Vacation Bible School always a great experience

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 26/08/2014 (4227 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Another year of Vacation Bible School (VBS) has come and gone at Eastview Community Church.  

Every year the church plays host to approximately 150 children who come together for an exciting week of fun, friendship, and fellowship.

The theme this year was “Weird Animals” and it did not disappoint! From the sets to the volunteer participation to the activities, strange and new creatures could be seen throughout the week. Some had wings, some had antennae, some even had princess tiaras and tutus, but the one thing they all had was a love for the children and the desire to share their faith.

The many volunteers showed so much enthusiasm for their roles it was contagious.  The children’s laughter and shrieks of delight echoed throughout the church for the entire week and seemed to fuel everyone involved. There were awesome songs to sing together, crafts, experiments, stories, videos and, let’s not forget, the amazing themed snacks. Everyone worked together so tirelessly to provide a wonderful experience.

The preschoolers, children aged three and four, got their own special treatment.  They had a program of their own which included not only their own team of volunteers but the children’s parents as well.  Each evening these parents and children stayed up way past their bed time to share their VBS experience. To see the preschoolers and their parents singing and dancing and playing games together was an amazing sight to see, and who could ever forget the joy on their faces?

It is safe to say the volunteers in the preschool area had just as much fun as the participants.

Spending a week with such unbridled joy rubbed off on everyone and the cute stories and quotes will continue to bring happiness for a long time. The hugs and the giggles will not soon be forgotten either.

For some of the volunteers in the preschool program, this was their first experience as a volunteer at VBS. Some of them had been participants in the program for years but were now finally able to help out.  They may have started the week a little shy, but that soon faded as they were taken in by the sheer delight of the three- and four-year-olds.

VBS is always an amazing week and this year was certainly no exception. Many thanks to the extraordinary volunteers who made Weird Animals an experience to remember and thank you to the organizers at Eastview for all you hard work.

Suzanne Dyck is a community correspondent for River East.