Alaska 2015 VBS Mission - July 1 FUN DAY

The 2nd Annual VBS FUN DAY was a HUGE success. We were blessed with nice weather, unlike last year when it rained and we had 25 kids INSIDE...yea, you moms know what I am talking about! And this year we had 37 kids. We had an awesome show of support from the parents this year too! We were very encouraged by the parents coming out.

This year we included planting the school garden in the FUN DAY activities. The garden will be used to provide fresh vegetables to any family who has a child in McGrath school.

Ms Kellie had the garden spot all plowed up and ready for the kids. She had potatoes, cabbage, broccoli, and carrots ready for the kids to plant. Ms Kellie did an awesome job of tying our planting of the garden to how God plants seeds of His love in our hearts to love Him and how we can be saved through Jesus. It was just like Jesus did when He taught, took things the people knew about and applied them to the life He was teaching them about.

The kids had an awesome time. The younger kids did most of the potato planting. They had a great time digging a little hole and planting the potatoes. Ms Kellie let the older kids plant the plants for the cabbage, lettuce, etc. One of the younger kids loves carrots so she let him plant the carrots. By the end of August the garden should be in full bloom and ready for the harvest in September. I am looking forward to seeing how everything comes up. Especially the potatoes that the "little hands" planted!

We are so amazed at how fast the kids learned the VBS songs and the motions that go along with the songs. The favorite song is still POWER from 2014 VBS. You want to see some kids get into a song, this is it. The expressions on their faces are priceless. These kids are SUPER! After practicing the songs for the closing program it was time to let the FUN begin.

Jay had several games for the kids to play. The one thing that really kept the younger kids occupied was catching grasshoppers! No, it is not a game, it is actually catching grasshoppers. The first day we went outside for games one little girl asked me if I would help her catch a grasshopper. I said I do not think there are any grasshoppers out here. She said sure there are! Let's go right over here...and guess what...she caught a grasshopper! Not just any ole grasshopper, this was a large grasshopper. She said, "Mr Mike do you want to hold it?" What could I say, I could not let this little girl think a grown man from Alabama was afraid of a grasshopper. Sure I said and quickly put it in her cup!

The dinner bell was rung and the hot dogs with all the trimmings were ready. I was amazed at all the kids that asked for mayo for their hot dogs...really! Mayo on a hot dog! When we said we only had ketchup, mustard and relish they looked disappointed. I could understand if they had asked for chili or kraut, but not mayo...talk about ruining a perfectly good hot dog!

July 2 is Jay's (member of our team) birthday so we celebrated his birthday as part of our events. What a special way to celebrate your 18th birthday...in the most beautiful place in the US, the bush of Alaska!

It was time for the highlight of the week, the closing program. The kids did an awesome job in singing their songs for the parents. And they did not have the video to watch for the motions...and they nailed it. We are so proud of these kids. Our friends who have helped us with the Bible stories this week came back for one last time with the kids. They lead the kids in telling their parents the theme verse for the week and what they learned about Jesus. Before the craft bags and certificates were handed out we had an opportunity to share a quick presentation of the Gospel using what the kids learned this week. I have to say this about this year compared to last year when the Gospel was shared. I saw more happy faces than I saw last year! God is working in McGrath.

Before we closed I announced to the kids and parents that starting next week we are going to have a weekly mini VBS day. On Tuesday the younger kids (ages 5-8) are going to meet and on Thursday the older kids (ages 9-12) will meet. I am excited to get to follow-up our VBS with this weekly time with the kids. Please be in prayer that we can really explain the Gospel in a clear way to these kids...AND reach the parents. Many of the parents came and talked with us during the week.

I want to thank the McGrath Community Church for allowing us the privilege of coming year after year. They are some incredible folks. I want thank Ray and Sally Collins, and Josh and Kellie Peirce for being awesome host homes for our team; the families that provided our evening meals; and Tony and Megan Jennings for the boat rides and fellowship. I want to give a very special thanks to Jack and Joyce Turner for all the work they did to provide lunch for our team every day, snacks for the kids, cooking the hot dogs for the FUN DAY, and basically making sure we had all we needed. You guys rock!

Be sure to check back this weekend for highlights from the team's day trip to Prince William Sound and some final thoughts from the VBS week. Also, the blog will continue to be posted as Christie (arriving in McGrath on Thursday July 9th) minister in the village while Pastor Wayne is out of the village in July and August.