The Party!

Tuesday, November 30 - Ebenezer

2010-12-04T07:15:00.000-08:00

I have to tell you about this last week at The Party. To start with, we've been steadily gaining in numbers, and for the last couple of weeks we've had around 30 kids each night. This Tuesday was no exception. However, we didn't have the teen helpers we normally get from Western. That's because the chorus was performing Tuesday night at the annual choir festival. So we had two teen helpers - both of whom left early to go to perform.

This left us really short of helpers - in fact, our one group didn't have any teen helpers at all! This was the group of boys, whom we group together so that they can get lots of wrestling time, and other support from the group leaders. And, they were awesome! In fact, all of the kids were awesome. I can't remember another time when as a group the entire bunch of kids was so calm. They were amazing for the circle time, when we sing together and worship; this is a time that can be quite chaotic, when some kids try to continue running around. They were also extremely well-behaved for each of the centres. There was only one cup of water spilled at the snack station (we sometimes average 3-4 cups per group); and each group had less than half of the helpers we generally have.

It is so good to see the Lord working among us. I can definitely say, the Lord's hand was with us, because we've never had a week like that - and on a week when we had fewer helpers, and needed the calm, it was really amazing!

I feel like erecting a stone of remembrance to say, "Thus far the Lord has helped us."

Back at Wascana School

2010-09-19T21:17:00.001-07:00

I took the month of August off from helping with The Party. Tuesday we were back at Wascana, which was good because it was cold and rainy out. We had 32 kids I think (at least that many, it could have been as many as 35). The only helpers we had from Western were Bram and Amelia, so we were really glad they were there - we had 10 helpers in all, which really wasn't enough. A wild and crazy time was had by all (as per usual). We're looking forward to reestablishing a routine. We're starting a new series of lessons. As we had done OT last year, we're doing NT this year, so we started with the the angel Gabriel and the messages he gave to Mary and Zechariah.

The Party in the summer

2010-07-25T19:30:00.000-07:00

I'll update what's been happening since summer holidays have started.

We're holding The Party in the summer in the park at the corner of 7th and Pasqua. It's still on Tuesday nights from 6 through 8 pm. We've had pretty good weather every evening so far. The number of kids that come out is really variable however. We've had as many as about 25 or so, and as few as three or four. Last week we had about 15 at one time, but they sort of trickled away and we had about five at the end.

The program isn't as formal in the summer. We play games, and have a story, and sometimes a snack. We're primarily trying to build relationships.

This week, however is different. There's a group up from Texas to help us put on a VBS. It started this afternoon with a carnival at the park. It was a beautiful sunny day (I'm very red now). I thought it was really hot but the Texans assured us that it was beautiful weather.

We had around 50 kids out I think, as well as a number of parents. We'll have to see how many we can get out tomorrow for the first day of VBS.

Year End

2010-06-14T09:10:00.001-07:00

Year-end Party at the Party

On Tuesday night we had our year end supper and we had 83 kids (a new record, previous high was 54!), over 40 helpers (also a new record!), and we don’t know how many parents/grandparents, approximately 15 who came. In addition, some of the parents/grandparents prepared food but didn’t come. We had good participation from the community.

We were thrilled with the turnout and the evening, it was excellent. We can build on that for the summer for Mission 6:10.

Here are some of the ways we see God working:
• Of course, the number of kids coming is a huge blessing. Many of them don’t have much food at home – some of them coming starving for food. But they also come starving for attention. Some of them, their parents are rather absent. So this is a chance to show them God’s love.
• We are meeting more and more parents and grandparents. Some of them who came Tues night said they would have helped prepare and bring food if they had known about it. We want these events to be community building times, where we do things with the parents and grandparents, not just for them. This was a good start in that direction.
• One of the teachers at Wascana School where we hold the Party is a member at Glen Elm church. She has a wonderful spirit and is a good teacher, her name is Barb Slywka. Some of her students invited her to the Party Tues night and she came. That was a neat connection!
• People of peace – we see the janitor as a person of peace. He had all the tables set up for us when we got there. We also worked hard to keep the food out of the gym and clean up after ourselves. He told me after how pleased he was that we are there, how good of a job we had done cleaning up, and that the school would want to know the next day how it went. Any time there is food, the school is concerned for the clean up, etc. He told me he would give a glowing report of the night, and also said to me that he hoped we would be back next year. This position is an important one because it can influence whether we can continue to use the school or not.
• Spiritual formation of our own people – one of the neatest things about the Party is how this is forming us. We have attracted a lot of students from WCC to help, but also several people from our own church who are new the last year, have really plugged into the party. Some of them shared how much their lives have changed since they started coming to our church, all the people they have met and the way they have gotten involved. Each Tues night, after the kids leave, we gather for a time of prayer with the staff. We go around the circle and discuss how we have seen God working. Then we pray together. This formative time has been a huge blessing.

