Those incredible T & T Girls

I’m an AWANA secretary for T & T girls. Don’t you love the acronyms? AWANA stands for: Approved Workmen Are Not Ashamed and T & T stands for: Truth and Training.

Children, ages preschool thru middle school, come to our church every Wednesday from 6:30 to 8:00 to learn about the Bible, memorize scriptures and enjoy games together. I work with the 3rd thru 6th grade girls. The problem is I’ve been basically a bean counter. Don’t get me wrong. Someone needs to make name tags, do the scoring for the night, and make sure each girls gets the rewards she earns. But my job does not include working one on one with the girls.

So this year, I volunteered to help with AWANA Quizzing. I’m working with 6 amazing girls who are preparing to participate in the Annual Quiz Bowl. We meet at the church each Thursday night for 1.5 hours. I’m having the time of my life. These girls are full of energy and yet very thoughtful and curious.

Two weeks ago, I taught them an acronym to remember the order of Galatians, Ephesians, Philippines, and Colossians in the New Testament.  Go, Eat, Pop Corn. This week they brought me a bag of freshly popped popcorn.

I encouraged them, or should I say motivated them , to do their 3 page written homework and everyone did it.   I brought an array of soda pop and some small candy bars I stole from my husband’s stash. (I have a yarn stash. He has a Nestle Crunch Crisp stash.)

But I digress. This is the 3rd year in T & T for most of these girls, many of whom have been in AWANA since preschool. They range in age from 10-12 years old. THEY KNOW THEIR BIBLE and enjoy learning even more. I’m just amazed what this program has instilled in these girls. Don’t get me wrong. They have to study and study hard to pass each section and discovery.

In this world where children are trying to swallow teaspoons of cinnamon on YouTube, spending much too much time in front of the TV, and doing many things I never even heard of when I was their age, these young ladies are spending this month coming to church not once but two nights a week to learn even more about the Bible. Don’t forget! Most of these girls come to church regularly on Sundays too.

It has been such a blessing for me to work with them. But it’s been even more fun to encourage these young ladies as they prepare for eternity.

Ohio and Beyond Part 1

I’ve been away for a while. I’ve been in Ohio. It was quite a trip. It started with a plane ride, or should I say two plane rides. The trip was supposed to take a total of 7 hours which included a layover.  It took 13 hours. The first plane was late. I missed the second by 5 minutes. Instead of  a 1+ hour layover, it was 4.5 hours. Instead of making it to Canton in late afternoon, I made it there later in the evening. By the time we picked up the luggage and arrived home, it was almost midnight. Tuesday, Feb. 28 – The end of my first day.

Wednesday Early Evening: Jennifer heads to Cleveland so that John can fly to Chicago for a conference. I stay home with Jonah and Gabriel to feed them supper, and get them to bed. Gabriel gave me an unexpected  present which was not fun to clean up. Need I say more.

Thursday 6 AM: Jonah wakes up with a tummy ache and heads to the bathroom – stomach flu. Jen heads to a meeting and I stay with Jonah and Gabriel. Jonah is such an active 6-year-old. It was so sad to see him just lying around all day Thursday and Friday. We did play some entertaining games of “Angry Birds Rio”. (I love to see the caged birds fly away much more than smashing little green pigs.) Check it out…. It was a lot more fun than changing #*%@&^% diapers or cleaning up stomach flu…

It’s late. I’m tired. Part 2 tomorrow…..