New Mexico bound

Once again our church is going to New Mexico on a mission trip. This trip we are leading 2 Vacation Bible Schools (VBS) each day. One in the morning & one in the evening. The leftover VBS material from the church has been shipped to use as a resource.

I am directing the 2 VBS. I figure how hard can this be. It should basically be Bible Club but I will have help. Now mind you I realize that 2x a day for 4 days a week will equal 8 Bible clubs. But I'm getting ready.

Last night as I was trying to sleep, I was worrying about how to tell the Bible stories. As I drifted off to sleep my mind kept returning to Sunday School Charlie. I told myself that during lunch today I would look at the SS Charlie stories I have.

My head started hurting something horrible so I came home for lunch early thinking maybe a few minutes nap would help relieve the headache. I sat on the couch with my feet propped up but couldn't sleep. I kept thinking about SS Charlie & trying to figure out which story would work best. The first one has a lot to do with idols...it's a good story...but I wasn't too comfortable taking that one with me. The 3rd story was about a Little League ball game. I could take that one...but just didn't feel comfortable. The 2nd one seemed to keep popping up in my head. So I got up from my nap and looked for the #2 Sunday School Charlie story. I found it and read through the story. 2 of the 4 Bible stories (in the VBS curriculum) are included in this lesson. Day 1 talks about them going to chapel but does not have a Bible story so I can include one in there. The last day ends at a campfire service...the way that lesson is presented I can add the other Bible story to it. The stories will just be done in a different order than in the VBS manual.

Also I was a little apprehensive about taking flannelgraph with me because I do not know if there will be a flannel board where we're going to be serving. But I have lots of extra felt so I can find a large piece, pack it & when we stop at Wal-mart ask if I could have a box and make a board if there is not one. So now all I have to do is go through my Life of Christ manuals & pull the 2 stories on Zacchaeus & feeding the 5000. That shouldn't be hard at all.

SS Charlie is a 5 day lesson. So I will combine days 2 & 3. I just now need to decide what I can leave out of those 2 days that won't affect the story.

Now if I could just find a bunch of old keys. I could spray paint them gold & use that as my wrapped up item. (A gold key is lost in this SS Charlie story).

Still thinking, planning and praying but seeing more and more the Lord who goes before us in each of our endeavors.

A Special Neighbor

When I moved to TN, they were our neighbors. He was the pastor of the church my aunt & uncle (parents now) attended. When my sisters all had the chicken pox at the same time (thanks to me bringing them home from kindergarten), these neighbors welcomed me into their home one Sunday afternoon. That is the first time I remember having pork chops. They came to most of our birthday dinners. They could keep us children on our seat's edge telling Sunday School Charlie and other flannelgraph stories. When Papa died, we were whisked up to their house. The day President Reagan was shot, we got off the bus at their house. Even though they weren't official family members, we called them Uncle Guy & Aunt Evelyn.

We girls started joining the all girl youth group at church. After we bemoaned (I'm sure several times) the fact there were no boys in the youth group, our wonderful youth leader helped us organize a Valentine's dinner. We were supposed to invite a boy from school to attend. But when it came down to the fact, I think we were all a little scared. So who came as my date - Uncle Guy.

One summer (during our college years) Mom & Dad went out for the evening. We girls were at the house by ourselves. It was a hot night. Since we didn't have any kind of central air in our home, we girls had the windows raised & the doors open to let the breeze in. All of a sudden, there was a knock at the door. We quickly shut all doors and windows & turned off all music and lights. Locking ourselves into the downstairs bathroom, we called Uncle Guy. He immediately came down to the house and saved us from the drunk (& his dog) who had run out of gas.

When John & I were married, Uncle Guy officiated our wedding.


When we came on as staff, Uncle Guy and Aunt Evelyn welcomed us. We shared meals with them every week as I was learning the ropes of the bookwork. Those were special times.

Uncle Guy's death this past weekend was quiet. It did not make the news. Even though the world doesn't know (and probably doesn't care), he had an impact on the world. The boys and girls with whom he shared Christ's love are now sharing that love with others.

Uncle Guy, we love you and will miss you. Thank you for sharing your life and Christ's love with us.

Bible Club 10

After having not had Bible club for what seemed like forever, we were able to get back today. The girls were very excited to see us. One little girl (who used to be very faithful) came back outside to tell us she would not be able to be in club today because she was taking art. From my understanding the girls who take art go on a field trip every week to the Renaissance Center. It is here the seniors (age 55+) have their art displayed. A member of the seniors group will give the girls art instructions. These "art" girls have committed to attend every Thursday. If they see us come in they are torn between art & Bible club BUT have to keep their commitment to art.

The program director is leaving Girls Inc. and the CEO has hired a new girl to take her place. This lady (really) grew up in the church we attend. I have been on a few Ladies Retreats with her & her mother. She was there today & we were able to greet her for a few minutes before the girls were dismissed to their activities.

