The Seeds Have Been Planted

By Anne Nielsen

One Bible and God's teaching about the Ten Commandments intersected the lives of 196 children, and 115 volunteers the week of June 26th-30th at Explorers' Camps (Vacation Bible School). One-half of those children who attended Camp did not come from Central Presbyterian Church. Central did a great job of extending beyond these walls!

Our preschoolers had a wonderful time. We could hear it as they participated in songs, stories, crafts, snack and play. We also heard them tell their parents as they headed up the stairs, "This was really fun!" (Many parents requested that we run it another week!) A three-year old told his grandma, "Let's share, God wants me to share!"

Our early elementary students and their helpers showed their ability to adapt to weather challenges. They learned how to journal using God's Word and prayer. We heard they most enjoyed the Bible teaching and the dramas. On the family evaluation, parents were asked to answer the question, "How did you see God at work in the lives of your children?" One parent responded, "I see more joy and more willingness to be helpful."

Our older elementary students had a week of Bible studies and off-site activities, beginning their week at Genesee Valley. They began to understand the importance of communicating with one another to solve problems. They also learned that they needed one another. Some students made progress in praying aloud. Most students were led through a guided quiet-time activity. Their response to this exercise was, "That's really not hard at all!"

Even our nursery staff and babies got in on growing experiences. One of our nursery staff had lots of time with a beginning crawler who had yet to develop much of his potential. By the time the week ended, the crawler had learned the skill. The parents were most grateful for the time their child had with this adult and to see their child had a new skill.

We are grateful for the many hands that made these Camps possible from their beginning all the way through clean-up. We value the many donations of items, food, dollars, time and talent that made for enriching experiences for our children. We found many folks were veterans at doing Explorers' Camps and were very happy to be doing it again. There were some volunteers who hadn't served much at Central before. One of them said, "This is the first time I've ever done something like this and I loved it!" We saw some volunteers who tried new things and found God at work in and through them. We had about a dozen volunteers who were not even members of Central. One woman commented, "I'm not certain who had a better time, my child or myself!"

We are particularly grateful for those who prayed for the campers and the staff before and during the week of camp. We ask that you continue to pray that the seeds that were planted would bear fruit. We trust God's Word found in Isaiah 55:10-11:

"As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it."