Paragon Church

Tuesday, July 27, 2010

VBS 2010


For three months, Scott, Laura and I have been talking about Vacation Bible School.  We talked about the who’s, the what’s, the when’s and the where’s.  After all the planning and preparation, door hangers and work days, the week finally arrived.

We weren’t quite sure what to expect as the doors opened on Monday Morning.  As all of the volunteers arrived the excitement grew.  Kids started to pour in to the final tally of 105.  We did crafts, games, heard Bible Stories in a giant Hefty Sack Space Bubble, and had a lot of fun with the Lads.  During our Worship Time, Scott and I threw out a challenge for the students to bring in money for Mosquito Nets to protect kids across the world from malaria.  Our challenge was if the kids could bring in $250 (the amount it would take to buy 25 nets) Scott would shave his head.  If they got $300 I would shave mine and Scott would also take a cream pie to the face. It could not have been a better day for Paragon in our Rookie Season doing a VBS.

Day Two arrived and we had 15 more students register but about 20 were no show’s from the day before (giving us an even 100 for day 2).  It is hard to “not” think about numbers in a situation like this.  Thoughts go through your mind on why people didn’t come back but in reality, you have to think on the positive side – why did 85 return and have 15 more come with them.  By the time it was all said and done, it was another great day of fun and excitement.  The kids were really warming up to the Lads Band and starting to know the songs and the motions to them.  You could feel the energy starting to build.  Also, the kids brought in over $50 on the first day for Mosquito Nets.

On Wednesday, more kids came (107), and we finally used the hefty sack black light bubble for the Bible Story time.  It was a whole new excitement that got going and the kids loved it.  (Honestly, who doesn’t love black light and the way it makes your clothes glow?)  We had fun playing dodgeball with the older kids and tag with the younger ones.  The snack of the day… OTTER POPS.  What a great day.   Oh, BTW, The kids stepped up the plate on day two for mosquito nets and brought in $169, bringing the total to $219 and making it very real that Scott would be bald by Thursday Night.

The Final Day arrived and it seemed like the week had flown by.  We had such a great time.  We went through the day waiting for the final Worship Time for a couple of reasons… (one) Mark of the Lads was going to give a gospel presentation… and (two) we were to see how much money was brought in for those mosquito nets.  Both events were definitely worth waiting for.  When the Gospel was presented, over 50 kids stood to respond to the message and we know that at least 26 of those accepted Christ as their Savior (THAT IS WHAT IT IS ALL ABOUT).    Secondly, after the $$ was tallied, we not only reached our goal of $300, the kids DOUBLED it!!!  We were able to present Compassion International with a $600 check to buy 60 mosquito nets for kids in need.

The wrap up concert and cookout on Thursday Night saw over 350 kids and Parents show up to have a good time and wrap up a great week of blessings from God.  We really could not have asked for more as this week exceeded ALL expectations.

And now for my Award Winners Speech… I would like to thank every volunteer who helped with every aspect of this Vacation Bible School.   From door to door to publications, from WalMart to Set Up/Tear Down and of course all of the teachers and helpers, you were all amazing and it was a huge help.  Without you, this week would not have been able to run as smoothly as it did and would not have been the success that it was.

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