Friday, August 8, 2008

Choose Jesus! Choose to believe....

We've been doing VBS (Vacation Bible School) each morning this week & the kids had a great time again. Honey really enjoyed the music and dancing and paid careful attention to the words. The songs were all fast tempo, catchy tunes & were big hits with all the kids (you can check them out here) The song she liked best had this chorus:




Tear the roof off everybody,
there's a way he's gonna see Jesus
Tear the roof off everybody,
there's a way he's gonna be healed.

The first time she heard it, she exclaimed "we have a bible story about THAT!!!" That girl's always paying attention. Most of the kids were just dancing to the beat & enjoying the song. I didn't expect that she'd pick up on the connection. Note to self: be careful what you say around her!



I was one of two group leaders for the 3, 4, 5 year olds. We had one little girl who wasn't quite 3 yet but her mom was the music leader so we brought her along. Our group ranged from18-22 kids each day. There were about 40 kids in total at VBS. Sooooooooo our days were busy & went fast! My own kids had a hard time dealing with the fact that I wasn't there JUST for them. They didn't understand that I couldn't always help them when they needed something. I had to tell them over and over that at VBS I wasn't just their mummy & had to help everybody. I don't know that they ever quite accepted that but with 22 preschoolers breathing down our necks, there wasn't much else I could do! Every day all the attendees met in the hall for the morning welcome & some singing & dancing & a prayer. Then we went down to play games in the gym, then to music to work on our dance routines & then have a snack, up to the classroom for the bible lesson and then we finished the day with a craft. I wasn't responsible for all aspects, but had to keep the group together, moving from station to station on time & I did teach the bible story each day & help them memorize their bible verses. At the end of the day, we got to go up to the front & say our verse into the microphone & they all got a prize. They loooooooooooved the microphone! Last night, Sweetie was playing VBS here at home, using our toy microphone & pretending she was 'ah-cole, calling people up to say their verse.

I enjoyed the week & we had lots of new teens helping out this year which is always great to see! I had a great partner (yay Sarah!) who kept us on track & made sure all the little details got covered. Sarah is an amazing girl who has been volunteering at church for years. I first met her when the girls started going to the toddler room. She works each Sunday up there, helping out and loves it, even misses it when she can't be there. She's also worked at VBS for the last 3 years. That's some impressive dedication for an 18 year old. She loves the kids & is soooooooo good with them! I have to say I greatly benefitted from having her as a partner :) Besides keeping me on track, she also helped me out with my own girls on many occasions this week, getting them in & out of carseats, keeping an eye on them whenever I had to run off & do something elsewhere in the church etc. She's such a trooper & I greatly appreciate all her efforts this week.



Today was the last day & we had a party for the kids afterwards. There were balloon animals, bouncy houses, slip n slide, face painting, hotdogs, popsicles.... a kids' paradise! After 2 hours the party was over & Honey was upset that it wasn't long enough. I was completely ready to pack it in but she would have stayed all day if I let her!



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