Reflecting on Tuesday July 17

Reflection, Tuesday July 17

Hello, my name is Olivia! I am 19 years old and am a sophomore at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. I am a member of Abiding Presence Lutheran Church in Ewing, New Jersey. I joined LiT primarily to do something productive and meaningful with my summer by serving others. But, I also joined because I plan on working in an urban environment in the future and I wanted to have an experience in that setting to confirm that goal. From this experience, I want to gain a sense of fulfillment from the work we will accomplish, a growth in my faith, and new connections with the other nine members of LiT, as well as with the churches we are working with.

This week, all ten members of the group are working with the Lutheran Church of the Redeemer, mainly assisting with their Vacation Bible School program. Last week, we were split into two groups so it is great to all be back together again to do work. Pastor Raymond Collison, the pastor at Redeemer, is leading us this week and many members of the congregation are volunteering to lead VBS. We have had about 50 children participate so far and it fantastic to see so many young people come to VBS.

I love working with kids so I have really enjoyed working with the children at Vacation Bible School. I try my best to make them feel important and special by sitting down and talking to them right when they arrive and saying good-bye to them at the end of the night. Though a bit tiring, because my energy level is so high for the few hours that the kids are there, it is a happy exhaustion that I feel when the night is finished because I know the we have helped to make the experience fun and meaningful for them.

Tuesday’s theme of the Sky Bible School curriculum was “no matter how you feel, trust God.” Throughout the night I reflected on this theme and saw how relevant it is to the kids that are coming to VBS at Redeemer. These kids are coming from many different backgrounds, arriving at VBS in different states of tiredness or hotness or excitement. Some of them share their home stories that are not so pleasant and we, as “special helpers”, have to really show them that God can help them through anything. Some of the kids even stated that VBS is an escape, a happy part to their day because they do not have to be at home. To know that their night, and our participation in it, needs to be positive because it may be the only positive thing that happens that day really made me feel sad but also happy to be doing something that made such an impact on them.

I never really thought of VBS as that big of a deal before working with both St. Bartholomew and Redeemer, and I am really glad that I have been able to see the amazing experience that it can be for kids. It is such a fantastic evangelism and witness ministry because the kids leave singing the songs, knowing the truth that they can always trust God, and excited to be returning the next day.