Sharing is caring!

The following is a quick summary of my summer (a summery?) If you'd like to share this in your church newsletter, I'd love that- especially if your United Methodist church is in southern Iowa. Feel free to share even if your church is in northern Iowa, or Hawaii, or your living room, or if you're Lutheran, or PresbyQuakeNazarLic, or anything else. :) 

You don't have to include the picture- it probably wouldn't print well- but you can if you'd like. Some nice cape clipart would do the trick too.

I velcroed my cape, hopped in the van, and took off towards a super summer...

This was my 10th summer working with Mobile United Methodist Missionaries. Devoted to making disciples in mostly rural southern Iowa, this organization spends summers working alongside church volunteers in vacation Bible school ministry. This year, we used Cokesbury’s Hero Central curriculum to show kids (and grown-ups!) that when they live with God, they are superheroes. Places I traveled this summer included Randolph, Van Wert, Osceola, Farmington, Orient, Hebron, New Virginia, Council Bluffs, and a park in Oskaloosa. The other two MUMM travelers, Cherie Miner and Paige Jensen, have similar lists.

Highlights from this summer:

• Giving a Bible to a girl who didn’t have one
• Watching local volunteers take ownership- one brought her own cape!
• Having a donkey and his human come share the message about the cross on his back
• Bringing 50 kids who wouldn’t normally have a chance to get to church camp to Wesley Woods for a week of JOY Camp
• Hearing kids echo our theme verse- “Do good! Seek peace! Go after it!”- Psalms 34:14b

For more stories, check out my blog: https://mummstheword-allison.blogspot.com/ or “like” Mobile United Methodist Missionaries on Facebook to see what we’re up to! We appreciate your support and your prayers!

Allison Engel

Senior Summer Assistant, Mobile United Methodist Missionaries (MUMM)

7:47

In a sure sign that summer is almost over, last week was JOY camp at Wesley Woods. It was a full week at camp- we had brought 50 JOY campers!- and it was exciting to see so much energy. The staff at Wesley Woods does an amazing job. Between Bible studies, endless carpet ball tournaments, journeys, fishing, archery, gorgeous outdoor chapel services, swimming, and petting the goats, we certainly kept busy- but it never felt busy. Everything happened at 7:47. (It's camp tradition never to tell campers the right time. It takes some of them a while to figure that out.) Cherie asked me one day what time dinner was, and I didn't have a clue. While I was carrying a schedule around in my backpack, I barely ever looked at it. She commented that I was fully on 7:47 time, and I realized I was.

Why?

A story:

Wednesday was a day when I encountered some things that made me struggle awfully hard to find joy. Our world, in case you haven't noticed, can be a pretty messed-up place. I know my campers deal with difficult things in their lives, but it's still heartbreaking every time I think of the smiling, precious, short humans I've come to know getting hurt, and it just doesn't seem fair.

With these joyless thoughts pounding through my head, I ran into a camper searching through his Bible. "Do you know that sign," he asked me hopefully, "with the verse about why it's always 7:47? Do you know what that verse is? It ends with a 4." Curious, another camper popped over, and fortunately for all of us, he remembered more of the reference. We wound up at Matthew 6:34, and out of his Good News Bible, the first camper read: "So do not worry about tomorrow; it will have enough worries of its own. There is no need to add to the troubles each day brings." The Message paraphrase begins "Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now..."

So what was God doing right then? Using two middle school boys to remind me that there is still good in the world, that's what.

Puppets added a great deal of joy to the service.

Pastor Dale's Easter message involved puppets.

The last day of camp is always Easter. After an emotional chapel service Thursday night telling about Jesus' crucifixion, Friday morning is always welcome as a reminder that God is not done; the story is not over. I got another reminder of this as I joined with one of the group's Bible studies that morning. They closed with a squeeze-around prayer, and here were a few of the heartfelt thoughts I heard:

"Thank you for this group that I was put into," from a girl who had been terribly homesick the first night.
"Thank you for getting me a ride so I could come here," from a sweet girl who had requested the puppet sing her happy birthday at Bible school.
"I love you, Jesus," from a girl who spoke directly to His heart.

So- what is God doing right now? Give your entire attention to it. You have time. It's only 7:47.

If you can't take the heat...

For my last VBS of the summer, Paige and I went to Vanderwilt Park in Oskaloosa. Since last summer, the playground here has been torn down. I thought the kids would really miss getting to play while they were at VBS, but we had so many other fun things that I'm not sure anyone really noticed.

On the first day, we had a special visitor. Gaylord the donkey (and his friend Pat) came to share a story with us. After everyone got to feed and pet the donkey, Pat shared about how Jesus rode a donkey into Jerusalem- not a high horse, but a low donkey, so he could be right at the people's level. She also showed us the cross markings on his back, and how if he could carry a cross for Jesus, all of us could too- no one is too small to carry a cross.

