A PIG GIVES HOPE HOPE outreach-international.org
Props: Advent Week One November 30, 2014 1) Poster with Pedro the Pig on it, and the story of the week on the back side. (Note: A plush toy pig is preferable over the poster picture of Pedro.) 2) Advent Calendars for each child. 3) Pedro the Pig button for each child. 4) Nativity Scene/Set prominently displayed in the room. (Note: If the congregation doesn t already have one, perhaps it is time to purchase one.) Starting the Journey with Pedro the Pig Would all the children come up front and join me please? Hi Kids. It s great to see all of you here today. I d like to introduce you to Pedro the Pig and talk about this year s journey to the stable in Bethlehem, the birthplace of Jesus. Well today is the first Sunday of Advent, which means that we are on a four-week trip that will end on Christmas Day, when we celebrate the birth of Jesus. We want to talk about how we can show our love to Jesus by helping those in need. And this week, we especially want to talk about the HOPE we can give to others around the world. If you look right over there, you will see our congregation s stable and manger, just like the story in the Bible. Now we don t know if the stable actually looked like that one, but we do know it is a place where animals make their home. And a manger, believe it or not, is a feeding trough. Now that doesn t sound like a great place to place a newborn baby, but that s what the story says. Anyway, the stable was probably full of a bunch of different animals, and some of them were probably pigs. And that s where Pedro comes into our story. Pedro is happy to be a pig. He s proud that for hundreds of years, people have raised pigs. They have been used to provide income, to give us an organic fertilizer, and as a source of food for people. Pigs can grow to more than 200 pounds, and a mama pig can have up to 16 babies a year. Pedro wants you to know that poor people all over the world could use pigs to help them have better lives. Let me tell you a story: Marcelina was the mother of small children, and she was often afraid during the time of year when there wasn t much to eat in her village far, far from here. She didn t know how her family would ever make it through to the next growing season. But when people from an organization called Outreach International came to work in her village for several years, she was encouraged at all of the good ideas her friends and neighbors presented as ways to have enough to eat. Little by little, the village began to work together. The farmers started a rice co-op, selling rice at reduced prices during the difficult times. They began to make flip-flops and sell them in a nearby store. And yes, they even started a pig business. Soon her family and others were beginning to actually make money by raising and selling pigs. And they used the fertilizer made from the pig poop to help grow better crops. Eventually Marcelina was able to say, We have new possibilities for our lives. My children can buy a full lunch at school, and we might even have enough someday to buy our own land. Here at church we support Outreach International. Its job is to help people help themselves get out of deep poverty. Outreach does this in lots of different ways, but today you can remember that one of those ways is to help people in poor villages start raising pigs. It s a simple answer to a big problem. So now I m going to offer a little prayer, and then I will give each of you a cup so that you can go out into the congregation and collect money to give to Outreach International. We can do our part to help others. I think Jesus would like that very much. (A prayer is offered.) (The cups are passed out.) (The children take up the Outreach offering.) Kids, when you are finished come on back up here. Hand me your cups and we ll put them right over here. Now before you go back to your seats, here is an Advent Calendar for you to take home and hang in your room or maybe on the fridge. This is a special calendar that will remind you to do good things for other people every day from now until Christmas. And also, here is a button with Pedro the Pig on it to help us remember all the good things Outreach International does to help others. Thanks. You may return to your seats now. See you next week. (Note: If you have a plush toy pig, you may wish to have one of the children place Pedro in or near the Nativity scene/set right after the story.)
