Vacation Bible School Ideas About Missions

Do you wish that your church had a Vacation Bible School about missions? It may be easier than you think! In this post you’ll find some ideas that you can use to plan a VBS or to use in missions classes for kids.

First, you’ll need to decide the format of your VBS or classes. One format that has worked at our church is to have different rooms or stations set up that children rotate through. This helps the flow of children to keep moving, but also allows a teacher to prepare for just one thing each day or Sunday.  I would recommend focusing on one country each day, discussing missionaries that have served there.

Ideas for stations or classrooms could include:

  1. Craft room – Try to find a craft from the country you are discussing. Look online to find ideas or look at Wycliffe.org where you can download a free VBS program! 
  2. Story room – Have an adult read a short story about a missionary. There are many options (these are affiliate links which means that if you make a purchase through these links, familiesformissions will make a small commission at no additional cost to you!).  While there are other missions books out there, these all have short stories that can be read in a short session.
  3. Activity room – having something where the kids move around is a good idea. This breaks up the monotony of the morning sitting. Try things like:
    • a scavenger hunt
    • a trip around the world with different children leading around the room
    • a game from another country
    • a puzzle of the world, jungle animals, the desert (age appropriate)
  4. Time Machine room – pretend that you are suddenly transported to the country or area where the missionary serves. This one could involve some extra work in decorating, but it can be very fun for children. You can use ideas like:
    • a medical clinic
    • a school room
    • a jungle
    • a hut
    • the desert
    • an airplane cabin
  5. Missionary sharing room – Have a “real live” missionary share with the children. If you do not have a full-time missionary in your area, you can have people from your church that have gone on a short-term missions trip share. Using a map and a few pictures, as well as a prop or two can really make this a special time.

Don’t forget to present the good news about Jesus dying for our sin and tell the kids how they can pray to accept Jesus as their personal Savior!  (Otherwise, missions is pointless!)

If you are really looking for some great ideas without having to do a ton of work and planning, check out Wycliffe.org and their VBS plans.

These ideas would be great additions to a children’s program at a missions conference at your church! Or use them to supplement your homeschool curriculum!

What ideas have you tried?

 

 

Questions to Ask a Missionary Kid

As a Missionary Kid I was asked many questions…and many of them were strange or uninformed. Missionary Kids, when they are back in their passport country, are asked many things, and most of them are not easy for them to answer.  Questions like, “How do you like being back home?” or “Do you have TV?” or “Do you ride on a donkey?” are awkward.

When missionary kids are in their parent’s home country, they are visiting.  They are either there on home assignment or a short vacation, but this is NOT their home.  Home is where they live with their family for most of the time.  They are missing friends and experiencing culture shock.

When you are talking with visiting missionary kids, here are some questions to  ask that might help them feel more comfortable, but also provide you with some insight into their lives. (By the way, many of these are great for any kid!)

Questions

  1. What is your favorite thing about __(insert country where they live)__?
  2. Tell me about your school.
  3. What is your favorite subject?
  4. Tell me about your friends.
  5. Tell me about your family.
  6. What is your favorite food?
  7. What hobbies do you enjoy?
  8. What are you good at?
  9. What books do you enjoy reading?
  10. Do you have a favorite movie or TV show ?
  11. What do you miss most about being gone from __(insert country)___?
  12. What is your favorite holiday?
  13. How do you celebrate ___(insert holiday)___ in ___(insert country)___?

 

For some great ideas on how to do something special for visiting missionary kids, check out This link!

 

 

What I Read in February 2018

I have continued my resolution to read more this year, and I am so excited that I have been able to do this.

I will include links to the books which are my affiliate links on Amazon. I am including them so that you can see the covers and click through to get more information, if you want. If you end up making a purchase by clicking on these links, familiesformissions will earn a tiny commission that will cost you nothing extra. 😊 (Please do not feel obligated to purchase, though…I checked out several of these at my local library.)

