Core Memories of VBS
The Glory Days
When I was a kid, the vacation bible school that was organised by my school was one of the highlights of the year. The co-ordinators used to come from Bangalore to the town I was living in at the time and spend a week with us.
It used to be structured similar to a school day. We'd start off with a general session of singing where we'd learn the new songs according to the decided theme of the VBS. Then we'd split into our classes for the lessons. There would be a short mid-morning break for a snack and then some more classes before lunch. As my school also had boarding facilities, lunch would be served in the mess hall. We'd meet soon after lunch for another general session and then head to our classes again before one final general session. It used to go on until four in the evening.
In the middle of the week we'd go for a picnic, and everyone would share the lunch that they had brought from home. There would be games and music and much enjoyment.
To make things exciting and competitive, the 200+ kids would be separated into two major teams. Some years it was boys vs girls, others it was done based on everyone sitting on one half of the school chapel vs the other half. I remember once they called one team 'Agape' and 'Phileo' which are two Greek words which are different kinds of love (unconditional love and brotherly love). This was fiercely contested right until the last day. Some years my team won, and lost in some others.
In the summer of 2001, I had just completed the 6th grade, my parents decided to put me in a boarding school as we had heard there was a good boarding school a few hours away. It was effectively my last VBS. Our family was traveling that summer, so I had missed the first three days of the VBS.
On Saturday, both the teams were locked in a stalemate with an equal number of points. The VBS co-ordinator decided to play a game to decide the final winner. They would read out a chapter:verse reference, and our task was to quickly find that passage from the Bible, run to the stage and read out the verse in the mic. I was able to do it once and get some points, and then I realised there was a person in the other team who had one of those Bibles with small circular notches cut into it, and labels stuck on them which makes it easier to find a verse quickly.
After a few rounds of this, the scores were level again, and there was one final tie-breaker. The VBS co-ordinator said the reference in the mic, and we all tried finding it quickly. Somehow, I found it and ran as fast as I could to the stage and read out the verse in the mic. Our team was crowned the ultimate winner. There was some wild cheering from my team.
The amount of pure, unbridled joy I felt at that moment is something that I can never forget. That was the last time I had attended (5th time) that VBS. It also was the last time I would feel at home somewhere, and thus began almost two decades of traveling from place to place, never staying anywhere long enough to make some roots.
A new beginning
24 summers later, I was presented with the opportunity of teaching VBS for a class of 13-15 year olds. Prior to that, I had no experience with this age group, as my only other experience was teaching a year of Sunday School to 8-9 year old children sometime around the year 2012 at which time I was in college. I did not know what to expect.
Spiritually, I was in a bit of an all-time low. I was not able to be disciplined, and it was showing in my life. I was not at peace, I was feeling vulnerable and defeated. However, I decided that I wanted to be useful and somehow picked myself up.
I had a great time that year. There was an opportunity to write a short skit about the impact of a certain technology in the lives of some fictional college students. The students acted it out well and also did a dance as well. It was a great first experience.
Version 2.0
After it was all done, I kept reminiscing about how fun it was and was looking forward to the next one. I was wondering what my new students would be like, and what kinds of activities we'd have.
The central theme of the VBS was the well known passage from Ephesians which describes the Armour of God.
In the classes, I made it clear to the students that I would much rather hear from them than endlessly lecture them. There were plenty of great questions and discussions that I enjoyed thoroughly. There were also some questions that I had no answer for.
On the second day, we discussed the 'Breastplate of Righteousness'. I had a great time going over the required background of how humanity has woefully fallen short of God's standards, and then God's provision of an atoning sacrifice in the form of Jesus' death on the cross, which was the price of our redemption. After covering all this, we discussed how we can now be justified before God not on our own merits, but on what Jesus has done, and how it is His righteousness that is imputed on us.
Lots of important concepts were discussed that day. At that age I was not aware of all these things, but the next generation should transcend the limitations of the ones before.
Once the curriculum was covered to my satisfaction, we decided to take it easy and play some games. We had a knockout thumb wrestling tournament complete with round of 16, quarters, semis and finals. We took our top two winners to the other section and did a class vs class matchup with their nominated players. An adequate and appropriate amount of fun was had by all.
On the final day, our class performed a dance that they were able to learn in a single hour. It went of well and was received enthusiastically by the audience. Seeing the class do well filled me with pride and joy. The Lord gives everyone special talents and abilities.
Dear students, just like I trust God to take care of my daughters, I trust that he will take care of you all as you allow Him to work mightily within and through you. All the best with everything, you are in my prayers.