VBS Day Five: Jesus Gives Us His Power

Our week of Vacation Bible School in Martin, Slovakia, has flown by. We awoke in disbelief – how did the week go so quickly? Our theme for Day Five was, “Jesus Gives Us His Power.” The power of Jesus has been evident throughout the week. Our final morning session was filled with crafts (stars, shining the light of Jesus!), stories (Jesus ascending to the right hand of the Father in power!), and songs (clap-snap-nanner-whoop-whomp-boola-whew-beep-moo!).

It was a blessed week. To our great gratification, a number of staff members from the Center for Christian Education told us that this was the best VBS they’d ever had. There were no doubt lots of reasons for this: the fine organization and preparation, the energy of our team, and the Slovak children themselves. But the biggest feedback was the most important: we spent more time in the Bible and more time teaching the stories of Jesus than had been done in the past. And that’s what’s it’s all about. Our time in Martin was not about seeing the world, or having fun, or deepening our relationships, although we did all of those things. Our time in Martin was about Jesus and following him, the light of the world, alongside our Slovak friends.

In the afternoon, it was time for the closing program. We set up risers and sound equipment outdoors in the center of the CCE campus. With fifteen minutes to go before the program was supposed to start, the children and their families were still just trickling in. Would there be anyone there? By the time we started, however, almost all 200 kids, plus the high school group that had been at camp during the week, plus hundreds upon hundreds of family, friends, and even, perhaps, curious onlookers filled the school grounds. I even got interviewed by a Slovak television crew!

To stand in the middle of Martin, singing songs to Jesus, was a beautiful thing. The newest addition to the school campus is the high school building, which used to be a printing press. During communism, this was one of the Soviet Empire’s main locations for printing anti-western, anti-Christian propaganda. And here we are, singing songs to Jesus in the shadow of this building where children now learn about the truth of Jesus’ love.

Last night, some Slovak youth joined our wrap-up session at the end of the day. One young woman reflected on how exciting it is to welcome new children to the school and tell them about the gospel. She noted that a few years ago, the Jesus stories were just stories to her, strange and antiquated. But in her time at the high school, she has come to know Jesus as her Lord. All thanks to the work of the Holy Spirit in and through the CCE.

What a blessing to be a small part of it all. I have a feeling we’ll be back again…