A GOAT MEANS LOVE LOVE outreach-international.org
Props: Advent Week Two December 7, 2014 1) Poster with Gracie the Goat on it, and the story of the week on the back side. (Note: A plush toy goat is preferable over the poster picture of Gracie.) 2) Advent Calendars for each child who did not receive one last week. 3) Gracie the Goat button for each child. 4) Outreach International Sustainable Gifts Catalogs - Enough for each family. 5) Nativity Scene/Set prominently displayed in the room. Starting the Journey with Gracie the Goat Would all the children like to join me here in the front of the church? Hi again, everyone. Some of you might remember Gracie the Goat from last Christmas season. Well, she s back to help us with our Children s Moment this morning. This is the second Sunday of Advent and we are still on our journey to Bethlehem to remember the birthday of Jesus. Advent is a special time of year when we prepare for Christmas and for serving Jesus by helping others. And on this Sunday, we want to emphasize that by helping others, we are helping share LOVE just the way Jesus asks us to. Look right over there and you will see our congregation s stable, and manger. You will also notice that there are some little statues. They represent the different ones that were there the night of Jesus birth, like Mary and Joseph. And yes, some of those present were animals. After all, a stable is like a barn, and barns are houses for animals. So Gracie the Goat wants me to tell you some important things about goats. Most of all, please remember that goats can be very helpful to people who are really poor and want to find ways to have a better life. When poor people in poor countries have a goat, they have a source of milk (yes, you can drink goat s milk), fertilizer, a way for children to learn how to care for animals, food, and even a way to make money by selling the baby goats to others. Now let s hear a story: Ten years ago, the people in the African village of Zimwanda, Malawi were not happy. People were hungry and even dying from the lack of clean water and good food. There weren t enough jobs for the moms and dads. People were living on handouts from the government. It was a bad time. But one day our friends at Outreach International began to work with the people of Zimwanda. The adults began to get organized, and the women began to take the lead with projects. The people themselves decided that clean water and irrigation were high priorities and soon they began to build wells and lay water pipes in the gardens. And then came the goats. The people learned how to feed the goats and how to keep them healthy. They built pens, which are places for the goats to live. Soon there were several different groups raising goats. Eventually over 5,000 people benefitted from the goat projects. As one farmer named Fabian said, Since we have learned to help ourselves, we are proud of our knowledge of farming and raising goats. We can even buy food and pay for our children s school fees. Thank you, Outreach International, for helping us believe in ourselves. Oh, and thanks to all the goats, because goat poop even helps us fertilize our crops out in the fields. Last week we took up an offering to help Outreach International help the world s poor people. We re going to do the same thing right now. You know what? When we help others, we are also helping ourselves learn to be good, kind, generous boys and girls who want to make a difference in this world. And that s a very good thing. (A prayer is offered.) (The cups are passed out.) (The children take up the Outreach Offering.) Kids, when you are finished collecting the money, bring it right back up here. Now I d like you to pass out to each family a copy of the Outreach International Sustainable Gifts Catalog. In it, you can purchase symbolic gifts that will help support the mission of Outreach. (The Sustainable Gifts Catalogs are passed out.) Thanks. Now come get your Gracie the Goat button to take home. Also, if any of you didn t get one of these Advent Calendars last week, I can give you one. Don t forget to do good things for others all this week. You may return to your seats. (Note: If you have a plush toy goat, you may wish to have one of the children place Gracie in or near the Nativity scene/ set right after the story.)
A SHEEP BRINGS JOY JOY outreach-international.org
Props: Advent Week Three December 14, 2014 1) Poster with Sheldon the Sheep on it, and the story of the week on the back side. (Note: A plush toy sheep is preferable over the poster picture of Sheldon.) 2) Advent Calendars for each child who did not yet receive one. 3) Sheldon the Sheep button for each child. 4) Outreach International map. 5) Nativity Scene/Set prominently displayed in the room. On Down the Road with Sheldon the Sheep Hey kids. Good morning! Come right on up to the front and join me for a Children s Moment. Well I m happy to see all of you this morning. It s getting closer and closer to Christmas, and here at church we continue to celebrate Advent, which is a time to prepare for Jesus birthday on December 25. Today is the third Sunday of Advent, and we are going to continue to travel on down the road to Bethlehem with Sheldon the Sheep. As we travel, we want to show our JOY and happiness for all of the good things of life. Some of you will remember that as we get closer and closer to the stable in Bethlehem, we realize that not only will Mary and Joseph and the baby be there, but also the animals that lived at the stable all the time. And so that s where Sheldon the sheep comes in. Sheldon wants you to know that there were probably lots of sheep at the stable or at least nearby. And the people who take care of sheep - called shepherds - actually came to see the Baby Jesus. I bet they brought at least some of their sheep with them. Well sheep still play an important part in the world today. In rich countries, sheep are used to make wool. People have worn wool for thousands of years, and we still do today. If your dad or grandpa has a suit, I bet it s made of wool. Sheep are also used in rich countries like ours for food. But sheep also play a really important part in some of the poorest countries of the world. What are some of those poor countries? The map that I am holding up shows some of those. In fact, this map shows the countries where our friends at Outreach International help people help themselves so they can have better lives. Look. These countries aren t just in one spot, but are all over the place. And I m sorry to tell you that there are way more poor countries than just these. Well now, back to sheep. Not only do they give us wool and food, they also give milk, and their fat can be made into soap and candles. One mama sheep generally has two lambs each year, and when they are bigger, they can be sold to other farmers in order to make money. And another good thing is that sheep eat weeds, which can improve the quality of the farmers land. Oh, and lots of times kids can help raise the sheep, which could be kind of fun, don t you think? Here s today s story...... that Sheldon wants you to know. In the village of Sapilica, Bolivia, way up high in the Andes Mountains, people do not have banks. There is no place for them to keep their money. Even if they had banks, the poor people wouldn t have much to put in the bank. So instead, they raise and buy sheep, and use them as a form of money. They try to have extra sheep in their flock and use them like a savings account. When they need cash or need to purchase school supplies or grain or medicine, the people take one of their sheep and sell it. Even when they go to the market (which is more like our farmer s markets instead of a grocery store), they can trade a sheep or sheep s milk, wool, lamb, or cheese for other goods, instead of using money. Our friends at Outreach International help people get started in the sheep-raising business. They help people get trained in order to know how to care for the sheep, especially when they get sick. Outreach also teaches the people how they can help find other organizations that will give them the money to start a sheep business. Lots of people work together from all over the world to help really poor people. And we do our part right here at church. Let me offer a little prayer and then you can take up today s offering for Outreach International. Now don t forget anyone! (A prayer is offered.) (The cups are passed out.) (The children take up the offering.) Hey kids, bring those cups right back here and set them there. Good. Now here is your Sheldon the Sheep pin to take home. Do any of you still need an Advent Calendar? I have some more. And remember, keep looking at your Advent calendars at home and keep doing good things for others. Oh, and if you haven t given any of your own money for the Outreach offering, you might want to do that next week. You are never too young to start helping others with your money. Thanks. You may return to your seats. I hope we see you next Sunday. (Note: If you have a plush toy sheep, you may wish to have one of the children place Sheldon in or near the Nativity scene/set right after the story.)
