Welcome!
TO OUR CHURCH SCHOOL
and
YOUTH PROGRAMMES
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Did
we ever have fun in Vacation Bible
School!
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What a great time we
had with
the picnic at Halvorsson's! |
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A Group of Squamish Youth singing carols and Christmas songs to
residents of Hilltop House
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| Click
here to visit a CHILDREN'S WEBSITE |
Fun
for
both Children & those working with children:
STORIES
of children from around the world
MAPS
showing
where the children are from
GAMES
from
the children's countries
KIDTALK:
an opportunity for children to participate by responding to posted
questions.
Some of the replies will be posted on the website.
RESOURCES:
Print, Web, Video, First Nations Resources, and Resources for
Children's
Sunday
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SOME
STORIES TO THINK ABOUT!
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Bon
Voyage!
I recently borrowed a DVD called Bon Voyage. Do
you know what that means? When someone is going away for a while,
the French
people say "Bon Voyage" or "Bonnes Vacances." It is rather like
us saying "Have
a wonderful trip." Some
years,
the French Post Office have even published stamps with "Bonnes
Vacances"
written across them in large letters.
Now this video is about a time long before most of you
were born. The Year was 1940. And it was not a good
year. German
tanks were crashing through France, and Stuka dive-bombers were
shrieking down on terrified British soldiers as they tried to get into
tiny boats and escape back to England. And in Paris, as people
shouted Bon
Voyage, they were not thinking about a nice vacation.
They
were piling their beds and furniture on top of old jalopies and
horse-carts, as they fled south-west to Bordeaux, and to the mountains
of the Massif Central, hoping to escape from the German armies.
Thirty kilometers away, in the South of England, it was the Battle
of Britain. Those of our troops who had managed to cross the
English
Channel were hungry and disoriented, often with nothing except a few
dirty clothes on their backs. And the skies were thick with
German bombers, as a small group of British airmen valiantly tried to
stop them destroying
London and other large cities. We still have a
few Veterans in our church- Maurice, Irene, and Gwen- who remember
those sad days.
I was just eleven years old. When my father said we
must
leave London very quickly and move to North Wales , it
sounded like a wonderful adventure. We reached a place called
Colwyn Bay, along with thousands of other
refugees. There was a beautiful beach, but the town was in
chaos. School buses were
going from house to house, trying to find somewhere for
children to
stay. The whole place was grossly overcrowded, and short of
everything from food to space on the local bus. And the people
who
lived there spoke a beautiful but strange language called Welsh.
Some of them were not
very
friendly to newcomers. If you went in a shop and asked for
some candy,
or sometimes even for bread or for meat, and you couldn't speak Welsh,
often you
would be told that they had sold out. Even some of the
school-teachers
disliked the children from London, because they had come from more
modern schools, and they were further ahead in their studies. I
was
very
lucky to escape from the bombing, but in some ways the big trip was
rather a disappointment.
Our Bible readings today talk about people taking trips- sometimes
wonderful trips, and sometimes
disappointing.
David is no longer a shepherd or a soldier. He journeys to the
city of
Hebron, where he is crowned King. Then he marches with his troops
to capture
Jerusalem, uniting the Kingdoms of Israel and Judah. Jesus sends
his
disciples out on a journey to spread his teachings. And he warns
them-
sometimes it will be a happy trip, but at other times people won't
want to know you. Then, you will just have to leave town as
quietly
as you can. And the apostle Paul is thinking about his journey to
the
city of Corinth. At first, people had seemed pleased to see him -
they had
started a church, and had promised to raise money to help poor people
overseas. Then a new minister had turned up. He told them that
Paul had been talking a load of
nonsense. They didn't have to save money for the poor. And
they
could
make the communion service into a big drunken party. So in the
end, Paul's voyage to Corinth became a rather sad one.
Are you going on a trip this summer? For most of you, it will be
a
wonderful, happy experience. But once in a while, you will find
yourselves at a camp where the other boys and girls are unfriendly or
even unkind. And one of the things Jesus teaches us through our
Bible
lesson is how to deal with this. There is
no
point in getting mad - just leave quietly, and enjoy what
you cayou feel sad and lonely. In a
couple of weeks, you will be back home with your
family and friends.
