The God of Peace Be With You All

We all survived yet another week of VBS. We went back in time and traveled across the seas to Rome last week (previously known as Grandma Lilibeth's church). It was lots of fun, and the kids really got into the spirit of things, as they always do. Everyone dresses in Bible-time costumes and we're all divided into families. Our snacks are whole-wheat bread and water, and there are no games, but every child who comes says it is their favorite VBS.



That's because it all feels so real. The church has spent several years now doing the VBS material from the same publishers, and so they have visited Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Galilee, Phillipi and now, Rome. (Grandma Lilibeth actually wrote the Phillippi material, and it was just as good.) They've created a large and very realistic Marketplace, and amassed a large collection of baskets and other paraphernalia. It pulls the children into a real feeling of the stories like nothing I've ever seen, and it gives new understanding about things like the birth/death of Christ and the persecution of the church.



This year Art played the part of an underground church leader, and my brother Elijah was Paul in prison. Even my children were able to see them as something else for those times, though, and it was fun to watch.

Now that we've returned to the real world (the real 'now' world, you know) we'll have to start cramming all those summer plans into the next 5 weeks. We've already made a flying trip to the Wichita Mts. for Independence Day. Next is a trip to Texas and a return to the Science Museum and Zoo. August is creeping up on us much to quickly!