Sugar and spice
and everything nice
that's what little girls are made of.
Sunshine and rainbows
and ribbons for hair bows
that's what little girls are made of.
Tea parties, laces
and baby doll faces
that's what little girls are made of.
unknown author
After coming across this poem, I began laughing as I thought about all the girls I spend hours with each week! Evidently, the author of this poem did not attend our youth club; however, if the author did visit us, I am sure he or she would approve my modifications...
Bouncy castles and Nerf Guns
and blackout Hide-n-Seek fun
that's what club girls are made of.
Silly faces and dodgeball
and competition foosball
that's what club girls are made of.
Cartwheels and flips
and summer camping trips
that's what club girls are made of.
by me
I think it is safe to say that our girls don't expect tea parties when they come to club, but it works out better that way because, though they may seem innocently cute at times, these girls are fearless Nerf War companions! 12 little girls joined us last week as we celebrated the 500th day of club with an Extreme Nerf War. Many of them were at the frontline in the battle while a few helped at the "hospital." This Nerf War was unlike the others. It expanded over two rooms that were filled with barricades. The rooms were a maze of flipped tables, couches, cushions, and chairs! Nerf bullets seemed to sprout from the ground. Teams pushed lines forward in attempt to steal the flag from the opposing team's bunker. "Wounded" soldiers visited the hospital (cafe bar) where they were fed medicine (candy) and spent time recovering (approx. 60 seconds) before returning to battle. As you can imagine, kids and leaders all enjoyed the time in this club-favorite game.
Nerf War Barricades
After a couple hours of playing, we ended the games to continue with desserts that a few mothers made and watch some old club videos. When we told the kids to start cleaning-up, a couple kids came to me asking, "are you sure we have to stop?" As I looked at their red faces and the beads of sweat on their foreheads, I confidently knew it was time to end, but it seems this will not be the last time we have an Extreme Nerf War!
500th Day Desserts
Watch a short video about the 500th Day Nerf War here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jLRNW-pF7EU
To continue challenging my Superstar English Learners, I took some words they already know and added the suffixes "-ful" and "-less" with the familiar root word - such as colorful/colorless or fearful/fearless. We played many games that encouraged the students to use the words and provide the correct suffix depending on the scenario. These students seem to soak in new concepts and vocabulary faster than a sponge; they sure keep me on my toes!
Group Game - Similar to "London Bridge"
Sorting Game in Small Groups
Most weeks, I am preparing games that relate to the Bible stories in the gospel of Mark, but last week I taught the games AND the Bible stories! We looked at the beginning of Mark 8, with the story of Jesus feeding the four thousand and then taking the disciples on the sea. I wanted the students to do more than only listen to the story, so the kids worked together to draw a mural of how they envisioned the story. We read further into Mark 8 and dialogued about the part when the disciples are with Jesus on the boat and are afraid they will be hungry since they only brought one loaf of bread.
So, I asked the kids "What don't the disciples understand?"
The kids paused for a while and then one of them spoke up, "We don't get it either. The disciples will be hungry with only one loaf of bread."
"Let's imagine we are all the disciples sitting in the boat. Remember Jesus is with us. Now I am really worried about sharing this one loaf of bread with all of you. Remember Jesus is with us too. We just got in the boat after Jesus fed 4,000 people with seven loaves of bread and earlier in Mark's gospel he fed 5,000 people with five loaves of bread. And remember, Jesus is in the boat with us."
I watched as the lightbulbs seemed to turn on and brain wave connections seemed almost visible.
"WAIT! Jesus is there. He can give them more bread. The disciples don't have to be worried."
"Exactly."
Showing Their Paper Mural
The body of Christ is so much more than the people within our church building, but it expands to include other churches as well. Our youth group had a chance to experience this collision of churches as we joined together with the Catholic youth group in our community and two other youth groups from the surrounding area to worship, pray, and have fellowship together. It was a wonderful time getting to spend as one united youth group. United until foosball competitions that is, but that is completely natural in a room full of young adults!
Combined Youth Group
While it may seem that a lot has happened these past couple weeks by the length of the blogpost, it has actually been an irregular week. This is due to the fact that the flu is spreading rapidly in this area and I, along with many other friends and kids, received the dreaded virus. Thankfully, I am beginning to feel much better as I have been without a fever for a couple days now and building my strength back. Please pray for the many others here who are still battling this illness. I have been blessed here by many friends who came alongside to bring me medicine, meals, soup, fruit, and tea. It was definitely hard missing club times with the kids this week, but these three boys made it a little easier by making pudding for all the sick Elim leaders. I am hopeful to be back with the kids this coming week because they add so much flavor to my life - many times it's sweet, like sugar... and also very exciting; a lot of spice!
