Incirlik hosts Vacation Bible School

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Anthony J. Hyatt
  • 39th Air Base Wing Public Affairs
INCIRLIK AIR BASE, Turkey --  More than 100 Incirlik children, from kindergarten to fifth grade, had the opportunity to participate in a program that put a new spin on the annual Vacation Bible School held Aug. 8-12.

The PandaMania Vacation Bible School, a program created by Group Publishing, was designed to connect children to God, create change in their hearts and give them opportunities to share God's love with others.

Each day at PandaMania VBS started with all the children gathered together to sing and dance to classic worship and praise songs, according to Tina Olson, Incirlik Unit School elementary director.

Also, Bible Points were reinforced daily and integrated into each activity. Those Bible Points were "God made you," "God listens to you," "God watches over you," "God loves you, no matter what," and "God gives good gifts."

The children were divided into four groups, and they rotated through four different stations: Wild Bible Adventures, Crazy Crafts and Missions, Bamboo Blast Games and Chadder's Movie Mania.

The Wild Bible Adventures station enabled children to experience the daily Bible Story in a hands-on way and to connect their Bible experiences to real life.

Bamboo Blast Games, allowed the children to play games that connect to the daily Bible Point.

Chadder's Movie Mania included a video segment of "Chadder Chipmunk," who explained the daily Bible Point, while Crazy Crafts and Missions let children make Bible Point crafts that remind them of the day's Bible story, according to Olson.

The groups later joined together at Treetop Treats to eat snacks.

Religious-themed snacks helped reinforce the lesson learned each day, said Olson.

The day ended at Rowdy Wrap-up. There, the children gathered one more time to sing songs that help them remember the daily Bible Point learned throughout each day.

"Volunteers from both the Catholic and Protestant community gathered together to teach our children about Jesus. The focus of the themes is scripturally related, so it helps them learn about their Christian faith," said Maj. Robert Monagle, 39th Air Base Wing deputy chaplain. "Learning about religion can be a fun experience."