Day 1 - Holiday Club & Sports/Crafts Camp

Today was our first day of holiday club.  Club will run from 10 am until 12 pm each day this week. 

It's a pirate themed club this week and the kids are really loving it.  The townfolk from Nairn have really gotten into and are playing it as well which is so fun to see!  They were all in jeans and black t-shirts today... clearly the Americans missed that memo!  The folks here in Nairn did all of the planning and decorating for the hall this year which was a good help to us upon arrival since it allowed us to be in bed before midnight!

Here's a picture of two of the three "M's"... Megan and Mud.  (The third M - not pictured here is Maggie, Mud's wife... although he did name his parrot Maggie too)!

And here's one of my group working on their treasure chest... fully decorated in their pirate hats and eye patches!

We had around 70 kids at club today, which is a great number.  We all meet in one room, so this many kids can be quite hectic.  We split into 8 groups of approximately 8-12 kids depending on their ages.  Each group has two leaders - one Narin leader and one American leader - and at least one and in many cases two teen helpers, all of whom are from Nairn.

Here are a few pictures of the hall, fully decorated for club!

The stage, ready for the drama team to commence Monday morning...

Our daily schedule... we at least try to keep as close to schedule as possible!

And instead of a net filled with balloons, this year, we have a sky mural to enjoy.

I didn't get too many photos at club today.  I did more video taping than photographing today.  Hopefully I'll get some good pictures tomorrow of club that I can post for you to see.

After club, we had a little less than two hours to grab a wee bite to eat for lunch before returning to the hall for the sports/crafts camp.  We had a good turnout for the first day.  Many of the girls and a few fellas made a cross by number craft with thread and painted a magnet or two.  There was a good mix of boys and girls who were wanting to play sports - today it was ultimate frisbee... Trey and Morgan style rules... 

Here are a few pictures from the afternoon activities.

Ethan going in for a touchdown... only he came up a little shy of the goal-line.

The girls playing jacks after they had finished their crafts up.  Zoe won them in a game that Elaine plays with the kids as they finish their crafts.

Deanna, Zoe, & Kaylee painting their magnets.

Please continue to pray for the club.  Pray for the hearts of these kids as they are daily exposed to the Gospel of Truth - pray that their eyes and ears would be open to see and hear the Word of God and be changed in such a way that they would become a new creation as we discussed today.  Pray for the tea time that is held for the moms each day during the same time as the club - there were 7 moms that stayed for tea and a devotion & prayer!  May lives and families be touched by these ministries as relationships are build and sustained on a Gospel foundation.  Pray for the sports/crafts camp in the afternoon - that the one-on-one time we have with the kids, even if only for a brief moment or two, would be edifying and encouraging to these young kids, believers and non-believers alike.  Pray that we would be the hands and feet of Christ, spreading the Gospel with love to our friends here - pray that they may see Jesus in us, that our actions would match our words and that we would love these children, their parents & families, and the entire Nairn community well.  And may all of the honor and glory be given to God alone!

Cheers!