HERMISTON – Children at Oasis of Hope got to experience the fun of county fair for one extra week during its “Son Harvest County Fair,” vacation Bible school this week.

More than 80 children made strawberry jam, planted grass, made butter in a jar, enjoyed a petting zoo and competed in a cow milking contest. The 4-year-old through fifth-grade students also studied and memorized Bible verses, watched videos, sang songs, played games and made crafts.

“Son Harvest County Fair is a farm theme, a purchased curriculum,” Lois Douglass, VBS teacher said. “We tried to capitalize on having the week after fair. We had a float in the parade. The kids handed out invitations to everyone. We especially targeted kids without a church home.”

The sub-theme of the event is growing the fruits of the spirit. Every day focuses on the fruits of the Bible: Love, peace, joy, patience and kindness. The musical lessons and Bible memory verses focused on the fruits of the spirit: Goodness, gentleness and self-control.

The Bible school curriculum has been more hands on, Sue Smith, VBS volunteer, said.

“So kids have a lot more things to bring home,” she added.

She and her husband, Scott Smith, were in charge of events including the cow milking contest, where students got a chance to “milk a cow.” The Smiths designed large paper cow cutouts taped to a pole with udders made from rubber gloves, suspended under each cow. The students had a race to see who could fill their bucket the fastest by squeezing milk from the glove-udder, just as if milking a real cow.

About 35 volunteers had been on hand all week to help out, Mark Douglass, VBS director said.

“A lot of the volunteers are youth, so this has been exciting,” Mark Douglass said. “And as many men as women are volunteers.”

The event is for children within the Oasis of Hope church and other churches but the real motivation is to involve children without a church, he said.

“We serve every kid,” Mark Douglass said. “But we really want to serve kids who don’t have a church family and are not exposed to the Christian faith. We don’t want any kid in Hermiston to not have a chance for a Christian touch. You can’t go wrong teaching love, joy, peace and patience. And it’s been a blast.”

Carol Marcum is the Community Editor in the East Oregonian’s Hermiston Bureau. She can be reached (800) 522-0255 (ext. 1-303) or by e-mail at cmarcum@eastoregonian.com.