Holiday Bible Circus

"The Lord your God is the greatest God of all. He is the greatest Lord of all. He is the great God. He is mighty and wonderful."
- Deut. 10.17 NIRV

He most certainly is! We had such a wonderful week (27 July 1998) this year for our Holiday Bible Circus. With an average of 65 children attending every day, we found ourselves rejoicing at the way God was working. It was good to see after months and months of preparation, everything come together.

Our circus theme this year was the vehicle by which we taught about WHO GOD IS. Every day we taught a different characteristic of God. For example, Monday we introduced Samson, the Strongman, who taught that real strength only comes from God. We then saw how Moses, the Ringmaster, learned that God was in charge. Wednesday, was Elijah, the Fire Eater, who goes it alone for God to show His power. Thursday, we met Daniel, the Lion Tamer, who showed us God's faithfulness and Friday was Jonah, the Escape Artist, who found out that you can't run away from the God of Love. Again we had a theme song to start and end every day that stated our purpose, "Let God Arise....let His enemies be scattered." We also had a clown act before the day started for those who arrived early (as most did!) Many good action songs filled our first 15 minutes followed by the memory verse and Bible story. We had crafts, games, funsheets, and the Watt Family Circus drama. The 10-12 time slot was packed with a variety of activity and was enjoyed by children and grownups alike.

I must say now that none of this week could've been possible had it not been for a team of young people from Harmony Grove Community Church who came to assist us. They prepared many of the parts of the programme for us and did an excellent job with everything. It was so good for them to be here with us - for their experience and for the blessing it was to us. It really was a huge blessing! They worked well together, put their all into everything, and I was never at a shortage for help. The phrase I heard the most was, "What can I do for you?" I don't know about you, but I can never get tired of that one! We couldn't have done it without them. They went back to America as friends, not just as a team. They will be missed. Thank you, again, Todd, Kristen, Elisha Kay, Michelle, Angie, Elesha, Joy, Tim, Joe, and Weir. We couldn't have done it without you!

The best part of the week was Friday when we finished the week with the God of Love. On Friday, the story of God's love was given in a simple, short, easy to understand way, using the God's Love Colours (black, red, white, yellow, green). All of us were amazed at how God opened the hearts of these children to understand the love Jesus has for them. They were able to tell us throughout the rest of the day what each colour meant in great detail and with real understanding. Parents even came up to us to tell us that their child had told them all about the colours and what they meant. (P.S. - our craft for Friday was to make a bracelet with the five colour beads - THEY LOVED IT.) The gospel (and the exciting week the children enjoyed) had reached into many homes all over Dartmouth by the end of the week. That for us was the most exciting part.

Thank you to all of you who remembered to pray for us and this very special week for Youth Action Dartmouth. Your prayers were heard and answered in remarkable ways.