) so I will try to mention the main things that have happened...Aug 31, 2010
Update...
Well it has been a while since I've been over here, but summer has been quite busy (and is almost over ) so I will try to mention the main things that have happened...
) so I will try to mention the main things that have happened...Aug 18, 2010
Prayer
As I am on summer holidays, I try to read as many books as I possibly can on different topics. I am currently reading "A call to Spiritual Reformation" by D.A. Carson. We got this book a year ago, but I had never thought about reading it until now. It is an excellent book about the priorities from Paul and his prayers.
Well, many of us find it really difficult to pray. Even when we have prayed for the whole world, and everything we can think of, the clock accuses us of having been talking to our Lord for only 3 or 4 minutes. Sometimes we are too busy with our lives to dedicate much time to prayer; sometimes we don't have a clue what to pray for. Oh yes, and we can't forget the times when we have problems with mental drift in our prayer. The fact is that many Christians spend only a couple of minutes of their day talking to the Heavenly Father and think it is enough, or even worse, some do not pray at all. This book talks about Paul's prayer priorities, and tells us what Paul advises us to pray for. Robert Murray M'Cheyne declared more than a century ago: "What a man is alone on his knees before God, that he is and no more." Indeed we are ourselves when we are talking with the Lord for He knows the whole of our hearts. Let's hear what Carson has to say about what Paul focused his prayers on:
In 2 Thessalonians 1:3-12 Paul shows in his prayer, a “thankfulness for Signs of Grace in the Thessalonians' lives. Thanksgiving is a fundamental component of the mental framework that largely controls Paul's intercession. But for what does Paul offer thanks?
1. Paul gives thanks that his readers' faith is growing.
2. Paul gives thanks that their love is increasing.
3. Paul gives thanks that they are persevering under trial.
So what do WE thank God for? We must look for signs of grace in the lives of Christians, and give God thanks for them. For what have we thanked God recently? Have we gone over a list of members at our local church, say, or over a list of Christian workers, and quietly thanked God for signs of grace in their lives? Do we make it a matter of praise to God when we observe evidence in one another of growing conformity to Christ, exemplified in trust, reliability, love and genuine spiritual stamina? After all, the Lord taught us Himself that our hearts will run to where our treasure lies. If what we highly cherish belongs to the realm of heaven, our hearts and minds will incline to heaven and all its values; but if what we highly cherish belongs to the realm of earth and the merely transitory, our hearts and minds (and prayers) will incline to the merely transitory.
In his prayer for the Thessalonians, Paul has a confidence in the prospect of vindication. We are losing our anticipation of the Lord's return, the anticipation that Paul shows is basic to his thought. The prospect of the Lord's return in glory, the confidence that there will be a final and irrevocable division between the just and the unjust- these have become merely creedal points for us, instead of ultimate realities that even now are life-transforming. If we do not aim for the new heaven and the new earth, many of our values and decisions in this world will be myopic, unworthy, fundamentally wrong headed. Can biblical spirituality survive where Christians are not oriented to the world to come?
Paul keeps in mind his gratitude for the signs of grace among the people for whom he prayed and simple confidence in the prospect of God's perfect vindication of his people when Jesus returns.
What kind of petitions should we present to the living God?Paul's petitions:
1. That God might count the Thessalonians worthy of their calling. Since these Thessalonians are Christians, they have been already called, and now Paul prays that they might live up to that calling. That means these believers must grow in all the things that please God so that He is pleased with them, and finally judges them to be living up to the calling that they have received. Paul wants us to become what we were not, and he prays to that end. He prays that Christians might become worthy of all that it means to be a Christian, of all that it means to be a child of the living God, of all that it means to be worthy of the love that brought Jesus to the cross. On the last day, God will ask: "What have you done with the salvation I bestowed on you? How have you responded to the way I graciously called you to myself? Have you begun to live up to that calling?" Do we not spend far more energy praying for our children that they pass their exams, or get a good job, or be happy, than we do praying that they may live lives worthy of what it means to be a Christian?
2. That God by his power might bring to fruition each Christian's good, faith prompted purposes. What are our goals and purposes? What should we be attempting for Christ's sake? And as we find answers to such questions, we must intercede with God that he, by his great power, might bring these good purposes, these faith-prompted acts, to bountiful fruitfulness.
