Bearing Fruit: Vacation Bible School

Bright Decorations and Meaningful Lessons

This year’s Vacation Bible School (VBS) at our children’s villages was a burst of fun, joy, and color! The theme was “Fruits of the Spirit,” and we brought it to life with vibrant decorations of neon pink, green, orange, and yellow balloons, accented by mylar fruit-shaped balloons. Each day, we explored three different fruits of the spirit and how they play a role in our lives. The children learned about living out these fruits, from showing love and kindness even when others don’t treat them well to experiencing joy and peace daily.

Grand Goâve: Young Adults Step Up to Lead

In Grand Goâve, our young adults from the independent living program were fantastic helpers, managing different stations and ensuring everything ran smoothly. Egan and Emmanuel led the craft station, where children made scratch-off crowns and crosses, and colored wooden doves and crosses. Jean Bernard and Isaac brought energy to the game station, even improvising new games when things didn’t go as planned. Activities included a blindfolded race, a potato sack race, and a modified version of freeze tag. Nenes and Filius managed the snack station, where all the treats were fruit-themed, aligning perfectly with our theme. The children particularly loved the “fruit pizza” made with graham crackers, icing, bananas, and mangoes, and the bread with avocado and watermelon on the side. The Stronger Together children were well-represented, and it was heartwarming to see them enjoying themselves, making new friends, and successfully memorizing the Fruits of the Spirit.

Jacmel: Older Children Take Charge

Over in Jacmel, we had another enthusiastic team of older children helping lead. Children aged 15-16 and above, including Rood, Roodly, Wadley, Cadet, Rachelle, Germina, D’Jolande, Mackenly, Stephane, and Edmond, took charge of various stations enthusiastically. They needed minimal instructions and quickly got to work. We had a similar lineup of games, snacks, and crafts as Grand Goâve, but with an added Scripture station. The children memorized Galatians 5:22-23 and learned to put the Fruits of the Spirit in the correct order. It was a joy to see Vixamar and Djimensca, who had grown so much since their time in Hummingbird Daycare, joining in the fun. One highlight was the singing and dancing to children’s worship songs in Kreyòl, which were a huge hit. Every day, after VBS activities ended, everyone gathered to sing and dance, creating a wonderful sense of community.

Living Out Our Mission Through VBS

We love living out the spiritual part of our Circle of Care through our VBS events. These gatherings are at the heart of what we do: making Jesus Christ known. We pray that as we teach these children about what it means to bear the fruit of Christ, they will grow up to lead lives that continue to shine His light in their communities. Overall, VBS was a wonderful success! The children learned so much about the Fruits of the Spirit while enjoying all the activities. The older children and young adults loved running the stations, which kept them engaged and gave them a sense of ownership. We were blessed to include the children from our Stronger Together programs and look forward to involving more community members in future events.