These Are a Few of My Favorite Things!

So so so so so so so so so... It's late fall! Yay!! I love late fall. LOVELOVELOVE. And I'm starting to work more and more on some of my favorite things (speech, VBS, among others). So you all get to look forward to posts about those sorts of favorite things.



{I'm positive you're all thrilled. :P I kid.}



Anyway, I've been praying about ways that we might be able to expand "Doane" Vacation Bible School. So I decided that I'd post this on my blog, and possibly on facebook too. I've been thinking lately... how many people that I know might want to have their own VBS {either in their backyard or a small church that currently or never has offered a VBS program} but simply would not know where to start?

Could there be people who are able and willing to teach God's Word, who love kids, and who want to spread the gospel in their communities but are somewhat intimidated by the task of starting a VBS?
Then I thought of myself several years ago, before we started our own Backyard Bible Club. It was my grandma's idea... I absolutely loved the idea, but if she hadn't suggested it I think I would have been too scared to take the first leap all by myself. I don't think I could have done it without my grandma's excitement, Haley's help, and my parent's encouragement.

So these are the things that made me think of others who might want to go in that direction, but are scared to take the first leap. And I want to help others take that first leap.

So, I am starting a blog (perhaps soon a website) that will chronicle my adventures as I set out to produce a free, interactive curriculum for VBS teacher wanna-be's (haha), as well as as schedule, a place for comments, a question/answer type section, among other things.

If you have ever seriously looked into starting a Vacation Bible School, then you probably know that even if you don't want over-the-top elaborate, curriculum can be pretty expensive. That's why I will be offering a free curriculum of my own (as I said above) that comes with lessons, skits, game ideas, snack planners, craft planners and instructions, and a mission moment. If you want something a little more elaborate, this blog will hopefully also offer (perhaps not right away, but eventually) suggestions for craft kits that may be purchased, as well as "professional" curriculum reviews.

If you would be interested in having a VBS this year, NEVER think that you're too young or too inexperienced. Haley and I started off as thirteen-year-old girls who were only helping at a church VBS for the first time that summer. We had never taught Sunday School, nor anything of that nature. I had never really planned anything like that-- I learned completely from experience. So I would urge you to follow this blog as I attempt to put what God has placed on my heart and what He's taught me so graciously these last few years to you. There are some things that you have to learn by experience-- but there are also some things that you can learn through hearing from the experience's of others! Praying that this blog will encourage YOU!
Here's the link: http://backyardvacationbibleschool.blogspot.com/

Grace,
Rachel

{P.S. Even if you don't follow this blog, please feel free to comment! This ministry is not at all intended to just be for those I know-- I want to be able to meet others who want to serve God through this. Thanks all!}

Sold out for Jesus

A few months ago, I was thinking about Vacation Bible School. That's not so strange. You think to yourself. She's ALWAYS talking about VBS. Why shouldn't she think about it? But bear with me a moment. This was one of the rare times that I was thinking of VBS in a non-positive way. In fact, you might almost call it a negative way. Why? Well, because, I bought into this lie that you and I both have heard everywhere. I was thinking that the lie was truth. I was thinking one day, that if only someone else would lead this VBS, he or she could do such a better job than I could. For instance, if someone who was really musically talented led the VBS, the kids could sound like a professional choir! Or if someone who was really talented at crafts led the VBS, she could help us save a ton of money on crafts and they would look great! Or if someone who knew his neighbors well led the VBS, we could have more neighbor children join in. These thoughts went on in my mind, and as you can probably imagine, I thought of more and more scenarios in which people who had talents that I don't have led the VBS, which would help it be better.

This, my friends, is not only ridiculous considering I can't really help the fact that I don't live around here and know neighbors here or that I'm not very great with crafts, but it's also one of the worst lies that Christians could ever believe! Think about it. If we believe that God can only use us when we have certain talents or abilities, we'll think twice about volunteering both in the community and in the church body. You'll stop telling people about God if you don't think you're a great evangelist. You'll stop teaching Sunday School if you don't think you're a natural-born teacher. If you're not incredible with toddlers, you'll stop volunteering in the nursery. If you don't have a "passion" for cooking, you might stop setting up snacks after church or for Bible Study. You don't think you're great at traveling, so you stop going on mission trips. Imagine, even, if everyone who didn't think that he was a great listener stopped attending the Sabbath day service!

