It's that time of year again to start up a blog about vacation Bible school in rural Alaska. Thanks to our fans who have followed our other blog sites. You know who you are! (Kevin Lee) Before we get into the week let's take a moment to introduce you to the team. This year we have Katy Meester from Valley City, ND, Carl and Emily Juhl from Fergus Falls, MN, and Heather Hansen from Naknek, AK.
The start of the VBS season brings lots of packing and planning. For the week of VBS we pack all our food, crafts, puppets, and clothes. We plan all of our meals, crafts, lessons, and songs. We load up the six seater airplane know as the Cherokee 6. The missionary pilot here with the AFLC, Jeremy Crowell, flies us into Ekwok once the fog is cleared.
Getting to reflect back on this week it's amazing how much you can see. This was my fifth year getting to go to Ekwok to teach VBS. Here's how I saw God working this week.
Kids keep on coming back to VBS. Throughout the years we get to see familiar faces continue to come back. Even when they are in High School they'll even stop by for a little bit during VBS.
I get to hang out with some pretty incredible teammates. They are servant hearted and invest so well into the lives of the kids. On Tuesday I asked the team how they felt about a game night on Thursday at 7 and they were all excited for it! I was glad because I already invited some youth to it before I asked them. On Thursday we had 6 kids/youth come for 2 hours to play games with us.
On Friday we were making cards for our crafts and told the kids that they could make them for anyone. They ended up making cards for us on the team saying that they'll miss us. We ended up making some cards for them too to give to them.
The kids were so eager and excited to learn about how to read the Bible. We asked how many kids had their own Bible at home that was kid friendly. Not everyone raised their hand. We told the kids to come to church on Sunday and we'd give them Bibles. During the service while Pastor Jeff preached the kids would look up the verses that he mentioned. After the service they got their own Bible to bring home and one Bible for a friend who didn't make it to church! We are praying that those Bibles are ones that will be read.
Other highlights of the week include getting to go on some four wheeler rides with the kids. Getting to have pizza and smoothies with a young adult in the village. Introducing Katy to the tv show psych. Eating four pounds of trail mix as a team throughout the week. Finding out that the microwave works!
The kids in Ekwok left a great impression on our hearts and next week I'm sure that the kids in Koliganek will do the same.
Christ's Love,
Heather
Thank you Heather for the reports. I love your heart to continue serving in rural Alaska. I'm praying that you'll have the boldness of Paul to present the gospel and ask for a commitment from the kids.