There's a First Time for Everything

I told myself, "If meals are not covered by next Sunday, I will volunteer." Then the next day, the Lord hit my heart hard, and wouldn't let the thought of volunteering for the Vacation Bible School helper meals leave my mind.

It's not secret that I love to cook. I love being in the kitchen and trying new recipes, preparing old favorites, and occasionally making freezer meals for those in need. When the list of helpers needed for VBS came out in the Sunday bulletin, I noticed that there was an open spot next to the meals for helpers section. I told myself that I was too busy, that they'd find someone. The spot was still open the following Sunday, and that is when I said I'd give it one more week before making the call to volunteer. The Lord had other plans, and needless to say, I called the next day and made the leap to volunteer.

Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others. - Philippians 2:4

With almost a month to prepare, I started planning what meals I would be fixing, that would be able to be served quickly and would likely be good for a large crowd. The meals I chose were spaghetti bake, frozen pizza (Marketside from Wal-Mart has some great take-n-bakes!), and a taco pasta dish. A friend from church suggested ice cream for one night's dessert, and then the other night's had brownies and monster cookie bars.

The first day of getting in and preparing food was the most difficult, because I am so new to this. I have never volunteered to prepare food for a crowd, so it was a learning curve. I prepared the meals ahead of time, so they just needed heated up in the oven, but I will tell you this, it takes quite a bit longer to bake a large pan of anything than it does to bake a 9x13 pan. I am grateful my husband told me to start 30 minutes sooner than I planned because I needed those minutes dearly.

In the end, the workers and their families were fed, no meals got burned (honestly a huge fear of mine when baking in new ovens), and no one went hungry. It is something that I enjoyed immensely, and taught me that I am capable of more than I realize.

Overall, from what I saw, the three days we held VBS went very well. We had wonderful volunteers who helped with teaching, crafting, snack time, building, games, and providing childcare for the workers. It is such a blessing to see so many people come together to serve others.

Train up a child in the way he should go, And when he is old he will not depart from it. - Proverbs 22:6