Parkas and

snow boots in June? Tomatoes and cucumbers directing

traffic? It's not a heat-induced hallucination; it's

Vacation Bible School time around Fayette County.

Hundreds of

youngsters are learning about the Bible and Christian

values through carefully orchestrated programs like the

"Ultimate Adventure" and

"VeggieTown," two of the predominant programs

this year.

It's been

snowing for the past two weeks in Peachtree City as

children venture into the frigid north at Christ Our

Shepherd Lutheran Church and Carriage Lane Presbyterian

Church. Snowshoes and sleds are parked against the walls

as participants toss handfuls of mock snowflakes into the

air.

In another

room, a beach complete with sand and sun umbrellas

provides volunteers with a different background for

crafts and creative play.

The

whitewater rafting room and mountain climbing site

provide extra locations for simulated adventures. But the

ultimate adventure is Jesus, according to Doreen Gwin,

director of this year's VBS at Carriage Lane

Presbyterian.

"By

opening our hearts to physical adventures, mental

adventures, school and relationships, we reach the

ultimate adventure... Jesus Christ," Gwin said.

Bonnie

Kent, religious education director at Christ Our Shepherd

Lutheran, has another take on the theme. "We need to

have confidence in God and believe that he will be with

us in all situations."

The various

"adventure" sites serve as spring boards to

related Bible verses, and simple explanations of God's

love. Songs, stories and themed craft projects are all

part of the VBS experience. Psalm 139 provides the

foundation for much of Carriage Lane Presbyterian's VBS

musical program. The Psalm reminds us that God is

inescapable. "O Lord, you have searched me and known

me. You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you

discern my thoughts from far away."

Carriage

Lane Presbyterian Bible school organizers packed up their

program Friday in preparation for taking it "on the

road." A mission trip to Cherokee, N.C. will provide

their junior high school church members with a chance to

share the "ultimate adventure" with another

group of children on a native reservation.

Across the

street from the Presbyterian Church's mountains and

raging rivers is the VeggieTown neighborhood of Holy

Trinity Catholic Church. Approximately 250 children

participated in VBS working with the theme "Building

Citizens for God's Community."

Teen

volunteers sporting smiling broccoli and ripe red tomato

placards direct cars into the church parking lot in the

morning as excited children locate their streets in the

VeggieTown neighborhood. Visits to the grocer, park and

construction site provide attendees with opportunities to

mingle with their neighbors and practice Christian

values.

VBS

director Pixie Smith has included a special project to

extend this year's theme by connecting with the Mustard

Seed Community in Kingston, Jamaica. Children are

bringing in an assortment of toiletry and grooming items

such as soap, shampoo, toothpaste for parishioner Kent

Kelsey to take abroad to the orphans cared for by the

Mustard Seed Community.

A group of

29 young adults from the Archdiocese of Atlanta, which

represents 15 parishes, is traveling to Kingston to build

an addition to the existing orphanage. "In addition

to giving needed items, we will be sending one of our

craft projects to the children at the mission, and

include them in our prayers each morning," Smith

said.

The

Biblical basis for VeggieTown values is found in

Ephesians 2:19-22 which encourages everyone to be fellow

citizens with God's people. The Ephesians passage

emphasizes that Jesus Christ is the cornerstone of the

Christian faith experience and values. "Together in

VeggieTown, everyone will work toward developing a

dwelling place in which God is ever present, so we can

all learn to become better citizens in God's

community," Smith said.

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