Settimana Felice

     Vacation Bible School here is known as “Settimana Felice”.   We held ours in Termini the week of June 9-13.  Many of the kids that have been attending our Saturday afternoon program also came to Settimana Felice.  We also had quite a few kids from the local area as well as schoolmates of the pastor’s son.   Our theme was on Jesus, incomparable and amazing.  We looked at different aspects, such as Jesus is our friend, helper, leader, and Saviour.  We had animated video clips with stories of Jesus life highlighting each aspect and a Q&A session after each one. We had correlating  songs and a story for the kids to learn and then do for the program at the end of the week for parents and friends.  Other activities included, snacks, crafts, and games.  Shawn and one of the other ladies in our church coordinated most of the activities, with me, the pastor’s wife, and 2 others assisting.  The crafts mostly involved painting, the first 2 days it was pieces of pasta, the next glass items.  Friday craft time was special because we had a guest from Palermo, who brought biscotti for the kids to make and then eat.   Each day we had different games to play, and the kids enjoyed the constant change.  Saturday morning was a surprise.  Shawn didn’t tell them what they were doing for game time until right before we needed to leave.  They were going to the turf field to play calcio (soccer).  Three quarters of our kids were boys, so they were thrilled that they got to play on the real field.  There was also a foosball table and another ball for the kids that weren’t interested in soccer.   Part of the time, Shawn played the goalie, and all the kids tried hard to make a goal off of him.  (Hence the 2 hour nap after we got home that day.)   The kids had a good time, we felt like they paid attention well during the lessons and for the most part followed instructions.  We could tell that the ones we had on Saturdays definitely had a better connection with us and were quicker to listen for the most part.  We planted the seeds and God will water and bring to harvest in His timing.

Sunday evening was the finale and program for the parents.  The kids sang several songs they had learned during the week and then acted out the parable of the sower and the seeds.  Everyone stayed around afterward for a time of refreshments and fellowship.  The pastor and his wife chatted with many of the parents for over an hour.   We were tired, but enjoyed the time with the families of the kids we had gotten to know.