Dear Praying Friends,
Whew, VBS is over and the last 2 weeks are a blur already, but certain impressions stand out:
Lack of teachers. The majority of the trained teachers had either full time employment or were enrolled in summer classes, so they could not be involved during the actual afternoon hours of 2-6. Right up until 2 days before it started there were only 2 teachers confirmed for the 5 classes! Also we had previously had a 10 day CEF training, then a week of evangelistic activities which delayed preparations. Only one week was left before VBS started!
How achy my legs felt on the Saturday before it started: I was on my feet pretty much from 8:30am til 10:30 pm. The group that came worked hard, but it was too late a start. The dramatizations that we did each day were put together in a frenzy.
Saturday night the church copy machine died: Someone mistook a transparency cover, a thin, floppy, clear plastic material, for a transparency and stuck it in the photocopy machine, melting it onto the cylinder and damaging it. We still had to use it (after the repairman came at almost 10pm and picked out all of the melted pieces) as a new one takes several days to order. All of the copies for the rest of the week came out light, but at least still legible.
Whew, VBS is over and the last 2 weeks are a blur already, but certain impressions stand out:
Lack of teachers. The majority of the trained teachers had either full time employment or were enrolled in summer classes, so they could not be involved during the actual afternoon hours of 2-6. Right up until 2 days before it started there were only 2 teachers confirmed for the 5 classes! Also we had previously had a 10 day CEF training, then a week of evangelistic activities which delayed preparations. Only one week was left before VBS started!
How achy my legs felt on the Saturday before it started: I was on my feet pretty much from 8:30am til 10:30 pm. The group that came worked hard, but it was too late a start. The dramatizations that we did each day were put together in a frenzy.
Saturday night the church copy machine died: Someone mistook a transparency cover, a thin, floppy, clear plastic material, for a transparency and stuck it in the photocopy machine, melting it onto the cylinder and damaging it. We still had to use it (after the repairman came at almost 10pm and picked out all of the melted pieces) as a new one takes several days to order. All of the copies for the rest of the week came out light, but at least still legible.Monday, how bewildered and helpless I felt on Opening Day when a teacher quit 15 minutes before VBS started. One of the 2 confirmed teachers for over a month up and left 15 minutes before on the first day with no explanation. (She returned the next day and did a tremendous job cleaning the rest of the week!) A fellow who previously had only wanted to help with music, stepped in and said that he would be willing to do it for the rest of the week.
Tuesday: food poisoning: Early Tuesday morning everyone who had eaten the lasagna for Monday lunch got pains and diarrhea. A couple people had fever! Everyone showed up feeling queasy. This happened to be the day selected to enter a whale’s mouth containing dead fish, seaweed, and opened cans of tuna
on the sides to enhance the atmosphere.
Wednesday the Water Pump went out. No water for 130 people using the 4 toilets all day. This also happened to be the day selected for Jonah to be spit out of the whale, rolling onto the floor amidst seaweed and several dead fish. The poor fellow, Robinson, was a good sport about it though, even though he did smell like a fish for the rest of the day!
Thursday Air conditioner failure: Thursday, 4 of the 5 classrooms were without air-conditioning and both teachers and kids sweltered through it somehow. One class chose to sit on the cool floor!
Friday everything worked!
An hour before the closing activity on Sunday we arrive to find that the backdrop and props for the closing activity for VBS had all been mistakenly taken down!
Around 115-120 children ages 4-13 came expectantly every day. They brought their parents to church on Sunday, filling the sanctuary to overflowing. Several new Christians helped out for the first time. One of them, Amelyn, brought her in-laws one day to help, and they both accepted Christ as Savior during the closing activity on Sunday!
Peter was usually in and about helping in lots of areas as gofer, construction of props, repairman, transportation for the people who fixed the lunch for the workers, and snacks for VBS.
Sharon learned a lesson from Jonah. He was obstinate, hated the people that he ministered to, and was even outraged at the overwhelming results of his ministry, yet God used him anyway, even if he didn’t want to be used. It shows me how much God loves. It is his overpowering grace, combined with the power of His Word that brings about results, regardless of the attitude of the proclaimer.
Peter convened a small Christian Ed/ discipleship meeti
ng at our church for 2 days. 7 were present from different churches. The purpose was to give exposure to several resources available, and categorize them. The 4 men from out of town stayed overnight at our apartment.
Even though October is several weeks away, Peter spends much time in planning, consulting, correspondence, and working out logistics for the International NDLL annual conference to be held in Venezuela. About 350 attendees are expected from South America.
In a couple of weeks our 12th grade daughter, Melissa will depart with her high school for a field trip…. to the Galapagos Islands! We are all excited about her new school and the opportunities it affords. She is taking 3 AP classes.
Thank you for your prayers,
Peter and Sharon McMillan
Tuesday: food poisoning: Early Tuesday morning everyone who had eaten the lasagna for Monday lunch got pains and diarrhea. A couple people had fever! Everyone showed up feeling queasy. This happened to be the day selected to enter a whale’s mouth containing dead fish, seaweed, and opened cans of tuna
on the sides to enhance the atmosphere.Wednesday the Water Pump went out. No water for 130 people using the 4 toilets all day. This also happened to be the day selected for Jonah to be spit out of the whale, rolling onto the floor amidst seaweed and several dead fish. The poor fellow, Robinson, was a good sport about it though, even though he did smell like a fish for the rest of the day!
Thursday Air conditioner failure: Thursday, 4 of the 5 classrooms were without air-conditioning and both teachers and kids sweltered through it somehow. One class chose to sit on the cool floor!
Friday everything worked!
An hour before the closing activity on Sunday we arrive to find that the backdrop and props for the closing activity for VBS had all been mistakenly taken down!
Around 115-120 children ages 4-13 came expectantly every day. They brought their parents to church on Sunday, filling the sanctuary to overflowing. Several new Christians helped out for the first time. One of them, Amelyn, brought her in-laws one day to help, and they both accepted Christ as Savior during the closing activity on Sunday!
Peter was usually in and about helping in lots of areas as gofer, construction of props, repairman, transportation for the people who fixed the lunch for the workers, and snacks for VBS.
Sharon learned a lesson from Jonah. He was obstinate, hated the people that he ministered to, and was even outraged at the overwhelming results of his ministry, yet God used him anyway, even if he didn’t want to be used. It shows me how much God loves. It is his overpowering grace, combined with the power of His Word that brings about results, regardless of the attitude of the proclaimer.
Peter convened a small Christian Ed/ discipleship meeti
ng at our church for 2 days. 7 were present from different churches. The purpose was to give exposure to several resources available, and categorize them. The 4 men from out of town stayed overnight at our apartment.Even though October is several weeks away, Peter spends much time in planning, consulting, correspondence, and working out logistics for the International NDLL annual conference to be held in Venezuela. About 350 attendees are expected from South America.
In a couple of weeks our 12th grade daughter, Melissa will depart with her high school for a field trip…. to the Galapagos Islands! We are all excited about her new school and the opportunities it affords. She is taking 3 AP classes.
Thank you for your prayers,
Peter and Sharon McMillan
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