We had a small group- eight different kids came at least once throughout the week- but these heroes had heart! They were also a pretty musical bunch, so they had fun with the box of instruments and the boomwhackers.

By the end of the week, it was hot. This is the downside to outside Bible school. We drank lots of water and stayed in the shade. We did the "stick pencils in the water baggie" science activity just so we could get wet when we pulled them out. The game drip-drip-drop was fun and practical. We were extremely grateful for the air-conditioned school where we ate lunch. For the first time in my VBS memory, we sent kiddos home early.

On the last day, our caped bunch of superheroes sang the Batman grace to the summer lunch program volunteers. I saw the effects of their super powers. They'd been making me smile all week long, but they made everybody in the kitchen smile too. Never underestimate this super power.

Super Science

Summer is flying by! Last week Paige and I went to Epworth UMC in Council Bluffs. We had a big crowd- 26 kids the first night! This was a little overwhelming for everyone, especially during times when the whole group was together. We adjusted schedules the next night to make smaller groups during the rotations, and things went smoother after that.

We had some great helpers, including some who wanted to lead music- the only thing I enjoy more than leading music is watching other people lead it well. :) The kids had lots of fun with "Father Abraham" and "Deep and Wide"- and they were a lot simpler to learn than some of the fast, word-heavy songs from the curriculum. I also managed to get my favorites, "My God is so Great" and "Praise Ye the Lord/Hallelujah" in there. We had some wonderful actors who jumped in with me as Agent Eagle and Agent Falcon the first night when we hadn't figured out how to work the DVD yet. My youth craft helper was also super- she came early to make sure she had all the materials prepared. The Bible study leaders taught the kids well, and some helpers who moved between games and science did a great job keeping the kids engaged. They had to be gone the last few nights though, leaving me in charge of science.

Confession time: I do not love the science portion of VBS. I know Cherie does. It's not that I don't like science in general- I really do- but more often than not, I skip this section because I'm not used to doing it, and I don't always build it into my schedule. I've had the notion in my head that it's messy, it's complicated, and it's only tangentially related to the Bible story. So I was not especially overjoyed to be the science leader- but I have to tell you, it grew on me. We went off-script a bit with an activity with a ping-pong ball and a hairdryer, so kids got to test their own "What would happen if I..."s. We had a thoughtful discussion about moving air/wind, how like God, you cannot see wind, but you can clearly feel it and see its effects. Another favorite, though, was the activity where you stick pencils through a baggie of water. The provided scientific explanation behind this one seemed a little bit of a stretch- the baggie is made of polymers, which are long, flexible chains of molecules that essentially bend but don't break- but the bag does break- so...this was not the clearest explanation to the kids. Or to this scientist. Mostly the kids said that the pencil plugged up the hole. That made just as much sense to me. (I've since gone on to do a little more reading, and I guess if you think about other materials you would stick a pencil through- fabric, cardboard, paper- they would likely not have this magical reseal thing like the polymers do. Perhaps we should have tried some other materials to compare.)

We went on to talk about how that baggie probably didn't think it could take anymore, just like us sometimes, when thing after thing goes wrong. But with God's help, we can take more than we think we can. When I look at that baggie with all the pencils stuck through it, my brain starts singing the part of "Trading my Sorrows" that borrows from 2 Corinthians 4:8-9.

We are pressed but not crushed; persecuted, not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.

As they face conflict and trials big and small, there's a message I hope my superheroes take with them.

Saturday, Take 2 and 3

New Virginia had their first year of VBS just by themselves. There was also a community VBS with the other churches it’s yoked with (I believe there are five total. Go, Pastor Amy, go!) We were pleased with NV’s turnout of a dozen, including some youth helpers. Never underestimate the power of a good teenage helper! 

We had a five year old here who quickly fell in love with Flame. (Once he learned his name, that is. At first it was “John? John? Jooooohn?”and he understandably got no reply. I also mentioned that Flame doesn’t usually talk to us until we raise our hands [which, granted, does create some difficulties for a puppet who can’t see.]) He raised his hand and called out almost all through closing- through the talking, through the singing, through reminders to put his hand down for right now. Finally, his persistence paid off, and he got to ask Flame his burning question (pun intended, of course.) “Flame? When can I go to China with you?” Um. Flame had mentioned earlier in the script that he had gone super-speedy to China, and that’s where we said he was whenever any of the kiddoes asked where he was. My young puppeteer was absolutely amazing. Without missing a beat, he says, “Well, I don’t know. I’ll have to check my schedule. Maybe… next year?” “Ok,” the boy nodded, entirely satisfied. I guess that’s all he wanted to know. 

