God showed up in powerful ways and did great things last week at vbs. there is much to celebrate!

VBS Twenty Ten
in 15 cities across orange county
300 volunteers helping
1,200 kids heard the gospel, 65% of which were un-churched!
275 kids made commitments for Jesus!
$5,600 raised for free wheelchair mission

 

some stories: 

 

*a little girl [6] accepted Jesus today! she was so excited that she kept running to all the parents there to tell them. she also wanted to show everyone where john 3:16 was in the Bible she had been given. she was so proud of her Bible that when she went to play she handed it to one of the moms and asked her to please watch it so that nothing happened to it! 

 

 

*at the long home, we were able to watch as the leader was doing an amazing job explaining what it means to follow Christ. she was explaining that it is something you can do quietly and you don't have to say it outloud, but you can just pray it inside. she then talked about postures of prayer and what it looks like to simply receive from Jesus. all the little girls put out their hands in front of them and, as the leader started to pray, one little girl interrupted to ask if they could pray to accept Jesus outloud instead of quietly. the leader said yes and before she knew it, all seven little girls had their hands open, eyes closed, and were asking Jesus to come into their lives. we sat their crying at this beautiful moment...in awe of how good God is!

 

 

*what a great week.  our 12-year-old daughter has been volunteering with me all week. really, if it wasn't for her, i don't know if i would have signed up. i thought it would be a good way to get her to serve and get me committed too. we have had a great week. driving home tuesday afternoon my daughter says, "i love vbs. the kids are so cute."

 

it dawned on me…my daughter is so full of joy because she is being who god made her to be. she has a heart for children, even though she already has 3 brothers :). i looked at her and said, "your joy comes from being where God has called you to be and being who God has made you to be." 

 

really can there be any better life lesson to experience at age 12? i pray this experience will be a touchstone for my daughter to look back on and remember what it feels like to be who you are called to be and where you are called to be. after i gave her my "dollars worth" she looked over at me and said, "you're doing a good job too mommy."

 

 

*my rh volunteer helpers maureen, bethany, nancy and kaitlin were clearly assigned by god to me. they have been so willing and helpful in many ways. every morning we pray together that the Holy Spirit will come upon us and equip us to serve and to see the kids through God's eyes. he has been doing that. yesterday morning as the kids were coming in, my eyes welled up with tears. that's how i respond when i feel the Holy Spirit's presence. i felt such a love for them. this morning as we prayed together we placed special emphasis on the kids we have from house of hope. many of us were overcome with compassion and love for them and their moms. it spilled over to the kids as we taught them this morning. thank you for taking vbs into the community. town and country would have never experienced the blessings they are receiving if it had stayed in the rh building.

 

 

*yesterday, i finished touring some north oc vbs sites. i went from the penton house in fullerton to the alberto house in yorba linda. afterwards, before work, i journeyed over to the mcdonalds off placentia and chapman to grab some food. while i was eating, i walked out towards my car and passed a woman with two children. she was holding one of ROCKHARBOR's yellow Bibles. it was crisp, slick, and brand new. it then dawned on me, that this mcdonalds was about a mile away from the vbs site for solidarity in fullerton. God is on the move in fullerton.

 

 

*today one of my students told me he gave up his birthday money to help free wheelchair ministries and he is only in 5th grade! i was so excited to see, at such a young age, how he saw a need and then became the hands and feet of jesus to meet it with the resources he had; his birthday money! 

 

 

*estella, 3 1/2 years-old, has been teaching the big God story to her imaginary friends every day when she gets home. "and God will fight for you! and protect you!!" we never would have guessed she caught anything. apparently, nothing has gone by her. we underestimated this child and her God.

 

 

*a girl at a site in yorba linda felt compelled to give all the money she had been raising for a wii, to free wheelchair mission. she was so excited to do it and said she was content to simply start over in saving for her wii. as this story started to spread around the site and parents got wind of this amazing generosity one of the parents went home and wrote a check for $1000. this parent said she was so moved by this one child she knew she needed to play a part.


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