Everyone had a BLAST at the Baobab Blast Vacation Bible School program this summer. 83 students ages 3 – 6th grade gathered each morning under the Baobab tree for a time to learn about TRUST, LOVE, FOLLOW, CARE and SHARE through their Savannah Storytelling, Grassland Games, Serengeti Science and Kalahari Crafts rotation stations and danced to songs like “Let the Lord Lead You” during our daily Celebration gathering. The daily themes always have such a real connection to our VBS program and are truly a testament to God’s active presence in our lives.

Day One: TRUST! The most anxious time of VBS preparation is the couple weeks before VBS starts because there are multiple blank spots on the volunteer list, but God, in His infinite power, always provides. Our VBS program was blessed this year with 50 different volunteers, sometimes even at the last minute. Youth volunteers, members of
the congregation and parents from outside of GSLC came forward to help serve in all capacities. We must indeed TRUST in God to provide when we most need it.

Day Two: LOVE! Jesus had an infinite amount of love for us – he died on the cross for us so that we can have eternal life. VBS is a wonderful opportunity for children to not only grow in their faith, but to get excited about it! Seeing the students dance in the aisles and teach their parents all the motions to the songs they have learned during the
week at our Thursday Night Celebration program reminds me that our faith is not passive, but active and we should all be so excited about how God gave us eternal life through Jesus Christ that we joyously share it with others.

Day Three: FOLLOW! We know that as children of God we can trust God because He keeps His promises to us. God has promised good to us and as I watched volunteers of all ages teach enthusiastically, play and get messy with our VBS students, I saw God’s goodness in each volunteer and each student. Each of us is the living embodiment of God’s goodness and that is amazing knowledge to walk around knowing

Day Four: CARE! Our VBS mission project was to raise money to purchase long-lasting insecticide treated mosquito nets for children in Africa to help fight malaria. Each day, a net was passed around and students gave a monetary donation towards this effort.  Our students collected over $230, purchasing 23 mosquito nets to help fight malaria in
Africa. God really does care for us and wants us to care for others as well.

Day Five: SHARE! There are many ways to share faith and hopefully VBS will encourage students to continue to share their faith with others even after VBS is over. As students learned about how Phillip shared his faith with the Ethiopian in his travels,students thought about all the ways that they travel … on a bus, in a care, skateboarding or bilking and how they can share their faith with others in how they act and by what they

Thank you to all volunteers who helped make VBS possible and mark your calendars NOW for VBS 2011: June 20 – 24th (9am to noon) or on Wednesday evenings, June 15th – July 10th (6:00 – 8:00pm).