It’s day 5, the last day of our Everest quest. All week during Vacation Bible Camp at FUMC, we have been hearing about…
Conquering challenges with God’s mighty power!
Indeed, God has the power to provide, to comfort, to heal, to forgive, and today we learned that…
God has the power to love us forever!
That truth made us want to burst into song! So we did. I think it was “My God is Powerful.”
If reading this in an email, you may need to watch the video at this link.
At Base Camp Sing & Play we were thrilled to learn that Trek Rockrambler was geared up to finally go up Mount Everest! Trek was so excited she was jumping for joy! But she really got jubilant when she heard that God’s love would never stop. God’s love would still be available to Trek when she got back from her climb! That sure is jumping-for-joy good news.
You can read this good news for yourself in John 14:1-3. This Bible passage tells about a time when Jesus told his disciples a promise, and this promise is for us too! God promises to love us always! Jesus talked about God loving us forever in terms of preparing a special home for us. When Jesus died and came back to life, this shows us that God is more powerful than death. He will be around to love us forever.
Today’s Bible Buddy is a Himalayan Brown Bear named Yeddy. These bears spend a lot of time in their cozy cave homes. They hibernate for months and months and months! (Sounds nice!) Teddy reminds us that when we have a close relationship with Jesus, it’s like we are at home in a cozy spot, surrounded by God’s love forever.
The preschoolers went off to Preschool Peak and did the following…
- Bible Adventures – We read a story book – Head, Body, Legs: a story from Liberia. The story had a beginning and an end. Jesus told us not to worry about the end. God’s love goes on forever. And Jesus has prepared a special place for everyone, in heaven.
- Games – We played with bubbles on the playground! Bubbles have no beginning and no end, but, even the biggest bubble eventually pops. God’s love lasts forever!
- KidVid Cinema – We watched a fun video with Clive and Ian and their Wonder-Blimp of Knowledge. We found out that even though forgetful human brains can sometimes cause people to let us down, God always keeps his promise to love us.
- Craft & Play – We made “snow” from “snow seeds.” Tiny bits of powder grew and grew! God’s love for you is always growing. We also decorated picture frames for our crew photos.
Meanwhile elementary kids visited the following stations…
- Glacier Games – We played “Icy Pass,” which was harder than we thought.
- Bible Expeditions – We talked about how hard times can happen to anyone. Sometimes we feel like crying! The Bible tells us that in heaven there will be no tears! We were reminded that Jesus came to earth to show us how to live. If we try to live like Jesus, we can create a “Kingdom of heaven” here on earth.
- KidVid Cinema – We watched a fun video with Clive and Ian and their Wonder-Blimp of Knowledge. We found out that even though forgetful human brains can sometimes cause people to let us down, God always keeps his promise to love us.
- Imagination Station – We pondered different puzzle stations. There was only one solution to each puzzle. Just like there is only one solution to our lives: Love!
The Grad Group counted the final Liberia donation count (wow! $391.18). They also tallied the boxes of cereal (104 total), and delivered the last load to Bryant Community Center. After that, they had some outdoor group games at Burns Park. A very successful week of service for our Grad Group!
We all gathered for snack at Mountaintop Treats. Our snack was “Pizza Peaks.” At different times during our morning we talked about God Sightings. Around here (at this blog) we also call them blessings. Counting your blessings will cause you to form a God-focused view, and lead to a grateful, happy heart. We’ve been writing down our clues that God is present, passionate, and powerful! Our God Sightings are on display on flags around the church. Look for them and continue the practice at home.
At the end of our morning everyone gathered together again for Summit Celebration. We did a lot of singing, something I’m sure we’ll all miss!
Continue the learning at home!
Here are a couple of questions to talk about around the family dinner table:
- Pass around a Bible. The person holding the Bible gets to be the one who shares their glads and sads. (Or perhaps you call them peaks and pits?) Why do you suppose the “sads” we face are important?
- Read John 14:1-3. Jesus talked about loving us forever in terms of preparing a home for us. Sort of like you tidy up your house when you are going to have company; to make your guests feel at-home. Tell about a time when you felt welcomed.
- What do you suppose heaven is like? (Jesus didn’t give us many details because he was more interested in making sure that people were comforted by the fact that they could spend eternity with him!)
Enjoy the slideshow below, of pictures from today. Check out all of the VBC posts with slideshows of VBC pictures (scroll down to view each day). I hope to see you on Sunday! (You can read about our awesome way of teaching kids about our powerful God. It’s like a little taste of VBC every week!)
~~ Carol, on behalf of the VBC Team
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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Our Bible Buddy for the day is Pike. Pike is a mighty mountain goat called a marcher. Marchers such as Pike have spectacular spiraling horns that are sharp! Sometimes people say sharp words or do things that hurt. When that happens, it’s good to know that God has the power to forgive. Pike can help us remember words from the Bible…
You are a God of forgiveness.
We’ve been visited every day by Trek Rockrambler. Today, at first we couldn’t find him. Oh, he was trying to hide! It turned out he was unsure that his new crew would forgive him for making all of them sick. What if they miss their chance to climb Mount Everest? Our Sherpa helped Trek to see that he needed to ask for forgiveness. 
Will you look at all of that cereal! I hear we’ve collected 104 boxes so far! What a great gift to the 
Our Bible Buddy for the day is a Bar-headed Goose named Mallory. Bar-headed geese are special because they are the highest flying fliers around. They can even fly over Mount Everest! Since Mount Everest is the Earth’s highest mountain (29,029 feet), that is very high flying! I wonder how they do it? And I wonder how that will help us remember our Bible verse, which is…
Trek Rockrambler seemed to be over her sickness, but now she has spread her illness to her new climbing team! She was working so hard to try to heal them in a hurry! (They want to get to climbing.) Our Sherpa explained to Trek that sometimes you have to wait for things to happen; sometimes you need to let God be in control.
Our Bible Buddy for the day, Cliff, is a marmot. Marmots are relatives of squirrels and groundhogs. Marmots at Everest burrow deep into the mountain to stay safe and warm. The way the mighty mountain wraps around Cliff can remind kids that our mighty God has the power to comfort! The Bible tells us:
Trek Rockrambler was back. She had found another crew to climb with but, now Trek was feeling very sick. She was in need of some powerful comfort to make her feel better. A blankie, or a stuffed animal. What do you grab when you need some comfort?
And God will generously provide all you need. 
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.
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.)
Family Faith Companion 