Weird animals helping our Saber children

  • Published
  • By Chaplain (Capt.) Kelly Stahl
  • 52nd Fighter Wing Chapel
SPANGDAHLEM AIR BASE, Germany --  Maybe you saw it, maybe you didn't, but the Saber chapel was recently converted into a beast of sorts.

The annual Vacation Bible School, or VBS, was held Aug. 4-8 with this year's theme being "Weird Animals: Where Jesus' Love is One of a Kind." With 150 children signed up and 45 volunteers assisting, this project was one of the largest and most complex "animals" the chapel has ever tamed.

Children's topics included how to overcome feelings of being left out, different, misunderstood, doing wrong and being afraid. Each day as children arrived, they would enter the chapel filled with songs. A clumsy but well-meaning zoo keeper called "Dr. Paws" provided an entertaining skit. From there participants rotated through five different stations, all teaching the theme of the day.

One special feature this year was the children outreach project called "Operation Kid to Kid" where children raised money to dig wells in order to provide clean drinking water for children in India. Everyone involved was overwhelmed by the generosity of our Saber children who raised more than $500. Many of them gave directly out of their own piggy banks! One mother said when her daughter watched the lesson on dirty water, a light went on and the child's desire to help less fortunate children grew.

Story after story is being told of how lessons were learned that will help these children deal with real issues in their lives. Another mother said when her son had a bad dream and was feeling afraid, he remembered what he had learned at VBS and was able to overcome his fear. Providing spiritual tools to children and helping them to overcome obstacles in their lives was the goal.

Kudos goes out to the team of volunteers, chapel staff and even three Illinois National Guardsmen who came together to paint sets, decorate rooms, create tasty snacks, provide stories and lessons, and play fun games in caring for our Spangdahlem children. By offering such a healthy setting, boys and girls were given the opportunity to develop their own spiritual fitness regimen to make for stronger families which make for a stronger Air Force.

The Saber chapel has programs year round for children, families and single adults. For more information about how the chapel can care for you and your family, call us at DSN 452-6711 and also find us on Facebook by searching Spangdahlem AB Chapel.