VBS 2006 Is in the Books

Wow! What a week it's been! We had our Vacation Bible School this past week. Months and months of praying and planning and preparation came to fruition and it was amazing. Our church went through a rough time this past winter where we lost quite a few families, so we all wondered what VBS would be like this year. Well, it started out great for me when, on Tuesday, a little girl that I had brought (background: she used to be one of my students then I got to know her mother a bit and have kept in touch...she comes from a pretty discouraging home life, let's just put it that way) trusted Jesus. We were driving home and we started talking about the Lord and she was asking some pretty heavy questions, which led directly to the gospel. The VBS curriculum uses the ABC's to explain the Gospel: A-admit that you are a sinner, B-believe that Jesus is God's Son and came into the world to take away our sins, C-confess your faith in Jesus as your Savior and Lord...these are a great and simple way to explain the Gospel...I even use it as a guide in talking to adults! Anyways, it was precious to know that she is now securely in God's Hands and He promises that He'll never let her go and that He's her Protector and Defender and Heavenly Father now...she's definitely going to have to learn to lean on Him more than most other children her age. In all, we had 16 kids trust Christ which is just precious. It reminds me how simple the Gospel is. We adults make it so complicated and think and question (not that it's wrong to really think and question the reality of what we believe. I think that's a good thing!) and have to have doctrines to explain and understand everything about the ways of God...what a joke! He says: "How great are His riches and wisdom and knowledge! How impossible it is for us to understand His decisions and His methods!" (Romans 11:33) Children just believe. However, I also think it's interesting and testifies to the working of the Holy Spirit drawing people to God that some kids don't make the choice to accept Christ. It seems to make it clear that it has to be the work of God for us to understand. Some of the kids in my room (I taught 1st/2nd graders) knew right away that they were sinners and that they needed Christ to take away their sins. Others didn't really get it. And it didn't make a difference what type of home they came from, whether a family that took them to church or not. It was the work of God.
Anyways, I'll stop babbling=) It was an awesome week. But now comes the tough part: some of the kids that you just want to take home with you go back to what I consider depressing home lifes. So discouraging and negative...not a lot of hope there. But, I'm so thankful that they came and got to have a taste of and invitation to the hope that "never disappoints".