Vacation Bible Schools Reach New Kids

Honokaa, Hawaii
VBS a Hit

Lt. Raymond Erickson-King, Honokaa, Hawaii, assistant corps officer with responsibility for Waimea, has exciting news about children’s work at Honokaa.

Recently, there were 61 in Sunday school; 83 in the Holiness meeting/VBS graduation, and 89 for the mini-luau. During the Holiness meeting, 33 children asked Jesus to forgive their sins and made decisions to live right. Vacation Bible school took place at Honokaa with the support of the Waimea Corps people.

“We believe that everything that happened during vacation Bible school was from God” says Erickson-King. “Many parents from Honokaa responded positively to what the Army did the last four days, and volunteered to help organize and lead more youth and adult programs.”

Belvedere Gardens Impacts Lives

Forty children from the community and corps enjoyed a week of vacation Bible school at the Belvedere Gardens, Calif., Corps.

Under the leadership of Lt. Oscar Juracan, corps officer, the children enjoyed full days of devotions, classes, and recreation. Eight volunteers and three teachers from the corps assisted, and two new families are now participating in Bible study through the corps.

San Diego Centre City Reaches Out to Community

Vacation Bible school brought fun and new friendships to children in San Diego, where 60 youth–most of them new to The Salvation Army–enjoyed a week of programs and activities with a Hawaiian theme at the San Diego Centre City Corps. Many of the youth are now attending Sunday services as a result of VBS.

Conducted by Corps Assistant (now cadet) Tony Chaffino and Corps Officers Majors Brengle and Georgia Navarro, the Bible school had as its theme, “SonlitIsland.”

“The Hawaiian ‘aloha’ spirit was really a success that attracted parents to watch their children perform during the closing program with the crowd of 115, including parents,” said Major Brengle Navarro.