Trans-European Division of Seventh-Day Adventist Church. Children s Ministries. Summer 2013

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1 Trans-European Division of Seventh-Day Adventist Church Children s Ministries Summer 2013 The summer is coming and like most people I am really looking forward to it. John and I have been travelling a lot and there comes a point where you just need some time to rest and reflect. But right now we are in Finland at a Family Camp. It is wonderful to be with people who are like-minded. People you feel at home with even though you don t know them well yet. Something binds us together and that is our faith. Our faith in Jesus as our Saviour. Also at this camp I have learnt some very important lessons. You are never to old to learn I am told. Firstly when we arrived on Sunday it rained pretty much all day. Then Monday was even worse. The whole campsite was turning into a mud pool. But children are not adults and they don t care about the weather. They are happy just to be at camp and rain will not dampen their enthusiasm. That is a lesson we as adults sometimes need to remember. Keep smiling no matter what. Then another thing I discovered was that if you make the Bible fun the kids really get into it. One of the things I am doing here is running a Detective Club. We meet every day and the children have a notepad and pen as any good detective should have and they find clues around the campsite. Clues about Bible texts. This morning I had to smile. Two kids came in with all the clues and came running up the stairs calling where s the Bible, where s the Bible. The enthusiasm was fantastic. We as leaders need to think up fun and engaging things to keep our kids interested in the Bible because they are if it is fun. Another thing I learnt was that young people have so many talents. At this camp every evening we have a detective called Sebastian who has been hired to look for a little boy. The script is great and funny and the kids can t wait for the next episode. We have so much talent within our church and we need to give room for that talent to be used and developed. So this camp has taught me some important lessons. Let s keep smiling, let s make the Bible fun and interesting and let s involve our young people more and use the talents God has given them. I wish each and every one of you a wonderful summer with lot s of sunshine and may God s blessings be with you all. Clair

2 Children s Ministries festival in Riga, 13 April 2013 For the fifth year the Children s and Teen s Festival was held in the central Seventh-day Adventist Church in Riga. The topic of the festival was In The Steps of Jesus. 230 children and teens from the different Adventist churches of Latvia participated in the festival. Non- Adventists children and parents were invited as well. Participants were divided in eight colour groups, each of them went through the different stations in order to learn Israel s flora and fauna, cities, mountains and other places, as well as to learn some Jewish dances. Small children had their own special stations. Several performances along with the event managers who looked like mice had motivation to mission, compassion and confidence. The united children s choir led by Anitra Rause was resounding and full of energy. During the festival participators were could enjoy the exhibition of 141 drawings. 50 volunteers organised and guided this festival. This was the result of a good cooperation between the Latvian Conference leadership and its Children s department leader Marite Lipska and the Baltic Union leadership and its Children s ministry leader Ruta Zilgalve.

3 The Netherlands, Kidzrally one large celebration! Madelon Comvalius, Children s Ministries Director, NUC On the Sabbath 20 April 600 children from all over the country travelled to Scherpenzeel to experience the annual Kidzrally together. This time the Kidzrally was all about the wedding in Cana. This is why this Kidzrally was themed Let s party! And it certainly was an amazing party! At the entrance Lackeys awaited the children welcoming them to the wedding celebration. The puppets, a master of ceremonies and the bride and groom (our mascots Dick & Dora) completed the celebration. Not to forget our trusty genius professor Pierewaaier who miraculously changed the water into wine! After a good lunch the children were split up into their different age groups. All busy with all sorts of creative activities which were specially modified according to their age and relating to the theme. Throughout the day the children treated each other with outstanding performances. We saw dancing, singing and even a little boy playing his violin! The Highlight of the performances must have been the surprise Flashmob the older kids had prepared during their afternoon programme. Our Lord God is probably busy with reading all of the questions the children attached to their balloon, which all took to the sky. The children also regularly bring friends from outside the church. One of those kids (also Christian but not SDA) said: I ve never been to a better Christian event in my life!

4 Messy Church Kaunas Church in Lithuania. Here is a picture of the first church to be trained for Messy Church in TED. The group is small because unfortunately when we came to do the training, on April 6, 1/3 of the church was sick with a flue that was going around. These are the die hards. People of all ages are taking part and we are very thankful for that. Vilma Vanagiene is responsible for Messy Church in the Kaunas Church. They already had their first Messy Church on April 28 with 13 children and 8 adults visiting. Greece On April 13 the Katarini Church in Greece was also trained for Messy Church and will start up in September. Kate Vialseva will be responsible for Messy Church in the Katarini Church.

5 Messy Church Latvia Lot s of participants of all ages. When I stepped off the plane on Friday at Riga Airport the wonderful sunshine just warmed me up. England had been rather cold and this was just a little gift from heaven. Sabbath morning it was up early for a 3 ½ hour drive to the church in Lliepajas.The Latvian Conferencehad chosen them because they are searching for new and innovative outreach ideas and because the neighbourhood near the church has so many children and the local church is already running a toddler group. The whole church came for the training, which is always a good sign because it shows a willingness as a church to work together. We had a service in the morning followed by the training in the afternoon. Young and old took part. There were some very musical people in this church and I can see that this will be a great asset. After the summer they are hoping to get started so we wish all God s blessing on the church in Lliepajas and look forward to many wonderful reports. Clair Dagnija Roderte is responsible for Messy Church in the Lliepajas Church. Calender: July 27 Children s Sabbath

6 Children s Ministries This newsletter is addressed to the Children s Ministry Directors of the Unions in The Trans-European Division. Others who would like to be on the mailing list can send their address to skrusholm@ted-adventist.org in order to be added to it. Children s Ministries Department Trans-European Division of Seventh-day Adventists 119 St Peter s Street, St Albans, Hertfordshire, AL1 3EY England csanches-schutte@ted-adventist.org skrusholm@ted-adventist.org Please send stories and ideas you want to share to skrusholm@ted-adventist.org To subscribe or unsubscribe please reply to this . For Union Training of Coaches and Presenters contact: csanches-schutte@tedadventist.org The Seven Campaign is a global awareness campaign to advocate for an end to the abuse of children around the world. The Seven Campaign seeks to mobilize people around the world to join a global grassroots movement to help children in their own communities. The Funny Side of Parenting One evening after dinner five-year-old Brian noticed that his mom had gone out. He looked up and asked, "Where'd Mommy go?" "Mommy's at a Tupperware Party," I reported. Brian looked puzzled. "What's a Tupperware Party?" I figured a simple, honest response was my best approach, "Well, it's where a bunch of ladies sit around and sell plastic bowls to each other." Brian nodded indicating that he understood this curious past time, and then burst out laughing, "C'mon Dad, what is it really?"