"On Saddle Ridge Raaaanch..."

Admit it. Singing that makes you want to swing your lasso. Yeeee-haw!

So it's VBS week at my church. As I'm sure you've gathered after that opening, this years theme (brought to you by Lifeway) is Saddle Ridge Ranch, the cowboy extravaganza. So far we've made cowboy hats, colored bandanas, picture frames and tomorrow night we'll make ostriches. (Ostriches? you say? Ostriches.)
I thought about explaining why, because there is a reason, but naaah. :)
The cowboy hats have been a really big hit. This year I'm teaching a combined class of missions & crafts. And so far, it's been a lot of fun.

There are two major reasons this year is so special.

Part Uno:
This year five of my kid cousins decided to come and I was super excited by that. Getting to spend two hours with them each night is awesome and I love being in their company. Watching Amy & Ashia enjoy the dances so much and seeing Carson, Ashlyn & Anna's excitement over their cowboy hats...that makes me muy happy. I love it.

Part Deux:
Honestly, my heart's in it this year. I'll confess: the past two years I've really dragged my feet, reacted lackluster, blah blah blah... I mean, I've tried really hard to be into it. But I could never quite get myself there.

This is what changed:
I had one particular boy almost every year I've taught. He's the subject of one of my favorite stories. The first year I volunteered I taught preschool and asked the kids if they would draw a picture of someone they could tell about Jesus. And he replied: "I'm not going to draw someone about Jesus. I'm going to draw Doc Oc!"
I told him I was sure Doc Oc needed Jesus too so that was okay with me.

I don't remember him my second year. I taught preschool again.

The third year I taught music and this boy haaaated it. This has never been his thing.

Fourth year I was supposed to help with missions, but mostly ended up helping herd kids. Boy did not want to be there.

Last year, my fifth year (this is my sixth year? really?), I taught crafts. He still didn't act crazy about being there, but he was older now and had calmed down. As long as he made whatever crafts we needed to make that day, I would let him make whatever he wanted after. Since I had one class of four older boys, they wanted to make death robotic space monkeys (and they did) and not sheep. This was fine with me.
But he really weighed on my heart. He was the epitome to me of all kids who hated VBS. It had become this monster in my mind. And while I did pray for the kids and love on them, a lot of my conversations with God went like this: "Do you see this? He's miserable. Miserable. This is ridiculous. Why do we do this? If it stopped at fourth grade, that would be fine. He's too old for this. He's bored. He's making sheep. Why do parents make them come?", etc. etc. etc.
Then grandpa got sick and I was away from church and the week I came back this boy went up to the front during benediction and announced to the church he had been saved. I was floored.
I have no proof VBS did anything. But if it did something, anything, to work in his heart a few weeks earlier, to open the door, I take back everything I said. I was ashamed of myself. I still feel VBS can become something we do out of habit and not prayer. But if it pricks the heart of even one boy then all the VBS' are worth it. Especially a boy I never ever thought in a million years it would touch.

So this year was special. And while I'm glad to have my evenings back, I've also had lot of fun this year. Thanks to all the kiddos, who made it awesome.