Last Two Days of VBS!

Taiso

On the second day of VBS the girls were woken up by the sound of excited kids. All the boys at the camp ran upstairs to go wake up the mission team boys as well. It was so cute! Then we had taiso, or morning exercise, which was really interesting because some of the members of the team had never done it before. After breakfast we had our first message by Pastor Nobu and a team skit which was on 1 Samuel 16.

Ayaka and Sumika

After lunch we played at Lake Yamanakako with the kids. We played Fruits basket and Indian chief and then went down to the water to feed the koi fish with our teams.

The koi were so gross! When someone threw the food in they would pile on top of each other to get it. Then Jon made a deal with Sato saying if he touched the koi's mouth, we all had to too! It was so hard to stick my hand down into the water, because even though I knew they couldn't hurt me, the idea of it was so gross.

The koi didn't seem to bother any of the kids though because they were wading through the water with them! They then decided to throw Richie and Connors shoes into the water, which was also really funny.

Mt. Fuji!

Group A: Sunflower

Group B: Dangerous 9

When we went back to Torchbearers, we had practice for our group skits, and then we presented them after Dinner.










My group did Mark 5:21-43, which is about how Jesus raises a dead girl and heals a sick woman.
 Ayaka played Jesus which really impressed me, because she definitely had the most lines to memorize, and she only had one day to practice. Another girl named Yuki also did a really good job with her opening lines as Jairus, and she was given an award afterwards.

Group C: SFCAMY 9

I also won an award for being loud during the skit. It was just really special to me, not because of the reward, but how all the girls in the group congratulated me and were so supportive. I definitely think God placed these girls in my life for a reason, because they have definitely changed me, and I think I have been able to grow so much in just a few days!

David and Goliath Skit

Later that night we had a staff meeting to talk about the kids. Each leader had been assigned a kid to talk to one-on-one with after the message. During the meeting we were able to learn more about each kid and their faith. Some of the stories really amazed me, because although these kids were only in Elementary School, and some had only been going to church for a few months, they were still able to pray out loud. Some of the kids were in more difficult situations though. Two of the girls, Sumika and Yurino were in the same class, but did not get along at all. It was so bad that apparently Yurino did not want to go to VBS at all if Sumika was going. I really prayed for them though, and the next day they were sitting next to each other during the morning message! I noticed them talking more and more and I knew that God had a reason for bringing both of them to VBS.

Joy Patio

Before we left Yamanakako on the third day, we stopped by a restaurant called Joy Patio, where we got free soft serve.  I felt like I had just got to know some of the kids, and we were already leaving!
 I definitely saw a change in a lot of the kids as they opened up to us, and opened up to God. I am really hoping that these kids will remember this VBS and continue to go to church. Nobu Sensei's last message was really powerful, because although others may not like you, God will always love you. He told the kids that God will always be there for them, and that the church will always be there for them too.

~Fiona Kohlman