English District GEO missionary Shara Cunningham shares: “Since South African schools were on holiday for the FIFA World Cup, Julia, a fellow GEO missionary, and I planned a three-week VBS session. We asked for volunteers from the local Lutheran church and schools to assist us. The overall theme was the Trinity and we used Bible stories to explain to the kids who God is, follow the birth and life of Jesus, and talk about the Holy Spirit. The volunteers picked out the stories and planned the lessons, and Julia and I supported them by putting together the crafts, supplying resources, and helping out when there was a need. Julia and I didn’t know what to expect.
“We prayed that many kids would come and that they would enjoy what was planned for them. On the first day, we had 70 children and on the second, we had 100 kids attend! As the weeks went on, there were about 60 kids per day. The days included songs, prayers, the lessons, crafts, snacks and playtime. I had the opportunity to teach a few of the lessons and was able to get through them with the help of my friend Ntokozo, who translated for me.
“We were blessed to have volunteers from the German Lutheran Church. One of our colleagues,who is a Mormon, came out to lend a hand. We used stories like David and Goliath, Noah’s ark, and Daniel in the lion’s den to show God’s faithfulness. We made bracelets that talked about salvation through Jesus. That was the day that my Mormon friend was there. It was an awesome way to witness about Christ both to him and the children. He jumped right in and helped the kids make their bracelets. It was a successful three weeks and when the vacation Bible school ended, I felt more connected to the kids. One of the boys even invited me to his house. God blessed us with great volunteers and children.”