Vacation Bible School

Well, the last week was VBS week and a great week with the kids...We did the VBS at night because of the heat during the day, so the days were spent preparing the crafts and activities and making about 200 sandwiches for each evening...we had some really great personal and group devotional time for spiritual preparation for each night as well...We were blessed to have a house on the beach donated to us for the week, so it was awesome being able to spend some time with Jesus on the beach.

The VBS went really well...each day it seemed like the number of kids there would grow, as the children would invite friends...and each day, the activites seemed to go more smoothly as the leaders and kids got accustomed to the flow of things...We had a special song with fun little motions that the kids really enjoyed....It was a great opportunity to get to know more of the locals as well....there were about ten of the college-age nationals that helped out with the VBS, along with some parents from the church who paired up with helpers from our group for each of the different age groups...so it was great to work side by side with the local church in that way...

I was one of the leaders for the 3-6 year old age group, which was a very busy, but fun group of kids...We had an average of about 25 kids in that group and 4 leaders. It was a little draining at times because I would be called out of my group to go translate for another activity going on and then come back to my kids....But, it worked out well and it was fun to get to know the kids in my group...Each night we would start VBS with our special song/dance, then split the kids into their age groups (3-6, 7-9, and 10-12) and we would rotate them through craft, games, and puppets/Bible lesson. The kids in our age group seemed to especially enjoy the puppets and songs. They weren't as coordinated as the older kids during the game time, but we were able to adjust the games for their age group when we needed to....it was fun to watch them play and have a good time. Then at the end of each night, we'd get everyone back together to sing and pray and then they'd all get dinner at the end.

One of my favorite crafts that we did was that we took wooden crosses and had the kids write their sins on them...this was interesting with the younger kids...it was sweet because you could tell the older ones had already thought it out and would list off their sins kind of shamefully "I hit my brother, I lied to my mom, etc." I really loved the honesty though (honestly it reminded me of what it would be like to be the priest listening during confession)...The honesty and sincerity behind their sins made me think of that verse that says that we need to have faith like a child...we have to come to God with that kind of humility....On the other hand, there were a couple of little ones didn't know what to say...so, I'd give them ideas of typical toddler sins...I had one little 3-year old girl who was especially precious...I kept listing off different things "Have you hit your brother, have you said bad words, have you lied," etc. and every time she would say no and every time her older sister who was sitting there would say "yes you have!" It was pretty funny...Anyway, it was really neat because the next day, we took all the kids' crosses with their sins written on them and painted them white. We explained how Jesus makes us clean and pure because of the cross and how God doesn't see our sins anymore because of Jesus. It was such a cool picture for them of God's forgiveness that they were all able to take home to remember.

One of the really enjoyable things for me about VBS was also that I was able to bring several of the kids from the women's rehab center every night with me...some of the kids were the children of the directors there...others were children of some of the women who are there for drugs or alcohol problems...it was great to bring them to VBS and get to see them really enjoy all the activities...I had already been building relationships with them the week before during the time I stayed at the center, so it was fun to continue to spend some time with them...I also chose to work with the 3-6 year old group because 4 of the kids were in that age group. It was always funny though because I'd pick them up and bring them to VBS and everyone would kind of look at me funny when they got out of the car. I had several people ask me if Alexia was my daughter because she is pretty white and looks like she could be mine...Then one night, Rosa, one of the girls I was bringing from the center, had a birthday, so I took them out to ice cream...it was an interesting sight I'm sure, me and 6 kids with only 1 that looks anything like me...I got some stares and the lady who worked at the ice cream store asked me if they were mine...ha ha...I love it though...I've kind of adopted them all as my kids....I really enjoyed taking them all out even though they could be a handful at times because I know they don't get to go out for ice cream very often and they all really enjoyed it...

Anyway, VBS was great and the kids were great...I was really proud of them when they remembered their Bible verses and quoted them to me the next day...Our last night of VBS, we gave out little gifts to all the kids at the end. The boys loved the frisbees and soccer balls and the girls really loved the jump ropes and stuffed animals we gave them...After everything finished up at the church, we headed back to the house on the beach for a barbeque with all the leaders from the church who helped out. I got close with a couple of the college-aged helpers and we all got to hang out and have our little pow-wow on the beach...I was really bummed I couldn't sing with them (I lost my voice from being with the kids all week and translating so much) but it was still a really great time.

The last day as we headed out of town, we stopped by the women's rehab center to bring by some kids' toys and extra food that we had left over and to say goodbye to all our friends there. It was funny because when we got there, we found my friend Kari there trying to do a Bible study with the women from the center. She saw me walk in the room and was like "Oh my gosh, I'm so glad you're here. We are having a really rough time here. Can you translate for me?" So, God gave me another unexpected opportunity to serve. I really enjoyed the Bible study too and it was a lot of things that I feel like I needed to hear too. It was kind of humbling to translate with my lack of a voice, but I know it was good for me to rely on God's strength. So, we finished the study up and said goodbye and then I headed home with some friends from the AIM group. They are both older and wiser and I felt like God put them there with me for the car ride home too because they are just so full of wisdom and love for the Lord. I love how God is a part of everything that takes place, even those small things like who you ride home with.

Well, I really truly can honestly say that Rocky Point feels like a second home to me now. I really enjoy being there and I feel like I have family there. It was a great 3 weeks and I'm so thankful that I had the opportunity to be there. I feel truly honored and blessed to be a part of what God is doing there and I'm looking forward to see all that He continues to do.