Several months ago I asked for your prayers as the church started up KIDS Club, a ministry to elementary age children in the church and neighborhood. I ask again for your prayers for this activity. Should it continue? If so, should I be involved?
Last night was KIDS Club -- our planned Christmas party celebrating Jesus' birth. Darci, the other adult leader and her children could not be there, but with only 6 children scheduled to come I thought "no problem". Well, it was a problem. When the first three arrived, they immediately bounced all around the room getting into everything that I had set out in preparation. Finally, I got them working on a some simple puzzles, but with three children and two puzzles plus being siblings, the competition began. Then two more came, throwing their coats on the table (which was fine), and they gravitated toward the others working on the puzzle. As I announced that activities for the evening, their volume intensified such that I could barely hear myself, so I'm sure the directives were lost.
We set off for the sacred sanctuary to look at the chrismons on the tree. One child saw the long isle and set off at racing speed. Another saw microphones and bounced from one to the next, pulling and twisting them to make them fit her 4 foot frame instead of the 6 foot frame of the minister. Another child found the lectern and raced to get her position of fame. Another saw the organ and bounded up to it while her duet partner found the piano keys to be great places to drop her fingers in imitation of lifting sounds to her audience.
Then someone saw the candle lighter / extinguisher -- picked it up asking what it was for as she aimed at those around her. When one person stated the purpose of the device, another child pleaded to light the candles. When I responded that it would be lovely, but I have no matches, someone loudly asked how they are lighted at church then?
All this was in the first 15 minutes -- I still had one hour to go.
We moved downstairs to the classroom, but the carpet we normally sit on for Bible time was still in the cleaning process from the last meeting when 9 chocolate cupcakes were squished into the fibers as they "ate" their cupcakes while "helping" to do something for someone else although the only thing available to do was eat the cupcake. So... we settled at the table used for crafts. One child started sliding his chair backwards ending up in the next room within the record time of 2 seconds flat. To which a competitor on the other side of the table also launched her chair into the next room. With than, one girl got up and started skating in circles, finally taking the challenge of the entire circle within all the rooms. That leaves 2 other children. One was loudly announcing words to Christmas carols that some guy made up. Which, of course, were not very appropriate for KIDS Club, let alone a child's thoughts anywhere. So that left one child, sitting quietly in her chair, cowering from the noise and activity that was exploding around her.
WHY DIDN'T THE TEACHER STOP THOSE KIDS???
The teacher was me. No matter what I tried, these kids were bouncing off the walls. The best 10 minutes was craft time when they had something specific to work on. Of course, that was after one student pulled the cap off the glitter glue and the contents floated down his hand like lava from a volcano.
So when they left, I wondered my purpose and how in the world God can use me for reaching kids with the Gospel. Next semester I have class on Wednesday nights, so the question arises do I stick with it on another night or do I let the whole thing go hoping someone else will step in and fill my shoes?
That's the scoop. Your prayers are appreciated and needed. Taking the Gospel to others is not easy, but is this something that another person will step up to the plate if I step down due to time constraints. (I have class Monday - Thursday nights this semester, so KIDS Club would need to be on Sunday nights for my schedule.)
How can we reach these children? How can God use me? What activities should I put my efforts, time and skills? I give my hands, feet, mouth, ears and heart to the Lord's work. My prayer is that He show me how to use them...
"Train up a child in the way he should go, even when he is old he will not depart from it." Prov. 22:6
2 comments:
Wow, that sounds like a really frustrating night! Don't lose heart; God is often at work in ways that we can't see at the time—and that sometimes we never get to see. It sounds like those kids are lacking a little thing called "discipline" at home. Either that or they are jacked up on the sugar of holiday sweets. I pray that God will help you discern what will be the best use of your time in the upcoming semester.
Keep up the good work.
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