The goal of Paul’s prayer:
1. Paul seeks the glorification of the Lord Jesus Christ. The Christian’s whole desire, at its best and highest, is that Jesus Christ be praised. It is always wretched when we want to win glory for ourselves instead of for Him. When we do anything with the secret desire that we might be praised for our godliness and service, we have corrupted the salvation we enjoy. Its purpose is to reconcile us to God, for God must be the center of our lives, the ground and the goal of our existence.
2. Paul seeks the glorification of believers. The final transformation, as wonderful as it is, is prefaced by a whole series of transformations, as we become increasingly conformed to the likeness of Christ, in anticipation of the climatic glorification at the end. When we glorify God, we are not giving him something substantial that he would not otherwise have. We are simply ascribing to him what is his. But when we are glorified, in the sense just described, we are being made more like him, we are being strengthened or empowered to exhibit characteristics that we would not otherwise display. On the last day, Jesus Christ will be glorified in us on account of what we have become by his grace, and we will be glorified in him on account of what he has done for us. Brothers and sisters in Christ, at the heart of all our praying must be a biblical vision. That vision embraces who God is, what he has done, who we are, where we are going, what we must value and cherish. This vision drives us toward increasing conformity with Jesus, toward lives lived in the light of eternity. That vision must shape our prayers, so that the things that most concern us in prayer are those that concern the heart of God. Then we will persevere in prayer.”
Well, Paul’s prayers help us understand how to pray, and what to pray for. So, tonight, as you pray, take time to pray for your brothers and sisters in Christ, so that they may be worthy of their calling, and that the Lord Jesus may be glorified in them.
Quotation from D.A. Carson “A call to Spiritual Reformation”
Well, many of us find it really difficult to pray. Even when we have prayed for the whole world, and everything we can think of, the clock accuses us of having been talking to our Lord for only 3 or 4 minutes. Sometimes we are too busy with our lives to dedicate much time to prayer; sometimes we don't have a clue what to pray for. Oh yes, and we can't forget the times when we have problems with mental drift in our prayer. The fact is that many Christians spend only a couple of minutes of their day talking to the Heavenly Father and think it is enough, or even worse, some do not pray at all. This book talks about Paul's prayer priorities, and tells us what Paul advises us to pray for. Robert Murray M'Cheyne declared more than a century ago: "What a man is alone on his knees before God, that he is and no more." Indeed we are ourselves when we are talking with the Lord for He knows the whole of our hearts. Let's hear what Carson has to say about what Paul focused his prayers on:
In 2 Thessalonians 1:3-12 Paul shows in his prayer, a “thankfulness for Signs of Grace in the Thessalonians' lives. Thanksgiving is a fundamental component of the mental framework that largely controls Paul's intercession. But for what does Paul offer thanks?
1. Paul gives thanks that his readers' faith is growing.
2. Paul gives thanks that their love is increasing.
3. Paul gives thanks that they are persevering under trial.
So what do WE thank God for? We must look for signs of grace in the lives of Christians, and give God thanks for them. For what have we thanked God recently? Have we gone over a list of members at our local church, say, or over a list of Christian workers, and quietly thanked God for signs of grace in their lives? Do we make it a matter of praise to God when we observe evidence in one another of growing conformity to Christ, exemplified in trust, reliability, love and genuine spiritual stamina? After all, the Lord taught us Himself that our hearts will run to where our treasure lies. If what we highly cherish belongs to the realm of heaven, our hearts and minds will incline to heaven and all its values; but if what we highly cherish belongs to the realm of earth and the merely transitory, our hearts and minds (and prayers) will incline to the merely transitory.
In his prayer for the Thessalonians, Paul has a confidence in the prospect of vindication. We are losing our anticipation of the Lord's return, the anticipation that Paul shows is basic to his thought. The prospect of the Lord's return in glory, the confidence that there will be a final and irrevocable division between the just and the unjust- these have become merely creedal points for us, instead of ultimate realities that even now are life-transforming. If we do not aim for the new heaven and the new earth, many of our values and decisions in this world will be myopic, unworthy, fundamentally wrong headed. Can biblical spirituality survive where Christians are not oriented to the world to come?
