Sunday, November 30, 2008

Thank you!! Thank you!!

To all who have a direct and indirect hand in making the VBS 2008 a great success, our outmost thanks to you all for the wonderful journey of working together hand in hand in serving the Lord. VBS 2008 is not over yet.. the journey continues.. the children who have graced our VBS who have yet to know Him, those who have accepted Him need to be nurtured and to the parents that we are trying to reach out to.. the journey continues... so let us not rest our laurel and continue to encourage them, reaching out to them and to hold their hands in their journey to find the Lord.

The responsibility for the follow-up of the unchurched children and their families does not fall squarely on the shoulders of the Sunday School or EE or Ladies Fellowship or BB... it's all ours and let's take up this burden to continue to serve together in the furtherment of Christ's Kingdom. For our brothers and sisters who have served for the very first time in VBS, I am truly encouraged by your step of faith and commitment. Please do continue to serve Him in whichever capacity that you can and don't stop!.. serving is like running a marathon.. once you start it gets easier.. once you get over the wall.. it's a cruise.. but once you stop.. it gets harder to put that running shoes back on again.

When we first started, the committee sat down to calculate how many volunteers that we would need and we were taken aback when the number 180 hit the whiteboard.. some suggested there is a mistake.. but when we re looked at the number..nope..THAT's what we need! Can we? Could we get so many to give up so much time and effort for 2 sessions? We took the leap of faith and guess what.. you are the answer to the prayers! Throughout and throughout every ministry that I have served in I am constantly being reminded of how faithful our God is if we are serving Him in accordance to His will.

It has truly being a great, wonderful, tiring, nail-biting, barrierful and fulfilling journey. We thank you all for your partnership and hope that there will be more in the future!

Remember the VBS main lesson is not only for the kids but for us all too..
Know the Truth - Do we stop meditating on God's Word once we have accepted Him? If we say He is our priority, do we strive to get to know him more through our reading of His Word and in our prayers? Remember our God is a relational God in that we have a personal relationship with Him and relationship is a two way traffic, just ask your spouse what will happen if you don't speak to her/him....

Speak the Truth - Do we share the Gospel with all that we come in contact with? Are we afraid to share the best news in the whole world? If you manage to find the escape route out of a burning house and get away with your life, wouldn't you want to yell at the top of your lungs to those loved ones who are still trapped in there?

Live the Truth - Do our lives truly reflect what we believe in? Do we live the lives that He ask of us? Do we carry our cross after Him? If we are spiritual brothers and sisters, are we living like it? If a non-Christian is to do an audit of our lives and the way we live them in comparison to how we are asked to live by the Lord, what would the person find? What would the result be? Are we really Work In Progress in our hearts or only in our imagination? So when the kids come to VBS 2009, what would they see?

On behalf of the VBS 2008 Committee, I would like to thank every single one of the people who have taken the sacrifice to serve together and also to our prayer warriors who have kept us all in their prayers and petition. I hope as we taught the kids, we too are being taught by the Lord. Remember our actions show what we believe! And please forgive us for our wrong actions and words as we too, I hope, are truly WIPs.

Thank you all very very much, have a good rest and God bless you all!

Mahalo,
Lee Henn