Good News Club
During the school year, Calvary Bible Church hosts a weekly Good News Club that is held in the gymnasium that was donated to our church a few years back. Good News Club (GNC) is open to elementary school kids in the area (we normally have kids from Volga, Elkader, and Strawberry Point) and any of their family members who would like to attend. One young lady from our church volunteered to lead music this year for the kids; a couple of our young adult men organize a high-energy game; families from the church take turns providing snacks; different adults take turns teaching a lesson; and finally, each of the kids is to choose an adult to practice a memory verse and then pray with one-on-one at the end. It's such a neat opportunity for the kids to have some fun, learn from God's Word, and develop relationships with adults who care about them. Once a month, we meet a half hour early as our church hosts a "family meal" where all of the GNC families are welcome to come for supper before the regularly scheduled lesson. This is such an important ministry for our church and community; the children look forward to coming, and it's really neat to see that so many members of our church have a heart for serving these kids and pouring into their lives.
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| Game time! |
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| Music |
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| Snacks... Yum! |
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| Prayer partners |
Bible Quizzing
We had no idea that upon moving to Volga, IA, we would have the opportunity to see and encourage teens in Bible Quizzing! While our church does not have any teens in regular attendance currently (although for a small church we have a good number of babies, toddlers, and elementary-age kids), there is one 6th grader from our church who has made the decision to participate in Bible quizzing for the first time. (Several adults in our church, including this boy's mother, were avid Bible quizzers through their teenage years.) Our church does not have its own quizzing program, but a young woman from our church helps with a quiz team that meets in Fayette (16.5 miles away), and she has been taking this boy with her on Monday evenings for quiz practice. They have been gracious to also allow me to tag along with them while Chris stays home with the kids. There are some differences between the Nazarene Bible Quizzing that Chris and I did as teens and this quiz program, but it's the same concept: Teens hiding God's Word in their hearts and having fun doing it. I love being able to be a part of that (even just as an observer)!
Thanksgiving Service
Yes, I know Thanksgiving was forever ago, and yes, I really am THIS far behind on blogging! Terrible, I know. I'd like to say I'll try to do better, but I had probably best not make any promises I'm not sure to keep (especially looking at my record thus far)! ;)
Our church had an absolutely wonderful Thanksgiving service and meal the Sunday before the holiday. Because the service would be fuller than normal (and our facility is not exceptionally large), the service and meal were held at the gym. A couple of the Good News Club kids also were there to perform as special music the "Fruit of the Spirit" song they had been learning.
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| Thanksgiving feast! |
Cleland Thanksgiving Celebration
We didn't have any big plans for Thanksgiving, but decided to invite over a couple of people who, like us, didn't have family in the area or didn't have another celebration to attend. I was pretty intimidated at the prospect of hosting Thanksgiving (something I have never done before), but for the most part everything turned out pretty well. I say "for the most part" because there was a small fiasco that occurred during my turkey-making attempt (I had never before made turkey; I don't even LIKE turkey, though apparently there are some people who do)...
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| Well, I didn't think THAT was supposed to happen when cooking a turkey... (Thankfully one of my friends assured me afterwards that there had likely been a hairline crack in the Pampered Chef baking dish and the heat caused it to explode; I was glad for the reassurance that it probably wasn't actually due to complete ignorance on my part!) |
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| Enjoying an after-dinner UNO game |
Volleyball
In the winter the church opens up the gym for the public to play volleyball on Tuesday nights. It seems to be a popular event in our community! Chris played volleyball for the church in high school, so he was pretty excited to make this one of his regular "ministry responsibilities". ;) I took the kids once to watch (which they LOVED), but it starts at 7 which is normally their bedtime, so to avoid cranky toddlers we usually stay home. Oh, the sacrifices I make for my husband... (Just kidding; most of you who know me will know that 'missing out' on a sporting event is NOT something I shed tears over!)
Every year before Christmas, the church hosts an evening Christmas program in which our members are invited to share a song, poem, or musical ensemble. Many people from Volga came this year, including at least one who had never been inside of our church before. It was so neat to have so many come and enjoy the program! Our church had put together gift bags with all sorts of goodies that were passed out at the very end. I believe we made 72, and every single one was claimed! :D
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| Pre-program entertainment (pretty cute if I do say so myself!) |
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| There was hardly a free seat to be found! |
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| Some of the Good News Club kids singing "Oh What a Special Night" |
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| It started at 7 (the kids' normal bedtime)... This one lasted through MAYBE half of the program before crashing! |
New Years' Eve Party
Hey, look! I'm blogging in the current month (well... almost)!
Our church had a New Years' Eve party at the gym from 8-whenever everyone got tired (*ahem* around 11:00...). The gym was open for active games, the upstairs was open for board games and fellowship...and of course yummy snacks!
...And apparently the blog either thinks I've uploaded enough pictures for one post, or it knows that I'm tired and need to go to bed. So... No pictures, unfortunately.
Anyway, I hope you all had a wonderful start to 2016! Maybe this will be the year I become a more faithful blogger... ;) We'll see!
Happy (belated) New Year!
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