We are all rejoicing after our event the other night. God is good!

Family Night

2010-06-13T07:16:00.001-07:00

We had a celebration for the end of the year and invited families to come out last Tuesday. There were lots of people there. It was hard to get an accurate headcount but:
- there were at least 83 kids. (We counted 77 in the gym and I know at least 5 came in after that.
- there were at least 40 helpers. (We have to keep count of helpers because students get service horus for participating.)
- there were quite a few parents, grandparents, aunties, uncles, and siblings.
So, I'm guessing that there was just under 150 people there! That sets several records! A new record for kids attending; a new record for helpers attending, a new record for total bodies there!

There was enough food as well! We had planned to have indian tacos (bannock, hamburger, sour cream, salsa, etc.) and had asked families to bring hamburger meat. We had also cooked up a bunch of hamburger meat ahead of time. The Steiners spent the day making bannock. It all went!

It was chaotic (it always is), and fun. We had a short program to show the parents what we'd been doing all year, and then everyone ate. It was raining or drizzling outside so everyone was inside, but there was room for everyone.

Next week is our final week in the school and then we move to the park for the summer.

Tuesday, May 25

2010-05-25T21:35:00.001-07:00

We had a smaller group tonight. It was cold and rainy out, which may have affected attendance. We had around 38 kids and about 22 helpers. It was pizza night, which is always a big hit. Ruth did the story of the ten commandments and the golden calf. The theme idea was Choose God, Choose Life.

Kevin, Greg and Caleb are doing great things with the boys group. I peeked in for a bit, when they were having a prayer time and was amazed.

I'm seeing so much growth, not just with the kids, but also with the helpers. We had two new helpers out tonight. Because it's the last few practices before the musical at Western, a number of helpers weren't able to come. However, the Lord continues to provide, and we had sufficient helpers.

Tuesday, May 17

2010-05-22T07:10:00.000-07:00

I think we had about 48 kids - lots of helpers too - at least 16 high school helpers, plus the rest of us adults, lets say, around 25 helpers. God is good - all the time. The mother of one of our regular attenders was supposed to be discharged from the hospital this past week. She had to have part of her leg amputated due to blood poisoning. We have been praying for her and her family, and I know that prayers will still be needed for some time now.

Ruth combined the story of Rahab with the walls of Jericho, so we're going to have to think about how to change things a little in the upcoming weeks. I don't think that crossing the Jordan - the 12 stones of remembrance will be sufficient for her to spin it into a story long enough and the week after that will need to be changed anyway. Perhaps we can add the "choose this day whom you will serve". Ruth and I will need to do some planning here.

This is two weeks now we've had five groups instead of four; Kevin and a few helpers has taken the older boys and worked with them separately instead of having them integrated as part of the other groups. That's gone very well; they get positive attention instead of just attention as we try to corral them back to the group they're supposed to be in.

The last two sessions

2010-05-12T15:16:00.000-07:00

Last week there was a bingo at school on Tuesday night so we couldn't use it. We went back to the park where we met all summer. The only catch was that it was windy and cold. We didn't have as many kids because the bingo was for kids that attend school. I was happy to go back to the Steiners. Their house is small; we were crowded, but there was space enough for everyone. We did a large group story instead of breaking up into groups. It was pizza night, which is always a big hit - and there weren't any left-overs. In fact, we cut the last box of pieces in half to ensure it all went around. I think we likely had more helpers than kids last week, but it was all good.

Last night was a slightly different story. We had at least 54 kids out; and 24 helpers - and two mothers who stayed as well. That's a new record! The weather was beautiful and we were able to have one group outside. Instead of breaking up into four groups, we broke into five - with the group of the oldest boys (who need separate attention) not circulating but staying with Kevin and Greg. We still had groups of 9 or 10, but it was doable. Snack went over well - we had chocolate cake and orange slices. I had brought a 5 lb sack of oranges and cut them into sixths. However, the oranges only lasted through the first two groups, so Jeff ran out to Extra Foods and purchased a second 5 lb sack for us. God is good, because things went well for all I think.

