Bible Club Week 8

Thursday we arrived at Bible Club not knowing where club would be held. We had been praying we would have a room in which to meet (so I could have a few minutes to get set up) but were prepared just in case we were once again located in the kitchen. As I was signing in, the activities director came out & told us we would be holding club in a room - it was an office belonging to one of the volunteers.

The director took us to our room. To get there we had to go through the gym. The girls were so excited to see us. They came running to give us a hug. In previous years club has lasted until 5:15. Last week I had dismissed them at 5:15 & they had come back telling me they were dismissed too early. So I asked the activities director what time I needed to let them go. They're now going until 5:30..."oh", I said, "I was under the impression we were going until 5:15". "We realized that" she replied. "And today it'll be okay to let them go early...we're having Great American Smoke out activities" - this is geared toward warning the children the dangers of smoking. Well fortunately I always take a book which I can share with them if I have extra time.

The office has windows on the front wall & a big mirror on the back wall. We spent some time trying to decide whether to set the stools up so they looked out the window, looked at the mirror or were facing the side walls & could look at the mirror or out the window. We decided setting them up to look out the window probably had the least danger. This office is very well protected from the gym noise. We could hear the girls as they played but their voices were muffled. Occasionally we could tell that a ball had hit the other side of the mirrored wall but it was not a loud sound.

The girls were finally dismissed for activities. Since they were doing special activities with the smoke out campaign, we only had 5 girls. If I had thought about it when we were earlier told they were having special activities for that campaign, I would have just canceled for this week & waited until next week.

We were on Day Three of Sunday School Charlie & "The Mystery of the Golden Key". Charlie & Red have decided they are going to find out if Muscle Mike has the key to the treasure chest. They decide to sneak out of the cabin at 11 pm & go to Mike's cabin. There they will be able to go through his clothes & see if he has the key in his pocket. Charlie is worried that they will get caught. He doesn't want to go swimming (which is his favorite activity). The worrying is ruining his enjoyment of camp. That night in chapel, they learn that a Christian's testimony is evidenced in his words, works & worship. The girls loved pointing out that those words all started with wor. That night during cabin devotions, Charlie reads a verse which says "Thou shalt not be afraid of the terror by night..." He knows that verse is just for him & requests prayer that he won't be afraid of the terror by night. He & Red wait until 11 & then sneak out of the cabin. As they get to Livingstone Lodge, where Mike is staying, they see a shadow sneak out of the cabin. This is where the story ended for this week. The girls are disappointed that they will have to wait 2 weeks before hearing what happens next.

John lead them in several songs. I cannot even begin to remember what they sang. They loved singing. They even requested songs which John sang with them.

While they were singing, I got the board set up for "Lightning Strike" the review game for today. There were circles scattered on the flannel board. The girls would pick a circle & it had either points or a cloud with lightning coming from it. If it was points the girls would get the points but if it was a cloud with lightning the girls lost their points from just that turn. The directions stated that the girls could go an unlimited amount of turns but I just gave them an option of 3 times. If they got the lightning bolt on turn 1 or 2, their turn was over. They loved the game. There are also funnel clouds & kites which I will put up the next time we play. If they get the funnel cloud, all the points they had gotten on that turn were given to the other team. If they get the kite (in honor of Benjamin Franklin) they get extra points (maybe 2000). By the time we were playing the game, we only had 3 girls left. During the game 2 girls left. When the 2nd girl left, we took the last girl with her & found some place to stick her until 5:30. She joined in the activities. The activities director was thankful we had had the thought to put her in with other girls. We told the director we thought she would do better with other girls (this was in front of the girl) but we were thinking of protecting ourselves & the club.

As soon as we started playing, one of the little girls raised her hand & asked if we would come to her church on 12/6 to hear her sing. I think we are going to try to go. She told me where she goes to church but didn't know what time the program started on the 6. I know a lady who goes to that church so will email her & ask what time the program is.

On our way out of Bible club, we saw the CEO of the local Girls Inc. and asked her how the regional meeting had gone. She said great. They had earned an award this year. We congratulated her & then asked if they had had any feedback on Bible Club. She said several had asked about it as they toured the facilities. She told them that they had discovered in this area, the girls responded so well to hearing Jesus loves them. When they had learned that they couldn't not give the girls the opportunity to hear Jesus loves me. And wasn't that what their purpose was to give the girls every advantage/opportunity they could provide. They would be amiss if they didn't give the girls this opportunity when they knew the girls responded so well to it. We are not going to apologize for Bible club.

We left and went to Mom & Dad's. We were going to the Thanksgiving dinner at church with them. Judith came also. We sat with Jan, Larry, Rebecca & a Korean couple. He pastors a Korean church in the area. At the end of each sermon, he gives a 5 minute summary of the sermon in English. Larry mentioned he was glad he didn't have to give a 5 minute summary in any other language...he wouldn't do well with it at all.

Now we look forward to this next week. Preparing our home for the heat pump installation the week after Thanksgiving. Preparing for the Thanksgiving meal at camp on Thursday. Attending the Girls Inc. Thanksgiving dinner Tuesday evening. It will be good to see family & friends we haven't seen since last Thanksgiving. It will be good to make new friends also.