Week 1 - NYC Cont

Chapter 1.1

"Be bold! Be strong! For the Lord your God is with you! Be bold! Be strong! For the Lord your God is with you! Do not be afraid (no no no!)! Do not be dismayed (not me!)! Because we're walking in faith and victory, yeah cuz we're walking in faith and victory because the Lord your God is with you!" 

Nearly every day of Vacation Bible School last week, this was the chorus of the song that would kick off the events for the day. What a promise and charge to instill in all of our minds! The theme of the week was "Olympion" and with a play on the Olympics carried throughout the lining up of the athletes, the division of teams, crafts, and game time, we all felt quite attached to our group name and flag by the end of the week. Co-directed by Rebekah Ninah (the oldest daughter in the Roberts clan) and Jordan Roberts (one of the middle in the Roberts clan), this year was the 40th(ish ha) year of Vacation Bible School for the Bronx Household of Faith. Proving a hallmark year in many ways, Naomi Woodmansie, the 20 year veteran director, retired her duties, passed the torch to Jordan, and took on the just as challenging and exhausting role as the infant and toddler leader!

My role for the week was group co-leader along with college junior-to-be Josh Roberts. The "Joyful Gymnasts!" were loud and proud 3rd and 4th graders and happened to actually include two extremely talented gymnasts. Each day consisted of the activities mentioned above along with the Bible lesson and group Bible activity time. The other component to the day was the "Race of Life" session that outlined the Gospel of Christ each day. 

Three highlights from the week--a week which included every day being in the 90s!!--were:

1. TOUGH questions! These boys and girls at the ages of 8-10 already were asking deep questions about God, Jesus, and in general, religion. It can be easy to pat young ones on the head and think they don't understand much of what is going on around them, but this week was a solid reminder that they are SPONGES. One of many lessons I have learned over the last couple of years, we Need to put ourselves in a position to be asked and to ask those challenging questions. There is nothing wrong with learning to articulate what we believe and why we believe it--just the opposite. I know I recently was very much humbled regarding my ignorance of what I believe and why I believe it when it comes to tough socio-political topics. Now the assignment is to dig in and figure out our answers to the doozies. 

2. Sharing life. What a JOY! When we can walk alongside someone and have authentic heartfelt conversation where we simply share life together. Our hopes, our dreams, our memories, our futures. Naomi is also the matron of "The Nest," her home that includes numerous bedrooms occupied by visitors and renters alike. Hosted on the third floor, it was such a joy to weave in and out of the lives of other Nest inhabitants. From early morning Atlantic Ocean birthday visits to late night kitchen chats, it was wonderful to join them for a few days of life along their own journeys. A friend of mine, borrowing from I believe Athletes in Action or Campus Crusade for Christ once used these four categories to ask me about my life. Write them down--they come in very handy for random conversation. 1. Heroes 2. Hand of God 3. Hard times 4. Highlights. A promised solid conversation will ensue, as proven by so many memorable moments from this past week. 

3. As an organizational psych major, it was neat to be on the sidelines and observe the transition of leadership. Handled incredibly well, my favorite observation was two fold: the amount of appreciation, love and support given and received between the former and current directors both directions, and the intentionality (whether conscious or subconscious) of the leaders to make eye contact, create physical contact, and ask "how are you?" to everyone involved in making the week a reality. I personally was touched (get it, insert eye roll emoji ha) by this intentionality that effected my life for the better on a daily basis. They were not worried about "doing it right" AS much as they were genuinely concerned that their people were ok. Beautiful. 

Nearly every day also included a song sung faster each round that ended with a similar phrase to the song above from the book of Joshua. I should mention that the week followed the Israelites through the desert and into the Promised Land, hiccups , hurdles, and all. Talk about some crazy battle stories! So the song :), with clapping, ended singing "Do not be terrified and do not be dismayed for the Lord your God will be with you Wherever, Wherever, Wherever you may go!! Hey! Hey! Hey!"

Great song. 

It's the same moon all over the world. Aaaaaamen. 

Guten nacht from Deutschland!

M

P.s. Many times these blog posts are written from the pillow the night or a few nights before...no one really understands the time change so it all works out anyway :) Peace and blessings!