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!