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... GOD IS WITH
US!
Well, Day one of Crocodile Dock is already under
our belt.
Fear Not! All our staff and volunteers did a terrific job today
keeping cool - even if the A/C wasn't cooperating. Shelley went and got
us some fans to cool things down before the day was out though and by
tomorrow everything should be running smoothly.
Today we learned that God is With Us. Skeeter visited Kelsey and tried
to get birds to be her friends - and ended up eating the worms
herself! Luckily, Kelsey told Skeeter that God is with her so she
didn't have to worry that the birds didn't want to hang around with her.
This year our preschoolers join us in Dwyer for the Sing & Play Swamp
Stomp and the Firefly Finale. They traveled in on their "swamp vines"
and met up at the lily pads to join in the singing and silliness.
Two hundred kids plus another 25 volunteers sure can make a lot of
Swamp-Stomping noise when they yell "FEAR NOT!" - but we also
found we could whisper-yell better than anyone could have expected.
In Crawfish Crafts Lisa helped us all make boomerang key chains -
another reminder that just like a boomerang always comes back, God never
leaves us and is always with us!
Danielle was working the Dockside Drive-in and talked a lot about some
of the things that might worry us, but since God is With Us we all know
we'll be okay. Chadder is writing an article about a giant croc-monster
and it looks like he and Freighter are going to have some crazy
adventures this week.
In Bible Bayou, the sheep climbed the mountains to the spot where God
spoke to Moses from a burning bush. Mary, Bonnie, Mike, Anna & Matt
talked to us about how even at times when things have been hard for us,
God is always With Us.
Snack was nacho-fun with chips, salsa and cheese! Stephanie and her
amazing team of volunteers fed us well and gave us something good to
think about too!
Gator Games was gator-crazy as we tried to NOT become part of the giant
super alligator and we played the Skittles Firefly game and got a chance
to get to know another VBSer better! Tom & Carolyn and Dan and Dan
really kept us running and playing hard today.
Our Firefly Finale was EGG-stra EGG-citing with an EGG-ceptional
EGG-speriment! We showed Fr Ryan that as long as he knew God was with
him that he would never be alone - and even got Father to step on two
dozen eggs without a single one breaking. When God is with you, there
is nothing you can't do!
We even had a pair of Birthdays (Congrats Matt & Pete - you are 13 now!)
and our first lost tooth of the week (but at least we found it, right
Brendan?). I'm just glad it was a tooth that was SUPPOSED to come out
:-)
Tomorrow is another day and another bible point!
See you soon!
FEAR NOT! God is With Us!
~Alex
Check out the
Crocodile Dock Day 1
Slideshow by clicking on the link!
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...GOD IS POWERFUL!
God is Powerful!
FEAR NOT!
Well, Day 2 is done and we are on a roll.
Today we learned about the plagues that God sent to Pharaoh when He
wanted the Israelites set free. Pharaoh Matt was attacked by gnats and
flies, had his cattle all get sick and die and was covered with itchy
(and colorful) boils, but he still didn't let God's people go. Stay
tuned for tomorrow to see what our powerful God has in store for
Pharaoh!
Chadder STILL hasn't gotten his newspaper article written. It looks like
he has gotten carried away with his adventure instead. At least he is
learning that God is Powerful as he goes along.
Our bible buddy Jacque le Croc was powerful too - and reminded us that
God's power is everywhere around us.
Snack was tasty (and messy) with a trail mix where each item reminded us
of God's power.
The music continues to be awesome and Skeeter, well, Skeeter continues
to be confused about God's power. Today Skeeter tried to spray us all
with Skunk scent to keep the Crocodiles away, but Kelsey told her that
it was a powerful God who would keep us safe, not some stinky old spray!
In games, our crew leaders trusted in the power of God and the shields
of their crew members to keep them safe from Silly String attack. Matt
G, Cecelia and Veronica really ended up wearing a LOT of silly string.
Good thing it washes off!
At the Firefly finale, we noticed all the fireflies that got added to
our decorations. Each one represented a "God SIghting" - a time when a
crew member, leader or volunteer saw God's power in the actions of
others.
Well, FEAR NOT! We'll be back tomorrow with another day of
faith, fun & fireflies!
~Alex |
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... GOD DOES WHAT
HE SAYS HE'LL DO!
God does what He says He will do.
FEAR NOT!
Wow, could they have made that any harder for me to say without messing
it up?
Luckily, Matt C. shortened it to "God do" which worked just fine each
time my tongue got tied up.
Of course, we were all a little extra tired this morning. Wednesday of
VBS in only the half-way point for all of the volunteers who have been
working for far more than a few days to get the Croc Dock ready! Maybe
that explains all the little "dings" we suffered today. Good thing the
ladies in the kitchen can clean a scrape and apply Skittles and Lemonade
whenever necessary!
