It was the Sunday before VBS started the next day. I attended training and worked with many
volunteers to finish bringing Liz Oglesby and Ellen Hynes vision to life at St Mark. The sanctuary was the last to be prepared. The sound was checked for the puppet EP320 (stands for Ephesians 3:20) played by Mary Beth Powell.
Ephesians 3:20 was the bible verse which we all read and recited together each day of Vacation Bible School. “Now to him who by the power at work within us is able to accomplish abundantly far more than all we can ask or imagine.”
We were ready? Anyway all would begin bright and early the next day. I arrived at 8:15 with my grandsons Nathan and Connor in tow. We checked the children in as they arrived but all were not there by 9AM when we were to proceed to the sanctuary to begin the day. By about 9:15 all were assembled. There were three groups amounting to 17- 4 and 5 year olds. Sanctuary time did not begin until late because we were not the only late arrivals. Our new check-in procedure was taking a little more time and helpers were provided after Monday to check in stragglers so the majority of our groups could start on time in the Sanctuary.
My grandsons were excited. Connor who is just 5 was assigned to my group and Nathan who is 7 was assigned across the hall from Connor. Their favorite song was the theme of VBS, “To Mars and Beyond.” Some of the words include “Faith is gonna lead the way, Guide us every step we take...We will learn to trust God’s power at work in us.” There are many references to Mars as well and the tune is very catchy. We all sang this song every day with our leaders including Sarah Burgess. The dance moves delighted the children who had trouble following along except when they got the “to Mars and Beyond” part where they would put one hand on a hip and raise the other one like they were pointing to Mars.
My easiest activity was the playground. The first day we had rain so the children spent the day inside. It is a very nice play area with rubber mulch and sidewalks to ride on, a full jungle gym, a sand box to play in and a couple of small playhouses. It made me want to be a kid again. I was impressed by the creativity shown by children who wanted to walk up the slides or go down with more than one kid at a time or linger at the bottom with the risk of being hit from behind. We only had one skinned knee with no bleeding but a lot of drama over which bandaid to choose.
All of us were amateurs because this is only done once a year. Many of us haven’t worked like this for a very long time. Some of us are grandparents and these kids are fast!! One little boy had been through two tonsil surgeries over the summer and arrived crying and clinging to his Mom the first day. After a while he allowed me to take his hand whenever we moved from one place to the other. Sometimes he wanted to participate and sometimes he wanted to just watch. I let him. He began to smile and I was grateful to see his cheeks dimple. I didn’t know his medical history until the last day when his grandmother picked him up and told me I was glad that I had given him extra attention. After the second day he came in with a smile and began to be a little bit mischievous like the other children. He was a reminder that we never know what people may be going through that may be influencing their interactions with us-both child and adult.
We also had a runner. On the days her parents were not volunteering she would run after her Mom or to her siblings rooms. One day she had to be taken home. She stayed with us pretty well whenever her grandmother was present and on days that her parents volunteered. She was so fast that the teen helpers couldn’t keep up when she got it into her head to run.
The children particularly enjoyed their crafts, especially their robots and their wind chimes. They also enjoyed their bottle projects and their bubbling alka-seltzer tablets in their bottles and the outside science where the baking soda made the glass beaker overflow.
Their favorite bible story was Daniel in the lion’s den. They loved to roar like the lions and pretend to be them.
One day we had a very exciting story time when several children decided to sit and pull the cloth dividers down in the story room. The cloth drapes were held together with clips so it took a little work to get them re-hung.
All in all it was a glorious week topped off with a program on Friday night where the children performed some of the songs they had learned and families attended a buffet dinner with the gym decorated with space themes echoing the “To Mars and Beyond” theme of VBS. Kudos to all the wonderful decorators who made the atmosphere so exciting for the children.
I provided transportation for my grandsons Nathan and Connor. Connor told me he liked having me as his “teacher.” Both boys want to return next year. What a blast!
Judith Richardson