But try to think of other people who are
coming to Canada, people who arrive as strangers and
refugees from
places like Darfur. They have no friends. Everyone is
speaking a
strange language; they can't understand, and people may think
they are stupid.
You and I have a big
chance to help such people, to offer them friendship, to show them the
way around, and to help them to
find a happy new home in our Shining Valley.
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Dear God, Thank you for
making people so different from one another. Help us to learn
from those who are different, to become good friends with them, and
make Squamish a happy new home for them. Amen.
An
activity.
Draw a picture of a far-away place that you have visited, and write the
name of the place underneath.
What did you learn, or what would you like to learn about that place?
What did you learn, or what would you like to learn from the people who
live there?
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The
Nanaimo Bar Mystery!
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Do you know Susie and Billy? Susie and
Billy
Smith? They live in that little green house, right at the far end
of Sixth Avenue, the one with all the moss on the roof. Susie is
that very active girl with the bright pink T-shirt, and her brother
Billy
is just the opposite, with a very round tummy. He’s fond of
anything
that contains chocolate, and he just hates exercise. Well, the
other
day, when their mother went to her mailbox, there it was, a large
envelope
with “BILLY AND SUSIE SMITH” written on it in large capital
letters!
Susie seized the envelope and ripped it open. “Yippee”, she said,
“Peter Williams is having a party this afternoon, and we’re both
invited!”
Peter had just moved into one of those fancy town houses at Marina
Estates,
and now there was space to invite all of his friends. “S’pose
we’d
better find him some presents” grumbled Billy. “How much money do
we have?” They emptied their piggy banks onto the carpet, and
counted
everything very carefully. It looked like seven dollars and
seventy
six cents, until Susie spotted another penny that had rolled under the
sofa. No, they had exactly $7.77.
So, off they trudged to the Chieftain
Centre,
Susie running ahead, and Billy puffing and plodding along way
behind.
“I bet Peter’d like some of those gooey chocolate Nanaimo bars”, panted
Billy hopefully. His mouth watered even at the idea of Nanaimo
bars.
So in they went to Save On Foods. Susie soon spotted the
boxes
of Nanaimo bars. There they were, in the little freezer near the
muffins and pies. The big box was much too expensive, but the
small
one was only $6.77. So Billy, with his eyes glued on the smooth,
tempting chocolate surface, proudly took the box to the check
out.
Susie counted out the dimes and pennies till she had paid exactly
$6.77.
When they got outside the store, Billy looked at the box VERY
thoughtfully.
“I suppose it’s fresh?” he asked anxiously. “I wouldn’t want to
give
Peter something that’s stale. Maybe I’d better just try a little
to check it out.” So he pulled out his penknife, and decided to
cut
himself two squares, telling himself that two squares would really be
much
easier to hold than one. “Mmm, it tastes pretty good” was his
verdict.
“Are you sure?” said Susie. “Maybe I’d better check it out
too.”
So he gave her a couple of squares. “Yummee... Yes, it’s just
perfect”
was her verdict.
Then she remembered that she also needed to
find a gift for Peter. She had only four quarters left in her
purse.
But all of a sudden, she saw the Dollar store, and right by the door
was
the largest orange balloon she had ever seen- price one dollar, tax,
stick
and string included. She loved balloons, and thought this would
be
the perfect gift for Peter. So she paid her dollar, and off they
trudged, with Billy now looking very weary. They were just going
past the Panagopoulos snack-bar, when the door opened, and the most
delicious
smell of pizza wafted out to greet them. “I did n’t get much
lunch”
moaned Billy, “and I’ve walked a long way. I’m feeling awfully
hungry.
I’m not sure if I can make it any further without something to
eat.“
It seemed an emergency, so they decided that they should each eat more
a few more squares of that lovely gooey chocolatey Nanaimo bar.
Billy felt a bit better after his snack,
and
he strode along more briskly past the Bank of Montreal until they
reached
Cleveland Avenue. Now their mother had warned them to be very
careful
crossing this busy street, and Billy remembered his father saying that
accidents often happened when you had a low blood sugar. He was
sure
that right now his blood sugar had dropped to somewhere near
ZERO.
