SX25 Day 5

So things wrapped up with this Summer Xtreme, and it was possibly the greatest final skit we've done for Summer Xtreme in regards to audience reaction.  They were really super into this ongoing mystery, and the reveal was so well done by the actors.  Maddie's character played a great part today, helping solve the mystery.  Here's a few shots that I took from the Soundbooth - I'm narrating and overseeing the music tracks as well, but I was managing to get a few photos in there too!

Maddie did great this week, nailing all those lines - the whole cast did.  Maddie had the bottom line one day and delivered it with just the right amount of emotion to get the audience clapping.  In fact, they were clapping every time there was an important Bible point brought up.  And on top of that, they were laughing a lot - Maddie had some great one-liners that had people cracking up.  It was great to see such a huge audience respond to our skits, and respond with such energy.  

The Tribe Wars came to an exciting and nail biting end, with the sixth graders winning this year, the Shadow Squad coming out on top in a real squeaker.  

They were so excited, they stormed the stage and got the trophy in triumph.  But the biggest and most important part of the day was the altar service and the worship.  Kids didn't want it to stop, and no one did.  I looked over at Maddie and her group, all of them on their knees, one girls arm draped around Maddie as they huddled together in prayer.  God's presence was so wonderful there.

Today as Pastor Lance was talking, he was remembering years ago when Maddie was just starting with Summer Xtreme.  He actually had her stand up to honor her as a volunteer this year, showing how far she's come.  He was talking about the real heroes, the volunteers here.  Here's the picture he shared from so long ago.

It was a very sweet moment.  A nearby volunteer made her stand up, and then while this was going on she was getting a hug from some of the kids there.  Super sweet!

Afterwards, today's activity was the famous water day.  Kids were out there having a blast, and so were the adults too.  The weather was hot, but there were plenty of waterslides and dunk tanks and squirt guns and buckets of water.

Yeah, and here we are at the end of another Summer Xtreme.  We clean up the area and work as a large team of volunteers, getting things tidy after the chaotic week.  The kids all wish it would go on and on, and in our hearts, we wish that too - it's been fun.  It's just a lot of stress up front and a lot of work.  Plus, I'm not sure how many more of these car lines in ninety-something degrees I can do.  I was having trouble coming back into the church after car line.   Here's a photo of everyone helping out with the dismissal process, a well-oiled machine! 

Maddie had a great time.  All the volunteers held hands in this massive circle, and we all looked back upon this amazing week.  It's been so good.  The service today was just wonderful, the altar service afterwards an extended praise and worship set with kids filled with emotions and tearful eyes, all singing in unison.  It's quite an atmosphere.

We had a good day, a good Summer Xtreme.  It's sad to see it go, and right  now, it's something like Christmas night, when everything is over with and you have a long gap of nothing much coming up.  Well, sort of nothing much.  

Pastor Lance spoke today, and he used a clip from teh movie "Hercules," so of course that's the movie we watched tonight.  Afterwards, we read from "Guards!  Guards!"  I think we'll finish that book tomorrow - things are wrapping up with the story.  We said our prayers after that, and as you might suspect, it didn't take long to fall asleep.  How awesome is this:  we get to sleep in tomorrow!