By Whitney Donohue
Moapa Valley Progress
Published June 30, 2010
Saddle Ridge Ranch was the theme of last week’s Vacation Bible School held at Lake Mead Baptist Church. Lisa Hall, VBS Director, was thrilled at how many kids turned out to participate.
“This was the largest VBS in the history of our church,” she exclaimed.
Eighty-seven kids were registered for this year’s VBS. Last year’s school held the previous record with 51 children in attendance.
The children were sorted by age into four groups. Each group started out the day with an age-specific bible study. Then the children moved on to different stations throughout the day. Stations included Missions, Crafts, Music, and Snacks.
At the mission station, children learned about five different missionaries who have served in different parts of the world. In addition to learning about these specific missionaries, the children had the chance to interact with teen missionaries.
This year four teen missionaries traveled to Moapa Valley to help out where needed during the VBS. Two traveled from Tennessee, and two from Mississippi. Not only did these missionaries help out in classes, they were able to share stories with the children about their experiences. These missionaries will spend the summer traveling around the United States helping out other churches with their VBS programs.
The craft station proved to be a hit with all of the children.
Craft activities included a bible verse booklet in which children could write the bible verse that they had learned each day. Another craft was a doorknob hanger, complete with a picture of the child. One of the favorites was a firefly. This craft consisted of a clear plastic tube filled with glow-in-the-dark pony beads and decorated with wings and eyes.
At the music station, the children learned three songs that they later performed at the family barbecue held on Friday evening.
Barbara Trombley was in charge of designing the decorating plan for the church in the overall western theme. She had many volunteers to help her imagination come to life. Among the decorations was a tent complete with campfire, a covered wagon, and life size mechanical horses. The walls were decorated throughout the church with Western scenes.
“A lot of hard work went into planning and putting on this year’s VBS,” Hall stated. “I’m lucky that it is held just once a year-that way my volunteers are always fresh and ready to go!”
A barbecue was held on Friday night for the families of the VBS participants. About 150 people showed up for the program. The children performed three songs for the crowd: God Cares, Tumbleweed, and Shadow Ridge Ranch.
Families feasted on traditional chuck wagon fare, including burgers, baked beans, and watermelon. Each class recited one of the five bible verses they had learned during the week.
At the end of the evening, a raffle drawing was held for the students. Each day a child came to the school, they were given a raffle ticket. Among the prizes raffled off were the much coveted inflatable coyote and a large, blue cowbell.