As we entered our room today, we noticed they have attached a door to the room. That was very nice today. It was able to cut the hallway noise almost completely out. Fortunately there is a window on the door so the leaders could get a count of which girls were in our room.

Before the girls were told to clean up the gym & line up on their lines for sign-up, I overheard 2 girls talking. Girl A says, "B, she said she didn't like you either." Girl B replies, "So, who cares". Girl A "I guess no one." I kind of laughed to myself. And inwardly commended Girl B for her attitude.

We started out with about 9 girls. 7 of them ended up leaving within the first 5 minutes. 3 more came in during the next 5 minutes. We had a new girl today. She is in kindergarten. I cringed when I realized she was so young. My experience with this age girl for Bible club is they usually can't sit still. She sat very prim & proper. Back straight, not touching the back of the chair, arms folded in her lap. Legs dangling from the chair but not swinging back & forth. Her eyes were focused on the lesson. She walked in with another girl who announced her as being a new girl. "And she doesn't even know what Bible Club means," the introducer said with a sound of tsk tsk in her voice. "Well, I don't know what is done in Bible club but I do know what the Bible is," the new girl corrected.

Sunday School Charlie, Red & Preston have been locked in one of Preston's dads trucks at the Triangle Trucking Company. The supervisor has gone home for the weekend & won't be back until Monday. Red, Preston & Charlie are sure they will be stuck in that truck until then when they hear Preston's dog sniffing outside. Preston yells at the dog & tells him to get dad. Preston's dad comes & reprimands the boys for hiding in the truck & not telling the supervisor. They apologize & go home. The next day in Sunday School the teacher, Mr. Brown, reminds the boys they are playing for either God's team or Satan's team. Satan tries his hardest to discourage the players on God's team. The boys are given a chance to tell how they have been discouraged or tempted to do wrong. But Mr. Brown reminds the boys that because they're playing on God's team they have this wonderful 5 letter word...faith. F...forgiveness, A...assurance, I...identification, T...triumph, H...hope. Each letter is written on a shield. He then places a wordstrip HEAVEN on the board. We have heaven to which to look forward. Taking the 5 shields, he turns them upside down & places them behind the HEAVEN forming somewhat of a crown. The boys are reminded that we'll be rewarded crowns in heaven for our faithfulness here on earth. The next Saturday arrives & Charlie gets to the ballgame. Bushy & the gang are there and tempt Charlie even further to throw the game. They had stolen Charlie's Sunday School pin & won't give it to him unless their team wins. We ended today's story with Charlie trying to decide what to do. One little girl said it was very mean of me to just end the story & not tell them what happens next.

John came up & led them in some songs....(Sit down & whisper if you love my Jesus, Stop, Go, I'm a Missionary's Helper, Do you know that you've been born again, Let's talk about Jesus, & Father Abraham).

I then came up & played the Ants game with them. One team just couldn't quite figure out how to play. They never got any points. The other team "won" with 89 points.

After finishing & dismissing the girls, we left for Johnson City to visit a friend in the hospital. We had a nice visit & then came home.

Bible Club Week 9

Today was our first day of Bible club after Christmas. When we got there, we learned we were able to have the teen room again. I am so thankful. (Last night before going to sleep, I had asked the Lord if we could have that room back!) Even though we had only 7 for club today, they were all excited to see us. We actually started out with 8 but 1 little girl remembered she still had homework to do. And homework gets first priority. You cannot participate in the afternoon activities if you have not completed your homework.

We had been to club one week between Thanksgiving & Christmas...I just didn't write about it. So there was only one lesson left to tell in the Sunday School Charlie lesson. I reviewed it so I could tell the girls what happened. And then prepared the #3 SS Charlie story to begin today God's Little Leaguer. I was glad I had prepared that one.

The girls arrived in club & I asked them to tell me their name & one thing they got for Christmas (if they could remember). One girl couldn't remember what she got for Christmas but shared with us her late birthday present. Her birthday is Dec. 27 & her mother's is the 30. They always celebrate their birthdays together. They do this because sometimes there isn't money to celebrate them separately. I said something to the effect that it's hard having a birthday after Christmas isn't it. She agreed. I kind of wonder if there isn't money enough to do both Christmas & birthday presents.

We then started the story. I told the girls that I knew we hadn't finished the last story & here is what happened. Today we were going to start a new one. There was only one girl who even remembered the previous story. None of the rest remembered. So that was a positive to my having prepared the 3 story. In this lesson Charlie & Red are going to play baseball for the Midgets. They are playing against the Tip Tops for the Little League pennant. If the Tip Tops win they will be the champions. If the Midgets win, they will be tied & have to play another game. Charlie has learned in SS that being a Christian has lots of similarities to being a ballplayer. For one you're on God's team. And you're playing against Satan's team. Satan will try to discourage you & get you to fumble and sometimes you will. But God has His Word that goes to bat for us. And like Paul we can keep our eyes on the prize (VICTORY). On the way to the game, Charlie meets a new boy, Preston. Preston is also a Christian & he & Charlie become very good friends. They get to the ball field & a group of boys being led by a bushy haired boy nicknamed Bushy meet Charlie. Bushy offers $5 to Charlie to fumble & let the Tip Tops win. Charlie knows he shouldn't fumble on purpose but $5 is a lot of money. (Now I will admit the story has been around for a few years & $5 isn't what it used to be. I just said they offered Charlie money. I don't know what amount would be tempting in today's culture).

