I love the Action Bible's dramatic beginning. "In the beginning...there was nothing. Except God." Isn't that wonderful? Operation: Action Bibles went into effect on Tuesday. Praise God and thank you all for your gifts and prayers. I was able to buy 12 Action Bibles to use in the weekly Bible study at the local after-school program. The children oohed and ahhed when I handed out the pristine, plastic-covered Bibles. One of the first things I did was remind the excited kids that since these were new books, we'd have to take very good care of them. Just ten minutes later, we discovered that one of the students had already torn the corner of one of the pages. That's kids for you, right? I assured the horrified students that we could tape it right up and that we just needed to be a bit more careful.
About 10 students came for our first session. The other 4th and 5th graders were finishing their homework, and could not attend this time. We started off our Bible study with Revelations. Just kidding! We started at the beginning, with Creation and then moving on to the Temptation in the Garden. The children were so eager to participate that they suggested that each of them get a turn to read aloud. I am so blessed to have such enthusiastic students! After each page we would stop to discuss what we had just read. I felt so proud when I saw so many hands lifted up to answer the questions. When we reached Adam and Eve leaving the Garden of Eden, I told the children that that was the end of our lesson. Protests came from all directions at once. Several of them had read ahead and really wanted to move forward. I said jokingly, "Oh no, you can't read ahead, you'll see spoilers!" One of the students promptly blurted out, "Cain kills his brother!" Kids just crack me up.
Now that I know how long a story from the Action Bible lasts us, I will make sure I plan two or three stories. After we read the story of Cain and Abel, and do a related activity, I think I'll bring in the story of Jacob and Esau, another pair of brothers who did not get along very well. I want to show the students how sibling (or best friend) rivalry has happened for many years and how we can solve our problems in the end. This week we finishe the stories a little early, so I am planning some quick games that can break up the reading and fill up the Bible study. I would love to hear from anyone who has an idea of quick Bible related games to play.
Next week I'll be back with more updates and stories from our Bible study. Much love to everyone who made this great experience possible!
