The 3rd Friday of BV 2012!

Friday, July 6^th, the kids gathered at the church around noon for yet another delicious meal provided by the generous and talented chefs of our church.

After lunch, we went to the sanctuary to worship, fellowship with one another, and hear the story of the Good Samaritan. This story from Luke 10:25-37 teaches us how to be compassionate and why it matters. Jesus, when asked by a lawyer how he could inherit eternal life, told the man that we must love our neighbor, and he told the story of the Good Samaritan to illustrate who exactly is our neighbor. In this parable, Jesus talks about a traveler who had been assaulted and wounded by robbers. He laid on the side of the road, hoping someone would come to his aid. Although a priest and a Levite passed him, they did not stop to assist the injured man. However, a Samaritan came to the man, bandaged his wounds, and later took him to an inn for better care. The Samaritan told the innkeeper that he would pay for all the care that the man required. After explaining this to the lawyer, the lawyer realized that the Samaritan who had showed mercy toward the traveler had acted as a neighbor to him. Jesus agreed and told the lawyer to do likewise and show this kind of love and mercy in his own life in his own life.

Once everyone at BV 2012 heard the retelling of this parable through an online video, we recreated the story to try to understand it even more fully so that we could know what compassion means in its fullest sense.  Below are pictures of our reenactment as well as the video of the story that we watched.

 

 

 Afterwards, we learned about archery and the extreme amount of focus required for this sport. We discussed how this is the kind of mentality we need to have to be compassionate, loving people, for being this way does require work on our part. To make this lesson a little more fun, we actually got to shoot some arrows at a target outside of the church, and while it was exciting, it was definitely a bit challenging. 

 

In crafts, the kids made targets with arrows saying, "Focus on Jesus" to further emphasize our day's theme and message. 

The rest of our afternoon, we went to Glen Maury Park’s campground to clear an area that had been filled by loose twigs and large branches following the storm that caused many along the East Coast to lose power. By helping campers and members of this community, the kids of BV 2012 were able to experience and exhibit compassion of their own.

Following our time at the park, everyone got ice cream at the local Bluedogart café. It was a great break, for we were all pretty hot from working at the campground. Then, we enjoyed the comforts of the indoors and air conditioning as we watched a Scooby Doo movie, called Scooby’s Laff-a-Lympics. All in all, we had a great learning about compassion, eating ice cream, and having fun!

2nd Friday of BV 2012

On June 22^nd, we started into our 1^st sporting event and theme for BV 2012. Our key words for the day were Faith and Commitment, and the Olympic sport was running. The theme verse came from 1 Corinthians 9:24-25:

Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it go get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever.

During our worship time we watched a video on Ryan Hall, USA Olympic marathon runner who will be competing in the London 2012 games next week. 

You can watch and listen about his faith and testimony here

His testimony is a reminder that it takes commitment to finish the race and also that his identity is not in his winning or losing the race, but in his faith in Jesus Christ. For our students, we pray that their faith will grow and they will be committed to God to finish the race He has set before them here on earth.

For the craft, our children made crowns to remind them that the real prize of life and faith is to be with God eternally. We also went outside and played a game where they must find their shoes out of the heap and put them back on and return to their group. Just as they each have different kinds of shoes, God has a different and special calling on each of their lives.

Our afternoon mission covered much of Buena Vista as we visited with several of our shut-ins and other faithful members of the Buena Vista Baptist Church family. With each visit, the students shared some of the scriptures they had learned already this summer and listened to their host share some of their life story and faith experience. Some of them were even gracious enough to prepare some yummy treats for us!

This was a great opportunity and blessing to bring a variety of generations together to share in mission and fellowship together.

Outdoor fun and games with the kids of BV 2012! 

Kids' visits with shut-ins within our community

Day One of BV 2012!

Friday, June 18 2012, Buena Vista Baptist Church held the first of six Friday meetings for local kids throughout the summer. That Friday, we introduced our Olympics-themed program,  "BV 2012," to the kids. 

We began at noon by eating a delicious lunch of spaghetti, bread, salad, and desserts, prepared by the kind ladies of our church. 

Already prepared to keep her teeth clean and eat spaghetti!

So much food, so many choices...

After lunch, we sang some songs together and learned about Eric Lidell, an amazing Olympic runner from the 1920s. He refused to run the 100-meter race for the Olympic games because the event was on Sunday, his day of worship. Many of his fans were rather disappointed in his decision because they wanted to see him bring home a victory for Britain. In the end, though, he did not let down his people because he began training for the 400-meter and ultimately won a gold for this event. His defeat was pretty impressive since many thought that he was simply not fit to run this particular race, as he had practiced for the 400-meter so little in comparison to the 100. Right before he began the race, someone slipped this Bible verse from 1 Samuel 2:30 into his hand, "Those who honor me I will honor." We learned about all of this by listening to our pastor, Bryon LePere, and watching scenes from Chariots of Fire, the movie that chronicles Lidell's story of true faith, dedication, and hard work.

Here are two great clips from the movie, Chariots of Fire. Pretty awesome guy, huh?

Following time in the sanctuary, the kids either went to crafts or a Bible study and then switched. They were very proud of the Olympic torches they created. 

Our torches consisted of tissue paper, tape, and pipe cleaners.

Following our time at the church, we spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing, playing, and enjoying ourselves at the local pool! It was so hot outside and thus the perfect temperature to swim!

Silly faces are the best! 

Someone got bunny ears... 

Pool taxi service, at your service.