Paul keeps in mind his gratitude for the signs of grace among the people for whom he prayed and simple confidence in the prospect of God's perfect vindication of his people when Jesus returns.
What kind of petitions should we present to the living God?Paul's petitions:
1. That God might count the Thessalonians worthy of their calling. Since these Thessalonians are Christians, they have been already called, and now Paul prays that they might live up to that calling. That means these believers must grow in all the things that please God so that He is pleased with them, and finally judges them to be living up to the calling that they have received. Paul wants us to become what we were not, and he prays to that end. He prays that Christians might become worthy of all that it means to be a Christian, of all that it means to be a child of the living God, of all that it means to be worthy of the love that brought Jesus to the cross. On the last day, God will ask: "What have you done with the salvation I bestowed on you? How have you responded to the way I graciously called you to myself? Have you begun to live up to that calling?" Do we not spend far more energy praying for our children that they pass their exams, or get a good job, or be happy, than we do praying that they may live lives worthy of what it means to be a Christian?
2. That God by his power might bring to fruition each Christian's good, faith prompted purposes. What are our goals and purposes? What should we be attempting for Christ's sake? And as we find answers to such questions, we must intercede with God that he, by his great power, might bring these good purposes, these faith-prompted acts, to bountiful fruitfulness.
The goal of Paul’s prayer:
1. Paul seeks the glorification of the Lord Jesus Christ. The Christian’s whole desire, at its best and highest, is that Jesus Christ be praised. It is always wretched when we want to win glory for ourselves instead of for Him. When we do anything with the secret desire that we might be praised for our godliness and service, we have corrupted the salvation we enjoy. Its purpose is to reconcile us to God, for God must be the center of our lives, the ground and the goal of our existence.
2. Paul seeks the glorification of believers. The final transformation, as wonderful as it is, is prefaced by a whole series of transformations, as we become increasingly conformed to the likeness of Christ, in anticipation of the climatic glorification at the end. When we glorify God, we are not giving him something substantial that he would not otherwise have. We are simply ascribing to him what is his. But when we are glorified, in the sense just described, we are being made more like him, we are being strengthened or empowered to exhibit characteristics that we would not otherwise display. On the last day, Jesus Christ will be glorified in us on account of what we have become by his grace, and we will be glorified in him on account of what he has done for us. Brothers and sisters in Christ, at the heart of all our praying must be a biblical vision. That vision embraces who God is, what he has done, who we are, where we are going, what we must value and cherish. This vision drives us toward increasing conformity with Jesus, toward lives lived in the light of eternity. That vision must shape our prayers, so that the things that most concern us in prayer are those that concern the heart of God. Then we will persevere in prayer.”
Well, Paul’s prayers help us understand how to pray, and what to pray for. So, tonight, as you pray, take time to pray for your brothers and sisters in Christ, so that they may be worthy of their calling, and that the Lord Jesus may be glorified in them.
Quotation from D.A. Carson “A call to Spiritual Reformation”
Aug 15, 2010
Though the outward man...
For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal;but the things which are not seen are eternal.
2 co 4:16-18
"The Christian's ultimate hope is for the resurrection body. But until we receive that gift, it is our inner being that is being strengthened by God's power. In a culture where so many people are desperate for good health , but not demonstrably hungry for the transformation of the inner being, Christians are in urgent need of following Paul's example and praying for display of God's power in the inner man. In short, Paul's primary concern is to pray for a display of God's mighty power in the domain of our being that controls our character and prepares us for heaven ".
D.A. Carson
in a call to Spiritual Reformation.
2 co 4:16-18
"The Christian's ultimate hope is for the resurrection body. But until we receive that gift, it is our inner being that is being strengthened by God's power. In a culture where so many people are desperate for good health , but not demonstrably hungry for the transformation of the inner being, Christians are in urgent need of following Paul's example and praying for display of God's power in the inner man. In short, Paul's primary concern is to pray for a display of God's mighty power in the domain of our being that controls our character and prepares us for heaven ".
D.A. Carson
in a call to Spiritual Reformation.
Aug 12, 2010
Global Government
I really doubted for a moment whether I should post and recommend an article like this over here. Well it wasn't because it didn't contain anything significant, or it will not be able to stretch, enrich your mind and open your eyes to what is going on around you. It is simply because at times I think that I should not spend precious hours of my day reading something that merely adds information to my day.