First, I’ll start off by telling you about the nonfiction books I read this month:

The first book I read this month was At Home in the World: Reflections on Belonging While Wandering the Globe by Tsh Oxenreider. This book was very interesting from a Missionary Kid standpoint, as it featured a family with 3 children that decides to sell their home and spend a year travelling around the world from place to place. It seems they never spend more than a few weeks in one location. I thought it was probably a great experience for their kids, but something I could not ever do. Also, I wondered about whether the kids would suffer from feeling like they were drifting and had no roots or routines.

The second book I read this month was checked out from my church library. It was called How and When to Tell Your Kids About Sex by Stan and Brenna Jones. I have to say I was disappointed by this book. I did like that it encouraged parents to talk about body parts using correct words, and to start talking about our bodies early and often (as the subject comes up at bath time, etc.). I did not feel that it actually told the reader how to tell their kids about sex, though, so I thought the title was a bit misleading. If you are looking for a step-by-step guide for how to talk to your kids about sex, this is not it. The authors kept mentioning some of their other books and recommending them to the reader for more information. This kind of turned me off and was annoying.

One book I listened to this month was More Than A Carpenter Today by Josh McDowell. I had heard of his books before, but I had never read any of them. This was a quick listen, and it was packed with information about Jesus and his deity, life, claims, and resurrection. If you have any doubts about Jesus being God or rising from the dead, I would highly encourage you to get ahold of a copy of this book that millions of people have read around the world.

I also listened to The Inheritance: A Family on the Front Lines of the Battle with Alzheimer’s Disease by Niki Kapsambelis. This was a longer audiobook, but I used time in the car driving back and forth to knock it out. This book peaked my interest because of my family history of 2 grandparents having dementia/Alzheimer’s disease. It was very interesting to hear about the history of Alzheimer’s research, and to hear how families with genes that cause early Alzheimer’s have been instrumental in furthering that research. I felt it was a little long and had many details that were not important to the overall story.

Peaceful Parent, Happy Child: How to Stop Yelling and Start Connecting by Dr. Laura Markham was an interesting read. It gave me some good ideas of how to respond better to my kids when either I or they are frustrated. I have a child that resorts to yelling very quickly, and I find myself losing my patience and responding in kind. I am hopeful that I can put some of this advice into practice in the coming weeks. 😊

In January, I started the book Puppy Training: Owners Week-By-Week Training Guide by Charlotte Schwartz, and I finally finished it this month. This is a Kennel Club Book and walks you through how to begin to train your puppy from the time you bring it home. Now, if I can only put it into practice and manage some consistency. 😉

I’ve mentioned before that I love historical novels, and I think my favorite this month was To Wager Her Heart (A Belle Meade Plantation Novel Book 3) by Tamera Alexander. This book is set in Tennessee 1870’s and helps the reader learn about Fisk University and the Jubilee Singers. I loved learning about how freed slaves were educated and how the Jubilee Singers helped Fisk University in a time of social and financial turmoil. You can learn more (and even watch some videos) by looking at the author’s website.  (This book was recommended by the manager of Faith and Life Bookstore in Newton, KS.) I am going to have to look up the first two Belle Meade Plantation books.

I enjoyed reading the previous book so much, I also read Rekindled (Fountain Creek Chronicles, Book 1 ) by Tamera Alexander. This is the author’s first book in the Fountain Creek Chronicles Series, and is a heartwarming story about a struggling marriage, love, and showing the love of Christ to those less desirable. I’m looking forward to reading the next two books in the series!

Second Opinion (Healing Touch Series #1)  by Hannah Alexander was a Christian fiction, medically-oriented book. I enjoyed reading it, and I thought that the medical aspects of it were pretty realistic.

 

What have you been reading lately? I would love some good recommendations!

 

Want to Host a Missions Conference at Your Church?

