Most mornings when I come to the office, things are fairly quiet for the first hour or so. But not this week! This week Vacation Bible School is in full swing with over 80 students and more than 40 volunteers. The halls and classrooms are bursting with activity. There is a “holy roar” coming from the sanctuary as the children learn new songs and sing about God’s amazing love. We are having so much fun this week.
The theme of VBS is “The Wacky World of Water.” This morning we opened our time together by singing, “Water, Wacky, Wacky, Wacky World of Water!” As we gathered together in the sanctuary at the end of the morning to close our time together, we sang it again. But this time the kids moved into the aisles and danced. I can’t tell you how much fun it is to dance with these kids!
Water is one of God’s amazing gifts to us. We couldn’t live without it. The Bible is full of stories about water. This week the children will hear Bible stories that have water in them: the story of Creation, the story of Noah’s Ark, the story of Jesus walking on water, and the story of Jesus calming the storm. We drink water, we bathe with water, we cook with water, and water makes our food grow. And of course we are baptized with…water! Every day we are blessed with life-giving water.
But in some parts of the world water is scarce. And problems of poverty are closely linked to access to clean and available water. In many parts of the world, women and children travel many miles just to obtain enough water to make it through the day. Water filtration systems improve the quality of water so that it is safe for drinking and cooking. The VBS children, in partnership with Lutheran World Relief, are raising money for a water filtration system for the people of Nepal. The cost for one water filtration system is $190.
Before VBS started, the VBS leaders set a goal of raising enough money for one system by the end of the week. On Sunday morning, we had one generous donor write a check for $190. Before VBS even started we had met our goal. Thanks be to God. So now we have a new goal! We have another, anonymous donor who will match what the VBS students bring in, dollar for dollar, up to $190. So we are hoping to have the money for three water filtration systems by the end of the week.
Oh, and we have a special treat on Sunday. The VBS Singers will bless us with their singing during worship. I can’t wait!
What a privilege it is to serve beside you, dear people of TLC. Day in and day out, your generosity and your love of the Lord show the world that we are “blessed to be a blessing.”
Joyfully,
Pastor Elizabeth
