Christmas—God is Love

We enjoyed our Christmas celebration on the 21^st. We had invited at least 6 new families, but only one came. Chi Ming has been one of my therapy patients for many years. He is still wheelchair-bound, and lost his eyesight about a year ago, but he is very talkative and sociable so enjoyed himself in spite of not being able to participate fully in all the activities. We did cast him in the role of Joseph for the Christmas story. So instead of the typical Joseph-leads-the-donkey-on-which-Mary-sits, we ended up with Mary pushing Joseph to Bethlehem in his wheelchair! It worked fine! Here's the story:

Many years ago there was a man named Joseph	introduce boy as Joseph
He was engaged to a girl named Mary	introduce girl as Mary
One day, Joseph's neighbor came to him and said, "Psst—did you hear—Mary is pregnant!"	boy comes to Joseph & whispers in his ear, then leaves
Joseph was very sad. He thought Mary loved him! He decided to break their engagement.	Joseph cries. Goes to bed (towel & pillow on floor)
But that night and angel appeared to him and said, "Don't be afraid to marry her. She has not been unfaithful to you. But the Holy Spirit has come to her, and her baby will be the Son of God, the Savior the whole world has been waiting for."	Angel with halo
Strange, but not as strange as believing that Mary had done something wrong. So, they got married.	Joseph with bow tie, Mary in TP veil.
Not long after that, Joseph had to go to Bethlehem for a census. He took Mary with him. She was already very big!	Mary with pillow padding. J & M walk around room.
When they got to Bethlehem, they tried to get a room at an inn, but it was already full.	boy standing behind table in corner; J knocks, boy says no room (puts up sign)
Mary said, "We'd better find somewhere quick! I'm about to have the baby! So they went into the only shelter they could find: a stable	second table with pictures of horses & a cow. Box with straw. They spread a towel on floor.
Pretty soon, she had her baby, Jesus. No crib, no pillow; she had to put him in the feed box.	Mary goes behind table, comes out with baby doll instead of padding.
all sing: Away in a Manger
That night, outside of the city, some shepherds were guarding their sheep.	2-3 boys with towels on heads. Sheep picture.
All of a sudden they heard a noise. They were scared—was it a wolf coming to eat the sheep? No—it was—angels!	Look scared. 2-3 angel with halos
all sing: Hark the Herald Angels Sing
One of the angels explains that the Savior has been born. That they would recognize him because he was lying in a feed box	Angels point the way & then leave
The shepherds discuss it among themselves and decide they better go and see.	shepherds huddle
all sing: O Come all Ye Faithful
So they go and see, and sure enough, there he is. So they knew what the angel was saying was true, and they knelt down and worshipped the baby Jesus	Shepherds kneel down.
Everyone was happy because they had waited for many years for this day. Now they knew that God really loved them, because He had sent Jesus to save them.	Shepherds, M & J, and angels all high-five
all sing: Joy to the World

Someone as important as Jesus shouldn't have been relegated to a stable, right? He should have been welcomed with a red carpet! So for our game we did a "red carpet walk" – the kids had to keep their feet on the floor so that the two squares of red "carpet" (paper) could stay with them all the way across the room. For Chi Ming, we did a variation in which each square had to be picked up from behind him and placed in front of him so he could travel on red carpet the whole way. It was neat to watch the kids wanting to help make it happen—one child pushing the chair, one child helping rotate the carpet squares.
Our craft consisted of pasting figures from a crèche scene to match a pattern scene—everyone did it extremely well; I didn't watch to see who did it themselves and who needed parents' help though.Bible study was John 3:16-17. Afterward we had a potluck.
I was very pleased with how well our three shepherd boys cooperated in wearing their headdresses!

God is a Jealous God

This was a bit of a complicated story, but it turned out well. We used a very paraphrased version of Ezekiel 16, as follows:

Through His prophet Ezekiel, God told this story to Israel	Start with boy and girl holding (dirty) baby doll
"When I chose you, you were like a baby that had been rejected by its parents.	they throw the doll on the floor
I picked you up, and washed you	have one child wash the baby in a pan of water
I gave you clothes to wear	another child dresses it
and took care of you until you grew up.	exchange the baby doll for a (naked) Barbie doll
Since I'd always loved you, I took you as my wife.	one child dresses Barbie in a wedding outfit
I gave you beautiful jewelry,	another child puts necklace and bracelets made of foil on Barbie
and satisfied you with abundant food.	another gives her a basket of food
We had children together	and brings the baby doll back out
We had a wonderful life, didn't we?	(ask all)
We should have, but how did you treat me? You took the jewelry I gave you, and used it to make idols for yourselves.	one child takes off the jewelry and gives it to another, who sets up a foil-wrapped doll ("idol") in return
You took the food I provided it, and offered it to your idols.	another takes the basket of food and puts it in front of the idol
You even offered them the children we had together!	another puts the baby in front of the idol
Was it right of you to treat me like that?	(ask all)
I treated you as my own daughter, and as my wife, but you didn't love me; you went after other gods instead. How could I help but be jealous?!
Well, if you don't want me, then you don't have to have me, I said. When your enemies attack you, I won't bother you with my help.	one child takes a sword and "beats" Barbie
So your enemies did attack. They beat you and stripped off your clothes and left you just as badly off as the first time I ever saw you.	another takes off Barbie's dress and throws her on the floor
But, you know—if I didn't love you in the first place, I wouldn't have been jealous, would I?	(ask all)
And so, after you had been through all this, and were willing to call to me again, I took you back, and restored to you all that was yours—clothing, jewels, food & wine.	one child puts new clothes on Barbie, another puts some new jewelry on and presents a second basket of food.
I hope you will never forget that I really love you. And I also hope you will remember that all I want is for you to love me back."	one child cuddles the Barbie and comforts it.

