when we mourn, when we're meek, when we're insulted... Does that seem upside down in comparison to the values of this world?
Doesn't everything around us say that people are blessed when they get rich, look out for themselves, diet and exercise to be exactly the right shape...?

Our students get to experience firsthand how God's kingdom is upside down compared to what our world values. In our first weekly meeting last Tuesday night, our director Erick talked on exactly this topic.

In other events of this past week, I had a little fun with the girls in my action group by having them create small boats out of various materials that had to transport 3 stones across trays of water. But the girls couldn't use their hands:


Also, I was thoroughly celebrated on my birthday and throughout the week with lots of different sweets, gifts and other fun surprises :)