Sunday, October 9, 2016 - VBS 2016
Monday July 18, 2016
This year has been NYCC’s 8th VBS. It’s always such a blessing to see kids come each year with a willingness to learn more about Christ. This year’s theme was called Cave Quest. The church has never done a cave theme before, so it was exciting to do something totally new.
As always, I was pretty pumped for the first day of VBS. Anyways, on the first day of VBS there was a total of 30+ kids! The number of kids we get at VBS grows each year. God is definitely answering our prayers. There were also a lot of new faces which was nice to see. There was always a bible point, key verse and bible buddy introduced from each day, Monday to Friday.
MONDAY
Bible Point: Jesus gives us hope
Key verse: “O Lord, you alone are my hope.” (Psalm 71:5)
Bible Story: Prophets foretell the light of the world (John 1:1-18)
Buddy: Sal the Salamander
The morning started with Sing & Play rock where all the kids and volunteers sang songs. The best thing about this part of the day is getting to dance around and sing as loud as you want! It’s honestly the greatest feeling seeing everyone sing together. After the singing, the kids broke into their five groups and followed their Crew Leaders to different stations.
SING AND PLAY ROCK
DEEP BIBLE QUESTS
IMAGINATION STATION
GAME TIME
KIDVID CINEMA
CAVERN CAFE
They got to rotate during the day so everyone got to experience all the cool and exciting activities. During Deep Bible Quests, the kids got to learn more about Jesus Christ.
They got a chance to bring out their imagination and artsy side at the Imagination Station. During KidVid Cinema, the kids watched videos of 5 different children whose lives seem a bit difficult yet, they still are able to look towards the light (Jesus Christ) and find the positivity in their lives. Spelunker Sports & Games is where all the kids got to really run around and use up their energy. Lastly, and maybe most of the kid’s favorite part of the day, the kids got to enjoy a yummy snack at Cavern Cafe. (Don’t worry, everyone got to eat more food at lunch time)
The very last station everyone meets at is Cave Quest Closing. It was great to have a skit at the end of the day. The kids got to meet Clark Cavern, a young man in school learning to be a professional Caver. While he felt discouraged about being a terrible caver, the kids helped me remind him that Jesus gives us hope! Some parents came 30 minutes early to pick up their kids so, they got a chance to see them sing and dance. It was a pretty awesome day. I can’t wait to see what God has instore for these kids for the rest of the week.
Thanks for reading and God bless!
Kaithlyne
Tuesday July 19, 2016
Bible Point: Jesus gives us courage!
Bible Story: Jesus and Peter walk on water (Matthew 14:22-36)
Key verse: “Take courage. I am here!” (Matthew 14:27)
Buddy: Mawtha the Moth
Where do kids get so much energy from? They had the same energy as they did yesterday! It’s a good thing they did though. It kept all the volunteers and leaders energized and alert. Today, during Sing & Play Rock I got to take a pretty epic selfie with the kids.
The Kids got a chance to express what scares them and they learned that Jesus gives us courage. Adults get scared too so, they learned that everyone needs courage and that courage only comes from Jesus Christ.
It’s usually a tradition for the different teams to have their own team name and team cheer so, the teams got some time to create them. The only team that didn’t present was the toddler team. It’s okay though because they’re just so adorable and trying to get them to make a cheer was just too hard. Anyways, the other 4 teams made awesome names and the cheers were even better! We had the Yellow Minions, Green TEA-M, Pinkers and Orange Soup. Only if I got a chance to video tape all the cheers. Trust me, if you’re in the moment, you’d just be watching and cheering them on, not videotaping.
It was a successful second day but, it’s sad to think that tomorrow is the half way point. I hope the kids and volunteers are all enjoying. I also hope we reach our goal of 40 kids by the end of the week!
Thanks for reading and God bless!
Kaithlyne
Wednesday July 20, 2016
Bible Point: Jesus gives us direction
Key verse: “He will show you which path to take” (Proverbs 3:6)
Bible story: Jesus sheds light on how to live (Matthew 5-7)
Buddy: Radar the bat
I just want to start off by saying we have awesome volunteers! They could be on Summer Holiday or just sitting at home watching Netflix but, they decided to devote a week, exactly 40 hours, to teaching and just joining the kids at VBS. I can see the kids have already grown to love their Crew Leaders and Station Leaders.
The kids got to learn to trust the path God places them on. It may be difficult to figure out where to go in life and what to do, but they know that Jesus will definitely show them which path to take. In the afternoon, our VBS Director gave everyone a little treat. We all got a chance to cool down and relax during movie time! The kids really enjoyed it. The kids went home that day with a bigger smile that day but, I’m guessing it’s because they’re going swimming on Friday. (Also a tradition at NYCC’s VBS)
Thanks for reading and God bless!
Kaithlyne
Thursday July 21, 2016
Bible Point: Jesus gives us love
Key verse: We know what real love is because Jesus gave up his life for us (1 John 3:16)
Bible story: Jesus dies and comes back to life (Luke 23:1-24:12)
Buddy: Olivia the Owl
So, why do kids love racing so much? Let me explain why I asked this question but first, I’m just going to say that the kids have memorized most of the songs and actions to all the songs. (There are 10 songs in total) Anyways, today the kids had another huge game event. This event was a racing event. All the kids got to race each other and cheer for each other. It was just crazy but, a good crazy. Everyone participated and everyone supported their teams.
After the kids had their fun, the volunteers got their turn. I’m not sure I would say it was fun for them though because the 4 crew leaders had to eat 10 carrots without using their hands. The kids definitely had a great time cheering for their leaders and the other volunteers had fun laughing.
Besides all the laughing and games, the kids got to learn about the greatest love story of all today. God sent Jesus to us to save us from our sins. He died for us because he loves us and doesn’t want us to suffer. The greatest part though is that he rose from the dead defeating death. Jesus is our hope, our courage, our direction and he shows us how to love.
Thanks for reading and God bless!
Kaithlyne
Friday July 22, 2016
Daily Point: Jesus gives us his power
Key verse: “Our great power is from God, not from outselves” (2 Corinthians 4:7)
Bible story: Jesus ascends and empowers his followers (Acts 1:1-11)
Buddie: Ray the glow worm
The last day of VBS is always the best and at the same time, the saddest. A lot of the kids didn’t want the week to end either. They shared their favorite moments and also shared everything they learned. It’s amazing how much these kids could remember in a week. They memorized the songs, the memory verses and bible points! Also, we hit our goal of 40 kids! It’s the most NYCC has ever had. It goes to show that God answers prayer.
After going to all the stations in the morning, the kids and volunteers got ready to go swimming! Luckily, the sun was shining and it wasn’t super hot. After swimming, everyone made their way back to the church and started preparing for the VBS presentation and graduation. It was wonderful to have the parents come and see what their kids learned during the week. The kids sang the theme song so well! After the songs, the graduation started and we awarded the kids and even the volunteers. When everything came to an end, everyone got a chance to grab a snack and fellowshipped with one another.
Although it’s sad that VBS is now over I must say. TO GOD BE THE GLORY! After 8 years of VBS, I must say, God is doing great things at NYCC. I could see the impact the volunteers have on the kids. They might not think they play a big role but, I know for a fact the volunteers all had an important role at VBS.
Cave Quest would have never happened without the help of the many volunteers. Thank you to Sister Tersita Teano for being this year’s DVBS Director and for organizing the team together. Thank you to the Crew Leaders, Station Leaders, Supervisors, those who provided food and supplies and the decoration crew. The success of this year’s VBS wouldn’t have happened without all of your help!