What I am saying is that at times when I spend too much time reading things like that, I get so into it that it occupies more of my thoughts than I would be comfortable with.
Nevertheless I pray that this article may aid your thoughts concerning this world, and how it is important that we do understand the claims of the word of God when it says: "Be not conformed to this world".
I hope that as you read through you will be able to see from a practical perspective how the world sees life, and as you study the world of God you may see how God in his perfect plan has shown us how to live as Christian men and women, boys and girls.
The article is quite a summary of how the world is governed by a small powerful elite that controls all aspects of our earthly lives from entertainment to media, food industry and so on. Take some time to read it and think how we Christians are commanded to respond according to the precious teachings of the world of God.
Please remember as good servants of the Almighty God, "Prove all things; hold fast that which is good. 1 Th 5:21 ".
You can read it here.
What I am saying is that at times when I spend too much time reading things like that, I get so into it that it occupies more of my thoughts than I would be comfortable with.
Nevertheless I pray that this article may aid your thoughts concerning this world, and how it is important that we do understand the claims of the word of God when it says: "Be not conformed to this world".
I hope that as you read through you will be able to see from a practical perspective how the world sees life, and as you study the world of God you may see how God in his perfect plan has shown us how to live as Christian men and women, boys and girls.
The article is quite a summary of how the world is governed by a small powerful elite that controls all aspects of our earthly lives from entertainment to media, food industry and so on. Take some time to read it and think how we Christians are commanded to respond according to the precious teachings of the world of God.
Please remember as good servants of the Almighty God, "Prove all things; hold fast that which is good. 1 Th 5:21 ".
You can read it here.
In Christ
J Roque
Aug 10, 2010
Hymn of the week
A Pilgrim in a desert land,
I wander far and wide,
expecting that I may some time come
close to my Father's side.
Ahead of me I think I hear
sounds of a heavenly choir,
a conquering host already gone
through tempest, flood and fire.
So prone I am when on my own
to stray from side to side,
I need each step to paradise,
my God to be my guide.
I have a yearning for that land,
where the unnumbered throng
extol the death on Calvary
in heaven's unending song!!
William Williams, 1717-91
tr. by Robert Maynard Jones, 1929
I wander far and wide,
expecting that I may some time come
close to my Father's side.
Ahead of me I think I hear
sounds of a heavenly choir,
a conquering host already gone
through tempest, flood and fire.
So prone I am when on my own
to stray from side to side,
I need each step to paradise,
my God to be my guide.
I have a yearning for that land,
where the unnumbered throng
extol the death on Calvary
in heaven's unending song!!
William Williams, 1717-91
tr. by Robert Maynard Jones, 1929
Aug 8, 2010
Paganism
OHhhhh it definitely brought back some memories!!
About 2 and half years ago we started reading the portuguese traslation (A espada do Espírito) of some of the articles published by a ministry that studies Bible prophecies and relate them to world events. Boy did we get scared?!?!... I suppose that was the same feeling most of the people listening to the talk had on that evening. But the most amazing thing is that the Lord allowed us to learn all those things, and had somehow used it as to show us that a the end of the day "He controls everything".
Pr. Matthew was very precise in appointing how the entertainment being offered to us nowadays is one of the tools to stop people from thinking, learning and reflecting on life in a meaningful way. Another very important point was the fact that our society has become so pagan and is increasingly godless that real Christians for the sake of the Lord shall see hard times ahead.
I think it is extremely beneficial, specially to young people, to have some kind of fear of that sort, it reminds us of our Spiritual warfare and that we have an enemy before us everyday, accusing us day and night before God, and hating us because "God so loved us...Pr. Matthew was right in his reply on a question on what we got to do. He simply said our focus HAS TO BE on above, on Eternity.
For a good while after constantly hearing and reading about how the world is going, and been controlled to become like you name it: Roman Empire, New World Order, Anti- Christ's kingdom and so on; I felt anxious to share about it all the time and to "awake people to reality". The reality that I had just discovered. But one person always put me on perspective: Always when sharing with mom about the meaning of prophecies and how things would get worse and worse she would simply reply saying that this is natural, we live in a fallen world, our adversary is constant working still thinking he can overcome God, so why would I think the world is a " safe and nice" place to live?
