I found Jose as I stepped away from an opening prayer asking God to lift the first-night anxieties from our first Community Vacation Bible School in early August. I was nervous. I wasn’t sure we were prepared. So many new faces. Could we provide what they were expecting? Could we provide what He was expecting?
I needed to pray, and I asked everyone – children, youth and adults, knowing all were likely a little anxious – to pray with me in the opening moments of VBS. “Lord, take away our fears and fill us with your Light and Love and Peace and Joy.”
Opening prayer with Phoenix squad
As I closed the prayer, I found Jose crying. He was one of the new faces, and his eyes were squeezed closed, tears spilling across his cheeks, as he rocked in his pew.
I walked Jose to the water cooler, where he told me that he’d never been in our church, and he was afraid he would get lost. And he wondered if the people he didn’t know would be mean to him.
Pastor Russel joined us, reminding both of us, in our anxiety, that “everyone here loves you.”
Jose recovered his composure and joined the Leo squad. They went to science and crafts, music and recreation, snacks and Bible story time. The people there, adults and youth, from SUMC, St.Paul’s Lutheran and St. Matthews AME Zion, made him feel loved. You could see it in his smile throughout the week. God filled him.
Later in the week, in a Bible story time activity about kindness, the children were asked to write notes to shut-ins from our three churches. They responded beautifully. They wrote “I love you, Jesus loves you, everybody loves you” and “Jesus loves you to the moon and back!” and “God’s praed [sic] for you” and “Jesus loves you more than food and water” and “God loves you with all of his heart.” We mailed 35 notes.
Jose wrote “Yoar [sic] amazing. Grate [sic] job.” The words were accompanied by hearts and stars. The one who needed encouragement was now offering encouragement. VBS creates change.
Families brought school supplies and other contributions for our Operation Christmas Child drive. The children prayed for friends Jack and Ava, who missed VBS after Jack was injured in a hockey game. We signed cards and sent Jack and Ava backpacks full of VBS gifts. Everyone here loves you, we told them.
We prayed for the SUMC church family after the children were reminded that you had been asked to pray for them each night. We prayed for other churches and “for all the churches in the universe.” Every time we prayed together in the sanctuary, the Phoenix squad, who were kindergartners, came forward to pray aloud, and always they offered prayers of thanks.
Prayer walk
On the fourth day, after sharing the story of the Samaritan man, healed from leprosy, who returned to thank Jesus, we took a prayer walk. I challenged each squad to take one lap around our building and find 10 things for which they were thankful. Every group found at least 15 things, and two groups found more than 20. We walked past children playing games, past police cars and ambulances, past American flags, past flowers and trees, past the windows of our science and music rooms.
At the end of his walk, Jose wanted me to add God to the list. “Where did you see God, Jose?”
Jose smiled.
“In the people!”
Fear replaced by Light and Love and Peace and Joy. A prayer answered through everyone, and for everyone, who took the VBS journey.