Missions conferences or a time for missions focus at your local church are great ways to help educate people about missions and try to get them interested in becoming more involved in missions. If your church has one of these, you are lucky. It seems they are less and less frequent now, as people are branding them as old-fashioned or outdated. I argue that they still have value.

In my younger childhood years (before my parents became missionaries), we attended a church that was very missions-minded. Each year they had a “Missions Month”. There were missionary speakers each Sunday morning and evening (yes, we still had evening services back then 😊). In addition, there was a focus in each service on talking about missions. I still remember the phone calls with mission partners on the other side of the world; they were live with the pastor and broadcast so the entire church could hear. I also remember a parade of flags where many children carried a flag forward in a procession. Some, including myself, spoke a few words from the country’s flag they carried. I remember my dad helping me learn John 3:16 to recite in Spanish (even though I didn’t know any Spanish at the time). The women invited the missionary wives to speak at a luncheon.

With my mom’s help, a women’s ministry to help missionaries was started. It was called L.A.M.P. (Ladies Applying Missions Personally). They started a “Mission Closet” and requested donated new items to stock it. Each missionary that visited was taken through this room filled with supplies: toiletries, small gifts, handmade bags for traveling with shoes, snacks, blankets, etc. I really do not even remember everything that was there.

Here are some thoughts and ideas as you think about starting or improving a missions focus or conference at your church.

    1. Decide what length of time will work for your church with your church leadership. You may choose to have only one Sunday to start with or you might be able to have a whole week or month dedicated to missions.
    2. Choose dates for your missions focus.
    3. Find out who is willing to help. You cannot pull this off by yourself. You will need volunteers to help (the longer the time and the more activities mean more volunteers are needed!)
    4. Choose activities or plans. Here are some possibilities:
      • Missionary speaker to give the sermon at services. (Keep in mind that not all missionaries are pastors and evangelists. Giving a sermon may not be their spiritual gift. Some might prefer a different role.)
      • Missionary update during the service with prayer to follow.
      • Ladies meeting, Bible Study, or luncheon. You could have a missionary wife speak (again, remember not all ladies are gifted as public speakers) or have a missionary wife panel answer preplanned questions with time for Q and A at the end.
      • Skype or phone call with missionary during the service.
      • Lunch with a missionary update after services. This would require people to sign up if the lunch was provided or to bring a dish if you choose a potluck-style lunch.
      • Church banquet. This can be catered or potluck-style. You could require the purchase of tickets in order to encourage RSVPs and help plan for how many would come. You can plan an international theme or just choose something easy and crowd-pleasing.
      • Walk-through rooms decorated like different countries where you have a missionary or member of the church share about their ministry. Kids can even have passports to get stamped as they complete each one.
      • Create a missionary map in the entryway of the church with a map of the world and a picture of each missionary with a blurb about where they serve and what their ministry is.
      • Get involved with a specific project. Raise money for a specific need that week, or help compile a New Testament in a new language to prepare it for printing. Shower a local ministry with needed supplies or manpower for a renovation/remodel/repairs. Hold a car wash or bake sale somewhere local to raise funds, if needed.
      • Prepare a children’s program for a church service. This could require more time, but could have a lasting impact. Having children participate by carrying and waving flags for missionary partners of your church is a great idea. You could encourage kids to dress up like someone from that country. Kids could sing a song about missions or in another language.
      • Provide ideas for children’s Sunday School teachers to use: coloring sheets, books about missionaries, websites, videos, and letters from missionaries are all possibilities.
      • Make postcards with a missionary picture and ministry description. Ask people in the church to choose one or two and commit to praying for that missionary for the following year.
    5. Contact missionaries to find out their availability and willingness to participate. Many times, they are only able to attend if they are on home assignment or furlough. If they are not able to attend, ask them about updates, Skype, or phone calls.
    6. Plan housing for visiting missionaries. Decide if your church can afford hotel accommodations or if there are members of the church that can host them. Ensure that there is a bed for each family member and that they do not have to sleep with a stranger!
    7. Plan special activities for the missionaries. Can your church take them shopping one day to the local mall? Can you provide a makeover, massage, or haircut for missionary wives? Can you provide babysitting for the missionary couple to go on a date night together? Can you offer to pay for car repairs for the visiting missionaries? Can you gift them with gift cards to use on their travels or for fun? Check with businesses of church members and see if they would be willing to donate services or provide them at a discount.
    8. Advertise the event! Let your church family know that you are planning a missions event. You definitely need to create some interest around the event and try to hype it up! You might even get more volunteers. 😊

