Joachim Kavalakattu (California, USA)

It was my first week of VBS. My mother had volunteered me to take on this challenge, and honestly, I had more of a “chore” mentality on what I thought was going to be three weeks of some long zoom calls and online speeches. As I entered the first day’s zoom session, I saw 6 little kids stare back at me, equally confused. With haste, I tried to introduce myself and make little conversation.

I couldn’t connect with the kids and the kids couldn’t connect with me. And just like that, my first zoom session went on without much hope. Throughout the week, I explained about that day’s topic, the virtues, to the group of kids before me, and tried to find a certain joke or relatable idea that can come across to them. Little by little, our conversations grew, and I could see the students participate and become more comfortable. We went over virtues, we played ice breakers, and more importantly, we really talked about our faith. It was in these moments I saw something else on the faces of these kids and in their eyes; it wasn’t a feeling of boredom or grumpiness that I was used to on that first day, but rather a genuine desire to get to understand what it is that I had talked about.

By the time VBS had ended, my students and I had done countless icebreakers, played dozens of memory games, studied a plethora of bible verses, and recited a lot of silly jokes, but more importantly, they knew a little bit more about our faith, our close and intimate relationship with the Lord, and the basics of prayer and being with the Father. It always surprises me how the Lord surprises us through the little things that we so often take for granted, and the last three weeks have shown me how God can take ordinary instances of our life, transform it, and use it to bring us closer to Him.

Andrea Reji (California, USA)

Throughout Angels Army Scripture School, all the leaders, including myself, were blessed with the opportunity of becoming God’s instruments to help children grow spiritually. I was very nervous at first. I was not sure if I was going to help these children grow and become a better version of themselves. Then I remembered that it was not I, but the Holy Spirit in me that was going to help all the kids grow. Through this camp, I was able to help the children learn about virtues and why we need them. We learned many Bible verses and short prayers. When we taught the children, we were able, personally, to learn about the verse and how we can apply it in our lives. We also spent some time reflecting on the mysteries of the Holy Rosary; we prayed a decade of the Holy Rosary together reflecting on it. I am thankful for this opportunity to serve the Lord and very happy that I was able to make a small impact in the lives of these children!