We finished our story & prayed. I asked the girls to each share 1 thing with me that I could pray with them about. Most of them had one item to share. Ranging anywhere from taking our puppy to the pound to world peace to a little girl who had been shot in the head. Her dad shot & killed the mother & sibling. The little girl survived the shooting but has a "bump" on her head & doesn't really remember anything anymore. So sad. I prayed for each one & then Uncle John came up & led them in a few songs.

We sang "Head & Shoulders, Knees & Toes", "Stop" & "Go", "Untold Millions Are Still Untold", "I'm a Missionary's Helper" & ended with "Father Abraham". Then I came back up & we played the ice cream cone review game. I told the girls that with the snow we were expecting, I didn't want to think about the cold. I wanted to think about warm weather & this game helped me think of that. The girls enjoyed the game.

The girls were so well-behaved that we were able to play the review game for the remaining 25 minutes. At the end of club, they all went to get a Tootsie Roll lollipop from Uncle John. Instead of having them line up at the door & then dismissing them, I had them come back & sit down after getting their candy. Then the last row to get candy was the first row to line up. That took up the remaining time until it was time to leave.

I think next week I will take a jar which has conversation hearts in it. I'll give the girls a chance (for the next 2 weeks) to guess how many hearts are in the jar. The 2nd week, the girl who came the closest will win a grand prize. The one catch is that she will have to be in club to get it. If she's not there, then the 2nd closest will get the prize.

My eyes are telling me that it's time for them to close for the night. We both want to work on our Bible Study some. We're studying the book of Jeremiah on Tuesday nights.

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.

Bible Club Week 7

We arrived at Bible Club a little early this afternoon - which is fine...it gives me time to get everything set up. As I was signing in, John took the easel & flannel board to the teen room which is where we meet. One of the activity directors told him we would be meeting in the kitchen today. The teens just earned the teen room back & she didn't want to make them leave early. So meeting in the kitchen met we didn't have time to get set up. There are 2 grandmother age ladies (of course for most of these girls these ladies might be great-grandmother aged) who prepare a snack for the girls. Today's snack was ramen noodles. Yesterday they had had ravioli.

We sat out in the hall & waited for the ladies to sweep & mop the kitchen floor. While we were waiting, we heard quite loud sobs coming from the gym. One girl was curled up sobbing her heart out. An older girl went over to her & tried to get her involved in the activities. The sobbing girl said, "No, I don't want to play...You don't understand. My daddy's girlfriend broke up with him. When she left, she took all his stuff & all my stuff too." I quietly said a prayer for this girl, her siblings, father & mother - who, even though she does not live with her daughter's father, would probably have to deal with this grief later this evening.

Then as the girls were being dismissed to activities we were able to enter the kitchen. Fortunately John had snuck in there & set the board up while the ladies were cleaning. But I didn't have a chance to get my figures separated. Well they were in the order they were to be used - I just like to put them with the page on which they're used...and didn't have time today. Since we were in a new location, the girls were antsy. They did not want to sit still. We got through the story. Chapter 2 of "The Mystery of the Golden Key". Upon being awakened at 6.30 a.m., Charlie is excited to remember he is at camp. He & Red get ready for the day. In chapel that morning, they hear the story of Joseph. He was betrayed, blamed & then blessed. Charlie hopes that if he is ever betrayed & then blamed for something he didn't do, he will be able to remember God is in control and will work good from this. The boys leave chapel & have fun the rest of the day. In their evening devotions, the counselor tells them that the golden key which unlocks the treasure chest is missing. Charlie & Red wonder if Muscle Mike found it before supper. They had seen him pick up something from the grass. The girls were disappointed that the story was over for the day.

John came up & led in some songs. "Stop & Go", "Let's Talk About Jesus", "Thy Word Have I Hid in my Heart" and a few others. While he was leading them in songs, I was getting the review game set up. I had accidentally brought "Feeding Gilbert" again.

We dismissed the girls & went to Food City. The group that came early this spring is coming back this weekend to finish one project they were not able to get finished because of the rain the time they were here. They are going to roof one of the cabins. We are feeding them lunch & supper tomorrow. Definitely breakfast on Saturday. Not sure about lunch but if we do will probably order pizza or something similar. Aunt BJ's lasagne was requested for lunch so we got the ingredients for that. We will do sandwiches for supper. I purchased a pork tenderloin at FC yesterday & prepared it in the crock pot last night. For noon today, I had pulled it all off the bone & added barbecue sauce. We had bbq sandwiches. There was "tons" of the bbq left over. We're thinking of offering that plus a few cold cut options we purchased. Breakfast on Saturday will be biscuits & gravy.

