Circus! Circus!

We got to add a bunch more "First Times" to our bucket list last week. Last Friday, our church hosted the Circo del Rey (Circus of the King.) We took one of Will's friends with us and we ended up sitting next to some of my friends and their families. It turned out to be a great way to see the circus since we could let the younger kids wander the entire pew to sit with their friends, too. The circus was inside our church sanctuary, and I wasn't sure what to expect. I knew there wouldn't be any elephants, but I couldn't imagine how they would get some of the other acts into that room without destroying it. Somehow, they did, and we got to enjoy clowns, mimes, dancers, illusionists, tight-rope walkers, flame-jugglers, chiffon & silk-dancers (swinging from chiffon or silk ropes), and a ball of motorcycles. This circus is unique in that it tells the gospel through the acts. My two favorite acts were Christ's crucifixion shown by the man doing aerial acrobatics with the red scarves and when Chagy the clown washed all his clown makeup off to explain that Christ's blood cleanses us of our sins so God can see us clean -- they really found a fun way to tell some serious business. The kids were up pretty late, but they all had a lot of fun, and I enjoyed watching the circus through their eyes. Some of my favorite quotes that night were from our kiddos:

• "Mama, why do they keep saying, 'Don't try this,' to all the fun stuff that I want to do?" - Ben
• "He said, 'don't do that at home'. I guess I have to wait till we go to Nana and Papa's." - Will
• "Why is that man swinging on the curtains?" - Ben
• "Did he just kill the lady in the box?" - Jon
• "Don't talk to me now. I just can't watch them do that!" (referring to tightrope act) - Maddie

After the circus, we took Will's friend home with us, and Will had his first sleepover. The kids crashed pretty quickly, then his friend had to leave pretty early the next day. The whole thing seemed a little too easy, from my perspective ... maybe because we had pizza for dinner, or because the circus was the entire entertainment for the night, or because the kids were worn out, or because he didn't stay too long... who knows? But it was easy, and I'd do it again since the kids had fun.

Vacation Bible School (VBS) started Monday, and my friend and I were teaching Will's class of first graders. The theme was continuing with the circus, and Natalie and I spent all of Sunday afternoon decorating our classroom like a circus tent. Though we both started out a little disappointed at the chaos we were presented, once we were with our dozen kiddos, we had a blast. Day one was a bit of challenge because Will and another boy started the day trying to one-up each other. Will sort of was a stinker, but we had a talk about it that night.

I explained to Will that some kids only hear about Jesus at VBS, so those of us who knew about Jesus needed to do our best to represent Him. Will whined that the other boy was being mean. We continued our conversation, "Will, sometimes people were really mean to Jesus, too. Do you remember what He did?" I was hoping Will would remember that Jesus asked God to forgive them, but he responded in a way that let me know he had thought about it: "Mama, I know Jesus was nice to them.... but it was easy for HIM to be nice. He probably sent them down to the devil and fire when it was over." I was speechless... I still am about that topic. Thankfully, part of the discussion stuck with him, and we didn't have any more trouble.

The third (of four) days, there was an invitation for those to come forward who were ready to ask Jesus into their hearts. As soon as they started saying, "In just a moment, we invite..." Will leaped over toward me to ask if he could go. Since he had mentioned being ready to be baptized a few days before, I was expecting him to go forward. I didn't expect the flood of emotions from ME, though. I gulped back the tears of joy as I walked up to the front with him, and as I started to return to my seat, I was excited to see another boy from our VBS class making his way to the front, too. What a joyous day!! Those last two days of VBS, sixty children accepted Christ! At the end of the week, the coordinator asked Natalie and me if we would be interested in teaching VBS again next year, and it didn't take long to decide... ABSOLUTELY!

 
Checked off the list was our first circus, our first overnight friend, the little kids first time at VBS, our first kid to accept Christ, and my first time teaching VBS. It was an exhilarating, but exhausting, week, and it is the first of many that will likely be described as such this summer. Next up? Cub Scout day camp.