Giving Party

At their Christmas Giving Party, the 3rd and 4th graders packed blessing bags for the homeless.  They collected needed winter items like toothbrushes and bandaids, plus sewed a fleece neck warmer for each of the 30 bags.  They made cards of love to put in each bag, and they specifically prayed over each bag.  Thanks to David and his mom for delivering them to the Haven for us.

Summer Treasure–Serving Others

For many of us, especially you second and third graders, summer is a stretch of time with fewer routine obligations.  One of the treasures it offers is a chance to use that time to serve others.  Next year’s Bible curriculum theme is A Servant’s Heart, so we will be taking a closer look at your spiritual gifts and how you might use them to serve.

I just returned from a week of girls camp at Camp Maranatha.  My hope was that my mouth, my hands, my feet, my whole self would be used by God to demonstrate to these young ladies a bit of what our great Savior is like.

There are so many ways to serve.  Look around you.  Is there an elderly person who needs a hand with their yard?  Could your family or Sunday School class sing at a nursing home?  Could you use your art ability to make cards of encouragement?  Could you read aloud to a younger sibling to give your mom a quiet moment?  How about helping at home with a cheerful heart?  Don’t forget your toolbox of ways to share the Gospel with others, which can be used everywhere.

I challenge you this summer to really see the needs of others and then do something about those needs.  Leave a comment about your serving adventure!

Find out more about Maranatha Ministries.

See the slideshow about our week of camp.

 

Skyping with Sergeant Temple

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As we continue “Veterans’ Day Every Day”, we skyped with Sergeant Temple in our assembly today.  He is one of the brave soldiers who has carried school supplies to the children in the mountains of Afghanistan.  He shared information and pictures about his missions,  and we had many questions for him.  

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Patriotic children in New Hampshire, photographs of Afghanistan, and a computer showing us the Temples in Florida–now that was a cool, worldwide technology combination.

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ROCKS in Action

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The holidays are a time for thinking of others, and every year the fourth graders vote on a community service project that they feel would bring ROCKS to the larger world around them.  This year was a tie, so we did two projects as our holiday party.  We made creative cards for our special soldiers in Iraq while we munched on breakfast party foods like baby banana muffins and Clementine oranges. 

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Then we followed recipes to make three different treats.  Our delectable chocolate-dipped marshmallows, Rice Krispie designs, and bags of Muddy Buddies filled twenty-five plates to top off the holiday baskets for a local food pantry’s clients. 

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We decided it was the best party ever!