The High's Outweigh the Low's

This past Sunday night after returning from our family Easter dinner my husband congratulated me for surviving my first Easter as a staff ministry worker. I said, "uh, thanks." I was not really sure how to respond. I knew Easter was going to be a bit more challenging than an average Sunday and would need a bit more preparation. I didn't realize however the stress I would be under. Part of it was due to my poor planning in deciding to have a birthday party for my daughter the day before. In the twenty four hour period before Easter I had lost my keys three times and probably yelled at my children at least twice that number.

When I accepted the position of director my first Sunday was about one month out from Easter. We had a going away party for the previous director that day and during the meeting I was already trying to recruit volunteers to help on Easter. I was determined to be prepared and ready. Every week I seem to learn new things about this ministry. One thing I'm reminded of each week is no matter how prepared I am there will always be at least one or two glitches. This past week my Easter glitches were the following:

-I ordered sticker sheets from Oriental Trading Company to use as a craft and for the kids to take home. They came in and I didn't think to count them until the Saturday before Easter. Not only were there not enough for the three classrooms I needed them for they turned out to be boring for the kids and not enough of a craft by themselves.

-Because of the sticker sheet fiasco I decided to make up a new craft at the last minute for the four and five year olds.....rock art. I found a bucket of rocks in our resource room and thought the kids could decorate them to symbolize the stone that was rolled away from Jesus tomb. In addition I thought what four year old would not want to take a rock home. Turns out some four year olds don't like rocks and the ones that do like to hit other four year olds in the head with them. Probably a better craft for on older age group.

-I wanted the toddler class to have something special to do for Easter. Because of this age group they don't have as much structure as the other classes so we had an Easter Egg hunt for them. I figured toddlers would love plasic Easter eggs with an animal cracker inside. Well, some of them did but most of them were screaming too much to notice. Key learning for next year is to be sensitive to the fact that kids will be more upset than usual because they might have a different person taking care of them, will have more kids than ususal in their class and more kids they don't know.

-I bought pots of real flowers for our large group stage. In my mind I was thinking Easter, spring, colors, what we would do in adult church for the stage etc. Yes they added some nice color but I highly doubt the kids cared about it. For the expense I could have found something much better. Now I'm stuck watering these things at church every week so we can continue to use them to get my money's worth. Oh and then there is the poisonous factor. Note to self, let go of my own interests of hating fake flowers for the best interest of the kids were trying to serve.

There may have even been a few more here and there but these are the first that come to mind. After taking some notes on what I would do differently I wanted to make sure to evaluate what went well if anything at all (I am new at this.) Turns out there was a few things.

-Our Good Friday services had the highest attendance ever and although we did not have childcare during the 5:30 service our 7:00 kids service was great. My job does not include overseeing Friday night services but knowing there would be more kids in there than usual and more families visiting I felt compelled to help. We set up the time just like we do on Sunday mornings. They were able to do a craft that we had leftover supplies for and they watched a video from the current curriculum we are using. Mrs. Nancy from the Sunday 10:30 four year old class was in there helping out which blessed me that she would step up in an area she does not usually serve in. The kids that knew her from Sunday loved seeing her there and she really made a huge difference in the evening.

-Speaking of Good Friday at the end of the services four college students came up to me and enthusiastically told me they wanted to serve on Easter morning. I did nothing to recruit them they just came out of the blue. Each of them showed up on Sunday with the same enthusiasm and helped the classrooms go from being adequately covered to more than adequately covered.

-Cristen Reber who has been serving in Noah's Club for the past few years off and on did an outstanding job leading large group during the 7:30 service. That girl definitely has some talent that I do not possess. Hopefully she will be in there at least once a month to connect with the kids.

-On a personal note one of my prayers was that I could attend the Good Friday service and one of the Easter services. I was able to attend the entire 7:00 Good Friday service and thanks to Leah taking over I was able to sit in a majority of the 9:00 Easter service.

-Lastly but most importantly THE VOLUNTEERS SHOWED UP AND SHOWED UP BIG! Like the Good Friday services our Easter services had the highest attendence ever. During the last service they had to bring in extra chairs to the worship center and divert many people to our video venue. How this translates for Noah's Club is LOTS OF KIDS. Even with the high attendence the classrooms were more than adequately covered. Some teachers like Mr. Chip and Mrs. Leah served during two services. We even had a "first serve" lady named Tania who served joyfully during two services. I was so proud of our amazing leaders for being there early and helping these kids.

So in the whole process of doing this Easter thing for preschoolers I learned a lot. Lot's of things I would do differently next year. But for this year I'm celebrating the good and how it outweighs (to a certain degree) some of the challenges.

