I Can Breathe

VBS is complete. 

Also known as, the night I can finally breathe a sigh of relief. Me + being in charge of a big event = one stressed out mama. 

It was wonderful. All of it really. I just don't like the pressure and responsibility that comes with being a leader. Not my spiritual gift. All of it was done by God's power being made perfect in my oh so evident weakness! 

The week was fabulous, everything came together beautifully, for the most part! It is so neat to watch people use their gifts in serving the Lord as we taught them about Jesus. The bible story teachers tag-teamed and they were amazing. I was teary-eyed watching them share the story of Paul each night. Josiah even came home and told me the whole story of Paul on the road to Damascus and we got to talk about it! This NEVER happens! 

The ladies who lead our music time are a grandmother and her two granddaughters who have been coming from Alabama every year to help us. They have been coming since Hills of Grace first began. Words cannot describe the depth of gratitude I have for them and their dedication and love for the Lord and for us. We are honored to know them. 

We averaged about 55 children this year. Many were invited by people from our church, many hearing about Jesus for the first time. The seeds of Truth were planted this week. Pray for their little hearts to understand and one day soon, to trust in Him. 

Each night before VBS we fed about 100-120 people. Between the workers, kids, and their parents it was a houseful of people! Our VBS lasted 2 hours, each group rotating to the different stations. We rented out a vacant store space in the mall just down the hallway as our recreation area; since we do not have access to a grassy area anywhere close, we have to do it inside. We had all volunteers from our church. This is the first year we have not had a mission team here helping with our VBS. It's cool to see people serving and using their gifts collectively! 

Here are a few pictures:

We ate in the same room where we held crafts & bible story. 

The dinner crew had 15 minutes to clean up once the opening ceremony started before the groups were coming back in to their rotation! It was teamwork at it's finest! 

 The girls especially loved music time! 

 These are the two incredible ladies from Alabama. 

 I was so proud of Josiah, this year he participated every night in all of the activities without putting up a fight. He had a great time and really enjoyed it. 

Paul only participated one night and had a rough time the other nights. Two nights in a row he peed in his pants, in the hallway in the mall, leaving a large puddle.

 Justin was "RollerCoaster Randy" this week! He's a great emcee! 

 This is Angie, our associate pastor's wife. I just love her. She and I are always laughing. I could not have survived without her help, her encouragement, and her brain to bounce ideas off of. She's amazing. I am so thankful for her friendship. 

 Bethany teaching during the bible story time.

Our VBS lasts 3 nights, then on night #4, we call it Family Night. We give the parents an invite card to come on Thursday night for a pizza dinner. Afterwards, the kids sing two songs they learned, Justin talks for a quick minute or two about knowing Christ, and then we show a video from the week of VBS. There were SO MANY PEOPLE there! It was GREAT! Lots of families we had never met before. This just blows me away. 

You can go our Hills of Grace Facebook page to see more pictures. 

 The beautiful children singing a truly beautiful song called "Change My Heart". 

Thank you to everyone who have prayed for me as I prepared for VBS. Thank you to everyone who prayed for our VBS and for the kids. Thank you to my sweet husband who has put up with me and all of my many moments of freaking out and stressing and complaining. I do not deserve him or the continuous grace he gives me!  We are worn, and strung out pretty dry, the laundry pile is high, the fridge is nearly empty, the garden is out of control, and we've eaten nothing but junk for the last 10 days (I have eaten JUST cheetos for lunch 2 days in a row, gag!), but oh I wouldn't trade it for anything. Tonight as I looked around and thought about how far God has brought us, I was just in awe. He has done great things, and I'm so glad to be a small part of it.