Commander s Letter. In all this, God remembers you and loves you!

Transcription

1 ! 2nd Term 2011 Grace Toh* Coen Ong* Lin Diane* Cassidy Ong* Tee Soon Hwee* Rene Choo* Ruth Choo* APRIL Melissa Wong* Lillian Wang* Koh Ze Kai* Deborah Toh* Jenny Han* Nathan Loo* Jabez Jayandran* Dickson Teo* Melodie James* Yap Yi Hui* Joshua Chen* Amanda Goh* Janelle Leong* Rita Choo* Jacob Lee* Cyrus Liew* MAY JUNE Kellis Teo* Angelina Ang* Faith Toh Benjamin Ng* Alyna Koo* Shania Ng* Yukie Yang* Narahda Lim* Evelyn Ma* Mike* Elton Go* Elizabeth* Ou Ning Xiang* Luke Yaw* Isabel Teo* Jasmine Ng* Happy Birthday! And God Bless! Commander s Letter Hello Awana Clubbers! This issue is packed with pictures of you! There are pictures of our Awana Chinese New Year celebration (12 Feb 2011) with lots of nice decorations, goodies, beautiful costumes and angpow games that we played. And talking about pictures, did you see the photos put up some weeks ago of children at our church s various mission stations receiving your nicelypacked shoebox gifts? These less privileged children were indeed delighted to receive your shoebox gifts of love! Through giving to others, I trust that you ve also been blessed. In all this, God remembers you and loves you! This quarter, we celebrate Easter a time when we remember that Jesus conquered death and is alive! Because Jesus lives, anyone who believes in Him can have eternal life (John 3:16). I pray that you ve received Jesus as your Saviour. If not, talk to your Leaders about it and they will be happy to share the Good News with you! We re also rejoicing in the 20 th birthday of Calvary BP Church! Praise God for His blessings and faithfulness in leading us. We ll be celebrating this occasion with a fun Kite Design Contest, with prizes for the best-looking kites! And guess what! We ll get to fly our kites at our Awana outing to Marina We rejoice in 20 blessed years of Awana ministry at Calvary BP Church The Lord is good! From the rising of the sun unto the going down of the same the LORD'S name is to be praised. PSALM 113:3 Barrage on 21 May 2011, 9am-1pm (details inside)! And parents, with Easter coming up, we ve an article for you on Making Holy Week Meaningful for Your Kids. May you look to our Heavenly Father for wisdom in raising your little ones for His glory. Finally, let s congratulate these Activity Corner winners (1 st Qtr 2011): Contest #1: Yohann Ho Contest #2: Cassidy Ong Contest #3: Nicole Tan Remember to check out this issue s Activity Corner. Youths on the march! Blessings, Aunty Rebecca Awana Commander Calvary B-P Church Calvary Bible-Presbyterian 1 Tao Ching Road, S(618720) Phone:

2 Celebrating Lunar New Year at Awana 12 Feb Bright red angpows were the order of the day at Awana Cubbies. The clubbers came in their colourful CNY attire especially the girls, dressed in gorgeous cheongsams S Cubbies and Leaders ushering in the New Year in a fun way! for a special day of celebration. At Council Time, the Cubbies were reminded of the meaning of CNY and how they should honour their parents. This message was reinforced with special notes placed inside angpows with the message, I love you very much! Happy Chinese New Year! specially prepared by the children for their parents. The Cubbies also played games using angpows and were treated to a variety of e celebrated February, w of th 12 On the for good thank God I r. ea Y Chinese New ildren ay. Many ch d ul rf ee ch a weather and l Chinese eir traditiona th in ed ss came dre an extra n were given re ild ch se he costumes. T Awana share. otos. This took some ph e w, ng si ai After flag-r had to he children T. es m ga y b was followed ks and 2 cups ke some snac ta to e nc ta run a dis aders. em to their le th d ee /f ve gi of water and about the with a story ay d e th d We ende diligent. was kind and ho w an om w e Shunammit n e we can lear AWANA wher r fo od G Thank and enjoy derful God, on w r ou t more abou e. the same tim ourselves at Page 2 Sparks ~ Jannessa, CNY snacks. ~ Cubbies

3 Page 3 12 February 2011 was a special day because it was a day for AWANA Clubbers to celebrate Chinese New Year. Some of us came in Chinese outfit. After assembly, we gather to take a group photo before games time. During games time, we played a new game Feed the Leaders and use mandarin oranges to roll and try knock down six empty cans. After the game, I felt tired but happy because I enjoyed the games as we have a lot of fun. ~ Christine Loo, Sparks Sparks Club Truth & Training Club 12 th February was a special day I went to church and realized that we were celebrating CNY! Lots of kids wore CNY dress/shirt and pants! I stepped into the T&T room and saw very nice decorations that all the teachers had put up for us! Thank you for their efforts- they had come early to set up everything for us! We then helped them to make more. The teachers also brought food and laid them on the table for us. Each of us had one plate, and on each plate, there were biscuits, sweets and chocolates! And since we were celebrating the birthdays for January babies as well, we also had cakes to eat! We had a good time singing, listening to stories and playing games. It was fun! ~ Yi Hui, Truth & Training

