A Day of Service at the Vacation Bible School

So there I was, doing battle with the notoriously loud and most rambunctious Vacation Bible School (VBS) kids in my career of working with children. My Passion Project travels, and the fact that I was on a mission trip, had taken me to the underprivileged neighborhood of Fairmont, West Virginia. Here, the hills are so steep that cars bottom out on them (depending on your model automobile). The houses lie abandoned and falling apart. The neighborhoods are made up of mixed races of white and black skin, and everyone is related in some way, shape, or form to everyone else.

Absolute chaos would seem an accurate description for the unfortunate youth on my team who had afternoon VBS duty. Yet, despite the running, shouting, screaming, and fighting that ensued between the kids we were ministering to, I was enjoying working with them! From an outside perspective, it would have been easy to deduce that an exorcism was needed. What was wrong with these kids? I, on the other hand, saw a different culture amidst the commotion. Having been waist-deep in Culturally Relevant Pedagogy class, I was able to connect what I saw with what I had been learning. I concluded that these kids are not from Connecticut like we were and therefore were hardly ever required to sit silently still. Yet, that’s what some of the team members expected of them. Nevertheless, no one was getting hurt, and no one was damaging the church building or property, so all really was well, even if it didn’t feel like it. The difference here was between our low-context culture of structure, timeliness, and task orientation compared with their high-context culture of laid-back schedules, group focus, and physical interaction. Of course, this laid-back and lively nature didn’t license these kids to misbehave, but that didn’t mean that this was a school lesson or church service. We were there for them, not a given task. So in a way, I let the kids be kids but still broke up fights and scuffles. I taught a couple of them that it’s much better to throw a pretend punch instead of a real one.

Whether it was hugging a remembered friend from the previous year or punching their comrade, it was easy to notice just how physical these kids were. Instead of getting a helper-friend’s attention by going over and having a conversation with them, they’d simply run up and jump on them. (I must say, this method was quite effective. I might try this the next time I can’t get someone’s attention.) The youth on my team had to quickly adapt to the extensively physical nature of the VBS. Many of them felt like things were too out of control and that they couldn’t handle it. The pastor who was leading our night-time sessions back at camp and who made visits to the worksites and VBS saw it differently, however. After seeing the commotion of the VBS, he gave a comforting word to the youth team members when he said that all that screaming and jumping from the kids was just their way of wanting to be loved. All we had to do was show love and attention to them. This encouraged more than a few youths to not give up or lose heart during the pandemonium.

When the last child had gone home and everyone had collapsed on the floor for our debrief time, I felt led to share with the kids some of my realizations from class. Mainly, it may have looked chaotic to everyone, but it’s important to remember that it’s part of their culture to be louder. So while it may have felt like it was a disaster because things were so out of control, I still counted it as a success.

At the end of the day, perhaps nobody heard the Bible lesson that we had taken the time to prepare. Maybe nobody drew the connection between the “Jesus Loves Me” song and Biblical redemption, yet I still felt that our job was accomplished. Why? Because looking back at their childhood, these kids are going to remember the team that voluntarily came and put on a VBS for them. We spent time with them and loved on them year after year. Our individual actions may be forgotten, but the feelings of love and care will remain with these kids as they grow and will hopefully serve as a witness in and of themselves.

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