Vacation Bible School!

This week is VBS at our church. The kids love it and are so sad that there are only two days left. This year's theme is the Boomerang Express Australian Outback. Emily's class is called the possums (which we have enjoyed joking with her about) and John Daniel's class is called the Gliders (he informed me this was a flying squirrel). They rotate around to different areas which include Worship Rally, Music, Snack, Recreation, Missions, Bible Class, and Crafts. It is very fast paced and loads of fun! We have contests boys vs girls to see who can bring in the most money for missions and food for Manna the food pantry. The kids get so into this! Everyone has so much energy and the adults act crazy and have as much fun as the kids. John and I taught a class last year together and he said to me at the beginning of the week that he was kinda sad that we weren't teaching this year. I have been volunteering as the campus nurse and John has been a greeter/do boy on the nights he could be there. Molly has gone to the "Coral Reef" to hang out with the other baby that is her age. This year there are over 200 kids on campus for VBS.

VBS is one of the first things we did at BFBC when we started looking around at churches on our side of town and I have to say it might be one of the biggest reasons we decided to join. BFBC really tries to take care of their kids. We have struggled this past year financially and when the children's minister decided to go back to Miami where she was from, the church decided not to fill her position. It was sad but there have been sooo many awesome volunteers that have stepped up to make the children's ministry work. One of the reasons I have always been impressed with VBS in particular is how the church staff is so involved. Pastor Mark will tell all the congregation that the entire staff helps with VBS and that is the number one priority this week during the summer. It is so true and I have seen it now for four years. Every pastor and every secretary, the groundskeeper/maintenance guy, and every assistant is on campus working with the kids in some way. The lady that keeps Molly each night is the church secretary (who has also worked all day at the church). The pastor does crazy silly skits and dressed up as Crocodile Dundee tonight( he wrestled a blow up alligator tonight in front of all the kids) and visits each class to talk about Jesus. The youth pastor and his wife do a special "big kid" VBS for the graduating 5th graders. The Music minister and his wife do all the music and teach the music classes. Pastor Mark's wife is teaching a 4th grade class (she has no children or grandchildren involved), the other pastor's assistants are teaching classes, many of the deacons are involved, and so on and so on. I can not tell you what it means as a mom to see that these people care about our kids and they don't even have kids attending themselves. It makes you want to be a part of it! And I love that all the adults can be so silly!!! We've had a kangaroo on campus all week (a crazy adult dressed up as a kangaroo that will only show her face if the kids do the Kangaroo Bop)!!!! We have had a blast once again!!!