I think this worked because we didn't try and act it out; one
person read the story while another helped the children do the various activities. It slowed things down and got the kids doing practical tasks. Si Wa Hon was chosen to bathe the baby and he apparently thought it was about the most fun things he'd ever done!

For our game, we "dressed babies" in teams. Bruce (my husband) and I were the babies, complete with towel diapers.

For a craft, since God gave His people so many gifts, we wrapped gifts—Christmas gifts for them to give their siblings.

Bible study was from Proverbs 6:32-35, about how terrible adultery is, and how jealous it makes a husband. The point was to discuss how God wants to be married to us. If we are not, then it isn't shameful to be "married" to idols—even if it does mean you don't get any of the benefits of being married to God. (Such as forgiveness of sin & eternal life). It was good to be able to make this point, that we are not trying to criticize our unbelievers for worshipping their idols. We only want to offer them something better. It seemed to go well, thank the Lord.

God is our Provider

I didn't write anything last week, because we didn't have our regular service. Not much to tell. We joined the mother church's outdoor service and picnic. I was amazed at how well the boys sat still and behaved during the program!! I think being outside helped a lot. Or am I not giving them enough credit?

I don't think we'll experiment with having long sit-down services ourselves just yet. The kids have come to associate coming to Merciful Love with time for a lot of movement and activity. It would be a huge adjustment for them—and I think for our parents as well. But it's something to keep under our hats for the future, perhaps.

In the meantime, we resume our usual program. This past Sunday, we learned about God as provider, from I Kings 17. Here's how it went:

Today we meet the prophet Elijah again. (boy in mantle). He says to King Ahab (boy in crown) , "because you have been such a wicked king, in that you've not only sinned against God yourself but influenced all Israel to sin, God hereby says to you, it is not going to rain for three years!

Now, lets think about this. (give cups to Elijah & Ahab, have them put name stickers on cups). Okay, both Elijah and Ahab live in Israel. Let's say this basin(place basin on stool) represents Israel. (have someone place name tag on basin)
(have E & A both place their cups in basin.) Okay, if it rains in Israel (have child help pour water from watering can into basin & cups), who has water to drink? (ask kids, show both cups having water) (have child help dump out water) So, if it doesn't rain? Who has no water? (show cups,ask kids)

Now, in our last story we saw that God is…(point out "just" on chart). But if this wicked king Ahab and this faithful prophet Elijah both go thirsty, does that seem very just? (ask all) Today we will see how God is not only truly just, He is also…(have child put up "provider" on chart). We will see how God provided Elijah's needs.

God says to Elijah: (angel with halo reads from scroll): "Go to Zarephath in Sidon, for I have arranged for a widow to take care of your needs." So Elijah goes to Zarephath. (walks around room, carrying his cup). When he gets there, he sees a woman gathering sticks. (girl picks up sticks from floor) He says to her, please give me a drink of water. (gives her his cup. she starts to walk away) But as she is leaving, he calls after her, while you're at it, could you please give me some bread? I'm really hungry! (have Elijah pantomime his hunger) Well, the widow says to him, you want me to give you bread? I don't have any bread to give you! Listen, come home with me and I'll show you! But first, they properly introduce themselves they shake hands & exchange names, then Elijah. follows girl around room; she chooses one boy & introduces him as her son) The widow then says, okay, look, this here is all the meal I have (shows Elijah jar partially full of crushed cereal); and this is all the oil I have (shows bottle half full of oil) When you saw me collecting sticks, I was preparing to use this to prepare one last meal for myself and my son, and then we were going to die of starvation!

Elijah says to her, don't worry! (pats her shoulder) If you honor God, He will provide your needs. Listen, first prepare a little cake of meal for me, and then you can make one for yourselfyou're your son. Because I hereby promise you in the name of the Lord, this jar of meal, (holds up jar) and this bottle of oil (holds up bottle), will not run out until God again sends rain. The widow says, okay, I'll try it! (girl puts sticks on table; sprinkles "fire" paper on sticks, places wok containing crackers on fire. pretends to pour in grain & oil," fries", and presents cracker to E. Repeat cooking "cake" for son & then herself.) It really hasn't used up! How long will it last? (continues "cooking;" has son pass out crackers to all in attendance, one by one) Wow, this God really is the provider for those who serve Him!

    

    So that was the story. Very conveniently, the word used in Chinese for "cake" is the same as for "cracker," so that flowed well. Not quite as perfect in English!

For our game, I made something resembling a childhood game I once had, called "Kerplunk". The kids kept pulling the skewers out of this cardboard tower until the heap of stones poured into the top fell through; each no-fall turn earned the player a piece of cereal. The idea was, the cereal didn't quit coming until the "rain" fell.

    And as we know, rain eventually did fall, so our craft was little paper umbrellas (with the "Kerplunk" skewers as handles)

    Bible study was on Matthew 6:25-33. Nice to have a more straightforward passage this time!