During the school holidays, leaders from Rockview Baptist run a really fun Bible Club. The kids come for a few hours, on Wednesdays and Saturdays for games, singing, prayer, a short sermonette, Bible study, memory work... and they collect points for being on time, bringing a friend, participating, memorizing Scripture, and finishing their Bible Study homework. Once a year they can use those points to shop in a "store" - filled with personal hygiene items, toys, clothes, school books, etc.
Here is a simple game... each team was timed on how fast they could get a string into the bottle.
Kids cheered while others struggled to win.
I love the simple props to play a game!
This was the class I taught last Saturday. These kids are great listeners.
I must admit, this holiday term has been difficult, but for good reason. Three of my leaders are out of town. One got a full-time job and she's in Kampala for a training, and two others have headed off to Bible college. Usually, it has been the four of us running the camp regularly, with a few additional helping hands. But this term, even the helping hands are sparse. So, on Saturday, only one other leader came and I was so glad because he took over the baby/young kid class so that I could really teach the older students.
Yesterday was unexpectedly eventful. While biking to the church, I started hearing very loud music and I saw a huge tent set up in the compound. Over 200 women were there for a week long women's conference that I didn't know about. A few kids were sitting by the door of the church, looking bummed because their premises was overtaken. And once again, I was the only leader to show up. More and more kids came and many of them were proud they had found some Bible to come to study with for the afternoon. The ladies were making a lot of noise, and I started praying for direction. There was no space to play a game, and even the church sanctuary had no chairs and was overrun with mattresses. Seeing all of this, I also knew there was no way I can run the "store" alone this coming Saturday. I can't oversee 60 kids, when all of their points are locked in the church office, and no other hands are around to help me. Soon the Lord gave me an idea.
Invite the older classes to my house for a party on Saturday.
After telling the kids, they were pumped. They can't wait for cookies and popcorn. :) They are not impressed that the "store" has been bumped to the next school break, which is in May, but they also understood why it had to happen.
I told the kids that we probably wouldn't even have Bible Club that afternoon, because all of our classrooms and spaces were occupied. They pouted and complained... and said "Oh, but Auntie, we memorized our verses! We want our last Bible Study!" How could I resist?!
Soon we found a way to have all the kids sitting on the stage, resting on a simple carpet, and with papers in their hands, they listened to a lesson on overcoming temptation and putting on the Armor of God. My voice was tender after an hour of teaching because I had to speak over the women's conference sound system, but I believe the kids actually learned something. And they had never heard of the Armor of God before. I was surprised. Anyways, it's always a delight to do ministry when God is my creative guide. We had a good day after all.
Now I better head to the kitchen and prepare some snacks for Saturday. :)
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