HOLIDAY BIBLE WEEK - THE EVENT

We officially started the week with a service of praise and dedication on Sunday 10th August. We were all given slips of paper with names of children who had signed up and were encouraged to pray for them individually. We also spent time going to the various tents to pray for those who would be meeting there. The theme for this year was ‘Space’ so we made use of the time afterwards to give our tents a make-over with pictures, stars, balloons and anything else to do with space.

Each morning all the helpers met together in the Main Tent at 9am for a time of praise and devotion. The time of devotion was shared by different people from the various churches involved. This time was invaluable to prepare for the day and bring us all to the point of focussing on what God wanted us to do. As the children arrived they were registered in the various tents, each group was named after a particular planet: 5 year old – Mercury, 6 – Venus, 7 – Mars, 8 – Jupiter, 9 – Saturn and 10/11 – Neptune! After registration we all met in the main tent. It was at that point you realised just how many children there were. Numbers fluctuated throughout the week but by Thursday there were just over 300 children on the register. The children were introduced to the theme for the day which included the memory verse which we sang with actions!

Day 1: Blast off! – 'Turning'
The theme was based on Peter whose life was turned around when he first met Jesus and things were never the same. ‘Choose yourself today whom you will serve, as for me, I will serve the Lord’ (based on Joshua 24:15)

Day 2: Beam me up! – 'Trusting'
We have to learn to trust Jesus when we follow Him, even when we don’t know or understand what’s happening. We looked at how Peter took a step of faith when he stepped out of the boat. He needed to trust Jesus above everything. ‘Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding’ (Proverbs 3:5) – this was my personal favourite!

Day 3: Black Hole! – 'Tripping'
No matter how hard we try, none of us are perfect. Peter let Jesus down badly but his story helps us to understand how Jesus deals with the things we do to hurt him and others. Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners (1 Timothy 1:15)

Day 4: Breakthrough! – ‘Transforming’
God has the power to transform our lives. Sometimes this happens gradually and sometimes all at once, but however the transformation takes place Jesus promised His Holy Spirit would be with us to strengthen and encourage us. ‘I will always be with you; I will never abandon you’ (Joshua 1:5b)

Day 5: Battle Stations! – 'Training'
We don’t need to train to become Christians but if we are serious about wanting to follow Jesus, we need to train to be prepared for the journey ahead. Prayer is our training ground and the means by which we can win battles for God. ‘We often suffer, but we are never crushed. Even when we don’t know what to do we never give up. In times of trouble, God is with us, and when we are knocked down, we get up again’ (2 Corinthians 4:8-9)

Other activities in the main tent included 'Mr Moonivator' – for some daily exercises, story-time to introduce the theme for the day and some more action songs. It was then time to head for our individual groups for a short break before starting the craftwork and games session. As with last year I helped with the oldest group of 38 children led by Lesley and ably assisted by Graham and Annie. As well as doing the activity and quiz sheets we made a variety of crafts ranging from papier-mâché space helmets, an outer space frieze measuring over 15 ft. Kaleidoscopes and rockets. After lunch we met in the main tent again for more singing, and the Watt Family drama and puppet show. A small number of children from each group were able to show what they had been making that morning as well as pictures and jokes. Then came the ‘Messy Challenge’ which was different each day and if you didn’t get messy you probably got wet! We then went back to our groups for a re-cap on what we had learnt. We gave the children an opportunity to pray and ask questions about the day’s theme.

At the end of the afternoon all the helpers again gathered for a debrief and shared particular issues which had arisen during the day.

On Thursday evening parents were invited to come along and see what the children had made and get a taste of the various activities in the main tent time.

This really is just a quick summary of the week! I’m sure I speak for David and Richard when I say it was great to be involved in an event like this. Not only the privilege to teach these children, but also working with Christians from other churches gave us a real feeling of unity. Our aim was to bring the message to children in a Christian environment. We may not see results but as we learnt during the week the power of Jesus changes things. There was one boy in our group who was particularly challenging but at the end of the week he came and gave each of us a hug – how humbling that was?!

There were so many helpers involved I couldn’t begin to mention them all but without the vision given to Belinda and Keith Coote this would not have been possible along with their children: Jim and Becky. I would also like to mention Helen Southall who took on the role of Chairperson this year did an excellent job. There were lots of other people from band members and sound engineers to restroom attendants, security (Mike) and prayer leaders – in fact a huge diversity.

Finally I would like to thank YOU for your prayers and all the contributions of craft items. I have been encouraged by the support given.

If you would like to know more or be involved next year please speak to Richard, David or myself. Thank you again for all your support on behalf of HBW.

Caroline