That thought has freed me from fear of the increasing evil around us, it did not though by a second made me forget the fear of God and God alone for " the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction. Pv 1:7; the fear of the Lord (what does HE says in His word about it?) has helped me in my choices over what will I allow my eyes to see, what kind of activities I should take part in, what music should I allow myself to hear and so on. It was not until I understood the evil power behind certain activities, music, books that I could understand the necessity of " keeping my heart with all diligence for out of it are the issues of life.Pv 4:23.
We have to recognise that this is something our generation has to think about, many Christians have been fooled into thinking that wordly activities have no influence on their children's minds and the way they will build their worldview. The people writing your child's school curriculum are very much concerned (without knowing it ) in making your child a "model citizen" , questioning the beliefs you teach them about the word of God ,and unless Christians start seeing those things, we are going to have more and more people calling themselves Christian but stumbling on the very first chapter of the Bible, not knowing what to believe. We are going have Christian still wondering what to think over Euthanasia and Abortion and core issues that for many years have been so decidedly considered wrong and sinful by all of God's people.
It is amazing, isn't it? the amount of controversy in our "Christian churches" over the authority of the Scriptures, the meaning of the Gospel and even about our Lord Jesus Christ. Pr. Matthew pointed out that today it is not enough to say you are Christian as everyone is a Christian nowadays, right?
The Bible calls Christians not to conform to this world, but to be transformed by the renewing of their minds.
Are we constantly increasing our knowledge on the eternal things, are we looking to the word of God and looking for answers to practical aspects of our lives?
Is what we believe ( or think we do) changing the way we act, and respond ? Is it affecting every aspect of our daily activities, encounters, conversations ? Are we becoming more Christ-like?
In Christ our Redeemer!
J Roque
Church Annual Barbecue Day 4
Day 4
The last day we had agreed with Nadia to go for a walk and give out some tracts, so we went to her house and then, from there, we went for a walk. We walked for about one hour, and it was so nice to know more about her and to be able to get some encouragement from her! We planned on giving out some tracts but the houses had gates and signs of “Beware of dogs”, so we decided it would be safer if we gave out tracts in the town centre. :) I took some pictures of flowers and countryside. I really learned with Leah!!! Thanks Leah.
After our LONG walk, (I almost died lol) we went to Nadia’s house, where we had lunch and some great fellowship with her family (and lots of fun as well). Lunch was great, God bless Sigrid!
Barbara told us to go and help her at her house with all the Barbecue stuff. The three of us (Nadia, Ju and I) went, and while there, we were so tired! (You know what I mean right?) We cleaned some chairs, put some ham in the plates, and learned a bit about the game we were going to play with the families at night.
So at 6pm the barbecue started. It was great, really, and I got to talk to people I had never the chance of talking before. Plus, Nadia brought Uno, which was a great entertainer among us. The food was delicious and the fellowship, marvellous!
All the people who were leaders in the holiday club, were also leaders for a challenge game we played with the families. It was called "the Pea fair". Each family had to do some activities and if they did them, they would get one pea. My activity was skipping. If they skipped 15 times without stopping, they’d get a pea, if they did it 30 times, they’d get 2 peas and so on... Well, everyone could skip like 50 times, and most of the kids could skip up to 100 times so, I was giving away peas like water! I think my game was the easiest (well, compared to bb guns or snooker, mine was REALLY easy)...It was really good though, to talk to everyone in the church. There was such a good spirit of team working. It was so much fun to see everyone skipping and wanting to do it again just to get more peas! Meabh skipped at least 5 times!
After this game, it was the leader’s turn to go on the bouncing castle. As we were jumping, some people started pushing us down the slide. I got injured lol. Paulo was the one who hit me in the head. Seriously! I never thought I would get injured in a bouncing castle for KIDS (
none of the kids actually got injured, and some of the the grown ups did. At least I wasn't the only one!)
Paulo, Jules and I gave up the bouncing castle because it was too dangerous for us... (Do you get the irony?) and everyone started playing Uno.
After that we went home. It was a GREAT day! We thanked the Lord for the opportunity of fellowship with our brothers and sisters, and getting to know them better.
