Some end of year stuff...

The last couple of weeks in 2014 were pretty cool and lots of activity.  We took our Monday night into Aberdeen to see the "Penguins of Madagascar" movie and then to Pizza Hut for something to eat.  It was a good night with pretty much everything going smoothly. On the way through we were delayed for a while because of a bad car crash, (fortunately there were no serious injuries) but we still made it on time and we're thankful for answered prayers along the way. There were 17 of us on the trip. I had help from Jr and Daisha, CJ and my Holly and Hannah. It was nice to be able to spend some time with the kids and the time in Pizza Hut was great for being able to sit and listen to their stories and hear the jokes that were printed on the napkins a thousand times :)  

The following Monday we had our final class and presented the trophies for their efforts during the period from August. This was a lot of fun! Since the summer we have been working a points table where the children accumulate points that go towards attendance, tasks, pick of the bunch and Bible. The attendance points are self explanatory, but every week CJ gives out "Task Forms" to the kids who then have to do them at home each day. The task may be to eat fruit and veg, to keep your room tidy, to help clear the dishes from the table etc.  The parent them circles the days they successfully completed their task and signs it ready to hand in the following week. The Bible points are awarded for their Quiz every other week. This past term we are going through the life of Jesus and the kids hear the lesson one week and the following week they are quizzed on what they were taught. The pick of the bunch are points awarded to the most outstanding child of the class. The helpers will all choose who, in their observation, showed exemplary character and who added something special to the class and we will award them additional points in recognition of this. So, with all that in mind we had our presentation! The overall points winners were Naomi Sheets and Robert Deans. The overall bible points winner was also Naomi Sheets. The one with perfect attendance was Calum Rose, who never missed a class! Calum also topped the Task points! Gideon Sheets deserves a mention having been runner up in both Bible and overall. 

Just fresh from our first couple of classes back this year and the early signs are promising for another good year with this group! We had 15 there last night and we are excited to be spending this terms Monday nights together and watching how things develop. 

Our Wednesday nights are in full flow again and we still get a snapshot of the future when we look at this group. Wednesday nights continue to be healthy and focused. There are a brilliant mix of ages on Wednesdays and with that comes life and a real sense of community. 

Towards the end of last year we took our Friday class crowd for a Christmas night out. We began the evening at the bowling alley and then off to Pizza Hut for food, next it was into the dogems and rounded off at Strikers for some late night football. It was a great way to wind up the year with this crowd. Our Friday night class is continuing to be a source of church community for a mix off young Christians, settled seekers and the fresh youth looking for the first time at a Christ focused community.

This past Friday we had a group of 28 meet together. We continue to work at the balance between outreach and integrating to the wider church family. We are seeing a number of teens and young adults looking more closely at Christ and making the church community a consistent part of their weekly focus. Jr and I are pretty aware of the potential within this developing group and it is becoming obvious that the seed is being obsorbed and roots are deepening :)  We are continuing to meet up regularly with those showing more of an appetite for Christ and helping to feed their faith.