It is late. My eyes are heavy. Praying we have sunshine & nice weather this weekend.

Bible Club Week 6

I was a little worried before arriving at Girls Inc. today. Last week we had to move book tables out of the way. They had had a book fair the Friday before (in the room in which we have Bible club). In wanting to make sure each girl received a book, they had left the books set up. They had plans to move them before we arrived but those plans were not realized. When we arrived last week, 2 teenagers were in the room giggling & reading books...the K-1 grade level reading books. We shooed them out so we could move the tables, put out the chairs & get our easel and flannel board set up. We didn't realize they were in there to move the things out of our way. We quickly got everything where we needed it. The tables which were loaded with books, we scooted to the back of the room & prayed the girls who sat closest to those books would pay attention to the story & not want to look at the books. (That would have been difficult for me as a child. I loved Sunday School Charlie & would really want to listen to the story but I also absolutely LOVED to read. Those books would have been a temptation.)

To help ease my fears, we made sure we arrived early. And I had nothing to worry about. All the books (except 1 box) were gone. The 2 tables on which the books had been were folded up & leaning against the couch. We moved them against the back wall & set up the room.

We had stopped today to get a Pal's tea. After setting up the room, John went out to the van to get the teas. As he was gone, Little J (who is so much like big sister, E) stopped in the room. I asked her if she were coming to Bible club today. "No," she said, "I'm going to the library". "Oh," I replied. "Do you like to read?" "Yes." "What is your favorite book?" "A Halloween book". And that gave me the question I would ask each girl before club began.

Between 16-18 girls came to club today. It was a little hard to keep count. Since today was the last Thursday of the month, the Girls Inc. activity leaders were continually coming in & calling out girls to receive their Character Counts awards for October. They like getting the awards. I do have to say though that Sunday School Charlie guarantees that they return to club very quickly.

As I went around the room today, I could remember most of the girls' names. I asked them if they were going to dress up for Halloween & what they were going to be. That was a good question because that was what they were talking about as they came in the room. Some of them have 2 different costumes. One for Girls Inc. party tomorrow & then one for their actual trick-or-treating.

We then started Sunday School Charlie Mystery of the Golden Key. Charlie & Red have known each other for a year. They are planning on going to summer camp together. The day before they leave, they are fishing & Charlie catches a key chain with 15 keys. He takes those to camp with him. They eagerly meet the other boys & girls. One of the boys is named Muscle Mike. He doesn't want anything to do with Sunday School, VBS or anything like that. Charlie decided that maybe God wants him to be a missionary to Muscle Mike. One of the valued items at the camp is the treasure chest. It is an antique which has been brought from Germany. The camp registrar keeps the camp money in the treasure chest. It locks with a golden key. All the first day, Charlie keeps reminding himself of his memory verse. Matthew 5:44 tells us we are to love & pray for our enemies. Charlie is glad he doesn't have any enemies but prays that when he does, he will remember this verse and put it into practice. The girls were disappointed when the story ended. They all told me what they thought would happen over the next 4 weeks.

John came up & led them in a few songs - "Father Abraham", "12 Men Went to Spy on Canaan", "Let's Talk About Jesus, Let's Talk of His Love", the "Stop" & "Go" songs. And then one more which I cannot remember. While they were singing the last song, I set up the flannel board for our review game. Oh yes, it was "I'm a Missionary's Helper" (sung to the tune "I've Been Working on the Railroad)".

This game is called "Feeding Gilbert". It is also by Ed Dunlop. The girls were told to imagine they & a group of friends were meeting to celebrate their friend, Gilbert's birthday. They meet at Gilbert's favorite restaurant but Gilbert is late in arriving. They each decide to order something for Gilbert. The only problem they don't know what foods Gilbert really likes. I had John draw a card from a pile of 4. On this card are listed 5 foods. We kept these foods secret until the end. In the center of the board are 24 circles - each having a picture of a kid-friendly food on the front. In my hand, I held several cards. They were numbers. If a girl answered a question correctly, she came up front, drew a numbered card & then was able to choose that many food items from the board. Each food item had points on the back. I would remove the food from the board, tell them the points, and then put that food item on the side of the board we had designated for their team. 2 of the food items had super special on them. The girls got 1500 points for those and also got another turn. After each food item had been chosen, placed on the side for that team & John had totaled the points (& also told the girls which team had which points), he then looked at the card he had chosen. The first four items on that card brought 1000 extra points each for the team which had chosen that item. The last item (which was Gilbert's all-time favorite) brought 2000 points. The team which had been behind ended up winning because they chose more of the favorite foods. The girls loved the game.

That game took a few more minutes than usual so the girls were a little later in leaving. Fortunately, for us, the vans had not started leaving yet for the apartments. We gave them each 2 Tootsie Roll suckers. We purchased some more. The current special color/flavor is a light blue/blue raspberry. The girls were so excited to see that we had the suckers again. That is their all-time favorite treat.