These may sound like extreme cases, but it's the truth. What if we waited for God to give us the full dose of talent that we would like before serving Him? Listen to the wise words of the apostle Paul, in 1 Corinthians 1:26, "Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised thing-- and the things that were not-- to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before Him." God has chosen those who are FOOLISH (me) and WEAK (me again) so that He can show His perfect power clearly, if I am only willing to be used by Him. As 2 Corinthians 12:9 says, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness."

If God can delight in using my insufficiency to show His aptitude and sovereignty-- then the least I could ever do is be willing to serve Him.

I don't just want to serve God-- I want to be sold out for Him. I want to be so sold out for the Lord that, no matter what else, my talent doesn't matter, my resources don't matter, my strength doesn't matter-- but that all these things pale in comparison to how great and awesome my God is!

I suppose I made it sound above as if I don't think it's important to have gifts. That's not it at all! God is the giver of all good gifts. He gives us all talents and abilities to SERVE HIM. But. If we're always concerned with waiting for someone with more talent to step up to the plate, we'll stop serving God where He wants us. One of my favorite verses is 1 Corinthians 2:4-5, "My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit's power, so that your faith might not rest on men's wisdom, but on God's power."

I don't think the author is saying that being able to speak well is bad, but rather that it's not where our faith should be. Our faith shouldn't rest on the fact that someone says or does things well, or in our abilities, or even how well we think some ministry opportunity will go.

Where, then, shall we put our faith?

In Christ Alone.

Special Acknowledgments

Hello friends! Well, today marks the third day of non-VBS-- meaning it's the third day since VBS has ended. Since VBS started exactly one week ago, I guess there is no time like the present to thank the people that helped me with this so much. :) Without you all, VBS would have been significantly different (in a bad way. :)

~I guess I'll start off with someone who is dear to my heart-- someone who helped me start the VBS, who has been there every step of the way, who has encouraged me so much in my walk with the LORD and who has helped me every single year with VBS. The kids might know her as "Mackenzie" or the "Song leader" or the "Assistant teacher," because those are just a few of her jobs at VBS. This person, of course, is Miss Haley Kovach. Thank you for teaching about missionaries too! Thank you so much dearie!! And we'll have many good laughs yet over things that happened at VBS!!

~Okay, moving on. Thanks so much to Grandma Bonnie. Thank you for coming up with the pyramid and for everything else you did. Thank you for suggesting VBS all that time ago-- I love doing it and I'm always blessed.

~ Grandpa Ken. Thank you for actually constructing the pyramid!! It was awesome!! Thank you for making that camp site too, I don't know what we'd have done without it.

~ Mom and Dad-- thank you for giving me this opportunity to come back so this VBS could happen. Thank you for the money for snacks, and for your prayers. I love you both!

~"Miss" Anne Rendle. Thank you so, SO, SOOOOOOOO much for being Percy in the skit (you are hilarious and amazing) thank you for helping me with everything I needed help with, and thank you for praying with me and encouraging me! You're a blessing!

~ "Miss" Keely Rendle, thank you for all your help. Thank you for being great with the kids (Remember last year, before you were even a 'helper' Sam wrote on his craft "Sam and Keely".... need I say more?) ;) And thank you for playing Joe Johnson. You are a great "sorta villain" haha.

~ Raymond Dokupil. Thank you for all of your work playing Albert. I think you were the favorite character among the kids!! And thank you for taking the time out of your schedule to stay for the full time many days!

~ Hannah Dokupil-- I'm so sorry you got sick. How are you feeling now? Anyway, thank you for coming at first despite being sick. You are a trooper! And thank you for being Carson. :)

~Grace DeBusschere, I'm so glad you could come, even for a short time!! You are a blessing to me and to everyone.

~Sophia DeBusschere. Thank you for all your great help and for being a lot of fun. :) I had a great time with you and I was blessed to see you with the children.

~Curtis Kovach, you deserve one of the biggest thanks of all, for stepping up to the plate of Carson with only a few hours notice. You're amazing.

