We Booked a Flight – Roger + Joy
Roger and I are snowbirds, spending half our time in Michigan and the other half in Naples. Shortly after we returned home this spring, while watching Sunday morning church, Pastor Alan commented on the need for 300 more volunteers for our upcoming Vacation Bible School. We looked at each other and thought, “wow, how awesome is that.”
Over the next week we talked about it and prayed that they would get all the volunteers needed. Fast forward a week: Pastor Alan was grateful that 100 people signed up but there was still a need for 200 more volunteers. I remember looking at Roger and saying,
“Is there a good reason why we can’t go?”
We both prayed that if we were supposed to go that everything would just fall into place, and it did! I booked our flight and we came back to serve.
It was the most incredible week we were able to be part of. You needed no special talents to serve, just to be there and help the kids, sometimes just helping to keep them together when moving from activity to activity.
When I hear our church being described as a multigenerational, multiethnic, multiplying church raising up the next generation, it makes me smile.
That was the best description for VBS.
Watching the excitement as the children arrived and doing our activities each day was so much fun. At the end of every day, we met all together in the worship center, it was amazing. Our high school students interacted and led worship. They would stop in the classroom throughout the morning – the kids would look forward to them stopping by.
If I had to take just one or two favorite moments it would be during our combined worship time, hearing the kids sing out their hearts to Jesus. Even better was when they were told how much Jesus loves them and wants to live in each and everyone of their hearts. With eyes closed, a simple prayer was said to ask Jesus into their hearts. Listening to all the beautiful voices say that prayer still brings tears to my eyes.
It was incredible, beautiful, and we were blessed beyond anything we could have imagined.
First Naples is raising up our next generation of disciple makers, church planters, missionaries and world changers one child at a time. We couldn’t be more proud of our southern church family which takes this vision so seriously. We both love to serve wherever we can, our lives have become blessed!