Next week we will not have Bible club as the leaders are preparing for the regional Girls Inc. meeting. We will attend some of the meeting on Friday.

Bible Club Week 5

I was excited to get to Bible Club today. It was the end of the first story of Sunday School Charlie - Missionary to Slocum Alley. I remember from being a young child listening to Aunt Evelyn tell the stories that I always looked forward to hearing how everything worked out in the end but also was disappointed that the story was ending. With our retreats having ended and no activities which will need the camp store until the spring, we took the remaining snack size 3 Musketeers & Twix bars from the camp store. By the time the camp store opens up, these candy bars will be stale.

I cannot tell you how many girls were at club today. The numbers really fluctuated today. Some of our regulars didn't come because they were going to art gallery. I am not sure what that is but they were excited about it. It seemed like the parents arrived earlier to get their children also. I know when club ended we had 5 girls left.

Well as you remember Charlie had been clinging for his life onto a small shrub/bush trying to keep Red from drowning. Charlie as he's slipping...slipping...slipping, calls out for help. His dad happens to be at the Bend looking for his fishing rod & is able to save Charlie & Red. When the truth comes out about the fishing rod, Charlie gives his father the $2.13 (still in his pocket) for Red's share of the fishing rod. Charlie promises his father that he will pay the rest from his allowance. At supper, Charlie's dad says he isn't going to use the money given him to purchase a fishing rod. Instead he's going to purchase Red a Bible. And maybe Red will accept Charlie's invitation to attend Vacation Bible School. Red does accept and Charlie is excited to get on the VBS bus Monday morning. But when the bus stops at Slocum Alley, Red is nowhere to be seen. Charlie is disappointed & tried to find every way possible to get out of VBS. When Charlie finds out that the pastor offered Red a ride to church & Red has decided VBS isn't that bad, Charlie is excited. Red does accept the Lord as his Savior & Charlie & Red both agree to do whatever or go wherever the Lord sends them.

The girls were clinging on to every word that I said. And just as I remember being they were a little disappointed that this story was over. But excited at the promise of the next Sunday School Charlie story. John then came up & led them in singing, "1-2-3 Jesus loves me", "Jesus Loves Even Me", "12 Men Went to Spy on Canaan" (by request), "Did You Ever Talk to God Above" and then "Stop and Let Me Tell You" and "Go & Tell the Story" (those last 2 were also by request).

After the songs, we played a game called Gone Fishing. Also taken from the book "Mouse on a Mission" by Ed Dunlop. I had put 2 boats on either side of the flannel board. In the center were about 24 different colored fish. When a child answered the question correctly, she was allowed to come up to the board & pull a card (from the stack I was holding). That card told them how many fish they could choose (either 1, 2 or 3). We put the fish they chose under their boat. At the end of the game, I pulled the fish from under each boat. Points were on the back of the fish. We added those points & then we added the points. There was only a 3 point difference between the 2 teams - 43 t0 46.

One funny thing that happened is that during the singing, the CEO of Girls Inc. came to Bible Club looking for one of the girls who had been paged numerous times. Her mother was here. I kept thinking to myself (as she was paged) that she had been one of the girls called to go to the Art Gallery. So when the CEO told me she was looking for this girl, I said I believe I heard her called for the Art Gallery. She was so thankful I had remembered hearing her name. I think they were beginning to wonder where she was. She is a very faithful Bible club attender.

Upon entering Girls, Inc., we are required to sign in. I remove a notebook from a shelf on the wall, sign our names what time we entered, what we are doing, where we are located. When we exit, we are to sign ourselves out - which is just writing down what time we leave. The CEO & activities director were both at the front desk. So I kind of reviewed with them the next few weeks. Next week they will offer club but the next Thursday (11/6), there will be no club. I don't think they will be open. That weekend is the regional Girls Inc. "meeting". It runs Friday - Sunday (?). It is here in Kingsport. They will be closed the following Monday - which I'm sure is for them to recuperate from their busy meeting. The CEO asked us if we would like to attend the meeting on Friday as their guest. She said they were wanting to have as many of their activities represented as possible. We are looking forward to attending that meeting to hear more about this program.

After Bible club we stopped at Office Depot to get a toner for the fax machine. I have only purchased one toner right after it was given to us. We had been told the toner was not working so went ahead & purchased a new one. The past 2 things which have been faxed to us have only come 1/2. The first one I just thought it was the other fax machine. Then when it came that way from a totally different machine/area, I decided to look into purchasing a cartridge. Office Depot was currently out. They did carry the item - or so I thought she said but when I asked her if they would be getting an order in soon, she said she thought they would but I could just go online & order one myself. She gave me the model # & everything. So I may order it from the company directly. (I didn't tell the lady I knew the manager...I wonder if she would not have been so eager for me to order it myself).