That was basically our four days in Clonmel. The Lord indeed blessed us, and we pray that the kids will come to the youth clubs and that they may know the Lord as their Saviour! I can't tell what a joy we had with our brothers and sisters! I pray that the Lord will always bless them, even the young people in their daily walk with the Lord.
Clonmel Holiday Club Day 3
Day 3 at club:
This would be the last day of camp, so we wanted to make a lasting impression on the kids, so that they would come to the youth club that takes place every Friday night in Clonmel.
They first jumped on the bouncing castles. It was a blessing that we had two bouncing castles this day. The kids really enjoyed jumping there. Then we played some “parachute” games, then we went upstairs for the story. The Pastor told the end of Joseph’s story, and it was such a blessing to see all the kids paying attention and willing to answer questions about it. We pray that they keep this story in their hearts and that they may come to know our Saviour, and come to visit the youth club of Clonmel Baptist Church. There was again the songs, and the “Who am I?” game. Hannah was Hannah, so this one was hard for the kids to guess. But somehow they did guess it!
At the end, we announced the winner: Pointy Pyramids got 1560 points, Slinky Sphinxes got 1500 points (by the way, they actually got 1300 points, but the kids would be really disappointed so I adjusted the score :D)
The kids went again to the bouncing castle and we were really happy that the Lord protected them and none got hurt.
We went back home once more, to eat our dinner with the promise that we would be able to jump in the bouncing castle in the evening :). Dinner was delicious, as always, and we praise the Lord for Alice’s life!We went back to the school, just to find some young people already jumping on the bouncing castle. There were people even wrestling there! Man, I could not believe my eyes! Even Clivete was jumping there! Seriously! So Jules and I decided to join everyone else in the fun. We jumped for some minutes, until we went to listen to the last talk.
And what a talk! It was on Paganism. Pastor Matthew took the Roman Society and compared it to our society today. The bread and circus policy of that time is just what is happening today with entertainment. And that reminded Jules and I of three years ago, when we started reading about Paganism, and the New World Order, and the Rapture and all of that. Needless to say, we got soo scared! I think this was the same feeling that everyone was feeling this day, when listening to the talk. The parallel between the two societies made it even more understandable. I think that we as young Christians need to listen to things like that, so that we can wake up to the reality that the world we live in is BAD and that people are worshipping more “the creature than the Creator who is blessed forever, Amen.” We as Christians, tend to live normally, calmly and happily, blind to the things that are happening around us. But our Lord is coming. Are we doing His work? Persecutions will come, are we ready to take a stand and suffer for Christ? I think Jules will write a post about that later on, so I won’t get into much detail. It was a real encouragement to once again, be reminded where we stand, what is the posture of a born-again Christian in the world today. After the talk, I’d say everyone was perplexed. I think everyone was thinking about it, I mean, persecutions and Christianity nowadays. We stayed inside, eating ice cream and talking to the people who were there. It was really great to talk to some of our sisters in Christ, and we talked about things that will last forever. I asked some of the girls from Waterford how they came to know the Lord, and we talked about witnessing and etc. It was a blessing to talk about those things with people the same age as us, so that we could see they go through the same struggles as us, and we could offer and get some encouragement from them.
After we talked for a long time, it was time to go home. The battery of Clivete’s car was dead, so it was a great fun to see her and the guys trying to make the car work. The thing they were doing was quite dangerous, however, Clivete didn’t mind, she just went there, and made the car work :).
As we came home, we were REALLY grateful to the Lord, for such a blessed talk, and the sweet moments of fellowship we had with the other young people present. We felt the Lord working in each one’s heart and in our hearts as well, teaching us many things about a servant’s heart.
Clonmel Holiday Club Day 2
Day two:
Day two started well...It was promising to be a great day. In the morning, we had breakfast with sister Al and her family, and we got to talk to her about many things, such as Faith, the Bible, Christianity in Ireland and abroad and etc. We also got to play a Bible game with her kids. (well, it was quite shameful really, cause I didn't remember many of the answers, while Alice's kids seemed to know ALL of them. Even the hard ones...:D) It was such a blessing to talk to her about what is going to last to Eternity! I just felt it was so rewarding to be able to talk to her about the Lord, and I learned lots from our dear sister.
