MISSION Community Church

Peace-proving that you care more about others than winning an argument

Memory Verse: "Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification."  Romans 14:19,NIV

Get in the Word!  GodTime Cards are a great tool for parents and kids to use at home.  Take a look at this week's GodTime Card.  Set aside some time each day to look at the scripture stories and work through the activites that remind us the 'making peace doesn't make us weak'.

Let's Get Cooking!  What better way to share peace than by sharing Peace Cookies!  Make some together as a family and share them with others to show that you care about them.

Peace Cookies

1/2 cup butter (1 stick)
1/2 cup honey
1 tablespoon molasses
1 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1 3/4 cups oats
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 cup milk
2 tablespoons yogurt
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped

1. Preheat oven to 350F. While the oven heats, place butter, honey, and molasses in a heatproof bowl and put this in the oven until melted.
2. Combine dry ingredients, then add butter mixture, milk, and yogurt. Stir well to combine.
3. Butter a cookie sheet. Place tablespoons of cookie mixture on sheet, spacing about 2 inches apart. Bake 12 to 14 minutes, until lightly browned.

Makes about 4 dozen.

Let's Talk!  Each week in KidZone your children hear 3 basics truths:

• I Need to Make the Wise Choice
• I Should Treat Others the Way I Want to be Treated
• I Can Trust God No Matter What

These truths, when repeated and discussed during a child's Kindergarten through 4th grade years, will be simple yet strong reminders about God's desire for us to live in friendship, wisdom and faith.

This month in KidZone Live, we focused "I need to make the wise choice".  Isaac chose to make peace because he knew that making peace doesn't make you weak.  Talk with your children about a time today or this week when faced with a problem they made the 'wise' choice.

Weclome to the Kidzone Live Parent Page for August!  This is the place for kids Kindergarten thru 4th grade and their parents to get some ideas for family time. This month we are showing respect to one another  - and to other children all over the world.  Take a look!

Respect-showing others they are important by what you say and do

Memory Verse: "Show proper respect to everyone." 1 Peter 2:17, NIV

Get in the Word!  The GodTime Cards have a new look and feel this month.  Take a look at this week's GodTime Card.  Take some time at the breakfast or dinner table to look at the scripture stories and work through the activites that go along with them!  What a great way to start or end your day!

Out Loud!  Sing along in worship as a family to Our Heavenly Father to let Him know You're Amazing...and we're so thankful to be made in HIS image!

Let's Get Cooking!  In Malawi during the week, our children who come to the Community Center in Chikudzulire are given a hot meal each day (sometimes 2 in cold weather).  For some children, this is the only meal they will receive.  They recieve a cup of hot rice porridge.  Why don't you as a family take one breakfast time this month and prepare rice porridge for yourselves?  YUM!

RICE PORRIDGE
1 cup uncooked rice
2 1/2 cups water
1/2 tsp. salt
1/3 cup milk
1 tsp. margarine
Sugar

1. Bring water to a boil and add rice.
2. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 20 minutes.
3. Add milk and butter, cover and cook until rice is tender and most of the liquid is absorbed.
4. Add Sugar to taste.

Let's Talk!  As a family, think of 2 ways you can show respect to one another.  Write them down on a card, make a poster, or draw pictures for what that looks like.  Hang them on the refigerator as a reminder all month long on how we respect one another.

PROJECT RED CARD
an ongoing family justice awareness class

Classes will be held the third Thursday of each month for 8 months
Class begin September 16  - 630-8p 
Cost is $20 per family

    Millions of children grow up without hope and without many basic necessities. What can we do? Come explore the plight of children without hope; understand God’s heart, our mandate to respond, and how your family can make a difference.

    Bring your 4th graders and their older siblings for an interactive family class focusing on: poverty, orphans, street kids, child laborers, children of war, and victims of HIV/AIDS. This is a serious subject. However, the content will be age-appropriate and focused for 4th graders and older students. 

    Each class will include videos, simulations providing hands-on learning, family conversation time, prayer, and practical steps for involvement.

    What's new and exciting about this class is that it is for families. We want to encourage and empower kids to become advocates for their own peers, and by having parents participate in meaningful activities with their children, we build family unity.

    Registration is required for this class.  For more questions or to register your family contact .