~But first and FOREMOST, this whole post really belongs to God. Because He is my very greatest friend, the ONLY source of true peace, and it's only by His will that this VBS ever happened. And as long as "Doane Vacation Bible School" continues, it will be only because of Him and all for Him. I love you, dear Lord, most of all!!


Thanks everyone!!!

VBS: the dramas, the lessons, the snacks, and more!

Haley and I with Bailey, the doll/puppet
Listening to the lesson

And questions

Me teaching the lesson!

Awww... Christina, Abby, and Anne :)

Praise and Worship

Silly Songs

Walking... it's the natural pose :P

Book time!

Me, teaching the children about a missionary named Joyce who works at God's Littlest Angels Orphanage in Haiti-- the kids were amazing. We raised nearly $200 for GLA!!

Working on the books!

Miss Sophia's review team!

Miss Grace's review team!

More book work. I love the expressions on Keely and my faces. We look like we're engaged in a very passionate conversation.

The drama cast! AHHH! The play was one of my favorite parts! From left to right: Albert (Raymond), Carson (Hannah), Claire (me, Rachel), Joe (Keely), Mackenzie (Haley), and Percy (Anne)! I had a great cast!

Silly Song!

VBS came and went-- already?

This week marks one of the greatest weeks of my entire life. Yes, I mean that literally and seriously. It was better than any vacation on the beach, any trip to somewhere fun, or almost any other period of 'relaxation.' This week I got to teach twenty children about the value of their lives to God. My best friend, Haley, and I spent the last twelve months planning for, praying for, practicing for, preparing for, ordering materials for, shopping for, and inviting people to Vacation Bible School. I honestly don't think you would believe just HOW MUCH God has provided for this VBS. First off, with the curriculum. I love the theme-- it was an Egyptian Mystery theme: Decoding the mystery of life. Every day there was a different lesson about life. Day 1: God made life. Day 2: God made life wonderfully! Day 3: God offers eternal life through Jesus. Day 4: We should value and protect life. And Day 5: God uses our lives. Each day we also memorized a verse that went with the theme, worked in some workbooks, had a snack and watched Veggie Tales, learned about a missionary, played a fun active game, played a review game, sang, did a craft, and one of my favorites-- had a drama! Before I say anything else about the drama, I have to thank my amazing cast: Keely Rendle (as Joe Johnson), Haley Kovach (as Mackenzie Ross), Raymond Dokupil (as Albert Peacock), Anne Rendle (as Percy Sedgwick), and Hannah Dokupil and Curtis Kovach (both as Carson Hughes). I played Claire Sedgwick, owner of the Sedgwick museum. It was a mystery set in a museum in Egypt. I. LOVED. the. drama. It was absolutely amazing-- an absolute must for next year! I also enjoyed the lesson time. Some kids might think learning the main lesson would be slow-paced or boring, but really the curriculum is super interactive! Some of the children even mentioned that was there favorite part!
Another amazing way God provided was through the families. He really, REALLY encouraged me through some people who came. How so? Well, most of the families said that they would only make it for two, maybe three days-- but by the end of the week they told me that they were so pleased with the VBS and their kids were learning so much and having such a good time that they rearranged their schedule to fit VBS in. And every single family came every day after the first. :) I was so happy! All right, I think that what I just wrote sounds like I'm bragging, like somehow MY VBS was so wonderful that people really wanted to come. This is NOT how I meant it, I meant rather that God was SO GOOD in encouraging me through these families. :)
The final way God provided for me, that I'll discuss here, is through the helpers. Every single one of the staff encouraged me and helped me, and the kids adored all the helpers. I could see God's light and love shining through the leaders! What an awesome God we serve!
I also have to thank one VERY special person, besides the LORD, for this VBS. Haley Kovach, my amazing Song leader, Mackenzie Ross in the skit, and assistant teacher. Thank you luv!

Here's one song we sang, in case you're interested. I think it's my favorite.

There Aren't Any Monkeys in Our Family Tree

If you're in the monkey business then you know you're gonna find 'em
Goin' rope to rope, swingin' vine to vine.
You'll find 'em in the jungle, You'll find 'em in the zoo,
You'll find 'em on safari goin' "ooh ooh ooh!"
But there's one place they'll never be--
There aren't any monkeys in our family tree!