A CHICKEN SHARES PEACE ORDI NA RY GI F T S T HAT M A K E A N E X E C A E P outreach-international.org
Props: Advent Week Four December 21, 2014 1) Poster with Chelsea the Chicken on it, and the story of the week on the back side. (Note: A plush toy chicken is preferable over the poster picture of Chelsea.) 2) Advent Calendars for each child who did not yet receive one. 3) Chelsea the Chicken button for each child. 4) Nativity Scene/Set prominently displayed in the room. The Last Steps on the Journey with Chelsea the Chicken It s time for all of the children to come up front with me. Would you join me? Good morning girls and boys. Christmas is almost here! It s only four days away. Speaking of the number four, today is the fourth and final Sunday of Advent. Today we begin the last piece of our journey to the Advent stable. And today we take that journey with our friend Chelsea the Chicken. I wouldn t be surprised at all if there were chickens there the night that Jesus was born. They have been around for a long time, and people all over the world benefit from what chickens can do for us, whether we are rich or poor. Did you know that a female chicken can lay over 200 eggs each year, and they can have lots and lots of baby chicks as well. Chelsea reminds us that chickens are really easy to raise, and that kids can do it all on their own. They don t require much food or land. In other words, people who are really poor and don t have much education or training can raise them. The eggs can be used as food, the chickens can be used as food, and the chicks and chickens can be sold at market in order to make money. Let s listen to a story: In the far away African village of Kalebuka, in the country called the Democratic Republic of Congo, the people have very little money. Food is sometimes hard to come by, and opportunities for education are few. But when a member of the Outreach International staff was sent to Kalebuka, things began to change. And it was the people in the village who did the changing themselves! Raising, using, and selling chickens is now a good business there. Why chickens? For all of the reason we ve already talked about this morning. The are simple to raise. The kids can help out when their parents and grandparents are out in the fields farming. Anne is one of the women who lives in that village. She says, I no longer have to travel to town to buy chickens or eggs. My family has a good source of protein in the eggs. And the fact that I can run a successful chicken business means my family will not have to face so many financial crises. Now kids, Outreach International helps people in lots and lots of villages get chickens. In fact, Outreach International has helped over one-third of a million people. That s a lot. And when we help organizations like Outreach, we are telling the world that everyone deserves to be free from poverty. And when every single one of us is finally out of poverty, then there will be new and wonderful kind of PEACE everywhere. OK. It s time to collect our last offering this year for Outreach International. Let me say a short prayer, and then I ll hand out the cups so that you can go out and receive the money. (A prayer is offered.) (The cups are passed out.) (The children take up the Outreach offering.) OK everyone, come on back up here with your cups and put them right over there. Now I have a Chelsea the Chicken button for each one of you. And if any of you don t have an Advent calendar to take home, I have a few extra ones here I can pass out. Don t forget to do good things for people every day. And I hope you and your family have a wonderful holiday. Merry Christmas! (Note: If you have a plush toy chicken, you may wish to have one of the children place Chelsea in or near the Nativity scene/set right after the story.)
ADVENT STABLE WORLD MAP WHERE OUTREACH INTERNATIONAL WORKS IN THE WORLD Chelsea the Chicken USA Pedro the Pig NICARAGUA HAITI INDIA PHILIPPINES BOLIVIA DR CONGO ZAMBIA MALAWI Gracie the Goat Sheldon the Sheep