Vacation Bible School

WAHOO! What a great time we had at V.B.S. this summer. Between the churches, we registered 84 children and had many of our youth working as crew leaders and assistants.

Each morning, Co-director, Maureen Tyler, introduced the day’s Bible point emphasized by our Bible memory buddies - Buc (the bronc), Shadow (the cattle dog), Ranger (the Bison), Skye (the eagle) and Ranger (the longhorn). The music was great with Cindy Bradley as our energetic leader, leading the music both at the opening and the closing. This was all done against a fantastic backdrop painted by Andrea Schroeder.

After the opening which always featured a skit with Mrs. Tyler and her sidekick, Rachel Paige, the individual crews began their rotation through such stations as Wild Bible Adventures (Debbie Townes and son Joshua), Chuck Wagon Chow (with our own Joan Pence and Catherine McCarthy), Cowpoke Crafts and Missions (Samantha Macy and Jennie Macy), Horseplay Games (Lori Sawyer and Jill Burress), and Chadder’s Wild West Theatre (Cathy Baldwin). Everyone came together for the Show Time Roundup led by Carolyn Wik.

The individual crews were led by Joy Wilson, Padma Kadiyala, Meredy Brichford, Marge Farquhar, Ian Thomas, Cory Townes, Sharon Altaffer, Allison Shelton, Eleanor Pence, Karen Brichford, Sherry Carnell, Molly Tyler and Katie Tyler. Each crew leader shepherded a crew of 5-6 children.

One of the busiest areas was the Prairie Dog Pre-School. Sharon Gesse and her assistant, Cindy Palmer, had lots of “prairie dogs” and lots of bustling activity. They were aided by Carol Riley and crew leaders, Rachel Paige, Usha Kadiyala, Michelle Scott, Emily Carnell, Michelle King and Laura Tyler.

There were so many activities and special moments, but two stand out especially in my mind. Thursday was the day that we celebrated Jesus’ death and resurrection and what it meant to us as individuals. In our worship center was a large 7' free standing cross. It was wrapped with white lights, reminding us that Jesus is the light of the world. Each participant had a red heart, representing their heart which they came and lay at the foot of the cross. It was a very moving moment as we sang, “You Are My All in All.” The next day, we returned to that cross, laying out the prayer bears that the children had made for the African children, orphaned by the Aids epidemic. There were also books to encourage the children, Les Survivants (the survivors). Those who wished to also contributed to the school supplies to be handed out by our local Salvation Army.

Thanks to Mrs. Meili and Sharon Thomas for helping us register the children on Monday morning. Our parents did the best job ever in preregistering the children this year. Maybe it was partly due to the attention brought to the registration table by Jan and Frank Wassilak. For several Sundays, they brought a saddle, saddle stand and a large stuffed horse to remind everyone of Avalanche Ranch.

No program ever succeeds without lots of volunteers, lots of prayers and those special “little things” that set a program apart. Thank you everyone!

-Rev. Carolyn Wik