Tuesday, April 10, 2012

Easter


We had our first Sunday service and it was GREAT! It made me so happy to see all the children and adults celebrating Jesus' resurrection. We had about 160 people and the children did a great job singing and going with the program. It was a beautiful service with 4 baptisms, including two boys who are regularly part of Children's Ministry.

One of the best parts was watching one of the boys from my small group overseeing the collection basket and getting coached by one of the adult men from White Swan. We passed out Easter Baskets to all the children who came, and 3 youth took the lead, while I stood back and just talked to the kids.

You can see pictures on Facebook by clicking here. Thanks for your prayers!

Tuesday, April 3, 2012

I Don't Play With Marbles




On the last day of Kid’s Club with the teams, a twelve year old boy from Totus Park was around, and I asked him to play marbles. He said, “I don’t play with marbles,” implying he was too old for such things. This guy isn’t a regular part of what we do, but most of the boys love playing marbles. I didn’t press the issue, and was just happy that he was there for the day.

I kept an eye on him and his brothers as they have a tendency to get in trouble. For the most part they did well playing kickball, the bean bag game, balloons, and other activities. Towards the end, I got a game of eternal dodgeball going, and he ran up to me, and said, “Can you hold these for me?” I held out my hand and he gave me 4 marbles. I was surprised for two reasons: 1. He trusts me to keep his marbles safe, and 2. Apparently he wasn’t too old for marbles.

This small interaction reminded me of how important Kid’s Club is. It’s important because we provide a place where “kids can just be kids.” For 2 hours that Friday, he could just be a 12 year old boy and play marbles and have fun. He didn’t have to worry about appearing stronger or tougher than everyone else. He didn’t have to worry about being made fun of or hurt. He could put down his guard, have fun, and do things 12 year old boys are supposed to do.