VBS x 2 Mt.Eden and Blackford Baptist

This was the week of two VBS. The idea of rest had to be put on the back burner and relying on God's energy and strength was very apparent.

In the mornings we were at Mt.Eden were the kids went on a rotation through stations of bible story, music, snack, recreation, and crafts. The VBS started off with a worship rally to gather the kids and get them pumped for the day. My group along with Tess were the kindergartners down and we had a blast. They spent the week soaking up the lessons about God's amazing power. The mornings ended with another worship rally, music, and prayer.

After finishing up at Mt.Eden and having lunch, the afternoons were spent hanging out with the Blackford youth and preparing for the evening VBS. Blackford's VBS began at 6ish with a worship rally. The kids then went into rotation much like at Mt.Eden. Crafts, snack, music, recreation, and of course Bible story were all run by us and many from Blackford Baptist. Michele and Me were in charge of the music. I feel like a professional VBS song and dance coordinator after that week. The kids loved it though and I wouldn't have traded stations with anyone. The VBS ended with another worship rally, music, and prayer.

Evenings and afternoons were spent hanging out with the Blackford youth, visiting, team time, and some rare relaxation. Overall the week was physically tiring but well worth it.

VBS at Canada Town - Patrick

Hey everybody! This week we had our vacation bible school at Canada Town. In the 1970's, Love in Action began going out to Canada Town to teach the children and youth about God. This week, we had a group come in that have been coming for the past 13 years. They really helped us out and they really connect with the everyone in Canada town.  Overall, we had around 60 children and youth that attended. We had so many kids come that by the end of the week, we had 4 vans come out that had a couple of full van loads. Everyday, we split the children and youth into their age groups and we would teach them the Bible story of the day, then have music, snack, recreation, and crafts. The week started a little crazy, but God was working through all of it. Most of the ones that attended VBS had a lot of fun and learned a lot about how God has power over everything.

Kaskaskia Baptist Youth Camp

Kaskaskia Baptist Youth Camp! 

The AM team traveled to Patoka, Illinois during this week to help run a youth camp at Kaskaskia Baptist Camp. The team served as counselors to the youth and were with the you 24/7. The camp had about 40 youth. We split these youth into 3 coed groups in which at least 2 AM team members were leaders. The day would start with the kids waking up and getting ready for the day. We would all go to breakfast and hurry back to the dorms to enjoy some personal devotional time with the Lord. After devo time, we would all walk to the Chapel  and watch a video series which would display difficult and (mostly) common situations and questions that today's youth face in their lives. After watching the videos and doing some fun activities, the 3 groups would split up and go to small groups which would include deep, open discussions about our lives and what God is teaching us through our differences and similarities. Throughout the week, we would also have plenty of game time and enjoyable bonding time with the youth! And who could forget canteen!!?!? Christian students also had the opportunity to share their testimonies of how they came to be in a relationship with the Father. 

Playing the Hunger Games! 

Devotion Time in the Morning! 

One thing that I learned from this hard but amazing week was that you should never assume anything about anyone. Get to know them. We all need God's love.  Some of the kids in my group, I assumed were just punks who didn't care, but in the middle of the week, one student opened up and just poured out his life and what he was going through, and that led another student in our group, who did not speak much, to open up and share her story! It was crazy and we then understood why they do what they do and why they think what they think! God just made it clear to us that they just needed even more love and understanding! WOW! God is always at work, and sometimes, we are so quick to forget it. We just need to get ourselves out of the way and let Him use us in the way He wants to! It's hard and a daily struggle, but He is always there to help us out. I'm not a "youth person", but God still used me because I was obedient to Him! 

 "He must become greater, I must become less." (John 3:30)

Our Small Group! A great group of Youth!!!! 

Eric - VBS at Brush Arbor Apartments

Hey everyone. Our first week of serving took place right here in Williamsburg at a small apartment complex right off campus, Brush Arbor apartments. During this week, we went around to all of the homes and invited all of the children out for a backyard bible club, or vacation bible school! Every day, we provided a snack for the kids, games, made a craft with them, and taught them a story from the bible. Altogether, we had around 30 kids attend VBS throughout the whole week! We were very blessed to work alongside of a church group from Kansas City, MS! In this group, there was around 40 missionaries which consisted of 25 5th and 6th graders, and the rest being their parents or chaperones. They called themselves the "Truthseekers"! This was a very fun group to work with because they provided a lot of energy to play and have fun with the kids, but also the 5th and 6th graders served as good role models for out little kids at VBS. Every morning before VBS our big group split up and either worked at Emergency Christian Ministries where we helped paint and remodel, or served at Cedar Ridge Ministries recycling and building giant boxes for recycling purposes. We always had a full day with serving in the morning, VBS in the afternoon, and worship services every night! A lot of hands and hearts came together to help with community projects and sharing the love God has for all of us to children in the Williamsburg area. It was an amazing first week!!!!

VBS at R.D. Rains

The week we were at R.D. Rains Rd. went really well. There weren't many kids on this road, but we had a blast.  We had no more than 10 kids each day. When we got their each afternoon, we set up a canopy tent that someone had graciously donated to us in a free patch of grass and went to get the kids.  After beginning with some VBS songs there was always story time first, followed by a craft for the kids to do and some recreation time to play games. We finished up with snack and some more VBS songs (when our CD player was working for us) and prayer.  It was super hot that week, so we made sure to include water games in every recreation time we had. This was the week of the 4th of July, so of course we went to watch the fireworks too! We finished up the VBS on Thursday and had all of Friday and the rest of the weekend off so that we could have time relaxing or spending time with our families.  This week of VBS went really well and we had so much fun with these wonderful kiddos!

Hello bloggers. My name is Magan Atwood and I have the great blessing of serving as the Director for Appalachian Ministries. I am originally from Eubank, Kentucky but have lived in Williamsburg for almost ten years. I graduated from University of the Cumberlands in 2006 with a major in Religion and minor in Communication Arts. I also have a Masters of Arts in Religion in Pastoral Counseling from Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary and I recently received Board Certification through the American Association of Christian Counselors. I have served as the Director of Appalachian Ministries and the Campus Ministries Associate for four years.  I am married to the love of my life, David Atwood, who serves with me on our campus and in the community. He also serves as a 7th grade math teaching in our county school. We will celebrate our 5 year wedding anniversary on June 16 this year. We have a passion for students and desire to disciple them, help them discover their calling and passion, and help develop their Christian leadership skills. We have a blast serving together and getting to do what God has placed a deep desire in our hearts to do. Our heart breaks for the children and families in our area and we desire to show them God's great love. We really strive, along with our incredible student volunteers, to put love in action. We are blessed beyond measure to be serving our Heavenly Father. 

Hey to all you bloggers! My name is Sarah England, and I am a sophomore at University of the Cumberlands. My major is biology, and I hope to attend medical school  upon graduating. During the school year, I serve as the team leader for AM on Mondays nights in Canadatown. I am so thankful God has given me the opportunity to be a part of this incredible ministry in a county that so desperatley needs to see His love! God has placed a burning desire in my heart to work with kids, so I am beyond excited to serve and love on the families in Whitley County this summer as we show them how wonderful our God is!