Independence

This past week took me to Kirkman, IA- a bustling town of 64 people, according to the last census- for four enjoyable evenings of Bible school. Not too many of those 64 are children, so the VBS attendees were mostly grandkids of members of the congregation. My hostess for the week did spot a family pulling kids in a wagon on the last day of the week, though, so they plan to dig even deeper into the community next year.  It's easy to tell that VBS is important to the life of the church, and I was happy to work with so many grandmas who provided food and encouragement to the 15-16 different kids that came during the week. 

It was appropriate to celebrate Independence Day this week, as Kirkman UMC is getting ready to be far more independent with their Bible school next year. This was the third year I'd been at this site, and next year they'll be on their own. The idea is that MUMMs comes in and models for a few years, and by that time the congregation gets in the routine of things and feels more confident that they can do this on their own! This is a highly appreciative group, though, and one I'd gotten to know fairly well, as I've stayed with a host family there each year. The helpers were so sweet that they got me flowers as a thank-you for my time there.

I was glad that the kids got to leave a momento behind. One of our crafts this year is decorating canvas quilt squares and tying them together to create a reminder for the church. Apparently this isn't a brand-new idea, as the church basement housed a few quilts from 1990 where our VBS kids' parents had done the same thing. It was about time for an update.

There were some great kids at this site, and we got to review some of what they already knew while learning new things too. While I was explaining that the next story (Walk to Emmaus) took place after Jesus came back to life, one girl interrupted, really surprised- "Wait, he came back to life?" Her friends looked at her like she was a little crazy, and they tried to assure her that she knew that ("Remember? Sunday school?") but she certainly didn't look like that was clicking. How wonderful to be there to see someone learn something important for the first time (or maybe the second, having forgotten in between...and don't we all live like we've forgotten it sometimes.)

Another fun first was a boy learning about the feeding of the 5,000.
"So- did they get full?"
"Yes, they sure did."
"They just ate like two little bites of fish, and they were full?"
"It didn't run out. They just kept reaching in the baskets and there was more and more. In fact, there was a lot left over. We can't do that, but Jesus can."
He was quick to share his new knowledge at the parent program the last night. I started telling the story, and at just the right time, he shouted out, "And there were leftovers!!" Sometimes things stick.

Good things come in threes

We started off at Silver City with several smiling helpers and….three kids. Half-joking, one of the helpers asked if we were going to go knocking on doors. That inspired our 8 year old- “I can go ask…” and listed off all his friends. I volunteered to go too, since he decided his 5 year old sister wasn’t old enough to go alone with him. :-P How wonderful to hear an 8 year old holler across the street to his friend on a bike- “Hey! Wanna go to church?”

We got no takers that day, but by Wednesday we were up to 8 kids. And that's why it’s important to knock on doors. 

We had a good week. On the last day, I was worried again about turnout, because it was pouring down rain. It was a heart-warming sight to see two small raincoats come in the door, followed by a few brave others. We dried off, ate breakfast, and had a wonderful day. 

Would the real Rivet please stand up?

I was amazed by their creativity. The craft the last day is decorating a bag to carry the other crafts home. Some of them requested a second bag so they could make a puppet. So, we had Rivet the plush puppet meet many Rivet the paper puppets. 

As always, it is the little things that are important. Little moments like:

• the kindness of a 12 year old girl reassuring a boy who had "messed up" his craft
• the 5 year old girl giving a dandelion to one of our helpers
• sidewalk chalk art projects
• the helpers cheering for Esther all week long like we did in our interactive story the first day
• a boy absolutely beaming as he was given the job of PowerPoint slide mover- and did it well.

On being mobile (or, how to put a Bible school in a car.)

Did you know you can fit 95% of the MUMMs van's VBS materials into a Buick? This was an important lesson I learned this week as the van was in the shop being uncooperative. My grandparents were gracious enough to lend me their big car, so Dean Martin and I rolled down the highway to Van Buren County.

Kids put together quilt squares for the church as a VBS souvenir

We had eleven kids the first day at Milton and were up to seventeen by the end. We wound up doing lots of camp songs at first because while I was absolutely certain I had taken my copy of the Workshop of Wonders CD, do you think I could find it? Not until the second day when my craft volunteer brought it to me- right from the box I had set it in a few days before. Over and over God teaches me that things will not work out the way I plan them, but they will work out. I must be a slow learner at this concept. I'm getting plenty of practice this summer.


We were all pleased to have lots of older kids come. I pulled out the karate song right away, and it seemed to pass the "cool enough for middle school boys" test. But later on, I was also thrilled to see them doing the actions for (AND SINGING) "Jesus Loves Me" that a first grade girl requested we sing. We sang that a lot this week. I told them if that's all they learned at Bible school, that was ok.

