Summer Adventure Week!

What a blessing to be part of SAW this last week with Titus!  This was the first year that I had the privilege to help out with this huge event that our church holds every summer!  SAW is also better known as Vacation Bible School (VBS) and I am not quit sure why they decided to change the name but they did, so you go with it!  Our congregation is huge (our sanctuary seats 700, and between our 2 services I am not exact on attendance but I am sure it is around 900!) so this event is huge in every way!  The upcoming kindergartners-6th graders come Monday-Friday for a week from 9-11:30 am everyday and they are split up into 5 different age groups and each age group has two groups to it because the attendance is so large!  The kids earn points for their attendance, if they bring a friend and if they memorize a verse, which there were 6 different verses selected to go with this years story for them to memorize!  I was so happy to be a part of this because that meant I got to memorize God's Word and hide it in my heart too!  Every morning we would ALL be together for music then our groups would leave the sanctuary from there and get to enjoy a different drama, activity & snack and a craft or experiment every day!  VERY ORGANIZED and it's FREE! 

This year they did the story of Esther from the book of Esther in the Old Testament!  Esther was chosen by God and the King of that time to be Queen and God used her to save her people, the Jews, when the 2nd man in command, the bad Haman, plotted to kill the Jews with the King's permission when the Jew, Mordecai, Esther's cousin, would not bow to him because he served God and only bowed to God!  The King did not know that Esther was also a Jew, so Esther went to the King, unsummoned, knowing that she could lose her life unless the King extended his golden scepter to her to spare her life!  She knew even then that 1) Salvation is found only by trusting Jesus and that 2) God has a plan for every one's life & that she needed to 3) Follow God even when it's hard!  "And who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this?" Esther 4:14

It was so amazing, I mean can you imagine all the little kids as they watched this played out with live people dressed like bible times!  By Friday we had 449 kids in attendance, the largest ever!  It was so cool, and very glad there was 200 volunteers around to put this on!  I just got to be a "guide" meaning I was with half (about 40) of the 3rd & 4th graders as they moved from drama to activity to craft/experiment places and helped them along and kept them paying attention.  They do provide nursery for the volunteers kids and even have groups for the pre-school age kids of volunteers but Titus was not up for the nursery.  We tried Monday and Tuesday morning to go early and mommy tried to lay him down because that is usually his nap time and he just screamed.  I think it is just too many kids, I am not sure?  He did well in my backpack going to everything tho and then we would come home and eat something quick and he would just nap all afternoon!  So that worked and the kids in my group loved him anyway and a few other moms did that too.

The kids also had a chance everyday to hear the gospel and make a decision for Christ!  Many did, Praise God, many of these kids don't even attend church on a regular basis!  And they also had a chance to give an offering everyday that went to a local need, the Carole Graham Home, a place for single moms and their children to live while they get back on their feet.  The total offering given by the kids was $1,059!  And on Sunday, yesterday, was SAW Sunday, so the kids are encouraged to come and bring their families to church and they get to redeem their points that they have earned all week for different toys and such!  And the congregation gets to hear all the awesome songs that the kids have been learning and they get to see a part of the drama that the kids have seen earlier in the week!  They actually did 2 of them yesterday!  Can't wait for next year, they are doing the story of Moses!

These are some the girls that just loved Titus!

Peytyn & Katy with Titus!  Peytyn kept asking me all about Titus and if we are coming back next year and she kissed his hand on Friday before she left!  So sweet!

What a sweet smile!

Titus' face is so funny here!