VBS students at FUMC learn the importance of helping others

By Trent Thompkins, Messenger Intern

The children of First United Methodist Church in Troy have been having loads of fun this week during Vacation Bible School.

But at the heart of all the activities, which began on Monday, has been the teachings of the Lord’s word.

The theme for this year’s VBS was “Everywhere Fun Fair: Where God’s World Comes Together.”

Jessica Tatum, one of many heading up the event, spoke about the message and what it means to be a good “neighbor.”

“The kids learn how to be a good neighbor. Your neighbor doesn’t have to live around you, they can be anyone across the world,” Tatum said.

Tatum and the rest of the staff wanted to relay the message to the kids about the importance of being helpful to others.

Among other things on the agenda: have fun.

“Each day the children got to visit a different country and tried the many different cultures of that country,” Tatum said about the many booths and rooms designed to look like different parts of the globe.

The kids, ranging from ages three to 14, started each day with Bible time, when a story from the Bible was read and discussed. Afterwards, the kids enjoyed recreation time where they played different games designed to correlate back to the overall message, “help thy neighbor.”

Children also learned how to do various science projects during the discovery time.

Mary Sampson, 8, said she sure had a blast discovering the wonders of science.

“We used different materials to create a tasty experiment,” she said about the food they created.

Jada Anderson, 8, learned how to make a mock Earth.

“We used a flashlight to show the dark and the light side of the Earth,” she said.

On the last day, students even got to donate stuffed animals to child victims of house fires to the Troy Fire Department. Sgt. Buford Stephens and the other firefighters were in attendance to show their support to the students and faculty who made donations.

“Thanks to you these teddy bears will be handed out to the kids affected by house fires,” he said to the children.