Service-lending a hand to someone else

Memory Verse: “Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not men.” Ephesians 6:7, NIV

Get in the Word!  Open your bibles this week as a family to see what God has to tell us about serving others.  Print out this week's GodTime Card for suggestions on how to start the conversation and fun activities!

Out Loud! Have fun while you dance and sing along to Gonna Use What I Got- Just click LISTEN above.

Let's Get Cooking!  We share with our friends, our brothers and sisters, our mom and dad.  This month, let's share the time we spend in the kitchen together with others in our lives.  Make Friendship Bread together as a family and share it.

Amish Friendship Bread
    * 1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
    * 1/4 cup warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
    * 3 cups all-purpose flour, divided
    * 3 cups white sugar, divided
    * 3 cups milk

   1. In a small bowl, dissolve yeast in water. Let stand 10 minutes. In a 2 quart container glass, plastic or ceramic container, combine 1 cup flour and 1 cup sugar. Mix thoroughly or flour will lump when milk is added. Slowly stir in 1 cup milk and dissolved yeast mixture. Cover loosely and let stand until bubbly. Consider this day 1 of the 10 day cycle. Leave loosely covered at room temperature.
   2. On days 2 thru 4; stir starter with a spoon. Day 5; stir in 1 cup flour, 1 cup sugar and 1 cup milk. Days 6 thru 9; stir only.
   3. Day 10; stir in 1 cup flour, 1 cup sugar and 1 cup milk. Remove 1 cup to make your first bread, give 2 cups to friends along with this recipe, and your favorite Amish Bread recipe. Store the remaining 1 cup starter in a container in the refrigerator, or begin the 10 day process over again (beginning with step 2).

Let's Talk! Now that we've made our Amish Friendship Bread, who can we bless by sharing it with them.  As a family, talk about who you would like to share your bread with and why.  Maybe we can pass it on to:

• Grandma and Grandpa
• Friends at church
• Friends at House of Refuge
• A neighbor you haven't met yet

And here is this week's FridgeDoor Card to download and print with a few topics to talk about as a family this week concerning the lesson we learned at Kidzone Live.

Now share your stories of "What in the World Are You Doing" with us. We'd love to hear from you!

Responsibility-showing that you can be trusted with what is expected of you

June's Memory Verse: "Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much."  Luke 16:10a NIV

Get in the Word!  Open your bibles this week as a family to see what God has to say about us being responsible for the world He has given to us.  Print out this week's GodTime Card for suggestions on how to start the conversation and fun activities!

Out Loud! Have fun while you dance and sing along to Everything Has a Place - Just click LISTEN above.

Let's Get Cooking!  Let's make an edible aquarium and talk about all of the creatures God has made in the sea and on the land.  You may even want to eat this while watching an episode of Life or Planet Earth!

Edible Aquarium
3/4 cup boiling water 
1 package (4 serving size) JELLO Berry Blue flavor gelatin
1/2 cup cold water
Ice cubes
Gummy fish or shark bites

• STIR  boiling water into gelatin. Dissolve completely.
• COMBINE cold water and ice cubes to make 1 1/4 cups of ice and water.  Add gelatin, stirring until slightly thickened. Remove any unmelted ice.  If mixture is still thin, refrigerate until slightly thickened.
• POUR  thickened gelatin into 4 dessert dishes.  Suspend gummy fish in gelatin.  Refrigerate until set, about 1 hour.  Makes 4 servings.

Let's Talk! Spend some time this month talking about how you as a family might work on a service project or take family time to take care of what God has made.

• pick up trash and empty water bottles in your community playground
• discuss how many bags of trash your family generates each week.  Then talk about ways that you can cut down on that amount of trash
• start to compost in your backyard; makes great fertilizer
• think about ways that you can Reduce >Reuse>Recycle at home
• ride your bicycle or walk instead of driving to a friend's house

Now share your stories of "What in the World Are You Doing" with us. We'd love to hear from you!

Welcome to the Kidzone Live Parent Page for May.  This is the place for kids Kindergarten-4th grade and their parents to get great ideas for family time this month.  But you'll have to be patient...and wait...beacuse the best is yet to come!