Day 3 was another exciting day at Crocodile Dock. In Bible Bayou we
learned about the final plague - the Angel of Death. The kids (as the
Israelites) had to get out of Egypt fast - with just Matzo cracker to
sustain them! They painted the doors to their houses so the Angel of
Death passed over them and learned that even though it can sometimes be
scary to rely on Faith alone, God always does what He says He will do!
In the Dockside Drive-in, Danielle had to learn that Spiderman is really
cool - but NOT the guy to put her faith and belief in. Superheroes are
fun to read about, but only God is powerful enough and reliable enough
to put all your trust in! The crews made promise keepers that taught
them bible verses that just reminded us all of how God does what he says
He will do.
Today was the last day for one of our awesome volunteers. Anna Grace,
we'll miss you in Bible Bayou! I think you were the only one who could
keep all the technology running smoothly!
Snack today was graham crackers, red jelly & ice cream. Some of the
kids built doorways out of the crackers and put the jelly/blood on the
lintel to make sure their family was "passed over" just like in the
Bible Bayou story. Thank you to Byrne Dairy of Syracuse for donating
the 200 cups of vanilla ice cream for today's snack.
Gator Games was crazy today - good thing the weather was just a little
cooler. Crew members guided their crew leaders through the darkness
into the promised land - all while being pelted with sponge sports
balls.
Skeeter still doesn't seem to understand the relying on God is the way
to go! I still have faith that Kelsey can convince Skeeter that God
does what He says He will do!
Critter Crafts was a busy place today. A few of our friends won their
first every gator-treat by answering questions about yesterday's Bible
Story while they worked on their own clip on Bible Buddies! Lisa,
here's praying that enough paper towel tubes show up by tomorrow. It's
been a loaves-and-fishes kind of week already, so I have great faith it
will all come together.
Pauline and Kelsey continue to do an awesome job with the skits and
music and once again Kelley did a great job with her photo shoot for the
Spotlight Slideshow!
Oh, and today we learned that John P isn't just an awesome preschool
games leader, he also trusted Pauline and Kelsey to pour water over his
head to make a point!! Luckily the girls took pity on John and gave him
a rain coat and an umbrella - and then substituted confetti for water
after all! John had faith in the umbrella to keep him dry just like the
Israelites had faith in God to keep them safe from the Angel of Death.
A special thank you goes out to my friend Jackson in the preschool
crew. Our music system (well, my laptop) decided to reboot itself in
the middle of our Firefly Finale, but Jackson took the microphone and
taught the big kids and adults a terrific song about how Jesus loves us
more than anyone ever did before. It brought both tears and smiles to
all our faces and Jackson saved the day while my computer decided to
take it's own sweet time coming back online!
Don't forget to bring in school supplies for our collection for
Operation Southern Comfort! Shelley & Mari have helped us so much with
VBS this week - from crew leading to KP duty to last minute grocery
store runs - that I'd really love to be able to help them share their
love with kids in St Bernard's Parish in New Orleans who are still
suffering the effects of Hurricane Katrina.
FEAR NOT!
We'll be back bright & early tomorrow with more Bible-based fun!
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... GOD GIVES US
LIFE!
God gives us Life!
FEAR NOT!
What do a Seder meal, a sheet of paper cut into a loop, bingo markers,
strawberries, possum tag and rotten eggs have in common?
We experienced them all on Day 4 of VBS at Crocodile Dock.
Kelsey's friend Skeeter decided to juggle eggs that she found just to
prove a point to Bernard, but Kelsey warned Skeeter that eggs could
contain life and since God gives us life that was NOT such a good idea.
Alex ended up cleaning up the stinky mess that Skeeter made when she
dropped the eggs. I wonder if Skeeter will figure out the message we've
been trying to teach her before tomorrow is over???
Our all-manly-man Bible Bayou team prepared a Seder meal for us,
complete with salted parsley, matzo and grape juice. Our good friend
Nick visited from Good Shepard to help out today while Matt, Mike & Mike
helped our crews thank Jesus for his sacrifice.
Danielle helped us see how God gave us guidelines in the form of the
Commandments to help us get into heaven and all our crews got a sweet
reward when they followed the guidelines and got to heaven. Mike told
the kids that even though the paper hoop might break, heaven could never
be broken and would always be waiting for us if we followed God's
guidelines.
Our preschool friends were such a hit yesterday that we asked then to
lead us in song again today. 1,2,3 Jesus Loves Me.
It's late so I'm going to make this a short one...
Tomorrow is our last day.
FEAR NOT! We'll have a blast!
~Alex
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