Wonder

My last VBS of the season was in Bonaparte. It was a good way to finish big, as we had nearly 30 kids each day- 37 counting teen helpers on our biggest day. Also, this was the best load-in I've had all summer. One of the volunteers ran a daycare, so she brought her students with her when she arrived early to help. We found things for even the littlest ones to carry, and they loved being helpers! I am thinking about possibly changing the format a little for places where we have that many kids. The opening time gets a bit long for really little ones, so maybe we could move the Bible lesson to a separate station they rotate through. Things to think about for next year.

Since I was staying in Farmington, one of the VBS helpers suggested I walk around Indian Lake, which has a neat trail. It is gorgeous, and a nice place to decompress from the noise and excitement of 37 kids. I must just have a kid-friendly face or something, though, because after a few minutes of absolute solitude, I met three girls who were trying to find their way back to the trail. They asked if I could stick with them because I was, "you know, kind of like a grown-up." So much for solitude, but it turned out to be nice to have company. They had a sense of wonder about everything ("Oooh! A deer!") which was rather what all summer of Workshop of Wonders VBS was about- appreciating what God does that we don't always notice. (Also, because teachers never really go on summer break, we read every informational sign there was and learned some vocabulary, like "momentum" when we rushed down a hill.)

Now I'm focused on making preparations for JOY camp. I followed up on some kids from my Vanderwilt VBS who seemed really interested in camp but hadn't registered yet. Between those visits and a couple phone calls, we went from 25 campers to 31 campers in a couple hours. Wonderful.