4 CLUB MEETING HIGHLIGHTS Learning about God with Fritz and Fran A t the very beginning of this year, the Cubbies were introduced to a pair of twins named Fritz and Fran. In the weeks that followed, they accompanied Fritz and Fran on a journey that tells of the twins attending Sunday School and receiving Christ, and of the twins being in various difficult circumstances that put their faith to the test. The Cubbies learned about God's salvation plan for each and every one of them, as well as the importance of being honest in difficult circumstances. Champions for God! S parks had a fun and hands-on theme for Term 1 we covered the Champions for God during the message time! The Leaders and Clubbers had an enriching time learning about some Bible characters who have shone in their testimonies for God. We studied about these champions: 1. RAHAB - A champion who trust God 2. GIDEON A champion who had faith in God 3. JOB A champion who has joy in God 4. A SHUNAMMITE WOMAN A champion who is diligent in the Lord 5. NEHEMIAH A champion who has hope in God Each of these champions has fought and won victoriously not in physical battles, but in keeping themselves true to God, running the race for Him against all odds. To round off the theme, the Sparks Club took the opportunity to hold a MAKE A CHAMPIONS BADGE competition, and the clubbers did extremely well! Both Sparks leaders and clubbers are blessed by this theme and we look forward to visiting another character in the BIBLE Joseph for Term 2. ~ Mrs Patricia Selva Page 4

5 Page 5 I n AWANA, Games Time is the most fun, Handbook Time the most interesting but Message Time the most important. The messages are specially prepared by the AWANA leaders who care for our spiritual growth. These fun and interesting lessons are usually simple and convey many truths. Most of the time, leaders provide hands-on activities or visual aids. Shares might be given if a clubber answers a question correctly or stands up to read a verse from the Bible. Apart from learning a lot, clubbers benefit from this too. After listening to the message, the next important step is to apply the truth which the AWANA leader has taught us. The verses mentioned during the lesson and prayers to God will help guide me through life, especially when it comes to overcoming temptations. It is really a privilege to attend AWANA to learn God s Word. Praise Him for the wonderful leaders who relate the messages so clearly to remind us of our purpose on earth. ~ Elizabeth Lim Announcement es! The shoeboxes, which we had Y taken much time and effort to pack, have finally reached the children in Sri Lanka and North Thailand! This is one of the many photos sent to us from Sri Lanka, together with lots of thank-you cards and s! These shoeboxes were distributed at their Christmas Praise Service and our gifts of love have certainly added colour to the joyous occasion and brought smiles to their faces! Let us continue to show Christian love to others, especially to those who are in need. May God use each of you as His channel of blessings!

6 CLUBBERS CORNER Page 6 Jesus saves! For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. JOHN 3:16 Article from Sparkles (April 2011) Printed with permission Copyright 2011 Awana Clubs International

7 Page 7 Article from KidsPrint (March 2011) Printed with permission Copyright 2011 Awana Clubs International

8 CLUBBERS CORNER Before memorizing a verse, think about what it means. Page 8

9 Page 9 Jesus wants you to trust Him as your Savior. If you haven t done this already, and if you have any questions about Jesus, please talk to your Awana Leader. He or she will be happy to answer your questions. Quiz Answers & Winners (Winners will receive 10 Awana shares at the Flag Ceremony) Contest #1: Help Cubbies get to church! Best Helper: Yohann Ho Contest #2: How will 2011 be like? Draw it out! Best Artist: Cassidy Ong Contest #3: Word Scramble! Best Code-Breaker: Nicole Tan

10 PARENTS CORNER Making Holy Week meaningful for Your Kids Holy Week is an important time to reflect on all that Christ has done on our behalf. It s also filled with teachable moments as you explain to your children the significance of Palm Sunday, Good Friday and Easter. H ow crucial it is for our kids to know that these holy days are about much more than chocolate, the Easter Bunny and jelly beans! Prepare for Good Friday and Easter Holy Week is the last week of Lent, when we follow Jesus from Palm Sunday to His death on Good Friday in preparation for His rising from the dead on Easter. Make sure to prioritise attending church as a family this week. Even Page 10 younger children will appreciate and better grasp the story of Jesus arrival in Jerusalem on Palm Sunday to His resurrection on Easter Sunday if they participate in Sunday school and special Good Friday services. Read the Bible together as a family The foundation of the Christian faith is built on the events that took place Good Friday and Easter Sunday over 2,000 years ago. Take time during Holy Week to read the biblical accounts of what happened on these important days. Ask each family member to choose one of these Bible passages to read at the dinner table one night during Holy Week: Matthew 26:17-30 or Mark 14:12-26 (the Last Supper) John 18 (Jesus arrested) Matthew 27:32-66 or Mark 15:21-47 (the crucifixion and burial of Jesus) Romans 6:8-11 Philippians 3: Peter 1:3-5

