VBS - Thursday - God Rules

The final night of VBS! What a week of coming together (Harambe!) to study the Lord's Prayer and the wonder of God's love for us. In the opening session, we talked about the kingdom, the power and the glory that comes at the end of the Lord's Prayer. We got to sing together, and then we were entertained by some animal charades.

In craft time, the young kids learned about the power of God's spirit, how it's like the wind: you can't see the wind, but you can feel it, and you can see the effects of its power. They made craft stick windmills to remind them. The older kids made God's Eyes, a symbol for God looking with love on people everywhere.

Recreation time found everyone dealing with an obstacle course, an anology of the obstacles we face in living our lives staying true to God's Word. The kids had to run through a slalom course, up and down the play structures, through a pool of "quicksand" and then into a cave where they found the message "God Rules" which helped them finish the course through the desert and finally reaching the Nile River.

In the closing session, the skit characters took to the stage one last time and wrapped up the story with a confession by Bakari, and an offering of forgiveness by Terry, Jerry and Dr. Doolots. In the end, their working together, and not simply for themselves, demonstrated that God will provide the things that they really need. And so it is for us.

The combined classes sang "Harambe", "The Kingdom of God" and "The Father Loves Me", which really made a lot of noise in the sanctuary with clapping hands, stomping feet, pounding drums and swinging in a tree (whee!). They closed with the Lord's Prayer sung to a beautiful tune. We found out that the donations the kids brought in totaled enough to provide scholarships to ten Liberian elementary school children next year. What a blessing to be able to provide some of what we have that can be of such benefit to people in Africa. Since we had so many children registered for all or part of the week, the two kids who brought the most visitors were able to apply some very strange hair coloring to both co-directors' hair. But everyone left with a sense of friendship as well as excitement about the power of God's love.

For those who are counting, we had 84 kids in attendance for the last night of VBS, with an average attendance of 77 for the five nights, and a total of 113 registered who attended all or some nights. There were fifty adults and youth who volunteered their time and talents to make this VBS a success. As much as those staff members gave, they received in turn, and they offer thanks to the family members who encouraged their kids to take part in this week-long adventure of teaching, learning and love.

VBS - Wednesday - God Protects

It was favorite animal day at VBS, and the church was filled with pictures of animals, and stuffed animals, and even (in the craft area) a lot of wood snakes.

We were shown an example in the opening skit of how God protects us when we're tempted. Terry and Bakari knew there was quicksand, and they knew it was dangerous, and they knew that they were not supposed to get near it. But in they went, trying to get closer to the blue cheeked bee eater, and just like Dr. Doolots predicted, they got a real sinking feeling. Fortunately, when they realized that they were in too deep, Jerry was there to answer their calls for help and pull them to safety.

The bible story and craft time also focused on temptation and the use of God's power to overcome it. Even Jesus was tempted by the devil during his time in the desert. But Jesus had an answer for the devil at every turn, and sent him away knowing that He was to follow what was written: 'Worship the Lord your God, and serve Him only.' (Matthew 4:1-11) During craft time, we colored funny flexible snakes, to remind us of the temptation of God's first people, Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, and the snakes will remind us that we will all be tempted.

Recreation time was spent in one of our favorite pastimes: fishing! There were a bunch of hippos and fish in the water, and we had some special rods and reels we used to catch some and bring them out of the water. The fish were easier to catch than those hippos, though.

We were pretty tired after all that fishing, but we had a great snack which the snack leaders called "mudhole dirt", but we heard other people calling it "quicksand" or "jungle rot". But it still tasted good!As in all the VBS sessions this week, we closed with the Lord's Prayer. We certainly have a better understanding now of the line: "Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil."

VBS - Tuesday - God Forgives

Tuesday night already! Our class time made it clear what the important theme was for the evening: forgiveness. We read Matthew 18:21-35 in which Jesus tells the story of the master who forgave a servant who was unable to pay a debt. But that same servant then went out and failed to forgive the debt of a fellow servant who owed him a much smaller amount, and in fact, treated him harshly. When the master heard the story, he was very upset with his servant that he had forgiven earlier. The story instructs us that as our Father in heaven forgives us our sins and trespasses, so too should we forgive those around us who do wrong. In the Lord's Prayer, we ask God to forgive us as we forgive others.

Forgiveness was emphasized in crafts, too, where we watched a demonstration that compared failing to offer forgiveness as a rock that we have to carry around with us. If we collect too many rocks, too many times that we fail to forgive somebody, we can get really weighed down. To symbolize this, we painted a rock to remind us that we can release this weight, give up this rock, by forgiveness.