 

So, you are probably reading this and thinking, “There is no way we could pull this off at my church.” I would encourage you to give it some more thought and talk to your pastor. You may need to start small – just a “Missions Sunday” may be all your church can handle to start off with. Don’t choose to do everything on the list. It is only meant to give you ideas and a place to start brainstorming. You will probably have your own ideas, too. Do what you can and encourage others to pitch in. You may be surprised at what you will accomplish.

What other ideas can you think of?

 

 

 

What I Read in January 2018

I have been inspired to increase how many books I read by several people in my life and online (Crystal Paine from moneysavingmom.com). This will be challenging for me as I have a family with three young kiddos, a blog, and also work on publishing other books. But, I have made up my mind to do it because I love to read and I want to make more time for it!

I thought I would share, from time to time, what I have been reading lately. I know that I love reading posts from bloggers and authors with suggestions and reviews about what they have read. I hope that you enjoy seeing what I have read and that you can possibly get some inspiration to read something new.

I will include links to the books which are my affiliate links on Amazon. I am including them so that you can see the covers and click through to get more information, if you want. If you end up making a purchase by clicking on these links, familiesformissions will earn a tiny commission that will cost you nothing extra. 😊 (Please do not feel obligated to purchase, though…I checked out several of these at my local library.)

I normally love reading historical fiction, but I am trying to broaden my reading interests and incorporate more nonfiction books as well this year. January was very heavily nonfiction for me, which is rare!

Thunder Dog: The True Story of a Blind Man, His Guide Dog, and the Triumph of Trust by Michael Hingson and Susy Flory was a great book about a blind man and his seeing eye dog. It discussed how they were able to escape from the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001, but what I really enjoyed hearing was this man’s life story. I learned a lot about the struggles that a blind person faces while growing up, and I loved learning about how guide dogs are chosen and trained.

I was given Gifted Hands: The Ben Carson Story to read, and I found it to be a very easy read and very interesting. If you love stories about someone overcoming immense odds, I think you’ll find it a good read. I also enjoyed some of the medical cases he discussed and how he has been able to help very difficult and hopeless cases.

I heard about Anxious for Nothing: Finding Calm in a Chaotic World by Max Lucado and decided that I could benefit from reading this since anxiety and worry are a struggle for me. This is also an easy read. I do not know that it contained any information that I did not already know, but it had many great reminders of God’s control and love for me. I’m so glad that I did take the time to read it.

I found the mention of Dog Tales: Inspirational Stories of Humor, Adventure, and Devotion by Susy Flory in the back of the Thunder Dog book and thought reading more inspirational stories about dogs might be fun (we just got a puppy). I have to say I was a little disappointed in this one, but if you like books about dogs you might give it a try. It contains unrelated short stories that feature dogs, but I found it difficult to see why a few of the stories were included.

One of my favorites was an audiobook I happened to walk past at my local library. It is called The Man Who Broke into Auschwitz: A True Story of World War II by Denis Avey with Rob Broomby. I listened to this book after dropping the kids off at school and running errands. It was a bit lengthy, and I’m sure that I could have read it myself much faster than listening to the audiobook but this is one way I can use the “dead” time that I am driving in the car and accomplishing nothing of substance. This story details the life history of a British soldier during WWII, and follows him as he is taken prisoner of war. I learned a lot that I did not know about WWII in locations other than Germany, France, and Great Britain. I loved hearing about people and locations from the wartime as he followed up on them years later. This man had an amazing story and life. There are interviews of him on YouTube as well as interviews of the man who swapped places with him from Auschwitz if you are interested in watching and hearing more. (I loaned this to my husband to listen to on the way to and from work, and he highly recommends it as well.)

