V-B-S

During the week of July 25-29, our church had its annual Vacation Bible School (VBS). My wife and I had the job of being the photographers for the week. We had a lot of fun taking photos. There were some challenges, such as low-light inside the church and kids that are constantly moving. But overall, I think we were able to overcome these difficulties. We took well over 2,000 pictures. Some were throw-aways, but we also got quite a few good shots. Though the sheer volume of pictures made picking which to edit a little over-whelming. Below are some of the photos that caught my eye while shifting through the shots that I took.

For those of you not familiar with VBS, it is a week in which our church reaches out to the kids in the surrounding community. There is food and games, and the kids generally have a blast. But more importantly, it is a week where they can learn about our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

 Buses are sent out to pick up kids that need a ride. I think we had about 300-350 kids each night.

The kids are broken down into age groups. Each group has adult leaders and a flag. The flags make it easier for the kids to find who they have to follow.

There is a virtual army of volunteers helping out for the week. Some are leaders. Some pass out food. Some operate games for the kids to play. Every volunteer helps to make the week possible.

Outside the church in the parking lot, there is almost a mini carnival where the kids can run around and play games during their play-time. One of my favorite games is the dunk tank.

 

As well, there is a time where the kids sit down, and the gospel is shared with them. The speakers come up with unique and interesting ways to get the kids attention. One of the ways they do this is by having themes for the different nights. One of the nights was fire night.

 

Another night was weapons night. On this night, someone brought in the ULTIMATE weapon. But when handling something so powerful, you have to make sure you have good security

and take the proper precautions to ensure this powerful weapon is kept safe.

The kids learned that the Bible is the most powerful weapon available. It has the power to change lives, defeat Satan, and destroy sin within us.

Another theme night was water night. This was by far my favorite night in terms of taking photos. The light was amazing that night. It was fun to see the immense joy on the kids faces as they played in the water.

A fire truck was brought in to rain water over the parking lot. I think the pictures do a good job of displaying how much the kids enjoyed this.

Of course with all that water, there were plenty of puddles.

Also as part of water night, the workers washed the kids feet just as Jesus washed the disciples' feet.

At the beginning and end of each night, the kids met in the auditorium of the church to sing and watch a play put on by some of the volunteers. The play happened in Dynamo City, where a team of super heros, the Dynamo team, was entrusted by the Sacred Count to protect the city from the evil Volta and Electro. It was fun to watch the kids get more wrapped into the story each night. 

During the play, the Dynamo team was betrayed by one of their own into the hands of Volta. Lumino, the son of the Sacred Count, sacrificed his life to try to free the Dynamo team. But Lumino comes back to life and releases the Team from their shackles, a powerful metaphor for what Christ did for us on the Cross. That's why I particularly like the above photo.

The message got through to some of the kids, and that definitely makes the entire crazy week worth it.