PATIENCE-waiting until later for what you want now

May’s Memory Verse:“The end of the matter is better than its beginning, and patience is better than pride.”Ecclesiastes 7:8 NIV

Get in the Word!  Spend some time in the Bible together as a family this week.  Download this week's GodTime Card for suggestions on scripture passages and ways to share how important God's Word is to us and others.

Out Loud!  Have fun and sing out loud the P.A.T.I.E.N.C.E. song-click LISTEN above

Game Time!  Here's a great game for the whole family to play while learning this month's memory verse.  Balloon Bop

Let's Get Cooking!  We gave you the main ingredients for 'Birthright Stew', but you'll have to wait to get the recipe to make it!  So be Patient...keep an eye on your mailbox or right here so that when the recipe arrives you can make dinner together as a family.

Let's Talk!  Let's spend some time talking about the bible story we heard today from Genesis 25:24-34 about Esau.  Sometimes when we read the Bible with our children we get to a part that makes little sense to us.  We then need to try to understand what was intended at that time and how it was long ago.  The story of Esau giving up his birthright is an important lesson when we understand what was at stake.  The Adventure Bible explains it as such:  Birthright- the special rights of the first born son.  In the Old Testament, after the father died, the oldest son received the father’s power and right to make decisions for the entire family.  He also got twice as much money and property as each of his brothers. (NIV Adventure Bible)

So, knowing how important a birthright was shows how foolish and impatient Esau was to give his birthright away for a simple bowl of stew. 

How can you portray that to your kids?  Here are a couple of illustrations for you to use with your family to explain what a birthright means:

FOR YOUNGER CHILDREN:   Give each child a piece of candy. Now give double that to the oldest child.  Ask your children one by one starting with the youngest if they will trade it for a can of soup.  Odds are they won’t!  Explain that this is what Esau had done and how he lost his birthright.

FOR OLDER CHILDREN:  Give each child a few dollars (i.e. $10) and the oldest getting double ($20).  Let the oldest give some “orders” to the family (sit ups, jumping jacks, etc.) so it appears that they are making decisions for the family.  Now come back together and have your oldest and another child act out the exchange between Jacob and Esau found in Genesis 25:24-34.   When the oldest gets the soup, let the other child take his money and give the “orders” to the family.

We hope these activities will help you and your children understand the importance of a birthright and remember it as you read other passages that refer to an inheritance or birthright.

Welcome to the Kidzone 'Live' Parent Page!  This is the place for kids Kindergarten thru 4th grade and their parents to get ideas for family time together this month.  Here are some great ways to share with your family what it means to be a friend, as well as some great ways to get to know our friends in Chikudzulire, Malawi.  Take a look!

Get in the Word!  Spend some time in the Bible together as a family this week.  Download this week's GodTime Card for suggestions on scripture passages and ways to share how important God's Word is to us and others.

Out Loud!  Worship together as a family with All Because of Jesus and thank Him for your friends through priase in I See You.

Game Time! Here's an easy game for you to play as a family.  It's great for kids of all ages!  Don't Get Tired

Let's Get Cooking!  Here is a cookie recipe from the 'warm heart of Africa'. Yum!

Mbatata (sweet potato) Cookies

3/4 cups mashed sweet potato
1/4 cup milk
4 Tbs. melted margarine
1 1/4 cups sifted flour
2 tsp. baking powder
4 Tbs. sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. cinnamon

Malawi is known as the "warm heart of Africa" due to the friendliness of Malawian people. These cookies can be cut in the shape of hearts to commemerate the Malawian people. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Mix sweet potatoes, milk, and melted margarine and beat well. Sift and stir in the remaining ingredients. Turn onto a floured board, knead lightly and roll out 1/2 an inch thick. Cut with a cookie cutter. Place cookies on a greased baking sheet, and bake for 15 minutes. Sprinkle some cinnamon/sugar mixture on top.

Let's Talk!  Now that we've made our cookies to share with our friends in Malawi, how might we share snack time with them?  Here are some common phrases in Chichewa that you could use.

How are you? Muli bwanji?

Fine, thank you. (And you?) Ndiri bwino.(Kaya inu? [or] Kaya anzathu?)

Thank you. Zikomo. (very common - ends most conversations)

Yes Ee / Eya / Inde (can also mean "indeed")

No Iyayi (used strongly) or ayi (more polite)