This church had a very small congregation, but that meant a fairly large percentage of them turned out to help. Some volunteers also came from outside their congregation, which was great too. Lunches were so wonderful that I had to include a picture of our cooks. They knew how to put together a tasty, healthy meal in a place where hunger really is an issue.

I hope to get some JOY campers from this week. Many seemed interested. One boy was so excited about the idea that he snatched the flier out of my hand as soon as I told him it was free. ("Free?! My mom loves that word!") He then proceeded to give me a big hug.

Sometimes a problem with being mobile is that you feel a little rootless. Luckily, this was not the case here.  I got to enjoy lunches with my little cousin who came to VBS (and chat with his mom as she picked him up.) I got to stay with a dear friend, Karen, whose picture may well be next to "hospitality" in the dictionary. And I got to go with her to a supper and Bible study at her friends' house, where the food and conversation were so good I look forward to going back next time I stay with her- which will be soon!

 

Double the Fun!

Dear Mr. Ed Wilson,
You said it was going to rain this afternoon. 8:30-12:00  is not afternoon. That is all. 

"Allison, what is your rain plan?" -Sharoll
"Stay under the canopy and don't talk about Noah." -Allison 


So, despite being a little damp and chilly, we got off to a great start at VBS in the park Tuesday. Last year at this site, we averaged about 6 kids and as many helpers. Today, we had nearly 20 kids (awesome!). While this was slightly overwhelming when confined to a canopy tent, we still sang, learned the story of Esther, made an accordion book craft, played with a parachute, and finally enjoyed some warm pigs in a blanket.

My favorite part: I asked the kids how they
can be brave like Esther even when they're scared. One little girl raised her hand and said we could pray to God. The girl behind her disagreed- "He can't hear us clear up in the sky!" So we had a good discussion about that. Most importantly, though, we got to learn about God firsthand, as volunteers got soaked while putting up tarps to keep us dry, helpers gave up their own raincoats to warm chilly children, and we all showed extra patience with each other. I am oh-so-thankful for the wonderful people who let God's love shine through them. That made it a beautiful day.

I am enjoying having Cherie Miner, new director of MUMMs, travel with me as we do not one, but TWO Bible schools this week. We're getting immersed in the music, lessons, and crafts before we each head out on our own. This way we'll do twice as many VBSes this summer- look for us soon in a small town near you!

And all the rest.

Wow, these last weeks of summer have gone fast! I'll try to catch up...

Beacon: I found this sign above the sanctuary, and my first thought was, "oh dear, they are certainly not going to want to have kids in here," but it turned out fine, and in my head, I added "joyful" to the list.

This evening Bible school was really easy for me because of the great number of volunteers. And even though it was the week before JOY camp, I found 4 new campers here. The first night of Bible school, we had around a dozen kids and as many volunteers. The second night, we doubled the number of kids.

JOY camp: What a fun week! This was the second year I got to help as a coordinator, which involved getting to hang out with all the groups of JOY campers and help their counselors with anything they needed. It was great to see all the kids grow- for many of them it was their first time away from home. Watching counselors share their faith with the campers was a pretty cool experience. I'm so thankful to be a part of getting these kids to camp, kids who would not be going were it not for these scholarships.

Donnellson: I got to stay with Karen, a wonderful hostess, again this week. I had stayed with her a few days previously when I went to Bonaparte. This was a VBS where three of the churches in town went together, which turned out to be a great deal. We had some 17 volunteers to help with the 48 kids that came the first day. Yep, that deserves repeating: forty. eight. kids. They just kept coming and coming. Fantastic! These volunteers really had it under control.

And now it's time for summer to end. No more living out of a suitcase. We have board meeting on Thursday, which will be a pretty important meeting to get some things figured out for the upcoming year.

Down by the riverside...

Bonaparte looks like it ought to be River City, Iowa, where the Music Man is somehow going to teach the kids to be a band. What a beautiful little historic town.

These pictures are from the town's website, which also offers a virtual tour: http://www.bonaparte-iowa.com/

As a providential sign peeks out of the trees to tell you (as you happen to be driving and driving and driving and wondering if you are really going the right way anymore): "Slow down. Relax. You're in Van Buren county now."

Out of the town's 433 people, 30 kids and roughly 10 adults came to Bible school, plus some families for the program on Friday.

These were some fantastic kids. One little boy who came mid-week had trouble with my name- throughout the course of the week I was called simply "Mrs.," "Miss Teacher," "Alice," and I am quite certain one time he tugged on my arm he called me "The teacher," as in "The teacher? That boy is squishing my brother..." (Sometimes I think pews should come with individual carpet squares for those learning boundaries of space.)

