VBS

“I have called you by name.  You are mine".”  Isaiah 43:1

Our church is hosting vacation bible school this week.  This week the kids are roaming the streets of Nazareth.  They are visiting the marketplace.  They are playing the games that Jesus may have played as a child.  They are sampling some of the foods Jesus may have eaten. 

I am fulfilling the role as a “tribe” leader.  I am leading the tribe of Zebulun.  For this week, we are a family.  I have big kids, little kids, shy kids, out-going kids, kids with big brown eyes and kids with the brightest blue eyes.  Last night we learned that Jesus was born in Bethlehem and later moved to Nazareth where he spent his childhood.  The leaders manual asked me to go around the circle and ask every child if they would be willing to tell the rest of the tribe where they were born.  Then they wanted me to make the point that although we were all born in very different places and to different families, God brought us together this week as a family of God to learn more about Him.  We discovered that in our group we had one child who was born in Mexico, one in California, one in Canada, one in Rock Valley, one in Ethiopia, and three in Sioux Center!  Amazing!  It didn’t take long for the kids in my group to get the point.  What a beautiful picture of the family of God.  All very different on the outside and yet very much the same.  I will be praying for these little people in the weeks and months ahead.  It has been a blessing to be a very small part of each one of their lives.