Poster - Worship Slides

Poster - Front-and-Center Slides

Poster - Event Slides

Hello, mother. Hello, father. Here I am at … Camp Discovery! And no, it's not raining. We're having a great time! Every night we've sang, played, eaten and, most importantly, heard God's word. I've learned that Jesus is at work through us. He makes me courageous and gives me wisdom. He saves us and gives us faith. And He gives me His love to share!

We started every day of camp with a great meal made by some of Saint John's wonderful volunteers. I liked the chicken fingers and tater tots the best, but we also had hot dogs, pasta and all sorts of other goodies. Then there was time to run around and play! By the end of the week, the Large Fellowship Hall was full of balloons, balls, hula hoops and even boomerangs, so there was plenty of stuff to keep me and the other campers entertained while the adults finished their dinner.

When the music started, we knew it was time for the opening. We learned several new songs this week, including the Camp Discovery theme song. But we also got to sing some hymns, like “Praise God from Whom All Blessings Flow” and “Take My Life and Let it Be.” Pastor Nettleton taught us the verse that we would be learning that day. We said Martin Luther's evening prayer, and Pastor Nettleton showed us how to make the sign of the cross! It reminds us every day of how God made us His own in baptism.

After the opening, I went with my team to the different stations throughout the church. We memorized the verse of the day in the “Big Timber Bible Challenge” with Sue Gardner. Maribeth Buss taught us a song and actions to help! Then we went to the “Treetop” for storytime with Nelly Sanford. We heard how God made David bold enough to defeat Goliath, how Deborah judged with God's wisdom, how God saved Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego from the fiery pit and King Neb, and about Jesus healing a blind man named Bartimaeus. Then it was outside to Eric Gardner, who had a different game every night for us to play on the front lawn. My favorite was when we got to throw balls to knock over Goliath! And every night we had a craft project—that's where the boomerangs came from!

We all came back together down in the Large Fellowship Hall. Pastor Nettleton helped us remember the bible verse for the day and reminded us of the theme, from 1 John: “We love because He first loved us.” We sang our Bible verse song again and one or two of our camp songs. Then it was time for dessert! Every night a group of ladies made us great treats that fit in with each day's lesson.

I'm pretty tired after a week of fun. I'm definitely going to remember this fun week I spent with my friends. And I'm going to be looking at all the different ways that Jesus is at work through me and all Christians! What a great demonstration we got of that in the work of all the different volunteers who made this summer's VBS happen. Especially Sue Gardner, our VBS coordinator and leader!

Saint John’s Sunday School Team teaches and plans activities for the children of the congregation, age two through sixth grade.