TYA Christmas Party

It is Christmas again! With most of the regular helpers for Young Arrows in Muar, I was given the responsibility to be in charge of the Christmas Party for Young Arrows this year. At first, we were still thinking of a simple event since we were really shorthanded and there were usually only about 10 to 15 children during the holidays.
However, 4 days before the party, we were told that the Bendemeer Club children would be joining us for the party too, meaning there was going to be 20 more children, and only one more helper, Gladys, from the Bendemeer side. It was more than what we could cope with. Thankfully, we managed to get 4 girls from Pastor Yo’s tribe to help us for the day!
“For myself, it was a very fulfilling time seeing the kids laughing and having fun from such simple joys. I can see that much effort from everyone had been invested into the planning and preparation. Though the kids may not recognise it, the fact that they enjoyed it and were so enthusiastic is already a reward by itself (:

Initially, Reina and I were rather worried that there wouldn't be enough food, given that we were going to exceed the budget and there wasn't much time to prepare so much food, but thank God, He multiplied the food so that it was just sufficient for the children, with a little extras left :D

One thing I've learnt from this experience is the importance of serving out of love and not merely out of duty. Honestly, it was quite tough dealing with kids that behaved differently from what i had expected, and in some instances i was rather uncomfortable, not knowing how to respond.
(1 Corinthians 13:4-7) " 4 Love is patient, love is kind... 5 it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs..." As i reflected on this passage, I realised that one cannot truly serve without love. It is part and parcel of the long learning process of servanthood, and something that God needs to cultivate more in me.”
-Joanna Kong, Pastor Yo’s tribe
Initially, we only had games, carols and refreshments in our programme. The only way the kids could know the true meaning of Christmas was through the carols and this little note given to them in their goodie bags:
Why do we see Candy Canes at Christmas?
It is said that candy canes were first made to remind Christians of Jesus.
The shape of the cane – the shepherd’s crook reminds them that He is the Good Shepherd.
The colour white reminds them that He is pure and sinless. The stripes remind them of the punishement Jesus suffered and the colour red the blood that He shed to save them from their sins.
So now when we see a candy cane at Christmas – we know that there is a meaning to it!
Gladys suggested adding a skit in the programme, but due to the limited numbers of helpers we had, we could not come up with a storyline in time. Thankfully, Gladys managed to get the storyline from another club’s event and we had the carols incorporated into the puppet show in the end! Therefore, the kids were able to understand the true meaning of Christmas better! Christmas is neither about shopping, food nor presents, Christmas is about Christ! =)
There were 18 kids from Mountbatten (many more than usual!) and 20 from Bendemeer who was at the party, and we ran out of goodie bags because we didn’t expect such an overwhelming response! It was good to see the smiles on their faces and how they had enjoyed themselves! Thank God for the day! Thank God for the good weather! Though this is the rainy season, the weather was good for the day! Thank God for the gifts from Fraser, and Crystal who helped to gather all the gifts from there! Thank God for the helpers who were present, Ruth, Zheng Rong, Zhenchang, Kenny, Hubert, Flavian, Sky, Xiuting, Joanna, Reina, Jiahui, Gladys! Thank God for the kids! Thank God, simply because He is our God! =)
-Li Juan, Pastor Fei Fei’s 12