I am now home. John has gone out again. He's helping a man from church with a job he is doing this evening. I hope to get at least one load of laundry done.

Bible Club Week 4

Before going to Bible Club we had to get a treat for the clubbers. We happened to be on the other side of Kingsport so used the Thomas' Wal-mart as I call it. Mrs. Thomas lives near that Wal-mart & when I am trying to distinguish between our regular one & that one, that is how I refer to it. We purchased a large pack of snack sized Skittles - approximately 40 packs.

Upon arriving at Girls Inc., we got set up, the figures ready & I was able to pray for each seat. Since it was a dreary drizzling at times, raining at times kind of day, the girls were all playing in the gym. I could hear them talking excitedly about the coach. Finally we heard the activities director announce that it was time to clean up the gym & line up on their lines. The girls did so & then a quiet descended upon the gym as the activities director made the announcements. This week is the beginning of a new time schedule. From M-Th, Girls Inc. is open until 7pm. But on Friday they close at 6:30pm. They also are now charging $3/minute/child for however long they have to stay after the closing time. That was one announcement made this afternoon. Followed by "please make sure your parents are here to get you by 6:30. That's a lot of money if they're not." The girls were all agreeing. They also learned that in 2 Fridays they would have their Halloween party & the Thursday before that they would be allowed (if they had behaved & completed all homework) to go trick-or-treating at one of the assisted living places. The girls were excited about that. Next week is the last chapter of this Sunday School Charlie story so we may just not go the week of Halloween. They'll be eager to go get their candy from the "old people" as they call them so there won't be that many on that day.

Finally those that wanted to go to Bible Club were dismissed to our room. We ended up with 14 girls. 2 little girls told me they would be in club as soon as they proved they had done their homework. Only 1 of the 2 came. I guess the other 1 had not finished. I asked the girls their names (I do know quite a few of them) and also asked them to tell me what their favorite thing about school. Most of them said science & history. One girl said math & a few said recess. Only one said lunch...her reasoning for that was that was the only time she could talk with her friends.

We then went into chapter 4 of Missionary to Slocum Alley. Charlie sits in the missionary conference & is excited to see the native items that the missionary speakers have brought to show. The missionary who is giving the sermon that day tells the boys & girls that God wants YOU to serve. I put a pentagon on the board with the word YOU on it. Then I put a triangle on each side of the pentagon. Each triangle named something we can use to serve God - heart, time, wealth, love & body (our feet to take us to someone, our hands to serve, etc.). The speaker pointed out that the triangles on each side of the pentagon now made a star. He also said that our lights are to shine. The girls (at club) really liked that. Charlie goes home & as he's in bed trying to sleep, he keeps thinking how can I tell Red about Jesus. The next morning, Charlie takes the $2.13 out of his piggy bank, gets on his bike & rides to Slocum Alley to see Red. Red is not home & Charlie learns he is at the river. Charlie rides to the river & discovers Red has fallen into the river at "The Bend". Red can't swim so Charlie dives in after him. We left Charlie hanging to a very thin shrub (losing his grip) and Red is digging his sharp fingernails into Charlie's ankles. The girls were VERY disappointed.

John came up & led them in "Wide, Wide as the Ocean", "I'm a Missionary's Helper", "Stop & Go" & "Untold Millions". Then we played the ice cream game (Meltdown) again. I have a few more made up but took this one. After we ended the game, we sang "The B-I-B-L-E" while John added up the scores. After that John gave them 2 of the snack-sized Skittles packs. We dismissed them & then went to purchase groceries for this weekend.

John is responsible for the menus for Teen Retreat. So instead of having hamburgers, we're having lasagne - Aunt BJ's recipe as we call it. For breakfast we're going to serve biscuits & gravy for the teens. We have done that one other teen retreat & they like it. We, as staff, also like it. Lunch will be the teens favorite meal - taco salad. We did buy some bread so we can serve pb&j sandwiches in case none of the other food is acceptable to these teens. You know how picky eaters are.

Bible Club Week 3

Upon arriving at Girls Inc., the girls have a chance to play. On pretty days most of them go outside & play. But there are some that stay in the gym. This year I have noticed they have a coach. When the girls come into Bible club, they are talking about him & the activity he has led.

We meet in the teen room. Last year during the play time, the teenagers would be lounging around in the teen room. Some of them would be watching the TV or a video or DVD. We'd have to "run them off". This year they have lost their privileges to the teen room so there is no one in there when we arrive. It makes it much easier to get the room set up. Between 4-4:15, the activities coordinator calls over the loud speaker, "Girls it's time to clean up the gym & line up on your line." That is our signal that the girls will be in the room soon. The teen room is located beside the gym so we can hear all the activity. After the announcement is made, there is quite a bit of confusion as the girls clean up & get situated on their lines. Then there is complete silence. One of the leaders comes in & makes announcements. Sometimes there is a sleepover. Sometimes they are announcing a new activity or an upcoming field trip. Since today was the first day of October, they were giving out the Character Counts rewards for September. The girls all sat quietly until their name was called. Then they went to the office to choose their reward. The reward was based upon the number of points they had. The girl who has earned the most Character Counts points at the end of the year is awarded with a gift certificate or cash at the annual board meeting in December.

