Charles Warner|Daily Times The children and volunteers of Augsburg Lutheran Church's Vacation Bible School prepare to launch balloons during the Bible School's final evening on June 29. The balloons each contained a list of God's promises the children studied each night and the pertinent scripture. The lists were wrapped around wildflower seeds.

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Charles Warner|Daily Times The balloons launched by the children and volunteers of Augsburg Lutheran Church's Vacation Bible School make their way into the sky over Union on their way to parts unknown. Each balloon carried wildflower seeds wrapped in a list of God's promises and related scripture.

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Charles Warner|Daily Times This tree bears the promises of God studied by the children of Augsburg Lutheran Church's Vacation Bible School. Each evening began with a scavenger hunt that included goodies for the children and one of the promises of God.

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Charles Warner|Daily Times Celebration Station is the tropical backdrop for this group portrait of many of the children who attended Augsburg Lutheran Church's Vacation Bible School. Children ages 3-12 from Augsburg and other area churches took part in the week's activities. Those posing for this photo include, from left to right, Michaela Whitehead, Jonathan Jones, Cheianne Jones, Jazmin Patterson,Taylor Howard, Erin Miller, Kayleigh Miller, Nathan Weaver, and Bryson Weaver.

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Charles Warner|Daily Times After learning each evening's promise of God, the children attending Augsburg Lutheran Church's Vacation Bible School were given further instruction by puppets who talked about the promises and their meaning today.

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Charles Warner|Daily Times Each evening at Augsburg Lutheran Church's Vacation Bible School included refreshments served at the Coconut Cafe.

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Somewhere in the world, maybe still wafting through the skies or having finally come to rest in some corner of the United States or even some distant land, are balloons bearings wildflower seeds wrapped in a list of God’s promises to those who believe upon and place their trust in Him.

The balloons were launched June 29 by the children and volunteers participating in Augsburg Lutheran Church’s Vacation Bible School. The theme of Augsburg’s Vacation Bible School was “Adventures on Promise Island,” and like all island adventures, there was a treasure hunt each evening, only this treasure included the promises of God.

“Each day, after a brief welcome and review, the kids went on a scavenger hunt for a treasure chest which held goodies as well as God’s promise that we were focusing on that day,” Vacation Bible School Coordinator Jeri Sanders said. “The Bible story was told, and then puppets related their opinion and how God’s promise relates to today.

“One of the promises is ‘I am with you,’ she said. “Another is ‘I care about you.’ Then there’s ‘I give you what you need.’ Finally, there’s ‘I will save you.’”

It was these promises that were sent aloft by the children, the volunteers and Rev. Carroll Robinson on the final evening of the Vacation Bible School.

“We took that list of God’s promises along with the Bible references, wrapped them around wildflower seeds and placed them in the balloons,” Sanders said. “The promises and Bible references were launched so that we might reach other people about God’s promises. We included the wildflower seeds so they might fall somewhere and grow.”

Sanders added that the helium used in the balloons was donated by Murphy’s Florist.

In addition to the scavenger hunt, puppet show and lesson about God’s promises, each evening also featured what Sanders called “age appropriate classes” for the children ages 3-12 in attendance.

“We had children from Augsburg and from other local churches,” Sanders said. “We had preschool, elementary and preteen classes. After the age appropriate classes there were crafts, some of which involved making prayer boxes, wind chimes, and picture frames.”

Refreshments of tropical fruits and drinks were served each evening in keeping with the island theme.

Sanders thanked her fellow volunteers for their hard work in making Augsburg’s Vacation Bible School a success.

“This was a collaborative effort,” Sanders said. “A more enthusiastic and helpful group of women cannot be found anywhere.”

Sanders said she, her fellow volunteers and Rev. Robinson hope the children enjoyed themselves and while learning lessons that will stay with them long after Vacation Bible School.

“We hope that the children, through their enjoyment, learned valuable life lessons that they will carry all their lives,” Sanders said.