VBS ~ Day 1

When climbers attempt to scale Mount Everest , they don't just show up, put on some snowboots, get some rope and head up the mountain. It takes days for the climbers to get acclimated to the altitude. They start at Base Camp and head up Mt. Everest at a gradual pace, spending at least several hours at each camp on the way up the mountain. This gradual pace is meant to assure a safer ascent and a better chance of actually reaching the top of the mountain. In the book, "Into Thin Air", the author tells his story of his climb up Mount Everest. By the time they got to the top, they were so sick from oxygen deprivation and tired from their climb that they took just a couple of minutes to relish the view and have a picture taken before descending. After reading that book, I made a firm pact never to scale anything taller than a peanut buster parfait at the Dairy Queen!
Preparing for Vacation Bible School is sort of like climbing Mount Everest. Preparations began months before the Big Day. Much prayer went into the selection of the curriculum. Volunteers signed up and received their books. Many members of the church family gathered supplies and gave monetary gifts to support this week.
This weekend, we arrived at "Base Camp". Friday night was a Work Night. Over fifteen people came to paint, cut and create decorations and craft items for the VBS week. Of course, where two or three Methodists are gathered, there will be pizza in the midst of them. We had begun our ascent. Sunday we transformed our church into a bayou, complete with a kayak, crocodiles, bobber streamers and a watering hole. It looks amazing. I take credit for nothing! My volunteers are amazing; you ask them to create a scene and they take ownership and create. (I'll try to post some pictures if I can figure out how.)
Yesterday was Monday, the first day of Vacation Bible School. I arrived at the church about 4:45 p.m. to take care of last minute details and meet the volunteers as they arrived. I had been awake quite a bit of the night, going over everything in my mind, too excited to sleep. As the children and adults arrived, there was a buzz in the air. There was a last minute flurry of needed items to be found or small fires to put out.
We begin each night of Bible School with supper. This is a blessing to those of us who have already put in an eight hour work day. It's always a blessing to a good meal and great fellowship. We had a lot of new faces in the supper line. Lots of old friends sharing a wonderful, kid-friendly supper of chicken patties and jello. I always do devotions with the volunteers during supper and take a little time to pray with them. Then, it's time to go to the registration table to greet the VBS crowd.
We had thirty children last night, which is a very good number for us. Nine of those children are preschool aged! Please pray for our preschool teacher. The most amazing thing is only three of those children are members of our church family! They are friends and neighbors of our church family; a couple of families found us through the newspapers advertisements. That's evangelism in action!
The music cranks up and the fun really begins. The kids spend the next two hours playing games, creating crafts, watching a short video about a chimpmunk named Chadder who gets himself into all sorts of adventures, participating in a bible story and singing.
The preschools stopped bythe table I where I was working to say hello toward the end of the evening and their bright smiles and lively chatter was a huge blessing. It's also a huge indicator that they were suffering from an overdose of sugar and it was way past their bedtime. We enjoyed a contest of "look how high I can jump". Can't believe I'm getting paid to do this. I'm lovin' it!!
After the last song was sung and the children, youth and adults bolted for the door on their way to bedtimes and stories, I sat in a chair in the church and savored the blessing that the evening had been. Our prayer team had put in overtime providing prayer coverage for this week and it showed. The children were worshipping in their own unique, uninhibited manner. Everything ran very smoothly, with just a few minor exceptions.
We are climbing toward Friday. By Thursday, the volunteers and children have hit the wall. If we were climbing Everest, we would be breaking out the oxygen tanks. We are tired and looking forward to sleeping in on Saturday morning. I pull out the big arsenal as I give affirmation, devotion and offer a prayer during supper on Friday. I know that for all of the hard work, the reward of seeing God shining in the eyes of a child is the best reward one could be given.
On Sunday we will share our Vacation Bible School closing celebration with our church family. I'll be a little sad. We've reached the top and taken the picture. The descent promises a well-deserved nap and memories that will keep us coming back year after year. However, I don't think that God intends for us to pack up our gear and head for home. I think He's got more mountains in store for us. As long as we are willing to climb, He will supply the summits.