Since most of them receive some sort of Character Counts reward, it was a little later before they arrived in the room. The two sisters/cousins (I'm not sure which they are) who had come for the first time last week were here again this week & sitting on the front row. In the back was little J who I discovered was E's little sister. How much like E she is! E was very talkative & couldn't sit still at that age. E has matured & was quite embarrassed by her little sister's behavior. Today after asking the girls their name I asked if they had a pet, what kind of pet & what was it's name. I told them if they didn't have a pet they could tell me what they would like for a pet & what they would name it. But they all had a pet. Foreseeing that some of them could have several pets, I told them to tell me just one & it's name. They liked that. And they all had at least one pet.

Chapter 3 of Sunday School Charlie was next. The pastor spoke on missions. Charlie is wondering what makes missions so important all of a sudden. They had talked about missionaries last Sunday in Sunday School, then on Wednesday during church they had met a missionary & seen his slides. This Sunday they were hearing about missions & next week would be a missions conference. After church was over, Charlie rode over to Slocum Alley where Red lives. He stopped in front of Red's house. When Red realized he was there, Red came outside & told Charlie he would not pay for Charlie's dad's fishing rod (which had been broken). Then Red asked if he could ride Charlie's bike. Charlie really didn't want him to but told Red he could if he would come to Sunday School with him next week. Red says he is no sissy and does NOT want Charlie's bike let alone ride it if that will happen. Red runs inside his house & Charlie rides home realizing how hard it is to be a missionary. The girls were disappointed that the story was over for this week & when they realized they would have to wait 2 weeks, you could just see the disappointment in their eyes. When I see the disappointment I know I have done a good job with the story.

John came up and led them in Father Abraham and 1-2-3 Jesus loves me, 1-2 Jesus loves you. Then it was time for the game.

This game came from Ed Dunlop also. It was called Noah's Ark. We talked about how the Lord had brought all the animals to the ark. We also talked about how hard it would be for Noah if he had to go & get them. After answering a question correctly, they could come up & pull a circle from the calico gift bag. The circles had different animals on them with points. The girls got the number of points on the animal. They could choose up to 3 circles. If they chose a Stampede though they lost all the points they had pulled. If they stopped choosing circles before getting a Stampede they were able to pull a circle from the silver gift bag. If they chose a circle with an ark on it, they got to keep the points. If they pulled a circle with a rainbow on it, they got to keep their points and also got 500 bonus points. But if they pulled an escape they lost all their points. There were too many stampede circles for the amount of time we had so the next time I do this game for Girls Inc. I will take away some of the Stampede circles. They did enjoy the game. There was only one girl who did not pull a Stampede circle at some point in her choosing. So it didn't take John long to figure out the total. But while he was doing that, we sang "This Little Light of Mine" (just the first verse).

After we finished the game, it was 5:05 so we had the girls line up at the door. John gave out some more of the Tootsie Roll suckers. They were glad all the banana flavor was gone & they had a possibility of getting grape, raspberry, cherry, orange or chocolate. After today we don't have that many suckers left so I will have to get something else for next week.

We packed up and left. On our way home we stopped at Office Depot so I could get supplies for the office. Then stopped at Lowe's to get a key made. Now we are home and I plan on relaxing for the evening. I will review the Dave Ramsey reading material for tomorrow & check if I need to print out something from his website - I believe I do.

Bible Club Week 2

We have just returned from our second Bible Club for the 2009-2010 school year. We arrived a little later than what I had hoped for but still were there in plenty of time to get the room set up, make sure the figures were in order & pray for the girls. We set up for 15 girls.

Today as they came in, they were eager to see if I remembered their names from last week. Of course I didn't remember most of them. There are a few who have come almost every week for the past 3 years that I do remember their names. After all 16 girls were seated (John put out another chair), I asked them their names & favorite color. The colors ranged from lime green to black. I thought with girls we'd have lots & lots of pinks & purples but there were only one of each of those. I think blue was the most popular - of course that ranged anywhere from robin egg blue to dark blue.

I then told the second chapter to "Missionary to Slocum Alley". This day starts out kind of slow - at least for the girls. Charlie is sitting in a prayer meeting watching as a missionary shared slides from all around the world. (The girls did know what slides were). I had several pictures to put up from those slides from a temple to an Indian god to Fijian fire-walkers. The girls started to lose interest in this part - well the first-time girls. But then when the missionary was finished & Charlie went fishing & ran into the mean boy named Red Sanders, the girls all were sitting on the edge of their seats again. I finished the story & it seemed like there was a little bit of a let down that I had stopped - which is good.