In the skit, we watched several acts of forgiveness. Terry and Jerry forgave each other, repeatedly. And although it was hard for Bakari to understand, Dr. Doolots forgave Jerry for taking his ladder without permission. When each of them offered forgiveness, it stopped them being mad, and let them continue to be friends and work together.

When we played outside, we found out we could work together to get across a stretch of quicksand. We had two mats and we could place one in front of us, move to it, and then grab the one we had been on and move that one forward. It worked pretty well. We may remember this tomorrow when our safari friends in the skit face some quicksand.

We ate some yummy zebra bars which resembled brownies with white icing. We weren't able to feed the alligators, though, because there didn't seem to be any zebra bars left after the staff found them. So we had to be extra careful around the watering hole, or scooted around it to the table where we could add some messages to the maps of Africa that we will send to Liberia along with our donations in support of elementary school scholarships.So we all learned that God shows his love for us by his forgiveness. And we can show God's love to our friends by forgiving them. As we sang in "The Father Loves Me", our new song tonight:

                        I forgive you
                        'cause He forgives me, too,
                        And I want His
                        kingdom to come!

VBS - Monday - God Provides

Tonight God provided us with an abundance of children. We had a total of 76 kids in attendance, including 15 new additions to the safari. The theme tonight was "God Provides", and we learned how God makes sure we receive what we need.

In the continuing skit, Dr. Doolots was really overworked and tired after spending the night dealing with a giraffe with chicken pox, but God answered his prayers for what he needed when Terry and Jerry jumped at the chance to help him by delivering medicine to another sick giraffe at the acacia grove. We wonder if the group will ever get to see that blue cheeked bee eater!

After the opening, the classes studied the bible story of the multitude of people that came to see Jesus. When they became hungry and Jesus and the disciples needed to feed them, Jesus was able to use five loaves of bread and two fish to feed thousands. And they still collected twelve baskets of crumbs and leftovers afterwards. God Provides.


Recreation found the kids running a relay race to collect potatoes by answering bible verse questions correctly. There was quite a bit of searching, but an answer was always provided, and the kids had a lot of fun bringing them back in their baskets.

During craft time the kids learned that when we say "give us this day our daily bread" in the Lord's Prayer, we are asking God to provide us not simply with bread or food, but with all the things that we truly need. The crafty kids created refrigerator magnets by decorating a representation of a slice of bread, and they will keep them visible as reminders that if we ask, God will provide what we need.

The kids had a good time eating "Giraffe Spots" which looked and tasted a lot like cheese puffs. Some were encouraged to feed the alligators around the watering hole so that the alligators wouldn't get hungry and start thinking that the kids stopping there for a drink of water might look like dinner. Maybe those snacks are why there seem to be more alligators around every night!
Everyone learned a new song tonight, "Harambe", singing it through a couple times during small group music as well as "coming together" in song at the closing. The kids certainly followed the lyrics of the chorus tonight!

              Let’s get together, harambe.
              Let’s praise our Father, harambe.
              Let’s sing together, harambe.
              Let’s praise our loving God!

VBS Begins - Sunday - God Listens!

HUMC Vacation Bible School, "Kingdom of the Son", opened tonight! We learned many things and had a good time doing it. In all our activities we followed the theme "God Listens" and discovered how we are, each one of us, special in God's eyes. We learned several sayings in Swahili, including Bwanasikiliza (God listens), as well as the first part of the Lord's prayer.

A skit was presented in the opening which began the story of twins Terry and Jerry on safari with their guide, Mr. Bakari. When their jeep broke down, they stopped at the Animal Hospital where the local veterinarian, Dr. Doolots, showed them around, told them about lions and LISTENING, and gave them some pointers on identifying the rare bird, the blue cheeked bee eater. We are looking forward to more of their adventures through the week.


Each class had kids from one age group, and were named for African animals: , the Lively Lions (PreK/K), Gentle Giraffes (1st grade), Happy Hippos (2nd grade), Eager Elephants (3rd grade), Merry Monkeys (4th grade), Chipper Cheetahs (5th grade), and Zippy Zebras (6th grade). We needed so many classes because there were 65 of us altogether!

