Today was the first day of VBS, so I guess you can say it’s officially summer. I was very proud of our 32 students who volunteered. It was a hectic and crazy first morning, but all of our volunteers pulled together to make it happen. In the end…kids had fun and Jesus was glorified.

We also began our annual “passing of the cross” among the teenagers. This is the fifth summer of passing the Tuareg Cross. It’s from West Africa (a gift from my sister when I was a teenager). Students pass the cross throughout the summer among the teenagers and to adult chaperones. It’s become sort of tradition at Morningside…a way of building community and a way of letting the person they pass it to know they saw Christ in their life. I began the cross passing this summer by giving it to one of our seventh grade girls – Meredith Pheffer. Meredith is a wonderful young girl with a heart for the Lord and she plays guitar in our youth worship band.