John led them in a few songs: Wide, Wide as the Ocean, Stop & Let me Tell You, Go & Make Disciples, The B-I-B-L-E, Do You Know that You've Been Born Again & then Yes, I Know that I've Been Born Again & finished off with Jesus Loves Me - requested by a clubber. I then went up to the board for a review game.

This game also came from a book by Ed Dunlop. I had several canning jars on the board. And also many more leaves with ants on them. After answering a question correctly, the girls came up to the board & chose a canning jar. On the back of the jar was a number. That was the number of ants the jar would hold - from 8-20. The girls didn't find out that number just yet. Then they could chose up to 5 leaves. Each leaf had from 1-6 ants on them. When the girls thought they had chosen a good #, they would stop. I would count up the # of ants they had collected & then show them the # on the back of the jar. If they had chosen under the # on the jar, they got the # of ants they had collected. If they chose the exact # on the jar, not only did they get that # but they also got a 25 point bonus. BUT if they chose over the # on the jar, they lost all their ants - just from that turn. The girls loved the game. They decided that choosing between 10-14 was a good # & would keep choosing until they had close to that #. They explained that there were only 2 jars that would be below 10 but more above that #. I think they had a pretty good idea. Each team had 3 turns. On the 3 turn, I kind of varied from the rules & told them they would get double - both ants & bonus points. They liked that.

By that time club was over & we dismissed the girls. There were still a few banana pops left so we made sure each girl got at least one. I think we only have 1 banana pop left. I may just throw that away unless I have any requests for banana. The girls were NOT pleased with that flavor. I'll be glad when the winter selection comes out to get rid of banana.

Before dismissing the girls, I told them I was glad they all had come & hoped they would be back next week. One little girl who was sitting on the front row assured me she would be here every week as long as I was telling Sunday School Charlie stories - she loves them. And also could I please bring the ice cream cone game again next week. I think I will take a different one just so they don't get tired of one game all the time.

As we were leaving, one of the ladies who works there & whose last name happens to be Newland - & yes is related to my father - stopped us to let us know that Oct. 8 is a fall break. They will just be open from 8-5 (or maybe 9-5). We could come earlier if we wanted to that day. But in times past I have learned it is hard to keep their concentration during those kind of days. Also there aren't as many there so I think we will take that day off. Hopefully the girls will last for 2 weeks between hearing chapters 3&4.

Bible Club

This afternoon found us on our way back to Girls Inc. for Bible Club. I looked upon today with both a little fear & lots of excitement. Fear of not knowing behavior of the girls. Excitement about sharing with them the love of Jesus. My biggest concern during Bible Club is what stories am I going to do this year? I have decided to do the Sunday School Charlie. Usually I will do a Bible story followed by a missionary story or a fictional story that has great morals. But since Sunday School Charlie has both fiction with great morals & also a Bible story or lesson, I decided that would take care of the problem.

We ran to Wal-mart before club to get the treats. We have discovered the girls love the Tootsie Roll pops. We bought 2 bags - that should get us through 2 weeks. And then went on to Girls Inc. We arrived in plenty of time to get set up without feeling rushed & then have just a few minutes to review the story & pray before the girls came in. I opened the suckers during this time & discovered the new color for the fall is banana...not my favorite.

The 12 girls came in, sat down & seemed excited to be there. Some I remembered from last year. Some were new. I went over the class rules first (keep feet on floor, keep hands to self, be a good listener & a reminder that God hears & answers prayer). Then introduced us. I have usually introduced us as Mrs. Kathy & Mr. John. Today I decided they could call us Aunt Kathy & Uncle John. This took care of the little girl who LOVES to call me Mommy. She enjoys calling me 'Aunt'...she just can't remember my name. I then let the girls tell me their names, where they went to school, grade they were in & their teacher's name. I noticed after letting them tell me so much they were much more willing to sit quietly.

Sunday School Charlie's "Missionary to Slocum Alley" chapter 1 was next. The girls sat still with eyes wide & glued to the "magic board" (my flannel graph board). They were a little disappointed when the day was finished but were willing to wait until next week. We prayed & then John led them in a few songs - Stop & let me tell you, Go & Make Disciples, I'm a Missionary's Helper & then closed with Father Abraham.

We played a review game. I have copied some ice cream cones - some of them have 1 scoop of ice cream & some have 2. They all have point values on them. After answering a question correctly, the children come to the front & draw a cone from the pretty gift bag. They get the # of points on that cone. If it's a double scoop & they tell me "double", they then get 2x the # of points on the cone. There are also some meltdown cards which if they get that card they lose all the points from that turn. (This idea came from a book of review games by Ed Dunlop). The girls loved the game & were a little disappointed when it was time to end. We sang "Jesus Loves Me" while John added the points from each team.

After finding out which team had the most points, the girls were dismissed. John gave them their lollipop on their way out the door.

I quietly thanked the Lord for how well club had gone as we packed up our things & left. I'm thanking the Lord for the opportunity He has given us to share His love with the girls. I pray they see that love modeled in my life.