Flame travels light.

The next Saturday was Hebron United Methodist. Hebron takes being in the country to a whole new level. I was familiar with the area, but their sign I was used to seeing off the highway had blown over, so I was glad I had the address. Four miles of gravel and a whole lot of cornfields later, I finally found the church. It looks like several people manage to find it on a regular basis, though- the pastor said there were ten kids at children’s time the last Sunday and 26 adults. It’s a small church’s dream to have this many families! We had nine kids and several adults come help with VBS. They were a good bunch. The volunteers were very willing to jump in and help. They were also willing to be flexible- the little kids were pretty well out of attention span when the second classtime rolled around, so they made some play-doh creations. A few of the big kids finished crafts early, and before pulling out our extra craft options, the craft leader pulled out a piece of paper and said, “Make a thing.” At first the kids just looked at her, but pretty soon they did- they hole punched and duct taped and glued ribbon and came up with some pretty good-looking works of art. It’s always fun to see what kids come up with when using their God-given creativity. As we talked about in the story of Samuel anointing David (the pipsqueak) as king, God loves to be creative and to lead us in directions we don’t expect!

Flame poses with Super Cookie Monster

Hebron has the coolest church doors!

VBS: Saturday Edition

New to me this year are a few sites who requested just a Saturday. Trying to pile five days of fun into one day seemed a daunting task, but Orient had done it before, so I just adapted their old schedule. They’re an organized bunch! This was an especially exciting site for me because I used to teach in town. Almost half of our participants were my former students!

This particular former student asked for a piece of paper so he could take notes on the Bible study. That's exactly what he used it for- taking notes. He made his third grade teacher very proud.

The volunteers were very confident in taking their stations. We even had a former P.E. teacher to do games, and the Bible story volunteers had as much fun with the costumes as the kids did. I got to be in my favorite role- float around, help as needed, and watch kids bond with the folks they’re going to continue to see right there in their own community.

They decided on a mission project to learn about and collect an offering for during their Sunday morning program. First we watched an intro video to see what PET is- basically a hand-operated bicycle/cart for those around the world who have limited mobility and no access to wheelchairs. Without this device, they have to literally crawl on the ground or be carried. The video told stories of many PET recipients who had stepped on land mines during the Vietnam War. One of my former third graders leaned over and told me: "That is exactly why there shouldn't be wars and all the countries should just be friends." Amen to that, wise boy. I’ll vote for you. I think the kids would have been sold on the idea just from watching the video, but even better, they got to try out a PET for themselves. We learned that a) you can fit two preschoolers in the cart (no worries, they had spotters! But really, that’s how some people are able to transport their little ones,)  b) driving takes a fair amount of upper body strength, and c) it’s harder to steer than it looks!

I wish we’d have had more kids to come share this fun day with us. There were thirteen, and almost all of them attended church there. We had talked about how knocking on doors was one of the best ways to let folks know they’re welcome, but it sounds like the volunteers ran out of time to get that done. Next year I hope they will! There are definitely kids afoot- the friend I stayed with and I went on a walk the night before just for exercise, and we ran into five kids along the way who hadn’t known there was Bible school happening the next day. When you’ve got something this good, you want to share!

Flame Flies to Farmington

Summer seems incomplete without a trip to Van Buren County, so I was glad to get to Farmington. Last year, scheduling conflicted with many different things going on in town, but this year we seemed to avoid most of that. We had nineteen kids on the first night and stayed fairly close to that throughout. A good group of volunteers helped get kids where they needed to go. 

We made the stained glass window craft this week (washable markers on rice paper, like coffee filters, then spray it with water to make the colors spread.) I was the Designated Sprayer, and it was a lot of fun to watch the kids as their creation turned into something different. One little girl had made designs on most of her paper and had written "I Love Jesus" in the top corner. My first instinct was “How sweet!” followed directly by “Oh, dear,” because even if I could avoid getting that section wet, it would be covered up by the frame we put on top. Luckily she was a flexible artist, so she didn’t mind if it got wet. We talked about how it’s kind of like when we love Jesus, we don’t just keep it to ourselves. Love doesn’t just stay in one spot- it spreads out everywhere. I sprayed. The words slowly disappeared. The beauty remained. 

After watching a couple of kids model Flame's cape, losing many hula hoop contests, and signing up one of hopefully several JOY campers, it was time to head out. I was fortunate enough to get to stay with friends David and Elizabeth at their B&B. They are amazing in their hospitality, and I loved being part of their community- and playing their piano! If you’re ever in the area or you need a getaway weekend, go check out Porch Time.