A huge THANK YOU to all who helped make this wonderful week of VBS such a rousing success. Our buildings were full of children and leaders who were learning about God’s Power and Light, and how we can see, follow, and share that light with others.

I hope you enjoy these stories of God’s Power & Light among us this week:

“Please don’t make me leave until after Bible Study!”

While adults sometimes find Bible Study boring or tedious, not so for the young people in the 3rd, 4th and 5th grade Bible Study rotation, led by Martha and Beth Parker and Catie Lott! On Thursday, a family requested that they be able to pick their children up early so they could go to King’s Dominion for the day. Their 3rd grade son made the plea to be able to stay at least through his Bible Study time. When his mom came to pick him up, he was, indeed, in the middle of Bible Study. He made his case to be allowed to stay — and when the rotation was over, he happily went on to more fun. When was the last time YOU were so excited about studying the Bible????

From the mouths of babes . . .

Our preschool classes have the pleasure of having roving music teacher, Rose Browning, visit their classrooms each day. The children love Miss Rose’s visits each day, offering many hugs and happy greetings when she arrives. One day when Rose was leaving the classroom, a little 5-year-old sighed happily and said, “That woman has a heart of gold!” Indeed, she does! And so do all the other 109 volunteers who worked so hard this week!

“I wanted them to experience what we’ve experienced.”

There is a family that came to HRBC 10 months ago, and they not only brought their children to VBS, the mom accepted a leadership position, guiding children from rotation to rotation. As the week progressed, we heard many times from her how much she liked VBS and how much fun she was having. On Wednesday, she asked if it was okay to invite her neighbor’s family to Family Night, even though they didn’t come to VBS. She said she had told her friends about HRBC, but she wanted them to experience firsthand the love and welcome she and her family had felt from this church. We did, indeed, warmly welcome her friends and many others to a fun-filled Family Night!

And then there’s the tooth fairy . . .

One of our 1^st grade girls lost a tooth during VBS. She was very excited and told her mom that she couldn’t wait to put it under her pillow because the tooth fairy might bring her some money. And if the tooth fairy brought her money, she could give it to the offering to help people in other places hear the Bible. When asked how much she hoped to receive, she thought maybe $100 would be a good sum! Though she received somewhat less than $100, her generous spirit and those of the many other children and families who brought offering during the week helped us to collect over $850 to send to Faith Comes By Hearing, and as a result, 450 or more people will hear the New Testament in their own language!

The stories here are just a few of the many that happened during the week at VBS. Continue to pray for the children who experienced God’s love and our hospitality this week. We never know how God might use the stories and love that children experience during VBS to change not just their life, but that of their family, too. We also never know when a family will be drawn back to this congregation to learn more about God’s power and light - so be looking for new faces to welcome! Now go and shine YOUR light!!