We were created by the Lord above
We were created in His image of love.
We're not mutated from a chimpanzee!
There aren't any monkeys in our family tree.

If you're looking at the evidence, the truth is really plain
In the microscope, in the DNA.
Every kind is different, every one unique,
and none are linked together by the "missing link."
We're made by a Designer so it's clear to see--
There aren't any monkeys in our family tree!

Hey, hey, we're not the monkeys!
No no, ooh ooh, uh uh uh!
Hey, hey, we're not the monkeys!
They can't make a monkey out of me!

You can study every ology from A to Z,
But there aren't any monkeys in our family tree!!

All right, I can't put pictures or videos on this computer, but as soon as I can use my own computer again, I will post the videos of the drama (I have all but the first day on tape) and a BUNCH of pictures. So, instead of videos and pictures at the moment, I'll post funny/ cute quotes from the last week.

"Are you coming back next year?" ~Me
"OOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHH yeah." ~Sam


"VBS is canceled this year." (Two parents were saying this to each other a couple months ago)
"What?!? The forest VBS IS CANCELED?" ~Sam and Annie, the twins.
"No, the VBS at first EPC." ~their parents
"Oh good, we want to go to the forest VBS." ~Annie

"Joe is a man of few words. I used to think he didn't like me!" ~Anne (playing Percy)
"I don't like you." ~Keely (playing Joe)

"I apologize for his lack of manners." ~Me, speaking of Percy, playing Claire
"Oh, that's all right. I'm sure he's a nice person." ~Haley, playing Mackenzie
"No comment." ~Me

"We want to be on YOUR team!" ~The twins, Mia and Abby
"Should one of you go on another team?" ~Me
"NO! We want to be on YOUR team!" ~Mia and Abby

"She's (Anne) like my new best friend!" ~Mariah

One day, all of the boys were being naughty. We use fake dollars as a motivation for them to behave, and at the end of the week, if they've memorized their verses and been good and participated, they can spend their dollars at a little "store." Haley said, "Okay, you're all about to lose a dollar!" Instant silence.

Oh, this week was amazinggggggggggggg. :) God is awesome!

This Summer...

In a few weeks, I am flying back to the States from Japan. I will not be coming back to Japan again, I'm going home for good. Anyway, I've been working on memorizing my script for the drama at the Vacation Bible School I'm organizing at my grandma's house.

And guess what?!?

I'm the agnostic. HA. In all the previous skits for VBS I've been the wise, godly one that gives good advice-- so this is kind of new territory for me. We'll see how it goes.

In past skits Haley's been the troublemaker and I've always, should we say, helped her get out of trouble ... what happened to that? I'm in jest, of course.

Can't wait for VBS! Please pray for the kids, for the helpers, that we can memorize our scripts, that we'd have great weather, and that we'd be abounding in children with tender hearts!

And come if you can! E-mail me or leave a comment and I'll let you know the address/ place. :)

Meeting about Vacation Bible School

Haley, Anne, and Alyssa practing acting out the parable of the Unmerciful servant. (Alyssa was the King! Notice her crown ;)

Me. Wow that's one strange expression I've got going. it looks like I'm smiling but my head is tilted weird!!!!!!!

The lovely miss Bobbie Jo ;) haha just kidding there's Anne DRESSED as Bobbie Jo for the skits.

The beautiful Fung sisters. Okay the reason that Alyssa is smiling and Jennine has a somewhat... worried expression is that Haley set the camera on "Smile detection" mode basically meaning that it would flash once it saw someone smile. So Jennine was waiting to smile but Alyssa smiled before her. Oops! Sorry Jennine. it's still a good picture though :)

The lovely Miss Awissa

Aww... sisters

The beautiful Anne and lovely Haley in scene two of the Unforgiving servant....

Alyssa and I reading the Pharisee and Tax collector story outloud...

Anne and Alyssa acting out the Unforgiving servant!

Anne and Haley.... still in scene two!

Haley looks very expressive even though she blinked ;)

Anne, myself, and Haley. Looking for the Parable of the Pharisee and Tax Collector

We had so much fun planning VBS! Hope you enjoy the pics!