Lovin’ Every Minute

Don’t you just love the smiles on those faces? Last week we celebrated VBS at our parish, “Crocodile Dock.” It was way fun. The kids enjoyed making new friends, singing new songs, learning about God and the icing on the cake – they were totally wiped out for naptime. Hooray for the family nap!

Anna-Laura would be the cutie-patootie looking upward at one of our teen volunteers to learn those motions. She totally rocked the motions.

It was my fourth (and final!) year to co-direct this fantastically fun, but sometimes exhausting, week. When we started the new curriculum four years ago, we had 120 kids and about 30 volunteers. Fast forward to 2009 and those numbers jumped to 200+ and 85. Our core group of volunteers did an incredible job and it reminded me of two things:

1: A ministry should never get to the point where folks say, “Oh, that’s so and so’s baby. Better not mess with that one.” A wise priest once taught us that ministry leaders should change…often. Many folks want to lead and participate and we should let them. Thank you Fr. Sam for teaching me that passing the baton is a way to strengthen the community.

2: It really does take an army to pull off a successful Vacation Bible School. On Friday morning I found myself nearly in tears just looking around the room at the kids singing during Mass. They totally got it (as evidence by our gift bearers below) and that was definitely my God Sighting for the week. That doesn’t happen because you have one stellar volunteer, that happens because dozens and dozens of men and women commit a week of their lives allowing the Holy Spirit to work through them. That’s good stuff.

So, we bid adieu to “Crocodile Dock” and look forward to “High Seas” next year. Not sure how I’ll be assisting. It may just be taking my kids and coming home to enjoy a few hours of quiet…we shall see. At any rate, it’s a week of the year I totally dig. And dig it we did.