11 Page 11 Read the story about Jesus resurrection in Matthew 28; Mark 16; Luke 24 or John 20 at breakfast on Easter morning. Pray together as a family, expressing thanks that Christ is risen! Teach Bible truths in the kitchen The kitchen might not be the place you think of to explain biblical truths to your kids. But at Easter, the truths of God s Word can come alive in creative ways: Make resurrection cookies to explain the Easter story. Find the recipe on the Family Life website ( and search for resurrection cookies. Each step of the recipe connects with a particular aspect of the Easter story. The ingredients are minimal. Make them the night before Easter because they turn into empty tombs on Easter morning! Dyeing eggs is a fun tradition that can also be a teaching moment. Explain to your kids that eggs are the promise of new life just as Jesus death and resurrection has promised us new and eternal life. Consider writing messages on the hard-boiled eggs with crayons before dyeing. This will remind your family of the true meaning of Easter. Examples: He is risen, Jesus loves you, Hallelujah and Remember. Explain Easter words to your kids When reading the Easter story from the Bible, pay attention to any words your children don t recognize. Use a Bible dictionary or concordance for help in explaining any confusing words. More than any other religious holiday, Good Friday and Easter are full of terms your children may not understand. Words like resurrection, crucifixion, betrayal, the Last Supper, cross and burial may require some age-appropriate explanations. Reach out to friends and neighbors For some non-believers, Christmas and Easter are the only times of the year they step foot in a church. As a family, think about neighbors and family members who don t know Christ and might be open to going to church this year. Pray together as a family for who you might invite. Ask God for boldness. Challenge your kids to invite friends from school or sports teams to your Easter church service or to Awana. Teach your children about evangelism and why it s important to tell others about Christ. Go as a family to a nursing home or hospital. Hand out flowers, Easter bookmarks or other simple gifts to residents along with an Easter-related Bible verse on a note card, picture or card made by your kids. Consider hosting a neighborhood Easter egg hunt with a twist by leaving one egg empty. Give a large basket filled with Easter gifts or candy to the child who finds the empty egg. Explain to the kids that this egg represents the empty tomb. After the hunt, share the Easter story with the children. Have a blessed Easter! Article from (March 2010) Printed with permission

12 What s Up? COUNCIL TIME THEME: (2nd Term 2011) THE FRITZ & FRAN SERIES BIBLE STUDY: JOSEPH LESSONS ABOUT THE BIBLE Joseph's Background Three in One CHARACTERS: LOVE, RESPECT & KINDNESS 26 Mar Get your Awana in Action! 2 Apr Fritz Learns About Respect in Church Ten Facts About That Mar & Apr T&T babies! Fran Receives Christ Alone But Not Lonely 9 Apr Fran Witnesses at School Joseph's Rules God the Creator 16 Apr Fritz Makes a Right Choice The Cross Life Isn t Fair, But God Is 23 Apr Fritz Learns About Stealing ~Cubbies Theme Day~ Closing date for Kite Design Contest Our Risen Lord and Coming King The Resurrection 30 Apr Fritz Catches His Father Dreams Come True, Joseph God is Holy 7 May Fritz Loses a Job While Putting God First Forgiveness is Sweet, Joseph The Power Source Joseph Helps His Family God is Love 14 May Results of Kite Design Contest The Twins Help Elderly Mr Smith 21 May 28 May Kite-Flying Outing & Games at Marina Barrage Awana Store Time! Fran Learns About Confessing Sins ~Shares Exchange~ No meeting during school holidays. See you again on Easter is coming! Let s remember our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ! CONTEST #1 Fill God s church with colours. CONTEST #2 Write down your favourite Bible verse and beautify it. CONTEST #3 Help tell the gospel story. Adam and Eve disobeyed God and fell into sin, but God has worked out a p to bring... Three Men Used of God (Pt 2) May & Jun T&T babies! 2 July 2011 (Sat)! Activity Corner Hey clubbers, it s friendly competition time. Give it a try! You may take part in any one or even all three contests! Winners stand to win 10 AWANA shares! Submit your entries (see insert) in the Awana Newsletter box at the Awana Notice Board! Closing date: 30 Apr 2011 (Sat)