This week, a lady from the church volunteered to teach both age groups, so I was stationed in crafts. Next year, we (or they, depending on how confident they're feeling!) will split them up into more class groups. It worked ok the way we had it, but usually the smaller the group, the better the discussion gets, especially with older kids. But those older kids managed to impress me even in craft time. We made "God loves a cheerful giver" churchy banks (as opposed to piggy banks.) They brought offering to put in them, and at the end of the week we compiled it all together and the kids decided to donate it to kids with cancer at U of I children's hospital.

It was neat to see the older kids' leadership. Some places, once you hit 5th grade, there is a terrible magic curse that makes you "too cool" to sing and do the actions. But these older kids, boys even, were in there singing "My God is so great, so strong and so mighty, there's nothing my God cannot do, hoo hoo!" with the best of them. Also this week, I discovered that the karate song works perfectly with the daily theme that neighbors are BOLD. While there are some fairly decent songs that came with the curriculum this year, we've been doing a lot of other songs with good actions like that. (If you do not know this song, picture it with me....I (karate chop)will call upon the Lord, who (karate chop) is worthy to be praised...) Singing Scripture was never so fun. :-)

Bible school in the park, I think it was the 4th of July..... (Do you hear the Chicago song yet?)

This week of VBS was very near and dear to my heart. Most of the locations I go to are churches. But there's something special about going to a different location- a community center, or in this case, a park.

We were right next to apartments and a mobile home park, and we got nine different kids throughout the course of the week. Despite the small turnout, we had a great time. Some fantastic volunteers (a combination of my church family and my related-to-me family) made things go very smoothly and gave each and every child individual attention.

On Monday, I nearly had a heart attack because there were 15 kids walking down the sidewalk as we were setting up at 8:30 (not scheduled to start til 9:30.) But, they were a daycare on their way to the good playground a block further, and while we invited them to come back, they did not.

This was an electricity-free site, and even the battery technology I had decided to taunt me, or teach me that it too was unnecessary. You don't need a CD player when you know all kinds of camp songs. And if the laptop decides it's not going to make any sound because it thinks it needs the speakers on the projector you can't use, you just skip the video clip. God is always reminding us that "only one thing is needed."

A little girl, six years old, prayed for us at lunch time. "Dear God, thank you for the food and for the lovely time we are having at Bible school." Adorable.

On Tuesday, some of the kids walked over more than half an hour early, concerned they were going to be late. One of them had walked there barefoot. This was also the day it decided to rain. It didn't faze the kids, who were still happily playing on the playground as the drops got bigger and bigger. However, it made the rest of us slightly nervous. My original rain plan was: It won't. So after that one fell through, we settled for rain plan B: Put some materials back in the van, put all of us underneath the canopy tent, and say many thank-you prayers for Hal and Sharoll who loaned us said canopy tent. It sprinkled on and off throughout the morning, but it didn't keep anybody away. There was a piece of me that was slightly miffed about the rain, though. I had already thanked God a great deal for the gorgeous forecast, a nice contrast from super-hot the week before. I knew he would take care of our every need, as this was His project and not mine. But again, He's teaching me to trust even when things aren't perfect. And I think we all felt pretty cozy there on the blankets on the wet grass, singing and acting out the story of the good Samaritan.

On Wednesday, a little girl's mom came and taught us a song from their church, which was cool. We ended out the day with presents, too. On Monday, we had told a little girl that it was time to switch to crafts, maybe she could finish the paper she'd been coloring at home. She said she didn't have any crayons at home, or pencils either. My inner teacher voice went on red-alert: How are you practicing writing when you have nothing to write with?!? We had lots of school supplies donated to MUMMs from Annual Conference, and with Peg's ok, my helpers and I passed some of them out. I also had lots of books from a very sweet retired teacher who was cleaning out her basement- more books than could fit in my classroom (I know there's no such thing as too many books...but I may actually be coming close.) So I sorted them out according to ages, and they got to pick a few books to keep also. Karen brought some ag activity books and cute erasers, and Pastor Tom brought some tickets to the Piercing the Darkness concert (and candy) so everybody left with lots of goodies.

I'm so grateful for all the volunteers who came and showed God's love to these kids, and these kids who came and showed God's love to us.

Next week's commute is quite a bit longer than this week's....and I'm thankful for my host family in Van Buren county, so I can stay there a little bit and save myself 6 hours of driving. (Though I've gotten smart and am now listening to audiobooks on long drives, it's better yet if I can just be closer.)