Some Photos

2010-04-27T09:25:00.000-07:00

Here's what our ministry looks like; here's why we do what we do.

April 28-June 15 Plans

2010-04-25T20:27:00.001-07:00

Date	Lesson	Lesson Theme
April 27	12 men went to spy out Canaan	Trust
May 4	Complaining in the desert/Snake on a stick	Thankfulness
May 11	Balaam and the Donkey	Obeying God
May 18	Rahab and the Two Spies	God can use anyone
May 25	Crossing the Jordan/ 12 stones	Remembering what God has done
June 1	Walls of Jericho	God's Power
June 8	Samson	Keeping Your Promises
June 15	Ruth	Willingness to Serve

Tuesday, April 20

2010-04-25T20:18:00.000-07:00

We had a unique evening. We had an equal number of kids and helpers - 25 of each. It made for a great child/adult ratio (actually, some of the helpers are teens); we just had each kid find a helper. There were two reasons for this; one was that we had fewer children than we usually have been having; we've been averaging over 30. The second reason is that we've been pushing for extra helpers to come out because our college students have finished their term and most of them will be gone shortly. So it allowed us to do a little bit of orientation with the new helpers that came out. It was all good.

April 13

2010-04-14T06:59:00.001-07:00

This was our first day back hosting The Party after Easter break. I was thinking that we'd likely have fewer kids because it had been pouring rain for much of the day. Actually, we had over 30 kids again (31 I think) and sufficient helpers. Ruth was sick, so I did the story telling - which gave me a great deal of appreciation for the fine job she does. Rose stepped up to the plate and handled the snacks (usually my station). Snack was decorating cookies, so it was a little more challenging than normal but she also did a great job. We had quite a few new faces this week, which is also encouraging.

Please pray for this ministry as quite a few of our regular helpers are college students and now that the college is ending for the term, we will really miss their assistance and support.

March 30

2010-04-01T06:40:00.000-07:00

I didn't make The Party this week. I had gone home sick from school in the afternoon and really wasn't feeling up to going. I felt a little guilty as this is the first time I've missed since I've started helping with it in the fall - but not that guilty as I really wasn't well. I gave my van keys to the girls downstairs who help with The Party as well, and went to bed. (They needed my van because all of the snack stuff: cups, plates, serviettes, juice jug, etc. are in the back of my van.)

Anyway, apparently there were 32 kids at The Party and things went fairly smoothly. That's three weeks in a row that we've had over 30 children. Prior to this, we've been averaging around 20 kids, so that's a big jump. We'll now have a week off because of Easter Break and will start again after the break.

Report on Last Night

2010-03-24T07:11:00.001-07:00

We had 39 children last night (and 17 helpers)! That's a lot of bodies! It was perhaps, more helpers than we need, but because we never know how many helpers we're going to need, we'd always like to have more helpers than less helpers. We can always use more help. Things went as smoothly as you can expect with 56 people there. Snack was pizza and hotdogs. All the pizza went (as could be expected?) and nearly all of the hotdogs. I think there was less than a dozen hotdogs left over. The pizza's donated once a month from Dominos - thanks Dominos. Mrs. Jacobs donated the hotdogs. It was 10 boxes of pizza I think (medium) - that's a lot of pizza to be donated! I think maybe 4 dozen hotdogs? A fair bit of food in any case.

February-March Plans

2010-02-09T05:30:00.001-08:00

Date	Lesson	Memory Verse
Feb 9	God is our Peace Judges 6:1-24 Gideon	Psalm 46:1
Feb 16	God is our Peace Mark 9:17-26 and Luke 13:10-17 Jesus heals woman crippled for 18 years and boy possessed by a demon Contrast with synagogue ruler who didn't like the healing.	Romans 5:1
Feb 23	God is our Healer Exodus 15:22-26;32 God promises to heal the Israelites if they obey Him. Bitter water is changed.	Psalm 103:2-3
March 2	God is our Healer Matthew 9:1-8 Paralyzed man brought to Jesus by friends	Psalm 147:3
March 9	God is our Righteousness Exodus 20:1-20 10 Commandments	I John 1:9
March 16	God is our Righteousness Matthew 7:13-14 & John 14:6 Narrow and Wide Paths	John 14:6
March 23	God is Always There Matthew 28 How Jesus' friends and disciples reacted to His death and resurrection	Job 34:21
March 30	God is our Good Shepherd Psalm 23 How does God take care of our every need	Psalm 23:1