I frequently like reading medical information, and I saw The Explosive Child: A New Approach for Understanding and Parenting Easily Frustrated, Chronically Inflexible Children by Ross W. Greene, Ph.D. at the local library and I checked it out. It has a wealth of information about dealing with inflexible and angry children that struggle when routines are changed and things do not go the way they expect. I think this could be very helpful to parents with children on the autism spectrum, such as Asperger’s syndrome, etc. I’m not sure how well the methods he recommends would work, but he offers many example conversations between parents/children, parents/therapist, or parents/therapist/child. Obviously, these families need to be in therapy and should not rely on reading this book alone for help.

What books have you read recently? I’d love some recommendations! I’m hoping to have a healthy mix of fiction and nonfiction in February, as I missed reading some great historical fiction this month.

 

 

Learn about South Korea and the Winter Olympics

The 2018 Winter Olympics in South Korea are a great opportunity to have some great family fun and learn about another country!

Here are some family activities for you to choose from: (Some of these are affiliate links, which means that if you click on them and purchase something, familiesformissions will be paid a small commission.)

Ideas about South Korea:

Ideas about the Winter Olympics:

Do you have other ideas?  Please share them with us!

Types of Missionaries – Engineer

Did you know that engineers can be missionaries, too? There are all kinds of engineers in existence today, and many of them can use their skills in different types of mission work. Some engineers are full-time missionaries, but some do not live overseas and work as a full-time missionary.  Some volunteer to go on a two-week or four-week trip each year, but have a “normal” job for the rest of the year.  Some do not travel at all; they design solutions to problems from their own home.

What can engineers do, you ask?

Mechanical engineers can:

  • Design airplane parts
  • Fix generators
  • Repair a refrigerator or air-conditioner
  • Design an air-conditioning system in a new building
  • Design a system for water and waste management
  • Design or work on robotics

Electrical engineers can:

  • Design household appliances
  • Design how to wire or light a new building
  • Fix a telecommunications system
  • Work on satellite communications
  • Repair navigation systems

Computer engineers can:

  • Make sure that computer hardware components work with the latest software
  • Work with software developers
  • Design new computer hardware
  • Update existing computer equipment

Chemical engineers can:

  • Create new foods, drugs, cleaners, beverages from chemicals

Aeronautical engineers can:

  • Design airplane parts

Civil engineers can:

  • Design buildings, roads, and bridges
  • Play a large role in rebuilding projects

Agricultural engineers can:

  • Assist with ground preparation and irrigation in farming
  • Design and repair farm machinery
  • Develop new harvesting techniques

 

If you want to know an organization that engineers can partner with follow this link:   https://emiworld.org/   Spend some time reading about their activities.

Want a fun activity to do with your kids? (Some of these ideas contain affiliate links, so if you purchase items by clicking the links below this website will receive a small percentage compensation.)

  • Let them use marshmallows and straight pretzels to design their own “building”.
  • Buy an electronic circuit kit for your school-age kids to play with B01LXTSOWQ
  • Read a great kid’s book about engineering.

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Befriend an International Student

You may never be able to travel to exotic locations around the world. BUT this does not mean that you can only learn about other places by reading books and watching movies. You can learn about another country in your own home! Curious?

One of the best ways you can learn about another culture and country is to befriend an international student. Most cities with colleges or universities have many students from other countries. Some families choose to host a high school student for an entire year. (My grandparents did this.) Other families, like mine, just become friends with a local college student. We have been friends, now, for two years – meeting a couple of times a month on average. We love having him in our home, eating meals with him, and including him in our activities.  He loves our children and calls us his “American family”.

