FamilyFest, Kansas City, Kansas

The four-year-old stretched as high as he could, bubbles splashed down on his face as he stretched just one more inch on his tippy toes. The Ford F-150 was just too tall for him to wash it properly, but that didn't stop him from ministering to the community alongside his parents and older siblings.

The family took part in WMU's FamilyFest in Kansas City, Kansas, recently. The volunteer missions event attracted families from 10 different states to the metro area. They partnered with local churches in reaching the surrounding community.

Youth groups volunteered, too. Going from an all-adult volunteer team who meticulously painted the church sanctuary to 35 youth enjoying a good paint fight in the fellowship hall was a blast and kept the day very diversified. The youth made up songs throughout the week. My favorite (and their's, too) was the "Paint thinner" song -- only sung as you cleaned the paint brushes at the end of the day.

Besides helping the community, events like this help entire families minister together. Several families used this event as their family vacation. Parents said they wanted to teach their children about serving God and volunteering.

One 10-year-old boy, dripping wet from a water fight during the car wash, stopped talking to kids in the community long enough to answer my question about if he liked doing mission projects. "Are you kidding me?" he said. "Fun and God all mixed into one week. We have to come back next year. This is the best vacation EVER!"