During craft time, we learned how each one of us is special to God, and how He makes each one of us unique. For example, no two people have the same fingerprints. To symbolize this, we put our fingerprint on a slide for a scarf. Of course, many of us ended up using the scarf in our hair rather than as a neckerchief, but we enjoyed painting something special on each one of our slides.

And we won't forget the Lion Paws (and popcorn) we got to eat at snack time, and most of us were brave enough to get a drink from the watering hole, even though we could see alligators nearby.

In music, we sang two new songs: "Spend Time with God" (great chorus) and "The Lord's Prayer", and learned them so quickly that we all sang together at the closing.

At the closing, we learned a little more about how our VBS offering will be going toward supporting scholarships to help kids go to school in Liberia, a very poor African country. We expect to have a good time through the rest of VBS this week, learning more about Liberia, the Lord's Prayer, and the ways God loves and cares for us.

Praising God

Today was the last day for our combined Sunday School classes. For the past few weeks, we have focussed our study on the different aspects of The Lord's Prayer. Today's lesson was based on Matthew 6:13 - "For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever. Amen." What Jesus was telling His disciples was to praise God because He's sovereign, He's always with us and He Rules.

Since this is sometimes a difficult concept to grasp, the Sunday School children made wind chimes to remind them that God is always with them. The chimes remind us that God is sort of like the wind--we can't see Him but we know He is with us because, like the wind, we can feel Him--in love, in joy, in peace, in patience, in trust--all good feelings. Also, the bell wind chimes remind us to praise God with whatever instrument we have available.

"Let everything that has breath praise the Lord." -- Psalm 150:6

Safari News Update

We're nearly there! Our African serengeti has taken shape and with a few more tweaks, we'll be ready to take kids on safari. Classrooms are decorated and awaiting Lively Lions (PreK/K), Gentle Giraffes (1st grade), Happy Hippos (2nd grade), Eager Elephants (3rd grade), Merry Monkeys (4th grade), Chipper Cheetahs (5th grade)and Zippy Zebras (6th grade). The VBS staff is excited about all the fun and surprises we have in store for VBSers throughout the week. You can get a preview of next week's activities during Sunday morning worship and fellowship time. See you on safari!

Summer Bible Study Concludes

A summer bible study on prayer was recently completed at Homer United Methodist Church in preparation for our VBS program on the Lord’s Prayer, and what a blessing it has been! Based on his book Prayer, Does It Make Any Difference by author Philip Yancey, through DVD lessons we traveled to the Rocky Mountains where he shared his perspectives on some fundamental aspects of prayer. Sessions covered God’s Perspective, Why Pray?, Keeping Company with God, How to Pray, Prayer Problems, and finally, Does Prayer Change Anything? A participant’s guide provided a format for study and discussion that continues to provide reflection and insight into Scripture.

Prayer may seem at first like disengagement, a reflective time to consider God’s point of view. But that vantage presses us back to accomplish God’s will, the work of the kingdom. We are God’s fellow workers, and as such we turn to prayer to equip us for the partnership….[Just as]Jesus counted on prayer as a source of strength that equipped him to carry out a partnership with God the Father on earth [we, too, depend on that relationship].
-----(From the book) Prayer, pp 128, 58

If you are interested in exploring this topic with Philip Yancey, his book is in our library and the DVD is now located on the new arrivals shelf outside our library door.

- Sue Smith

Safari News

The church is beginning to look more and more like Africa as we prepare for Vacation Bible School "Kingdom of the Son -- A Prayer Safari" (July 26-30).

This week, a school house is beginning to appear. Strange trees and animals, not normally seen in east-central Illinois, were seen in the classrooms. A zebra-striped Jeep went careening down the hall. A group of explorers was seen talking to a local veterinarian about the Blue-Cheeked Bee Eater, and the elusive bird (see below) teased us with a brief appearance.

There is a sense of excitement and anticipation around the church as we get ready for VBS. Participants can look forward to games, snacks, crafts, skits, and music all revolving around a safari theme, centered on The Lord's Prayer, which we will learn to say in Swahili. Each evening we will focus on one aspect of The Lord's Prayer. Sunday - Mungu (God) Listens. Monday - God Provides. Tuesday - God Forgives. Wednesday - God Protects. Thursday - God Rules. Asante (thank you) to our rafiki (friend), Char, for this tembo (elephant). There will be one more prep night on Wed. July 22 at 7:00. See you there!

