April 30th is children´s day, and it´s a pretty big deal around here. Both at church and at our house, we celebrated on May 1st, since that was the Sunday. On the 30th we visited a family that we normally see on Saturdays. The situation in their home is very difficult, and I emphasized the special place that children have in God´s heart, praying that the seven children in that home will escape their parents´ errors by being sure of God´s love for them.
What was special for our kids on April 30th, is that there were fair rides set up in the town square, and all children rode for free. Abish enjoyed four rides and Leilani one, because only the carousel was for really young kids.
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| ice cream at church |
At church, the songs were children´s choruses and the sermon was directed to children as well. Once the service ended, there were games to play, face painting, and ice cream with sprinkles and chocolate sauce to eat (or paint faces with...).
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| several boys wanted face paint like Spiderman |
Back at home we had also invited the kids for games and fun. Several kids that had not been to Sunday kids´ club for months showed up for the celebration. After some time of playing, we gathered the 18 kids together at the table to tell stories from the Bible. I told how Jesus raised a 12-year-old girl to life and how Jesus told his disciples that they had to become like children to enter the kingdom of heaven. Abraham finished the time by telling of when Jesus became angry with the disciples because they rejected the mothers who wanted Jesus to bless their children. He told the disciples,"Let the children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these," and then he welcomed and blessed the children.
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| "Catch me if you can!" |
After they had eaten their snack of chicharines and chocolate cake, the kids ran outside to play tag. As the time came for them to leave, we gave the boys a matchbox-type car and the girls a pony.
