DALTON — Children learned fun facts about wild animals as well as life for kids their age in Africa during Vacation Bible School at Dalton United Methodist Church.

The theme this year was “ROAR” and the church halls were wallpapered with a bright sunset shining over the serengeti with African animals under it. Volunteer Diane Dalton offered arts and crafts in the imagination station. Like every year, they decorated a T-shirt to take with them. This year’s shirts were earth-tone colors such as brown, yellow, and orange. To go with the theme, they stenciled in the word “Roar” and used lion and giraffe stamps to add animal designs on them. Students in the imagination station also made beads they later used for bracelets and planted flowers in pots, including petunias and impatiens.

Diane’s daughter provided outdoor activities that taught life lessons that people go through but remind the children God is good. One game had one child fill a bucket while the rest of the kids filled little cups, teaching that life is sometimes unfair. On another day, kids bowled down plastic bottles, learning that life can knock you down. Another game had children run around standing pool tubes and trying not to make them fall over, teaching them that life can be scary.

“When life is scary, God is good,” shouted the children, learning that God will be with them no matter the situation.

Ten-year-old Makenna Coggins, of Dalton, has been attending VBS for six years and this year became a group leader.

“I love being a group leader, ” she said. “I love the kids. We laugh and play. It’s so much fun.”

Her mother Melissa volunteers with Shannon Malamud to do storytime with the children, allowing the children to act out the Bible story. This week, they performed the story of Moses. One day, children made bricks out of sand, straw, and boiling water, emphasizing what the slaves had to build while another day, Melissa played the pharaoh while children played the frogs as one of the 10 plagues. During the final day, children carried the “Ark of the Covenant” while going to the Promised Land.

“This is awesome,” Melissa said about VBS. “I’ve been doing it for four years. I love that we get into it and interact.”

Children enjoyed snack time while watching a video of stories of children in Africa and what life as a kid there is like. They learned children in Africa don’t have the advantage of taking a bus to school or going to a supermarket for food. In Africa, children walk to school and grow their own food. One story is about a girl named Ruth, whose mother grows and sells corn so her daughter can attend a private school. The students also learned a Bible verse that goes with each story. In Ruth’s story, the verse they learn is “Remember the Lord who is great and glorious” from the prophet Nehemiah.

Volunteer Kim Duffy leads the kid vid/snack time and believes videos give the students an appreciation of what they have.

“It relates to their own life,” she said. “It helps them see that the world is different and their normal life is a privilege.”

VBS of Dalton United Methodist Church is a fundraiser for CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates), which supports abused and/or neglected children.

Alysse Fasulo, left, 6, of Factoryville and Natalie Bower, 6, of Nicholson, decorate T-shirts in the imagination station.
https://www.theabingtonjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/web1_20190626_103431-1.jpg.optimal.jpgAlysse Fasulo, left, 6, of Factoryville and Natalie Bower, 6, of Nicholson, decorate T-shirts in the imagination station. Ben Freda | For Abington Journal

Vaughn Stevens, 7, and his sister Harper, 4, both of Clarks Summit, make beads out of paper in the imagination station.
https://www.theabingtonjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/web1_20190626_105704-1.jpg.optimal.jpgVaughn Stevens, 7, and his sister Harper, 4, both of Clarks Summit, make beads out of paper in the imagination station. Ben Freda | For Abington Journal

Matthew Shafer, left, 10, of Dalton, decorates a T-shirt next to Zoey Lindsey, center, 8, of Clarks Summit, who is helped by volunteer Emily Beemer, of Dalton.
https://www.theabingtonjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/web1_20190626_110209-1-1.jpg.optimal.jpgMatthew Shafer, left, 10, of Dalton, decorates a T-shirt next to Zoey Lindsey, center, 8, of Clarks Summit, who is helped by volunteer Emily Beemer, of Dalton. Ben Freda | For Abington Journal

Molly Gilroy, 8, of Factoryville, eats manna (corn flakes) during storytime, in which students learn about the story of Moses.
https://www.theabingtonjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/web1_20190626_113117-1.jpg.optimal.jpgMolly Gilroy, 8, of Factoryville, eats manna (corn flakes) during storytime, in which students learn about the story of Moses. Ben Freda | For Abington Journal

Makenna Coggins, left, 10, of Dalton is chased by Josh Barker, 10, of Florida during a game of sponge tag.
https://www.theabingtonjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/web1_20190628_100431-1.jpg.optimal.jpgMakenna Coggins, left, 10, of Dalton is chased by Josh Barker, 10, of Florida during a game of sponge tag. Ben Freda | For Abington Journal
Kids learn about life in Africa

By Ben Freda

For Abington Journal

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