Your Mkrista Dada (Christian Sister),
Suzy

Ongoing Bible Study on Prayer

Our group is still meeting and working though the "Prayer: Does It Make Any Difference?" bible study by Philip Yancey. This last week's lesson was about prayer problems, more specifically unanswered prayer. It is a very good lesson and very helpful for those of us who sometimes question why our prayers are not answered. Please feel free to watch the video or check out the book. Our last session is Sunday evening, July 19, at 6:30pm. Come and join us if you can. We will be working on the question: Does Prayer Change Anything?

VBS Prep Update

Asante (thank you) to everyone who has come to help with VBS decorations. As we prepare for Kingdom of the Son, we have already spotted kiboko (hippos), twigas (giraffes), and tumbili (monkeys). This simba is a preview of what you will see at VBS July 26-30. There will be 2 more prep nights--July 15 and 22. Come join the fun and fellowship.

Outside work day

"Prepare your work outside, get everything ready for you in the field, and after build your house." - Proverbs 24:27

Early this morning Cory brought Kent's wonderful red dump truck to the church. The truck was filled with wonderful mulch. Thank you Kent and Cory.
Shortly afterwards, Tom showed up with his crew of Jake, Phillip, Spencer, Anthony, and Jamison. Within hours the mulch was spread, the tree was trimmed of dead branches, the picnic table was stained, the old swing set was moved and some rubber matting was installed under the new play structure . Thank you all.
















Thanks also to Suzy and Sue and Becci and Lex and Joan.
The outside is ready. Now, let us move inside and prepare our house for VBS.
Praising God for all.

Our Daily Bread

The combined Sunday School classes continue to study the Lord’s Prayer. Our segment for Sunday, June 28 was “give us this day our daily bread”. We learned that this means we are asking only for our meals today and not to worry about tomorrow.

Jim Smith had gone to some of the farm fields in the area and gathered some plants for us to study. We talked about the bread and grains in Bible times. We had wheat, oats, and rye plants to study. We talked about these seeds and could handle and feel them. We had a chance to taste and chew on wheat seeds.

We then moved on to making bread. We found that yeast is a plant that needs to be warm to grow and needs sugar to feed on. They saw the yeast develop and could smell it. Salt, butter, egg, and flour were added. Then it was turned out on a board and kneaded. As it was rolled out, cinnamon sugar was sprinkled on top and then the dough was rolled up. They began to ask, “Do we get to eat these?” Of course it was explained that the rolls in the pan had to be kept warm and let grow for a while, then baked. There were samples of rolls baked earlier however, so bread making came to a happy end.

The children were all so well behaved. It was a fun morning.
- Submitted by Eleanor Smith; photos by Sue Smith

VBS Prep Underway

A group of rafiki (friends) met on Wednesday evening to work on transforming the church building into an African village and savanna. Some painted scenery while others cut out and colored African mnyamas (animals). Our VBS jumbes (leaders) met to discuss room assignments, schedules, costumes and other prep work. It was a wonderful time of creativity and fellowship. We have made a great start on preparing for Kingdom of the Son the week of July 26-30.

Decoration and scenery making will continue through the next three Wednesday evenings at 7:00 PM. There is something for everyone to do. This picture shows what two (not especially artistic) people can accomplish by working together. Namsifu Mungu (I praise God) for providing so many willing, creative, helping hands.

Church Library/New Books/July

This month there have been several generous donations to the church library. Some of these books have been added to the church library and are ready for check out. They currently can be found on the recent acquisition table which is located just outside the door to the adult library room.
Angels by Billy Graham
God's Inspirational Promise Book by Max Lucado
Grace for the Moment by Max Lucado
I'm So Glad You Told Me What I Didn't Want to Hear by Barbara Johnson
Let the Journey Begin by Max Lucado
Living the Lord's Prayer by R Williams and Sister Wendy
Living Somewhere between Estrogen and Death by Barbara Johnson
Making Room Recovering Hospitality as a Christian Tradition by Christine Pohl
Mama Get the Hammer There's a Fly on Papa's Head by Barbara Johnson
Parenting isn't For Cowards by Dr. James Dobson
The Penny by Joyce Meyers and Deborah Bedford
The Sacred Art of Fasting by Thomas Ryan
The Secrets of the Vine by Bruce Wilkinson
Sent to the River God Forgot by Jim and Janice Walton
Servants, Misfits and Martyrs Saints and Their Stories by James Howell
Sportin'a'Tude by Patsy Clairmont
Wellness Prayers for Comfort and Healing compiled by Rosemary Ellen Guiley
World Religions Made Simple by Mark Water