What does this relationship look like?  We are friends! We ask him about his culture and country.   We have tried to learn a few words in his native language. We try to learn about his religious beliefs. We have had many great conversations about what we believe and why we believe it. We have taken him to the airport, and picked him up again when he returned.  We have given him advice on job searches and interviews.  We have watched movies.  We have helped him move…several times.  I have cooked many meals (including one meal similar to one he might have gotten at home in his country). And recently he cooked for us!

The best part of this relationship is that my kids are learning about another culture.  They are also learning how to be respectful of someone with different beliefs. They have made a new friend, and they love having him come to our house.

If you need help to find a student to befriend, try contacting an organization like International Students, Inc.

 

Types of Missionaries – Teacher

Want a great chance to be a missionary while influencing the next generation? Become a missionary teacher! There are several ways that you can use your teaching skills in mission work:

1- Teach at a missionary school. There are missionary schools all over the world that need great teachers from K-12. Some of the schools are small enough that they combine grades, but others are large and you could teach a huge variety of things (depending on your training and gifts). Many schools ask for a one-year contract, but some schools will allow people to come for just one semester. Some schools are a boarding-type school, but others have teachers live off campus in an apartment or house. Check out these websites to find great openings:

https://ethnos360.org/go/teach-abroad

https://www.cru.org/opportunities/careers/international/teachers/international-schools.html

2- Teach at an international school. If you want a great opportunity to teach lots of kids that do not know about Jesus, try looking for a position at an international school. These schools can include lots of local kids, but also usually have a large number of international students whose parents are in business or government in a country that is not their passport country. This is a great way to teach kids from all over the world in one classroom! I had several teachers in my local Mexican school that taught everything from grade school to high school Math and Chemistry in English.

https://www.teachaway.com/international-schools

3- Become the homeschool teacher for a missionary. Many missionaries choose to homeschool their kids for a multitude of reasons. Maybe there are no local schools, maybe the local schools are not academically challenging, maybe it is not safe to send kids to school where they live, maybe their child has special needs, or maybe they just want their kids to learn things from a Christian worldview. Some missionary parents struggle with this decision because they know that teaching is not their gift. Some suffer from health concerns that keep them from teaching. Some need to spend more time in ministry. For many different reasons, a missionary may need a person to come homeschool their children for a short season. You can be the answer to this problem and the answer to their prayers.

4- Share your homeschooling knowledge with a homeschooling missionary. You may only have the experience of teaching your own children, but that means that you can be a huge resource to a homeschooling missionary mom. Offer to share resources (when legally possible) and send them links to resources you have found helpful. Keep in contact with them and offer any support or advice you feel they might want.

Is teaching something you think you could do? This can be a great way to see the world while being a great influence on kids in the next generation! Check into it!

 

Types of Missionaries – Hotel Worker/Manager/Tour Guide

Some cultures are not open to the gospel, and some countries do not allow Christian missionaries to come into their country. A type of missionary that is very useful in these situations is a hotel worker, manager or tour guide.

(Photo courtesy of Skitterphoto.com)

I know a missionary that serves in a predominantly Muslim country. They cannot openly go as missionaries, so instead they went as a manager and tour guide for a local hotel. They are there to do a job, but also to be salt and light in a dark culture. By working there and forming relationships they are able to share the hope of the gospel with some who might never have heard of it. People in these cultures are much more likely to trust in Jesus if they have a relationship with a Christian that they trust.

Do you like to travel and learn about other cultures? Do you enjoy spending time with people? Maybe you have thought you could never be a missionary because you haven’t gone to seminary or Bible School…but this is one job that you could do without that training!  Just think of the possibilities…you could be a hotel manager, tour guide, chef, nanny, tutor, personal shopper, etc.

Is this something you could do?