Volunteer Spotlight

If you have been around Noah's Club for awhile chances are you have gotten these two sisters mixed up. Not only do they look alike but their names sound alike AND they serve in the same class. They're not twins but they do seem to stick together.....unless like last week one had to stay home from not feeling well. Whether serving together or apart they both have a genuine servants heart and make a huge difference in the lives of the kids they serve. Meet....

Cassie (left) and Kaitie (right)

Serving Role: 3 yr. old teachers 10:30 service

How long have you been attending Journey? 13 yrs

How long have you been serving in Noah's Club? Cassie- 6yrs. Katie- 8 yrs.

What is your favorite part of serving in Noah's Club? Having fun with the kids. We love kids.

What is your favorite thing to do in your spare time besides serving in Noah's Club? Cassie- Involved in school marching band as captain of the drum line. She has only been playing the drums for a few years and she is already captain:) Katie- enjoys playing trumpet at SDSU and playing soccer. Next year both sisters will be at SDSU together in the marching band.

Director's Diary....

This past week in Noah's Club we learned that Jesus is a King and we need to worship him by how we live our lives. One of the highlights for me was watching Dee Dee and Dennis in the 4 yr. old class second service on the floor acting as donkeys giving kids rides on their backs as a way to teach them John 12. After church we had our gear up for Easter meeting. Everyone opened eggs which inside revealed the agenda for the meeting. We discussed finding volunteers for classrooms and large group time, design of Noah's Club area while reflecting on some paintings around the room and prayed for several aspects of our Easter services. While praying John Steveson 2 yr. old teacher, first service almost made me cry as he thanked God for an Easter service in his past that brought him closer to Jesus. It was a reminder to me why we do this thing called Noah's Club. To create an environment for kids to discover and grow closer to Jesus and maybe even help the parents do so as well.



Thursdays are my in office work day. Since my husband is off on this day he keeps the kids so I can work without distraction and have the benefits of working in the office. One of those benefits is being able to work with other people doing the same kind of work I am. Although in different areas of the church we are all on the same mission and I get energy from being in their midst. Today I spent some time working with Penny who is on staff in our children's ministry. She gets the crafts ready every week, provides all of the supplies needed for each class, updates the check in cards and a dozen other things. We share an office together so it was nice having someone in there to bounce ideas off of. This morning one of the first things I said was, "ugh, how am I going to find enough help for this weekend. With the womens retreat this weekend we have so many gaps." Her response was, "yeah but the Lord always provides." I agreed half-heartedly thinking well yes he did last week but we will see about this week. Four hours and about fifteen phone calls later I can say whole heartedly yes the Lord does provide. I'm so thankful for my friend Kara who has offered to help me in any class as soon as she found out I took on this position. This week I knew she would help in one of the classes but little did I know she was already talking to her mother in law to help in another class as well. Another way God provided was through Brian and Jenn Kick. I called them asking for help in the nursery and once they found out that we needed two people in there they both agreed to come in and work together. Thank you Lord for providing and thank you for using people who have been around for awhile like Penny to speak words of wisdom to me.



I'm getting excited about Easter. I met with someone today who will be serving for the first time in Noah's Club that weekend. I also met with our facilities team to advise where our paintings should be hung. I'm expecting our lobby and hallway to look great with new pictures and paintings. Please continue to pray and get the word out for volunteers that weekend. We especially need help in the 3 and 4 yr. old class during the 9 am and 10:45 services.



Have a great rest of the week everyone. See you on Sunday!

Tara

QUESTION??????????????

What would motivate you to get your friends serving in Noah's Club?

C'mon now, speak up and be honest.

Volunteer Spotlight

One segment of this blog that I would like to do regularly is introduce the volunteers serving in Noah's Club and a few facts about them so we could all come to know one another better.

This week one particular volunteer stood out to me. As a grandpa was checking his 3 yr. old son in he said to Angie, "he has been talking about you non-stop for the past three days." Angie proceeded to greet this little boy by name with a big hug. Watching Angie interact with the 3 yr. olds in her class it would be easy to see why they like her so much. She is there every week so they have a chance to really get to know her and she is able to really know them. Not only does she teach them bible lessons, help them create crafts and play ball with them she truly delights in doing so. Watching Angie play with these kids you can tell she is having as much fun as they are. Her serving is so contagious that she has recruited her dad to join in on the fun.

Angie with her dad, Terry

Name: Angie Palmer

Serving Role: 3 yr. old teacher 8:30 service

How long have you been attending Journey? 6 yrs.

How long have you been serving in Noah's Club? 3 yrs.

What is your favorite part of serving in Noah's Club? Hanging out with the 3 yr. olds

What is your favorite food? Peanut butter

What is your favorite things to do in your spare time besides serving in Noah's Club? Walking and going to movies.

Who is in your family? One hubby and one teenage daughter.