SonTreasure Island VBS Day 5

Day 5 of VBS taught us that God's love is forever. 

"[Love] always protects, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails."

- 1 Corinthians 13:7-8

Our symbol for Day 5 is the gemstone. Diamonds and other gemstones are considered precious treasures. There's even a saying that "diamonds are forever." But gems and other earthly treasures do NOT last forever. More precious than gold, more lasting than diamonds, the greatest treasure of all is God’s love! When you see a gemstone, you can remember that God's love is forever!

Our skit tonight had the Captain and his friends finding the family treasure. Love was what unlocked the chest and revealed the treasure.
It turned out to be Great-Grandpappy Graham Cracker Cooky's bible. 

The Bible can help us to know God's love.

The Bible story was from Mark 14:27-16:20, Luke 22:47-24:53, and John 21:15-17. Mary Magdalene went to Jesus' tomb and found it empty except for an angel who said that Jesus had risen. She ran to tell Peter the news, and he decided to go see for himself. We learned that Jesus is alive.

In crafts we decorated treasure chests and got a fish necklace to put inside.

Our snack was jell-o cubes in the color of jewels.

Recreation had us solving clues on a treasure hunt to find gold puzzle pieces. 

When we put the pieces together, they formed a heart with an empty space in the middle in the shape of a cross. 

Our leaders provided the last piece to show us that Jesus fits in our hearts.

Our challenge from Day 4 was to complete sixteen flood buckets. We met that challenge and then some with seventeen total buckets for the week. Our buckets will help families to recover from storms.

The fun part of meeting this challenge was that Captain Cooky and Krumbs did a hula dance for us.

It has been a great week of learning about God's amazing love.

SonTreasure Island VBS Day 4

Day 4 of VBS taught us that God's love is forgiving.

"[Love] is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 

Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth."

- 1 Corinthians 13:5-6

Our symbol for Day 4 is the palm tree.  In today's Bible story, we hear about man named Zacchaeus who wanted to see Jesus so badly he climbed up in a tree to see over people's heads! Zacchaeus not only got to see Jesus, but he also got something even more important. He received forgiveness for his sins. When you see a palm tree (or any tree!) you can remember that God's love is forgiving.

The Bible story was based on Luke 19:1-10 where Jesus forgives Zacchaeus. 

Our story time was Zacchaeus  trying to figure out what all of the noise and crowds are about

 while another tax collector is trying to take a nap. 

The second tax collector finally tells Zacchaeus to go climb a tree. 

Zacchaeus climbed a tree, and the rest is history.

Our skit tonight had Pearl Shellfish revealing that she is actually Captain Cooky's long-lost cousin, Sugar Cooky and that she is actually on the island to try to steal the treasure. She was moved by how nice and caring everybody was and decided not to steal the treasure. The islanders forgive her for her deception and are happy to learn that the captain is not the last Cooky.

We made spyglasses at crafts to help us see things that are far away.

Our snack was a yummy mix of meat, cheese, and fruit with a cute palm tree toothpick.

Recreation kept us moving with parachute play and water relays for the younger kids 

and volleyball with a big beachball for the older kids.

Everybody was very excited to meet the second challenge of 100 kids at VBS. 

We are up to 104 children.

Captain Cooky begged forgiveness from Brad Krumbs and asked that Krumbs not throw the pie in his face. Krumbs decided to forgive the captain since we just learned that God's love is forgiving.

The captain and Krumbs decided to eat the pie.

Unfortunately for the captain, Krumbs is very clumsy and tripped.

To the delight of the children, Captain Cooky was covered in pie.

We now have enough items and money to complete fourteen flood buckets for our missions project. 

Pastor Teri has issued a new challenge to get to sixteen flood buckets. 

If we can reach sixteen buckets, then Captain Cooky and Krumbs will hula dance for us.

SonTreasure Island VBS Day 3

Day 3 of VBS taught us that God's love is caring. 

"[Love] is not rude, it is not self-seeking." 1 Corinthians 13:5

Our symbol for Day 3 is the fish. There's an old saying about being "a fish out of water." It's a way of describing how it feels when you're uncomfortable or in a place where you don't belong. God doesn't want anyone to feel like a fish out of water with Him. God's love isn't rude or self-seeking. It's about making everyone feel welcome in God's family! 