Growth

2010-01-21T04:57:00.001-08:00

For the past two weeks we've had 21 kids attending. (Maybe more - last week we had three students attend who came really late, so they may not have been signed in). This week we had three new kids that had never attended before. That's also encouraging.

Things have been going fairly well. We've had sufficient helpers, and that's what really makes a difference. Thanks so much for everyone who has helped. We honestly couldn't do it without you.

We've had a planning meeting for this summer when we're going to do a VBS for the same group of kids in July. The group from Dallas sent up seven people on a planning trip to work with us, as they're hoping to send up as many as 100 people to help with some of the things we're hoping to do this summer. That was very encouraging.

January Plans

2009-12-31T07:50:00.001-08:00

	Story	Games/Memory Verse	Craft/Activity/ Discussion	Snack
	Ruth	Kirk/Daryl	Lisa/Kevin	May/Kristin
Jan 5	"Jehovah Jireh" - God is our Provider	Follow the Leader – Philippians 4:19	Names/Sticky activity	Susan Roberts provides
	Ruth & Naomi	Mother May I?
Jan 12	"Jehovah Jireh" - God is our Provider	James 1:17 – Group/Regroup	Decorated name cards	White snacks that remind us of God's holiness
	Jesus – God's gift	Bouncing Challenge		Milessa Peterson provides
Jan 19	Jehovah Nissi – God is our Battle Fighter	Romans 8:31 with hand motions	Make shields	Elaine Vance provides
	Israelites vs. Amelekites	Red Light Green Light
Jan 26 Repeat these 5-7 minute centres	Jehovah Nissi – God is our Battle Fighter			Monthly Pizza order
	Armor of God – Shield of Faith activity	Helmet of Salvation Activity	Belt of Truth Centre	Sword of the Spirit Centre

January 5 Plans

2009-12-26T08:33:00.001-08:00

Theme: Jehovah Jirah - God is our Provider

Story: Ruth - Ruth & Naomi - Ruth to bring wicker basket
Craft/Science: Names of God - from book
Snack/Journal: Hummas & whole wheat crackers?
Game: Mother may I?

Planning: Group from Dallas will be here Jan. 12

Meeting Minutes

2009-12-26T08:05:00.000-08:00

We had a meeting at May's apartment Wednesday, December 30, to work on plans for The Party for next year. We discussed what's working, what's not, discipline, suggestions and planning for January. Here's the minutes:

Present: Kevin, Lisa, Caleb, Carissa, Ruth, Walter, May, Kristin, Daryl. Regrets: Kirk, college students.

What's working:
Regular routines, the larger space, more kids coming, the snack/meal, having more helpers, coloured marks on hands for each group, mixed aged groupings, group leaders, using the foyer as well as the gym.

What's not working:
Kids running into the bathrooms, going up on the stage, playing with the mats, not always enough helpers for group leaders for each group, Dwight needs one on one.

Suggestions:

Have a designated supervisor for the stage area with a designated activity to be played there (ie. use the nets already stored there - for mini floor hockey).
Use the point system to "catch them being good".
Have preassigned areas for each of the adults/helpers.
Use mats for assigned seating areas.
Have a journalling option during snack time.
Have more new songs/ song sheets with words
Put the organization onto the blog - what's happening each week, who's assigned where
Need more props for story time (ie. wicker basket) - looking for more suggestions - maybe a bathrobe?

Discipline:

We need to be all on the same page and proactive
Have reasonable consequences, a time out space and someone to work/talk 1:1 with anyone sent to timeout. (Time out could be the far couches outside the admin office? - who could be the designated adult to work with those sent there - Kirk?)
Mats only to be used when taken down by adult/helper for specific activity and returned immediately afterwards.
Respect taught directly - children being disrespectful need to go home.

