Everest Vacation Bible Camp (VBC) – Day 1

This week it’s Vacation Bible Camp (VBC) at FUMC where we are learning about…

Conquering challenges with God’s mighty power!

First some important stuff for the adults…

Each year we choose a mission for kids to support. This year we have two projects to choose from:

A local project: Please consider donating a box or two of cereal which will be distributed through Ann Arbor’s own Bryant Community Center. During the school year many families in this community rely on meals provided by the schools. In the summer months, there is no additional assistance to replace the school meals, so a box of cereal can be a big help.
An international project: Collecting monetary donations that will help out the RAWANA youth camp in Liberia. RAWANA is a United Methodist camp that offers athletic activities, community service projects, lessons, Bible quiz-bowl, campfires, and career development talks for children and youth ages 10-25 years. What a great way to help under-privileged kids!

All offerings can be turned in at the start of VBC each day at the front of the Sanctuary. Thanks!

Now, here’s what your kids did today…

First, we all gathered with our Sherpa in the mountainous, wonderfully decorated Sanctuary at Base Camp Sing & Play. We learned our theme song, “My God is Powerful.” (If you are viewing this in an email you may need to go to YouTube to watch this music video.)

We had fun learning other new songs, with motions to go along with them. These tunes will stay in your head!

Base Camp SIng and Play

What else did we learn? Today’s Bible Point!

God has the power to provide!

We said that a lot today! I bet your kids remember it. We also met a couple of very interesting characters: Trek Rockrambler and Klymer, the Snow Leopard.

Everest VBC Day 1 - Klimer, he's a Snow Leopard

Trek is a world-famous mountain climber. But she didn’t hear her alarm and her climbing crew left for Mount Everest without her! I wonder what she will do?

Who is Klymer? Klymer is our Bible Memory Buddy for the day. It looks like God provided Klymer just the right stuff to keep warm and protected on high, snowy mountaintops. Hey! Klymer can remind kids that God has the power to provide! All week long, we’ll get to know cool Bible Memory Buddies who will help us remember our Bible verses. Today’s Bible verse is…

And God will generously provide all you need. 2 Corinthians 9:8

Collage of Day 1 Bible Buddy Your child received a Klymer Bible Memory Buddy with the verse printed on it! With Bible Buddies we’re sending scripture home! All of these Bible Memory Buddies will be coming home on Friday. And… there is a free app for your smart phone or tablet that can continue the fun with these Buddies. (I tried it out and it is cool!) Search “Everest Bible Buddies” in your app store.

We also found out that each day we would get to experience an exciting story from the Bible when we visited the drama station. Today, we learned about how God provided for Elijah. Ask your child to tell you today’s story. Read about it in 1 Kings 17

The preschoolers went off to their special rooms in Preschool Peak and did the following…

Games – Played “Ravens Run,” “Overflowing Nests,” and “Brook Drinks.”
Bible Adventures – God provided Elijah water to drink. We tried out drinking from a “brook” just like Elijah.
KidVid Cinema – We learned about kids named Hudson, Benjamin, and Deacon. We watched God provide for these brothers in an amazing way.
Craft & Play – We made ravens!

Preschoolers hear the story in Bible Adventures

Meanwhile, elementary kids visited the following stations…

Bible Expeditions – We drank from a rook and received food from ravens (big birds)! We got to talk about ways God provides for us.
Glacier Games – We played some fun games including “Everest Relay.”
KidVid Cinema – We watched a video about three Ukrainian brothers who needed a home. Would some adopt all three of them?
Imagination Station – We watch snow grow from “seeds.” Just like our snow seeds grew, God provides for us abundantly.

A challenging relay race By the brook in Bible Expeditions

Our oldest elementary kids in our Grad Group are working every day this week on various mission projects – both local and global! Today, they got to know each through ice breakers, learned about our Liberia mission project, did some work to organize the week’s mission projects, made “bubble boosters” (that will be used by everyone on Tuesday), and spoke to everyone at our finale about mission projects. A great first day for our large grad group!

We get hungry on our adventures, so at 10:25 each day, we gather in Mountain Top Treats for a delicious snack; today we had Trail Mix. We also spent time getting to know our crews a bit better and recorded some of our “God Sightings” — evidence we noticed that God is doing great things all around us!

What? A stuffed animal is packed for a trip to Everest?? At the very end of our day, we all come together for the Summit Celebration. Of course we sang more songs and an Everest-pack-checker discovered that our Sherpa had mixed up “needs” vs. “wants.” Ask your kids what sort of silly stuff our Sherpa had in her pack. (I don’t think that a stuffed animal will work.)

Continue the learning at home!

Here are a couple of questions to talk about around the family dinner table:

What would you take with you if you were going to climb Mount Everest?
Have everyone share a story of their favorite trip. What did you bring along on this trip that you really wanted to bring, but didn’t really need?
Do you suppose that God provides everything you want or everything you need?
Tell about a time when you needed something. Did you turn to God? What can help you remember to turn to God next time?

See you tomorrow!
~~ Carol, on behalf of the VBC Team

Enjoy the slide show!

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There will be one post every day this week of VBC, but usually there is just one post a week.

Photo credits:
Everest and Bible Buddy images used by permission of Group Publishing.
Rest of photos courtesy of various volunteers at VBC!

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