God Kept the Door Open for Me By Grace Babcock
M
“
ay I please, please, pleeeeeeeease
remember the youth group mission trip during my
come teach a lesson to the three-
last year of high school. My youth pastor had asked
and four-year-old class at Stepping
me to organize the Vacation Bible School (VBS)
Stones?” my fifth-grade self asked
program for the trip. I had, of course, eagerly agreed
Shirleen Brown, the daycare director at my church.
to the role. After the first day of the program, my
“You may come run an activity for the class if
trip teammates and I thought it had been a success.
you can provide me with a written lesson plan,” she
The adult leaders had to disagree. There were only
responded. A little while later, I was educating a
about 12 or so kids at the Vacation Bible School
group of three- and four-year-olds on dental hygiene
because it was just a neighborhood VBS. There had
in the form of a read aloud, a craft, and a snack.
been many times throughout the program when my
I am forever grateful for church members like
teammates had asked me for help with things like
Shirleen Brown who provided me with a chance to
getting the attention of the kids or remembering the
develop as a teacher. From teaching the preschool
instructions for the activity they were supposed to
and kindergarten levels in Adventurers, to assisting
teach. Whenever they asked for help, I would step in.
teachers at my local church school, to helping
“Grace,” the adult leaders told me, “This program is
with Vacation Bible School, I was afforded many
meant to be a training ground for the other youth on
opportunities to grow as a future teacher. Church
this trip and you. You were able to get away with what
members could have stuck up their noses and told
you did today because there were not very many
me that I was too young to lead out in anything.
kids. If you were organizing a VBS with 100 or more
Instead, they took me seriously and provided
children, it would not work. Tomorrow, you may not
the mentorship I needed to become successful.
step in when someone asks for help.”
Ultimately, these experiences formed the first part of my teacher training. The times I made mistakes were generally the ones from which I learned the most. I will always 32 Pacific Union Recorder
The next day's VBS was a disaster. I was upset because I felt that the kids who attended the program deserved better. The adults supervising the trip helped me to process what I needed to do to fix the