CAMP HENRY, South Korea - 130 children participated in the United States Army Garrison Daegu and 19th Expeditionary Sustainment Command-sponsored Vacation Bible School week held at the Daegu American School on Camp George Aug. 1-5.
The Protestant Women of Chapel from Camp Walker hosted the annual Vacation Bible School week. The annual VBS event is a week-long Bible study program designed to provide Christian teaching for children during summer vacation.
To start off each day, children participated in singing contemporary hymns with the event’s 63 volunteers at 9 a.m. The volunteers consisted of soldiers, spouses, KATUSAs, DAS students, English teachers from the U.S., Korean national employees and local church members from the Korean community.
“It’s great to see parents and children from Area IV involved in the same activity and to see soldiers enjoy being with the community. It’s joyful to see everything come together and see people enjoy,” said Lauren Dillard, Protestant Women of the Chapel president and Vacation Bible School Area IV director.
Using materials from the Group Vacation Bible School program as reference, a Bible study company that develops curriculums, this year’s theme was “Pandamania.” Each day had its own Bible point and story of the day.
“Each year, the different VBS themes help us get kids excited and interested in Christian teachings,” said Capt. Mike Jones, USAG Daegu chaplain’s office. “The program’s aim is to teach about God’s love and that God is always with them.”
After the morning singing sessions and prayers, each grade group went to a different activity stations.
The crazy craft activity was where children decorated backpacks using paint and drawing utensils. The backpacks that the children made will be donated to a local orphanage along with sets of school supplies.
At the movie mania section, children crawled through a tunnel of desks to enter the seating area where a different Christian-related movie was played each day.
The Bible adventurer section is where volunteers taught Bible stories to children so they could learn about different morals.
At the treetop treats section, children made their own snack dishes that were relevant to the day’s points and themes.
“These activities are a great way to spread gospel using snacks and allowing children to have fun at the same time,” said Cynthia Sanchez, second year volunteer.
VBS programs are visible not only throughout military bases on the peninsula such as Humphreys and Yongsan, but also on bases around the world, in the U.S., Europe and other countries. Not all the programs begin and end on the same date, but nonetheless, the events occur during vacation time for students.
All the children gathered at the end of each day at 12 p.m. for a final singing session.
“As a chaplain’s assistant, it’s a good opportunity to teach the Bible to kids, to share conversations and relationships with God,” said Pfc. Hong Seung-oh, Installation Management Command Korea USAG Daegu chaplain’s office.
To accommodate children from Camp Carroll, the PWC organized a shuttle bus that departed Camp Carroll at 8 a.m.
“It’s become a tradition here in Area IV to organize VBS programs for about ten years, and DAS has been generous allowing us to use the school facilities,” Dillard said. “It’s really good to see the parents and children, as well as different community members, come together and teach children about God’s love.”
| Date Taken: | 08.05.2011 |
| Date Posted: | 08.10.2011 23:21 |
| Story ID: | 75158 |
| Location: | CAMP HENRY, DAEGU GWANG'YEOGSI [TAEGU-KWANGYOKSHI], KR |
| Web Views: | 30 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Area IV children enjoy week of Pandamania, by CPL Kisoo Chae, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
