Feel the sand between your toes; watch the fisherman mend his nets as the water laps at the shore; wind through the streets to the carpenter’s shop or the sandal maker. Add to that experience a visit to the sweet-smelling bakery or taste the flavors at the market and then join your tribe to visit the scribe or the rabbi at the synagogue.
Every night the children couldn’t wait to have an exciting experience at Galilee-by-the-Sea at the Sunnyside Church. They rushed into the church to dress in their Bible-times costumes and then into the marketplace to meet with their tribe leader and sing the songs that leader Charla Morford taught them.
Rabbi Richard taught in the synagogue. Each night he unrolled the scroll of a scripture passage. Very quickly his young students taught him something interesting: When it comes to unwinding scrolls, l-o-n-g-e-r is much better than shorter!
From our 90-year-old sandal maker to our 13-year-old assistant shopkeeper, every generation worked together to make the experience a life-changing event. About 50 children attended, along with more than 70 volunteers.
We followed up the next Sabbath with a children’s concert where boys and girls sang, recited scripture or played an instrument, writes Shirley Allen, Sunnyside Church associate pastor. The church was filled with parents, grandparents, friends and neighbors.
In Redmond, the church rounded up 40 children from the surrounding area for a one-week western-themed Vacation Bible School, report Lorene and Larry Ferguson, Redmond Church VBS coordinators.
In the Kelso-Longview area, a little boy named Andruw went up and down his street, knocking on doors. He was so motivated to bring a friend to “SonForce Kids” Vacation Bible School that he knocked on every door in his neighborhood until he found someone who would join him. His witness was an inspiration! Andruw is in the fifth grade this year at Kelso-Longview Adventist School.
Approximately 75 children attended the Kelso-Longview Church Vacation Bible School led by Terry Bumgarner July 30–Aug. 3, reports Marcia Stone, Kelso-Longview Church associate pastor.
