Friday morning I received a call at work from the Union Church head of Vacation Bible Study: Jane. I thought for sure something happened to one of the kids or they had done something very, very naughty. “JASPER,” I thought, “swimming in the baptismal pool again?”

"Everything is fine,” Jane reported reassuringly, "but I'm calling about Jasper…"

"I KNEW IT!" I thought to myself.

The kids had a fantastic time at VBS. I was surprised how much fun they had – they all wanted to go back at the end of each day. On Friday evening a VBS BBQ took place and I went with the kids. It was pure chaos, but all the kids – and most of the adults – were up singing and dancing. The evening ran late. We were pretty much the last to leave. Team Caldwell helped to clean-up enough that Jane gave the kids the VBS mascot: Crocky, an inflatable crocodile. (Pictured at left!)

Jasper had a fantastic time because he got to sing and everybody looooved Jasper's singing. Even Sebastian, Sela and Carys loved JJ's singing so much that they weren't jealous when Jane called to ask if Jasper would sing at the Sunday 11 AM service.

"That's okay with me," I explained, "as long as Jasper isn't dressed like a hobo."

On Saturday we downloaded the song Jasper needed to practise. (See YouTube version below.) I loaded it onto my ipod so we could sing it in the car. Jasper had a paper copy that he read to memorise the words. Sunday morning came. About 15 minutes into the service all the VBS kids headed to the front of the sanctuary. The final song the VBS kids sang was "God Is Always With Us". Jasper and one of the other older VBS team leaders led the song. All the kids were very enthusiastic – which was almost the best part: the kids were all excited to sing – but Jasper did an exceptional job. He has a wonderful singing voice – something we've known for a while but have never showcased. Today, once JJ worked out keeping the mike close enough to his mouth, he was absolutely superb. Hopefully this is the start of a great thing for Jasper… and those who get to hear him sing, of course.