Tuesday, May 17

I think we had about 48 kids - lots of helpers too - at least 16 high school helpers, plus the rest of us adults, lets say, around 25 helpers. God is good - all the time. The mother of one of our regular attenders was supposed to be discharged from the hospital this past week. She had to have part of her leg amputated due to blood poisoning. We have been praying for her and her family, and I know that prayers will still be needed for some time now.

Ruth combined the story of Rahab with the walls of Jericho, so we're going to have to think about how to change things a little in the upcoming weeks. I don't think that crossing the Jordan - the 12 stones of remembrance will be sufficient for her to spin it into a story long enough and the week after that will need to be changed anyway. Perhaps we can add the "choose this day whom you will serve". Ruth and I will need to do some planning here.

This is two weeks now we've had five groups instead of four; Kevin and a few helpers has taken the older boys and worked with them separately instead of having them integrated as part of the other groups. That's gone very well; they get positive attention instead of just attention as we try to corral them back to the group they're supposed to be in.

The last two sessions

Last week there was a bingo at school on Tuesday night so we couldn't use it. We went back to the park where we met all summer. The only catch was that it was windy and cold. We didn't have as many kids because the bingo was for kids that attend school. I was happy to go back to the Steiners. Their house is small; we were crowded, but there was space enough for everyone. We did a large group story instead of breaking up into groups. It was pizza night, which is always a big hit - and there weren't any left-overs. In fact, we cut the last box of pieces in half to ensure it all went around. I think we likely had more helpers than kids last week, but it was all good.

Last night was a slightly different story. We had at least 54 kids out; and 24 helpers - and two mothers who stayed as well. That's a new record! The weather was beautiful and we were able to have one group outside. Instead of breaking up into four groups, we broke into five - with the group of the oldest boys (who need separate attention) not circulating but staying with Kevin and Greg. We still had groups of 9 or 10, but it was doable. Snack went over well - we had chocolate cake and orange slices. I had brought a 5 lb sack of oranges and cut them into sixths. However, the oranges only lasted through the first two groups, so Jeff ran out to Extra Foods and purchased a second 5 lb sack for us. God is good, because things went well for all I think.

Some Photos

Here's what our ministry looks like; here's why we do what we do.

April 28-June 15 Plans

Date	Lesson	Lesson Theme
April 27	12 men went to spy out Canaan	Trust
May 4	Complaining in the desert/Snake on a stick	Thankfulness
May 11	Balaam and the Donkey	Obeying God
May 18	Rahab and the Two Spies	God can use anyone
May 25	Crossing the Jordan/ 12 stones	Remembering what God has done
June 1	Walls of Jericho	God's Power
June 8	Samson	Keeping Your Promises
June 15	Ruth	Willingness to Serve

 

Tuesday, April 20

We had a unique evening. We had an equal number of kids and helpers - 25 of each. It made for a great child/adult ratio (actually, some of the helpers are teens); we just had each kid find a helper. There were two reasons for this; one was that we had fewer children than we usually have been having; we've been averaging over 30. The second reason is that we've been pushing for extra helpers to come out because our college students have finished their term and most of them will be gone shortly. So it allowed us to do a little bit of orientation with the new helpers that came out. It was all good.

April 13

This was our first day back hosting The Party after Easter break. I was thinking that we'd likely have fewer kids because it had been pouring rain for much of the day. Actually, we had over 30 kids again (31 I think) and sufficient helpers. Ruth was sick, so I did the story telling - which gave me a great deal of appreciation for the fine job she does. Rose stepped up to the plate and handled the snacks (usually my station). Snack was decorating cookies, so it was a little more challenging than normal but she also did a great job. We had quite a few new faces this week, which is also encouraging.

Please pray for this ministry as quite a few of our regular helpers are college students and now that the college is ending for the term, we will really miss their assistance and support.

March 30

I didn't make The Party this week. I had gone home sick from school in the afternoon and really wasn't feeling up to going. I felt a little guilty as this is the first time I've missed since I've started helping with it in the fall - but not that guilty as I really wasn't well. I gave my van keys to the girls downstairs who help with The Party as well, and went to bed. (They needed my van because all of the snack stuff: cups, plates, serviettes, juice jug, etc. are in the back of my van.)

Anyway, apparently there were 32 kids at The Party and things went fairly smoothly. That's three weeks in a row that we've had over 30 children. Prior to this, we've been averaging around 20 kids, so that's a big jump. We'll now have a week off because of Easter Break and will start again after the break.