4th Friday of BV 2012

The fourth Friday of BV 2012 may be my favorite and most memorable day of our program for the community kids so far. From riding a hover craft to swinging at the park, we had a blast, learning about respect and fellowshipping with one another.

Following lunch that day, the children began with their usual worship time in the sanctuary. We’ve acquired some favorite songs over the summer, including “Fruit of the Spirit,” and Chris Tomlin’s “Our God.” If you have never before heard either of these songs, your kids can definitely repeat them for you! But if they need a reminder of how they sound, here are the videos we watch to jog their memory…

During our worship time, Pastor Bryon spoke with us about the importance of respect and balance and also how hard it can be to incorporate these characteristics into our lives. We looked to the Bible to help us learn more about these terms. Proverbs 4:25-27 says, “Let your eyes look straight ahead, fix your gaze directly before you. Make level paths for your feet, and take only ways that are firm. Do not swerve to the right or the left; keep your foot from evil.” While we had some basic understanding of the meaning of this passage and balance, we partook in an exercise that really taught us how challenging balance can be at times.

The father of one of the girls who regularly comes to BV 2012 brought us a hovercraft made by the VMI cadets so that we could test our own balance! In the fellowship hall and a hallway of our church, the kids took turns both sitting and standing individually on this device. The hovercraft allowed the kids to essentially float  (or more specifically “hover”) above the ground by a few inches while they pulled themselves along the wall or got a push from someone. They had a blast flying around, but staying upright and balanced on the hovercraft was quite difficult at times, and we needed others around to guide us and help us move along without falling off. In life, we sometimes need others there to help us maintain balance. In staying balanced and on track, we are also better able to show respect toward others.

            After riding on the hovercraft for about an hour, we made crafts: miniature hovercrafts/saucers from two paper plates taped together. The kids also included our passage from Proverbs on the outside of the plate as a reminder to “make level paths” and have balance.

We also had time at the local senior center helping clean the area. Another group of kids from BV 2012 went to Penny Park and worked on building a butterfly garden there.

The rest of the day, we were at Kids Playce in Lexington, swinging, sliding, and racing around the park. The kids were happy but exhausted when the church bus returned us to Buena Vista at 5pm after over an hour of playing and having a good time together.