Organization:
6:00 - 6:40 Children arrive, are greeted, names on sign-in chart, play in gym
6:20 - 6:40 Older girls (9-11 years old) have special session just for them, taught by Lisa?
6:40 - 7:00 Singing in couch area, children either on couch or on mats, assigned seating
7:00 - 7:05 Split into groups - coloured marks on hands
7:05 - 7:17 1st rotation
7:17 - 7:29 2nd rotation
7:29 - 7:41 3rd rotation
7:41 - 7:53 Final rotation
7:53 - 8:00 Coats on, ready to go home, sign-out on clipboard

Rotations: Story, snack/journalling, games, craft or science - 12 min per rotation

Tasks:

May

Will make up song sheets with old & new songs,
Will purchase journals,
Will update blog
Will supervise doors & foyer during first gym time
Will teach new songs during singing?

Lisa

Will organize the weekly plans - who does what
Will e-mail May the info for updating blog
Will purchase book for small group for pre-teen girls
Will teach pre-teen girls (with Kristin)

Daryl

Will develop a star chart, reward system
Will plan gym/activity time
With Kevin will check on Dwight going to boxing program with Jonathon & Sarah

Kristin

Will teach pre-teen girls (with Lisa)

Kevin

When available will help with gym time

Kirk

Will help with gym time

Caleb

Will supervise stage?

Christmas Break

2009-12-10T20:42:00.000-08:00

The Party won't meet until the new year. We had 24 kids for our last time before the break. Seeing as we only had six helpers - it was pretty hectic, but things went very well.

If you're wanting to help in the new year - many hands make light work! I'll try to get the stories & activities planned and up on the website before January.

Coming Up

2009-11-16T18:57:00.001-08:00

November 17 - Nehemiah; Lisa will be away - Kendra will fill in for her.
November 24 - Handwriting on the wall
December 1 - Solomon
December 8 - Devotional and Christmas party (gym time and cookie decorating?)
It would be good to have more rather than fewer helpers for the Dec. 8 activity.

Snacks:
1st Tuesday of the Month: Susan R
2nd Tuesday :Melissa P
3rd Tuesday : Elaine V or is it Elaine J? (Lisa said it was Elaine V - I guess she would know :)
4th Tuesday : Dominos Pizza

Last Tuesday

2009-10-31T15:25:00.000-07:00

Was our first time at Wascana School. It was a little bit crazy (it's always a little bit crazy); and very loud. We had 23 kids and 10 helpers - and lots of donuts and ended the evening with pizza. All of which went over well.

October 27

2009-10-23T19:33:00.000-07:00

We're now at Wascana School Tuesdays from 6-8 pm.

Bible Story: Esther
Science: Afraid of shadows; globe & light
Snack: none assigned yet
Games: The trust game

Needs: More helpers; games equipment (balls, beanbags, etc.)

Note: All children must be signed in and out for their safety and for security reasons.

We're thinking of having a field trip to Elford's farm Saturday, Oct. 31. They could ride horses, and have safer alternative to trick or treating. We will have permission forms for the children to sign at The Party. They would have to bring the forms with them when we pick them up on Saturday.

October 21

2009-10-23T19:18:00.000-07:00

Bible Story: Daniel and his three friends. (vegetarians)
Snack: Vegetables (of course!); celery sticks with peanut butter, carrots, banana slices
hot chocolate with marshmallows and cold lemonade
Games: Red Light/Green Light
Science: conduction (hot water, wooden popsicle stick, plastic knife, metal knife, margarine)
Which conducts heat the fastest?

News: We will be moving to Wascana School starting next week. We will also be changing to Tuesday nights. This means that the next The Party will be Tuesday, October 26 from 6:00 to 8:00.

There are several bonuses to changing locations:

We've really outgrown Daryl and Kristen's house (this is a big one).
It's more accessible for children with disabilities (the narrow stairs were a hindrance for some children)
We'll have gym space. As it's getting cold and dark out, it will be a big benefit to have an indoor space.
Most of the children already go to Wascana School, so they are familiar with it.

Some possible disadvantages will be:

Some of our helpers (Daryl and Sarah M.) have a night class on Tuesdays until Christmas; so we will need new and/or more helpers.
We will likely have to transport many/all of the children to and from the school.

So.... we're looking for more helpers - Tuesday nights from 6:00 to 8:00 pm at Wascana School. (This will count as community service hours for students).

Needs: Indoor play equipment (such as balls, a ball pump, bean bags, etc.)