VBS

Abishael sleeping after a  busy day in VBS nursery

Abraham and two others setting up chairs

 Summer has come and gone.  Abraham and I helped in the VBS of our church during the third week of July.  The theme of the week was God Walks with Israel.  Abraham was games leader, while I worked in the nursery.  Each day there was a varying number of children and adults, but the final count of attenders was over 400.  

Two weeks later, we held VBS at our home in Huejotzingo.  It was a year of several firsts.  Due to lack of transportation, volunteer help from the church was at a minimum.  One young man from church helped us four out of the five days, and to do that, he stayed at our house.  Another lady also helped several days, and she had to leave home early to take two buses in order to arrive.  My mother-in-law also stayed the week with us, as did my dad who was our photographer.  Because of few helpers from church, it was the first year that all the children attending the VBS were only from Huejotzingo.  We had no worker's children in attendance except for our own son, Abishael.

Also a first was the help of a Huejotzingo couple, Christian neighbors of ours.  They came each day.  Because they came, neighbor children of theirs also attended for the first time.

Telling the story of Cain and Abel

Thomas can't stop telling about Jesus

Our theme was Dios con Nosotros, God with Us.  Starting with the creation story, narrated by an angel, we taught how God made everything perfect.  On the second day, Adam told about naming the animals and how God created Eve and also how the first couple enjoyed perfect communion with God in Eden.  Eve came the third day and sadly told how sin entered the world and ruined the perfect relationship that God intended for us to have with him.  She also narrated how God immediately promised a Savior.  On day four, a lady gave the story of Cain and Abel as an example of how sin exploded into the world, but there were still people who called on the name of the Lord.  Finally, day five, Thomas, Jesus' disciple, recounted how God kept his promise of a Savior by sending Jesus.

Adam and Eve figures and creation books

Abraham reviewing the story Adam told

We chose songs and crafts, developed games and worksheets, and practiced verses each day that reinforced the message.  God's desire is to be with us, to restore the perfect relationship that existed in the beginning.  A total of 31 children participated during the week.  We were encouraged to see their enthusiasm and their recall of all they learned as we reviewed with them.

The young group painting

The young man from church is also a professional clown

game time

Little ones coloring animal pairs

Take care of your brother

The same game with smaller kids

The sheep Abel sacrificed-a reminder that the Savior would die in our place

The closing day, Sunday, the young group recited three of their five memory verses and the older group did the same, although their verses were longer.  We sang the week's songs, and Abraham briefly went over the stories we'd heard, asking many questions as he reviewed.  The kids remembered very well.  They enjoyed the slide show, including various videos, that my dad put together.  After receiving their diplomas and small prizes, they dug into the cake that the church sent for us.  Three parents attended the finale.

Most of the VBS week at our home, I had some health problems, and some of the problem has continued.  We saw one doctor during the VBS week but there was no change in the situation.  A second doctor two weeks later did help some, and then we saw a third doctor today.  He also helped and assured us that soon there will be relief.  Please pray for health for all of us.  Pray also as we follow up with all the kids who attended the VBS and pray that they will share what they learned with their families.