So he decided the safest thing would be to eat another couple of
squares
of that luscious, gooey, Nanaimo bar before he crossed the road.
And I suppose because she wanted to be safe as well, his sister
insisted
on eating the last two squares.
Soon, they were safely across Cleveland
Avenue.
Susie got quite excited, and started waving her balloon high in the
air.
But alas, somehow it got caught on the jagged wire fence around that
empty
building plot opposite to the Mountain Burger. There was a loud
pop,
and all she had left in her hand was a tiny, shrivelled-up piece of
orange
rubber on the end of string.
They looked up, and there were the Marina
Estates,
right across the street. But all they had in their hands were a
rather
grubby, chocolate smeared box, and a shrivelled piece of rubber.
“What shall we do now?” wailed Billy. “Well,” said Susie, “Maybe
Peter would enjoy making a little pinging sound by stretching this
piece
of rubber, and he could keep it in the box that we bought.” They
decided this was the only thing to do, so they put the box and the
little
piece of rubber into their bag, and went on to the party.
Everyone had a great time. Peter’s
mother
had baked the most wonderful cake, and there were lots of exciting
games
to play. When it was time to go home, Peter’s mother said “It was
very nice of everyone to bring gifts, but it is still very near
Christmas,
and Father Christmas brought Peter so many toys. So why don’t I
wrap
up all the presents, and you can each take one as you go home.”
There
were a lot of marvellous things. Someone got a big yellow dump
truck,
and someone else a beautiful doll that actually cried “Mama.” But
when Billy opened his parcel, all he saw was an empty box, smeared with
chocolate coloured finger-prints. And Susie’s little package
contained
a string and a tiny shred of shrivelled orange rubber.
We are still in the season of Epiphany,
when
we think of the wonderful gifts that the wisemen brought to the baby
Jesus.
If you have any Greek or Ukranian friends, they have only just
celebrated
Christmas. But I hope this story will remind you that when you
give
gifts- either to your friends, or to the people we help through our
church,
you should give the best that you possibly can, something that you
would
be very happy to receive as a present yourself.
MORE
STORIES
Click on the title to read...
Why is
Wednesday?
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Did you know that
Wednesday was named after a Pirates' God?
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The Mad Scientist & the apple tree.
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Isaac dozes under an
apple tree and discovers why an apple hit him on his head.
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An Expensive
Cure!
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Namaan offers $2
million to be cured of a dreadful skin disease, but he is told to go
jump in a muddy river!
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What present did Sam get?
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Sam's mum didn't go
to Toys 'R Us or Walmart! She made him something called an Ephod!
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Did Santa
bring you a lump of coal?
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Christmas is not
just about getting gifts- it is also remembering to say thank you, not
only to aunts and uncles, but also to God for the most wonderful gifts
of all.
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The biggest lake in all the world!
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Have you ever
tried making a lake on the seashore? Sometimes it is more
difficult than it looks!
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Sir Topham Hat and the fast ferries
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How would you
decide if a man was a spy? Sir Topham Hat had this sort of
problem when he built a railway in North Wales.
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Crossing the Creek
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Have you ever
cycled across a creek on a narrow log? You certainly need to look
to the far bank if you are not going to tumble into the river!
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Napoleon- what
a pig!
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The farm animals
decided that it would be great if everyone had an equal share of the
food. But then the apples and the milk started to disappear!
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A sailboat of
your own!
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A sailboat is
great fun, but only if you have the wind in your sails! The Holy Spirit
makes life seem as if we have the wind behind us!
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Which end do
you crack your eggs?
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It doesn't sound
a big deal, does it? But for this king, it was a deadly important
matter!
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Fresh
Peas for Supper
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Barry gets some fresh peas for
supper
by trading his favourite marble!
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Plucked
from the fire
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A six year old boy is rescued
from a terrible
fire, and wonders why God spared his life!
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| A wilderness
adventure! |
Did you ever go to a camp with
no water
and no washrooms? This was my wilderness adventure!
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Dear
God,
We know that sometimes we have bad days, when things go wrong.
But
we ask that you fill our lives with the strong wind of your Spirit,
knowing
that you can turn even our worst days into really good ones, giving us
new energy, enthusiasm and wisdom to do the things that Jesus has
taught
us.
AMEN.