When you see a fish, you can remember that God's love is for everyone.

Our skit tonight had the islanders trying to help each other as a storm was blowing to the island. 

We learned that even when we mess up, others still care about us.

Story time took us to the TV show Celebrity Island where ordinary people become famous

just because they have met celebrities! We met our TV host and a self-absorbed celebrity along with a couple of contestants who had met famous people. We got to hear from a Samaritan woman who had met Jesus at a well. He told her that He could give her living water and that she would never be thirsty again. 

(John 4:1-42)

We learned that God's love is for everyone--no matter what we look like,

 where we are from, or what we have done in life.

Our craft and snack both went along with the fish symbol. 

We made fishing poles and had "fish and chips."

Our games tonight involved trying to pass a greased banana, trying to throw water balloons into a bucket, and trying to roll a coconut between posts. It was not as easy as it sounds!

We met our first challenge of the week. We now have enough items and money to complete ten flood buckets for our missions project. In celebration of meeting this challenge, the kids got to watch the skit characters trying to hula hoop.

We are anxiously waiting to see if we meet our next challenge tomorrow. We had 99 kids tonight, but our challenge goal is 100. Will Captain Cooky be getting that pie in the face? Check back on Day 4 to find out.

SonTreasure Island VBS Day 2

Day 2 showed us that God's love is kind. "Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud." - 1 Corinthians 13:4

Our symbol for Day 2 is the conch shell. In many island cultures, blowing through a conch shell is both musical and a way to sound a signal. Many ships carried conch shells so that they could call for help. When Jesus was here on Earth, people came to Him for help. Whenever they did, Jesus was kind and patient and helped them. When you see a shell, you can remember that Jesus showed how God's love is kind and patient. We can also remember that we can always call out to God.

Our story today had a TV reporter and a pushy, ambulance-chasing lawyer going back in time to reveal the story of how Jesus helps a young girl and a sick woman. 

Recreation time brought some parachute fun for the little kids and some water balloon fun for the older ones.

Crafts took us to the beach tonight. We made little beach scenes in boxes with sand, shells, a cross, and our daily Bible focus. We can shake the boxes to find different things.

Our snack kept the shell theme with little chocolate shells and some pretzels.

We are making progress on our mission of flood buckets. We have enough items and money for nine buckets. If we reach ten buckets, our skit actors are going to have a hula hoop contest for us.

SonTreasure Island VBS Day 1

Ahoy! We are on a search for treasure. This treasure is better than gold and riches. It is the treasure of God's amazing love.

Day 1 focused on how God's love is giving. We heard the story of Zechariah and Elizabeth and how God would send them a son in their old age. We also learned how God sent baby Jesus as a savior for the world.

Our symbol for the day was a starfish. The starfish reminds us of the Bethlehem star that shone high in the sky when Baby Jesus was born. When you see a starfish (or any star!) you can remember that God showed His love when He sent His Son, Jesus, to Earth. "This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him." - 1 John 4:9

In crafts, we colored fun sailor hats with the VBS logo on them. We also got little starfish pins to color and add to the hats. 

Each night of VBS starts with a skit about the search for treasure on SonTreasure Island. It sure looks like a great adventure is in store for us with this lively bunch of islanders.

VBS just would not be complete without a break for a yummy snack. The snack for Day 1 went along with the starfish focus.

The mission focus of VBS this year will be cleaning buckets (also known as flood buckets) through the Midwest Mission Distribution Center. These supplies enable people to begin the overwhelming job of cleaning up after a natural disaster. At the end of day one, we had gathered enough supplies and money to complete five buckets.

Caring for Others

The BLAST Sunday School class learned about the Good Samaritan this week. The children then put their lesson into action by tying fleece blankets and making cards to go to families affected by last week's tornadoes.

Improved Parking

It was a noisy but productive morning at the church as work began on the parking area.




Dirt and vegetation that had accumulated over the years was scooped up and hauled away.











New rock was spread across the area.






Now those rainy Sundays do not have to lead to parking in mud or big puddles.