Last week was Church of the Highlands’s kids conference – Summer Blast! It’s very similar to the well-known VBS (Vacation Bible School) that lots of churches have, but it’s only 3 days (Monday, Tuesday & Wednesday). Last year I wasn’t able to get the time off work to serve, but since I’m no longer working, I was able to serve 😀 Aaron was also asked to lead the object lesson (the Bible story) again, so our family got to serve together which was so special!
The theme was “Found in Paradise” and the kids were reminded of the following things every day at every station (games, object lesson / craft, snacks, movie, etc.).
Day 1:
I chose to be a small group leader with kids going into 1st grade, so day 1 I met the kids that would be in my group. My co-leader was a dear friend of mine so we had a wonderful time serving together.
Snack time was a fun combination of vanilla pudding, teddy-graham crackers and gummy lifesavers.
At the end of each day, our family stuck around for lunch, a couple meetings and some prep for the next day. The girls really enjoyed walking around the facility and playing with other kids.
This particular moment had me laughing because Emmaline was playing with a left behind craft and confetti that had been shot during worship. Meanwhile, Rylie is being carried around by an ambitious 9-year-old but loving every second of it 😛
Day 2:
Day 2 Aaron got a microphone in his room (something he did not have on day 1) and everyone was very excited about it! 😀
Day 3:
Day 3 my co-leader was home sick, so I had a new co-leader. My group missed our leader but she sent along some fun goodies that the kids loved – including leis and ring pops!
Game time was a fun one. We were on two sides and you had to get as many beach balls over the line as possible because when the music stopped, whichever side had the most balls lost. Our side ended up winning which was exciting!
Snack time was happy to see us 😛
I loved visiting Aaron’s station and hearing him present what he’d been studying for the previous couple weeks. We also had intentionally purchased a few things in Hawaii to rep at Summer Blast which made it extra festive for us.
After Summer Blast ended, we cleaned up. Emmaline helped me get the car at one point to bring it closer to the building and I thought she was a pretty cute shotgun rider 😉
Overall, Summer Blast was a magnificent hit! Our campus had almost 400 kids and the whole church hosted over 9,000. The stories have been pouring in all week and it has been so incredible to hear how these kids have led their families to church/Jesus on Sunday or strengthened their own faith.