Spreading God’s Wild Love Among the Jicarilla Apache
In late July, a team of 17 adults and 3 children from Connections Church traveled to Dulce, New Mexico to share God’s wild love through Pandamania VBS. During our two days together, we explored the themes “God Made You” and “God Loves You No Matter What.” Twenty-two children learned about God’s wild love through worship, Wild Bible Adventure, crafts, games and Chadder’s Theater. Each day concluded with Rowdy Round Up, where everyone gathered together to celebrate what they had learned.
This ministry was truly a team effort. We are grateful to Jayne, Kim and Sheryl for organizing the trip and providing so much behind-the-scenes support. We also thank all of our volunteers, including our worship leader, Maile, and our tech support, Cris. The children were guided through each activity by their crew leaders, Brody, Quinn, Alia, Joanne and Sara, while our station leaders, Grace (Crafts), Ayden and Quentin (Games), Elizabeth (Wild Bible Adventure), and Pastor Rob (Wild Bible Adventure and Chadder’s Theater), helped bring each lesson to life.
Each morning began with a devotional led by Kelly, helping us center our hearts on Christ before serving. After VBS each day, we shared lunch with the children. Thanks to the wonderful meals prepared by Melanie, Gert and Ed, we enjoyed not only good food but also meaningful conversations and time to build relationships.
We are also deeply grateful to our Connections Church family. Your prayers and your generous donations of supplies, food and financial support made this mission possible.
One afternoon, Pastor Brad Kautz of the Jicarilla Apache Nation Reformed Church gave our team a tour of the reservation, helping us learn more about the Apache community and culture we had the privilege of serving.
We praise God for this opportunity and pray that He will continue to impress the truth of His wild love upon every heart that heard the good news. May the seeds planted during these two days continue to grow for His glory.
Enjoy a few moments from our time in Dulce as we shared God’s love, built new friendships and served alongside our brothers and sisters at Jicarilla Apache Nation Reformed Church.