Before lunch, Jules and I went for a walk in the countryside. It was really peaceful and quiet, and we were able to meditate on the Creation and praise the Lord. I also took some pictures of the beauty of the nature, (Leah taught me sooo much lol) and thanked God for all its beauty.At 2pm we went to the school again. We played some really fun games with the kids, and they had to run A LOT again. I was with the older kids, and the games were quite messy for us. I was there, laughing so much at the young lads who were running wild with the games!(especially Tim!)
After that, story time again. The story went as far as Joseph in jail. It was great cause the pictures of the story were on Power Point, so it really got the kids’ attention. After the story, the kids sang some songs like "Read your Bible, And you’ll see, Jesus died for sinners, died for you and for me...". The melody of that song was stuck in everyone's heads, and we even did a whistling Canon of the song with Nadia. (it was hard to whistle it though, cause everytime we'd try, we would laugh...:D).
Erin and I did the Quiz again, which was great cause the kids knew many of the answers. I was supposed to keep the scores as well, and had a really hard time trying to sum up stuff, and subtract stuff. (yup I did lower level maths lol). Lydia seemed to be doing fine with that. In the “Who am I?” game, it was Jules turn to dress up. We didn't really know who she could be. We tried Rachel, but someone was Rachel last year, so we picked Dalila (!!!). The kids were asking questions like:” Are you rich?”, or “Are you married?” which were a bit hard to answer, but Ju did a great job, and the kids guessed straight away again. Soo Smart! :)
You see, the kids were supposed to know off by heart a memory verse. The first day's one was Romans 8:28. Each of the kids would get ten points if they memorized it for the second day. However, 3 or 4 kids actually took the memory verse sheet and painted around it, made picture frames and candle holders. It was really sweet. We really pray for their salvation.
After story and Quiz, we did crafts. Guess what we did? Painted rocks :). The kids really liked it, and enjoyed painting them. During the camp, we were always trying to emphasise that Joseph's life was linked to that of the Lord Jesus, so we told the kids that those rocks symbolised our Saviour, because the Bible tells us He is a Rock. The rocks they painted looked really good!! This was the end of day two at holiday club.
We went home, and some of the leaders went as well, to dine with us, and then go back to the Youth club. It was a delicious dinner, and we had some great fellowship with the leaders.
We went back to the school for the Youth Club. This day, the talk was on friendship, and it got me really thinking about it. The speaker said that we are friends with the people we are friends with because we have something in common. In the case of Christian friends, we have the Lord Jesus in common. Friends always talk about what they have in common, and it should be likewise with Christian friends, always talking about the Lord, encouraging each other and etc. That talk was a real blessing to my life in particular. After the talk, we played a game, in which the Pastor gave us a sheet of names of shops, shop colours and numbers, and we had to find those shops, so basically we went around Clonmel town looking for the stuff in the page. There were 4 or 5 groups. At the end, our group got 9+4 public telephones, and there were supposed to be only 7. As you can see, we lost :) (it was expected though, wasn't it?)...But it was quite fun to go around town, and know a little bit of Clonmel. I would have got lost otherwise :).
After this, we still played some other fun games, then we went home. By then I was wrecked cause I had woke up at 6, and if you know me, you will know that I can get tired pretty easily, so I was really fatiguee. When we got home, we played a card game, like Uno, but this was called Phase 10. We played with sister Alice and Jes. It was really great, and we ended up going to bed at midnight!
Aug 7, 2010
Clonmel Holiday Club Day 1
Well, here I am, once again, to give a DETAILED narrative of the events that took place during last week. Fasten your seat belts (As Pr. Olyott says) cause this can get a little bit long! You wouldn't imagine what a blessing and a joy it was for us to know more of our brothers and sisters, and most importantly, to do the Lord's work.Day 1 at holiday club:
Well, I was a bit apprehensive (AGAIN) about this club, because it would definitely be different from Currow Kids Camp in some aspects:
- It was a church camp, as opposed to a "house camp". This one would be totally focused on the Bible, while in Currow, we were trying to open a door in the families’ hearts for Dan and Mire to work with them and present the Gospel.- We would be working with our brothers and sisters from church, who we already knew, as opposed to working with people from other countries.
