Holiday Club

This week the church has had its annual holiday club. The theme has been 'Down On The Farm' and was primarily run by Chris and Sue Govus of 'Back To School' ministries. It’s been well fun! We've had about 50/ 60 different kids throughout the week, and we definitely finished on Friday with a high - all of us looking forward to Sunday morning's Holiday Club service as much as the kids are.

Each child that attends the holiday club got a special children's Bible, which was good, as it gives them something to take away and also a chance to find out about the different bible stories for themselves. It may be the only Bible they ever get.

All the games and teachings are linked to the farm theme, and I must say that I had just about as much fun as the kids - if not more with all the behind the scenes fun. We sung the usual cheesy children's songs - "Nothing's too big big big for his power..." "God loves you and I love you..." "Oh its great great brill brill wicked wicked skill skill..." and all of those - with actions and everything! Hehe. But what was really cool was that, even though they seem cheesy and silly to me, I know that the kids enjoy them and they speak a simple and life changing truth – which is that God loves us and wants to be our friend. And even though it means that I spent the entire of my week singing cheesy songs in the street whenever they popped into my head, it was all worth it!

The games were also very popular, Fill Ya Barns, Ripe or Rotten, CHUCK THE CHICKEN! They added the usual competitiveness to the week, especially as each day the team leader of the losing team got gunged. The Beetroot Bunchers won overall, winning 2 Barmy Farmers (each day the team with the most points got a barmy farmer) and then the CARROT CRUNCHERS!! Finishing 4 points ahead of the Marrow Munchers due to an influx of points on the last day. Guess what team I was in. :)

The teachings were really good too. The first day really hit me, as Chris was telling the kids about how much God loves them, no matter what they do or who they are. It's surprising how many of the children actually thought that God didn't care about them, some even as young as five, struggling with issues of self-esteem because someone had told them they weren't good enough at something. It was actually quite heart breaking. But I loved having the opportunity to hang out with the kids each day, showing them through the way I acted and engaged with them that they were each special and loved by me and by God. On the last day I almost got crushed as I had three different children fighting to sit as close to me (or on me) as they could. It was quite sweet, but nevertheless, painful.

Still, on another note, the youth group I am starting begins on Saturday, taking them down to the seafront to see the fireworks. So let the fun and games continue!

"God made all sorts of wild animals, livestock, and small animals, each able to produce offspring of the same kind. And God saw that it was good."

Genesis 1:25