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| Charles & the VBS Rocket |
When summer comes, Vacation
Bible School is not far behind. Every year our church provides a week long opportunity
for boys and girls to learn about the God who created them and Jesus who
provided salvation for all mankind. It’s also an opportunity for the adults in
our church to use their creative talents to make VBS a fun filled experience
for all the children who attend. The theme of this year’s VBS is:
Maker Fun Factory—Created by God, Built for a Purpose
To support that theme, Charles
was asked to build a rocket ship for the display at the front of the sanctuary.
Asking an aerospace engineer to build a rocket is like asking a nerd to build a
computer. You can bet that the new creation will be the biggest and best with
all the bells and whistles and lots of bragging rights.
His steps for building
the rocket were as follows:- Sketch a design on an industrial paper towel in the basement workshop.
- Brainstorm how to transform the design into an actual rocket.
- Visualize the components. Where could we find a tall cylinder, a nosecone, a set of fins, and something to simulate the engine and lights?
- Take scouting trips to Home Depot, Walmart, and the Dollar Tree to look for potential components.
- Make more trips to Home Depot to get various glues, drywall putty, screws, paint, etc.
- Spend every off hour, evening, day, and weekend assembling the perfect rocket.
After all that work, the
rocket couldn’t just stand there, it HAD to do something! So Charles worked with others at the church
to create a recorded launch sequence accompanied by a loud drum roll: “10/9/8/7/6/5/4/3/2/1 All Engines Running, We
have liftoff, We have liftoff.” Each
countdown is accompanied by simulated smoke coming from a fog machine.
The kids yell the
countdown and the rocket blasts off each morning at 9:00 AM announcing the
start of another great day of Bible School. Just as the boys and girls were
created by God and built for a purpose, that rocket is fulfilling its purpose
during this week of VBS.
One final question remains – “What do you do with a used rocket when VBS is over?”
