Vacation Bible School in Babylon

I hope you can see by these pictures that we had a wonderful Vacation Bible School again this year. Of course it's always wonderful, but it seems like every year is better than the one before. So far we've been to Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Galilee, Philippi, Rome, Jerusalem again, Nazareth, and--this year--Babylon. That's eight years, and nobody is tired of it yet.

We had 49 children this year--including Zaya and Mim, who came all the way from Missouri--and they were an exceptionally well-behaved group. Entering with enthusiasm into every activity and lesson, they were simply a delight!

This little girl is decorating her boxes to make a hanging garden--Babylon, remember?

The carpenters this year taught stamping with leather dies and staining. We actually used coffee for a light brown stain.

At the metal shop, they made name plates.

Every night more and more children came early--so we had to do extra singing to give the family leaders time to arrive and set their rooms in order.

The name tags didn't all survive the week, but they did endure long enough for the leaders to learn names.

Every year we have a bakery. It's everybody's favorite shop.  All evening we smell the baking bread. Then, after the singing, stories, and marketplace, each "family" gathers at "home". They light the candle, say their verse, bless the food. They eat freshly baked, whole wheat rolls and drink cool water (from the "well"). Not once--in eight years--has anybody asked for cookies and kool-aide.

Our bakers explained and demonstrated how bread was made--even grinding the wheat in a remolino. (This year, they inadvertently left the impression with the children that they had hand-ground all the flour for the bread.)

In the "families" older children took responsibility for the younger ones.

And the shop keepers stayed kindly-disposed all week, ignoring the marketplace noise and bustle.

Lights!

Singing! Dancing!

Cheers! Stories about Daniel and Nebuchadnezzar!

Clay beads.

Claye ran the Pottery booth again this year and Carina was one of the "Mater Familias".










The children made necklaces in the bead shop, screeching flutes in the music shop, and ink stamping cylinders in the House of Scribes.

They poured seeds and dirt into their own little "Hanging Gardens."
And so...by the waters of Babylon, we sat down and sang. Well, that's better than weeping.

The Market Place

We have ten shops in the marketplace. The families visit two each night. Of course everybody's favorite is the bakery, because we smell those whole-wheat rolls cooking throughout the evening, and at the end of VBS each family gathers around their table lamp and eats the bread and drinks cold water drawn from our marketplace well. We also have a carpenter's shop where the children learn to use hand tools and stain a cross, a jewelry shop for making bullas with a hidden symbol inside. There is a scribe who teaches them to write in Greek, a grammaticus school for learning Roman numerals and how to use the abacus. (Is the plural abacci?)They make leather wrist bands in the leather shop, paint a top in the toy shop, make mosaic tiles in the clay shop, and sample simple Roman-type foods in the food market. In the weapons shop they explore a miniature Roman fort and see the might of the Roman army, observing little models of actual siege weapons. Every evening there is also a skit in the market place. Tonight a bread thief was almost arrested, but the owner refused to press charges and forgave him. Here are a few pictures.

Apostle Paul, Under House Arrest in Rome

Here's Elijah as Paul. His chained cohort, Brutus, grew the beard especially for the part, and the young soldier, Carl, stands nearby with a message. I don't know what I'd do without these willing volunteers. They certainly make things exciting for the little VBS kids, who hang on their every word. One little girl embarassed Brutus by hugging him a couple of nights ago. She wanted to show him God's love. Every evening, one group of kids takes a letter from Paul to the underground church and the other group brings an offering from the church to Paul. Last night it was a blanket for his bed. I also contacted one of my eighth-graders to put in an appearance last night in the market place so that he could get arrested and taken away. Now it looks like I may have to invite him back, because the children are worried about his fate. I want them to understand history, but I don't want them to suffer needless fear. It's hard to know where to draw the line.

Here are Lucia and Marcus in the catacombs. They are doing a fantastic job also, bringing hope into what was a dangerous time for the early Christian church.

Good Shepherd of the Catacombs

We are having a great VBS this week.
The theme is "Early Christianity in Rome". Paul is in prison; the Christians are meeting in the catacombs. Thus, there is a serious element to our normally boisterous celebration. Even so, the emphasis is quiet joy. In fact, my favorite moment of the day is when we are singing, Praise God from Whom All Blessings Flow, softly in the flickering darkness of the cavern fire light

I'll be posting more pictures over the next several days. Here is a shot of our makeshift catacomb room. My son-in-law, Art, plays the part of Marcus, a pastor in the underground church, and my son, Elijah is "the Apostle Paul". Everyone in our family, almost everybody in our church, and several of my students who go to other churches have a part. They are shop owners, soldiers, and senators. Carina is the leader of a family surnamed Pompeius, Turtle is a scribe and runs the weapons museum. Claye runs the clay booth in the market place. She also did some research on Catacomb art and drew this example on the wall with pastels.

Shalom Aikido

Every night before it was time for VBS, I took care of all those who came early. We played "market music" down by the river. Anyway, Zaya is supposed to be a little Hebrew boy. He wanted "the white costume" and after I saw this clip I knew why. Here is the little Japanese video game fan doing a routine to Jewish music.