Aug 6, 2010
Well, since Ju can't really write about the camp, here I am, once again, to narrate the events that took place during last week. You wouldn't imagine what a blessing and a joy it was for us to know more about our brothers and sisters, and most importantly, to do the Lord's work.
Day 1 at holiday club:
Well, I waas a bit aprehensive (AGAIN) about this club, because it would definitely be different from Currow Kids Camp for some reasons:
- It was a church camp, as opposed to a "house camp". This one would be totally focused on the Bible, while in Currow, we were trying to open a door in the families hearts for Dan and Mire to work with them.
- We would be working with our brothers and sisters from church, who we already knew, as opposed to working with people from other countries...
- Each leader was assigned to different jobs and were in different groups. For example, I was assigned to do the Joseph's Quiz with the kids, while Ju had to teach them a song. We had only two groups: The Slinky Sphinxes and the Pointy Pyramids. I was in the Pyramids alongside some other leaders.
So Jules and Nad were at the reception. I think at least 30 kids came in the first day. The first thing the kids did after registering, was a game called: Find the leader. It was quite cool really. Each of the leaders would be in a different place, and the kids would look for them basically...Ok, it wasn't THAT easy, as each of us had a character's name (such as King Julien and Jasmine) and there was an order of the characters, (I am making it sound hard, I know) for eg: first they had to find Jasmine, then Nemo, then king Julien, and so on...
The kids really enjoyed that game, and it tired them a lot. (which was good, cause a bunch of hyper kids would be quite challenging ;)
After the game, they went to listen to the story (which interestingly enough was Joseph's story, same as Currow), sing songs, answers questions about the story (in the Quiz with Er and I) and etc. They were really paying attention to the story, and those kids knew a lot about it. They were answering all the questions. i was real amazed by that. Later on, we played some games, like Soccer and Bball with the older kids. That's basically day one in the club.
After the club, we went home. We were provided with a luxurious house, to stay for the 3 days of camp, and we stayed with another family. So we ate that delicious dinner. Ali cooked and came back to the school where there woulb be a talk for young people, and some games as well. That night we had a talk on Bible reading and praying. It was really encouraging to listen to that talk. We were encouraged again to walk wth the Lord and to talk to Him everyday.
Day 1 at holiday club:
Well, I waas a bit aprehensive (AGAIN) about this club, because it would definitely be different from Currow Kids Camp for some reasons:
- It was a church camp, as opposed to a "house camp". This one would be totally focused on the Bible, while in Currow, we were trying to open a door in the families hearts for Dan and Mire to work with them.
- We would be working with our brothers and sisters from church, who we already knew, as opposed to working with people from other countries...
- Each leader was assigned to different jobs and were in different groups. For example, I was assigned to do the Joseph's Quiz with the kids, while Ju had to teach them a song. We had only two groups: The Slinky Sphinxes and the Pointy Pyramids. I was in the Pyramids alongside some other leaders.
So Jules and Nad were at the reception. I think at least 30 kids came in the first day. The first thing the kids did after registering, was a game called: Find the leader. It was quite cool really. Each of the leaders would be in a different place, and the kids would look for them basically...Ok, it wasn't THAT easy, as each of us had a character's name (such as King Julien and Jasmine) and there was an order of the characters, (I am making it sound hard, I know) for eg: first they had to find Jasmine, then Nemo, then king Julien, and so on...
The kids really enjoyed that game, and it tired them a lot. (which was good, cause a bunch of hyper kids would be quite challenging ;)
After the game, they went to listen to the story (which interestingly enough was Joseph's story, same as Currow), sing songs, answers questions about the story (in the Quiz with Er and I) and etc. They were really paying attention to the story, and those kids knew a lot about it. They were answering all the questions. i was real amazed by that. Later on, we played some games, like Soccer and Bball with the older kids. That's basically day one in the club.
After the club, we went home. We were provided with a luxurious house, to stay for the 3 days of camp, and we stayed with another family. So we ate that delicious dinner. Ali cooked and came back to the school where there woulb be a talk for young people, and some games as well. That night we had a talk on Bible reading and praying. It was really encouraging to listen to that talk. We were encouraged again to walk wth the Lord and to talk to Him everyday.
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