There’s a fountain flowing Beans and Rice

It’s that time of year again- Vacation Bible School time.  I am so thankful for all the pastors, parents, and volunteers that make it possible for our kids to have a couple hours of time to build friendships and learn about God.  This year Danny came home singing the VBS classic “Deep and Wide”, but he was singing the words “beans and rice”.  I’m still not sure if VBS had a food theme this year or if he just didn’t understand the lyrics.  Josh on the other hand was anxious to take in all the details of what he was learning.  Of course, at six years-old there were still some things that got confusing.  He came home one day and told me, “Mom, in our VBS Bible story we learned how Jesus calmed the storm so the guys in the boat. . . you know. . .Hudson Taylor could get to China.”  I had only been half listening so I said, “That’s great!. . . Wait. . . what? Are you doing a missionary story and a Bible story?”  Turns out they were.

It isn’t easy to sacrifice to spend a couple hours each day for a week investing in these kids, but the pay-off is lifelong.  I still remember my VBS experiences as a child and how right following Jesus seemed when I saw the excitement and joy in my teachers.  So thank you to everybody who taught Bible stories, prepared snacks, facilitated games, collected craft supplies, and lead music. Whatever you did for the least of these, you did for Jesus.