By MAGGIE MCMURRAY
Moapa Valley Progress
Stars, moons, galaxies and all things space-related decorated Lake Mead Baptist Church last week as the Overton church held its annual Vacation Bible School.
This year’s theme, “Starveyors,” meant that all the fun activities held throughout the week had a decidedly extra-terrestrial twist. Kids loved the far-out decorations and the space-themed games, crafts, activities, and treats. The program was free and open to anyone who wanted to come.
The camp was held every evening at the church for five nights and was run wholly by church volunteers. The theme is not chosen by the local congregation, but is used nationwide by all participating VBS programs. Attendance numbers for the camp were down this year, a fact that pastor Scott Adams attributed to the early school start and families trying fit in one last trip before the end of summer vacation.
But even despite the lower numbers, enthusiasm among VBS staff and participants was as high as always. JoAnn Yazzie took on the part of Camp Director again this year. And the goals of the school this year were clear.
“This year’s theme focuses on the fact that God created all things in the sky and on the earth, including us,” Yazzie said. “The lessons start with the creation and fall of man and continue through Jesus Christ. We teach five lessons supplemented with a lot of fun activities, crafts, games, and even treats that are star-themed.”
Lisa Hall was in charge of crafts, one of the favorite activities of all camp-goers. She had several fun crafts planned for the kids, including making constellations with star stickers, doing watercolor resist paintings, painting galaxy scenes on rocks, and making glow-in-the dark mini-projectors.
Hall said that she loves volunteering at VBS every summer.
“I love finding fun and interesting projects that go along with our yearly theme and that everyone would enjoy, but that still fit in the allotted time,” Hall said. “It’s a challenge every year, but that’s part of the fun.”
Other volunteers also relished the challenge of creating treats and activities that went along with the space theme. Teen-aged church members Rita Rogers, Laura Adams, and Hayley Hall were in charge of treats at VBS. Some of the masterpieces they came up with for the week included fruit kabobs with star-shaped Rice Krispy treats, cosmic jello, constellation cupcakes, star sandwiches, and meteorite candy.
Games included Pass the Planet, Shooting Star Catch, Asteroid Adventure, and Moon Orbit, to name a few.
Various booths and rotations were taught by congregation volunteers.
“I love to come and help out at these things,” said volunteer Dana Utgard. “They are a lot of fun and it is really rewarding.”
Team-teacher Nathaniel Brill agreed, saying, “I come and help wherever I’m needed. I love contributing and being part of this experience.”
Bria Scatterday, another teen who also came to help said, “I am here because I’ve always loved coming to VBS. Now I’m old enough to help and it’s great. I love to see the smiles on the kids’ faces.”
Kids that attended also had a good time. Izzy Rosenor said, “I love coming because it is so fun. Arts and crafts is my favorite part.”
Emsley Bennett said, “I like the shows and skits that they do because they are fun but I still learn things from them.”
Charity Hoe said that she likes to come because, “I like learning about God and being here with my friends.”
Pastor Adams was pleased with how the week went. “We are really excited about VBS this year,” he said. “We’re grateful for everyone that helped out and made it run so smoothly. It’s a lot of fun to come to, and it’s a great atmosphere to be in. We all had a blast right alongside the kids that came. It was great.”