"Amazing Grace" (the Mule) and VBS

Well you know how weekends go...another busy one for us.

Friday night we were invited to a hymn sing/mule show out at a nearby ranch Stevie Foster, one of my parents' friends, owns. He trained his mule "Amazing Grace" (aka "Gracie") to do a variety of unique tricks and uses her skills to help promote both ministries and charities. Gracie is actually even somewhat of a movie star as she appeared in a movie with Robert Duvall called Get Low.

Though I've heard lots of talk about this special mule and even got a peek at her when she was at our church one time, I'd never seen her perform. When a couple people asked us to join them for this special service Friday night, we decided it was doable this time and headed that way.

Hot dogs and hamburgers, baked beans, homemade potato salad, chips, baked goods...and the best part was minimal clean-up - Our type of meal!

I wasn't quite sure what to expect but was pleasantly surprised to find a couple of country bands playing gospel music. It might have seemed a little back woods to most folks, but it took me back to all those bluegrass festivals and Saturday night church services my grandma used to take me to as a little girl. The cutest part was listening to Hadley's sweet low voice as she tried to sing along with words she didn't really know. Praise is in the heart...

Caleb and his sister couldn't sit still too long though and were anxious to see the "horsie" as Hadley called Grace. Thankfully, the Lord provided some good entertainment for these little ones while they waited, lots and lots of dirt. They needed a good scrubbing when it was all over, and you could barely tell what color their shoes really were, but at least it kept them busy and happy.

I knew Grandma and Granddaddy were planning to come, but was surprised to see Aunt Pat and Uncle Shirley (Grandma's siblings) there too. Uncle Shirley even got called on to give a testimony of God's faithfulness from his life. It was pretty neat to hear him speak about a four wheeler accident he and his grandson got in that week that should have turned out a lot worse than it did.

Finally, came the main event. The kids scrambled up to the fence and Hadley even tried to climb through the black wooden boards to get into the arena with the horse until I finally had to drag her back up in the stands to watch. Caleb sat pretty well and was definitely interested, but Hadley was more mesmerized by the swimming pool she saw behind Stevie's house. I ended up having to take her out until the show was over because she was so wiggly and worked up, but the boys stayed with their daddy and enjoyed Grace's tricks. From painting with a paint brush in her mouth to standing with all fours on a small box to playing basketball, she entertained the crowd.

Saturday we had another fellowship opportunity - this time at our former church. Grace Bible Fellowship does a one day Vacation Bible School (VBS) rather than a week long one like most churches. They pack the day with lessons, crafts, food, and fun for the little ones and this year's theme was "Missions Around the World." My cousin Allison's boys, Ryan and Hayden, and her boyfriend's daughter, Alyssa, got to join us for the day too.

I pulled out the silk shirt I bought while in China on a mission trip back in 2004, and Caleb wore a "coast to coast" t-shirt since he didn't really have any foreign country themed attire.

As always they had things decked out for the kids. This year it was set up as an airport.

Everyone started in the sanctuary to kick things off with Mr. Pete who gave them the theme verse and an explanation of what they'd be doing.

Jesi did a great job on the costumes for the skit she and her husband Larry did.

Climb aboard, missionaries. Time to travel!

After some songs and a skit, it was time to visit the variety of themed rooms they had set up that represented Korea, Africa, and the Philippines. The kids learned about geography, customs, agriculture, clothing, religions, and much more.

I was supposed to be assisting Miss Sherri who had the Korea room, but she had things under control so I stuck with Caleb and took photos for the most part.

See that first outfit? Did you know little boys wear pink in Korea?

She even had some rice and seaweed for the kids to sample so they could experience what Korean children eat for lunch.

Is seaweed yummy, Kiersten?

Alyssa decided to try some.

In the Africa room, they used the world map to find the continent they were focusing on. The kids got to hold lots of handmade items and taste dried apricots. They talked about the work force, animals, etc.

Hayden must have the answer for Mr. Pete in the Philippine room.

This flight attendant, Mrs. Dawn, is the main one who organizes Fun Day. She doesn't know how much we appreciate her.

Caleb got to draw the route from VA to the Philippines on the map.

Walmart says these dried bananas came from the Philippines.

After all that traveling a person can work up an appetite so everyone was ready for lunch. Caleb got to eat with his big cousin Hayden.

Kids can only sit for so long though. A nice outdoor break for an airplane flying game was next on the agenda.

Followed by crafts...

Caleb's project

The rest of the day was one fun outdoor activity after another for the kids. They had bubbles and sidewalk chalk, a parachute, a moon bounce, tractor rides, and face-painting.

Drive it, Hayden.  (Ryan said driving the tractor was his favorite part of the day. Sadly, though I tried to make sure to get his pic too, I missed him.)

Oh! And, we can't forget Mr. Tom's homemade ice cream everyone got to try while they got their passport photos taken.

I think Ryan liked it.

The airline stewardess even gave Baby Eli a taste too, who of course loved his first taste of "real" food. (Don't worry! She's got permission; she's his momma.)

The most exciting part for the majority of the kids came at the end though. Once again the church put together a mega water slide using their steep sloping hill.

Hayden definitely loved this part!

Go, Alyssa! She made friends quickly.

We felt God calling us in a new direction a few months ago and started church searching for a new location where He wants us to serve. Since then, Caleb has really missed his buddy Andy and told us so on occasion. Though Hayden offered to go with him on the water slide, he stuck like glue to his friends Andrew and Alex instead.

Line waiting was hard for a lot of the kids, but especially for Caleb who didn't quite grasp the concept of why he had to wait so long. It moved quickly though and everyone got quite a few turns.

The more people on board, the faster they went.

Hang on, boys!

Oh no! They lost Andy!

The day always ends as everyone comes together for a closing message from Mr. Pete followed by some prizes.

Who liked the water slide best?

Pete talked to the kids about their own choice to follow Jesus as well as how important it is to tell other's about God's son just like missionaries do. You don't have to travel to a foreign country to find people who don't know the Lord he told them.

To our surprise, the day finished out with a bang. Alyssa won a kid's Bible, which she blessed another child with since she already had a few, and both Caleb and Ryan won new bikes through a special drawing they did. We weren't sure how we were going to fit everything in the car, but with some help we got everyone and their prizes home.

While the bikes were very nice, the most important part of the day was that the kids were taught God's Word as well as the fellowship they received.

This morning we rounded out the weekend with church like normal and spent the Sabbath resting up just as God did on the seventh day. He knew we needed it after such a fun packed couple of days.