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Little Lights Mission Education Program
Visit El Salvador - April 2007
Our
mission project for this year – “Welcome to my Neighborhood” in El
Salvador" – is again in the form of a five day VBS. This material is
written for elementary age children, and many of you have commented that
it is difficult to make it relevant to the pre-schoolers. The following
format is a sample of how you might use this material in a one day event.
Props needed: CBM mission packet, map of El Salvador, pictures of El Salvador from CBM website, www.cbmin.org.
Introduction:
Bien venido, ninos y ninas ( Welcome, boys and girls ). Are you ready for an adventure? Today we are going to go to El Salvador ( show on map ), and meet Felix, his brother Adan, his baby sister Miriam and his mother. Felix also has a pet iguana called El Verde that he loves. El Verde usually rides on Felix’s shoulder when he isn’t up a tree! We’re going to learn about a scary thing that happened to Felix and his family, and how God helped them.
Songs: Yo tengo un Amigo / I have a friend
Con Christo en la Familia / With Jesus in My Family – music sheet in mission packet.
Jesus loves me
Story:
El Salvador is in a hot country that has no winter. Many people live in small houses made of brick with metal roofs. Usually the houses have only two rooms. One night Felix woke up to feel the ground shaking under him. He was used to this as there are many earthquakes ( terremotos ) in his country. This time though, it didn’t stop but kept getting worse – the walls of his house began to tremble, and things started to fall off shelves and break. ( Drop a pot and plastic cup etc for effect. ) His mother came rushing into his bedroom carrying his baby sister, and told him they must get out of the house quickly as they were in danger. He woke up his little brother, and they all ran from the house. They got out just in time as with a loud crack the house walls and roof came tumbling down. What a shock! All around them other families were outside too watching their houses collapse. It was a frightening night for everyone.
The next morning everyone searched through the broken houses for anything they could use. Felix, Adan, and mother found some clothes, bowls and a cooking pot. Then they looked for scraps of wood, metal and plastic to build a shelter under a nearby tree. This is where they had to live for many weeks. They cooked their meals outside over a fire. Everyday Felix and Adan had to walk to another village to get clean water to drink as the water in their village was too dirty. It would have made them sick. They brought the water home in large pots, which they carried on their heads ( demonstrate this ). El Verde always went with Felix, riding on his shoulder. It was hard work getting the water.
One day about a month after the big earthquake, trucks arrived in Felix’s village carrying supplies and workers to help rebuild their houses. It was such an exciting day! The trucks and people came from Emmanuel Baptist Church. They wanted to show people in Felix’s village how much God loves and cares for them. They also brought more wonderful news. They were going to help build a well for fresh water in Felix’s village. No more walking far distances to get clean water. Felix was so excited. He was 11 years old, and he couldn’t wait to help build the new well!
Finally the big day arrived. After many months the houses were all rebuilt, and the water pipeline was finished. Felix had worked everyday with the others from his village and Emmanuel Church. Only one thing was left to do – turn on the water tap in the centre of the village. It was a day to celebrate! Everyone brought food and had a big party as the fresh clean water came gushing out of the tap. Everyone was thanking God for his care and protection. Even though bad things happen to good people, if we love Jesus and trust Him, He will always help us and He wants us to help each other.
Bible story - ( if there is time ) The Good Samaritan Luke10: 25-37 p. 3 of day 4 material. This could be done as a puppet show.
Offering – Talk about how we can be good neighbors to people in El Salvador. Prayer p. 4 of day 4
Games – 1. Samaritan Says ( like Simon says ) p. 5 of day 4 material
2. Bring Home the Water: each child to try carrying an unbreakable bowl on their head. A bag of wrapped candies could be used for weight ( test of balance, not speed. )
3. Teach children a few Spanish words from “Be a Translator” sheet in mission packet or “Mix and Match” sheet
Craft - 1. “Counting in Spanish” Give each child a booklet of the numbers included in mission packet. They can colour the numbers and learn to count to ten. Colorful stickers could also be provided and the appropriate number put on each page.
2. Music Makers - p. 6 of day 5 materials – use paper towel rolls, construction paper, dried peas, beans, barley, corn, etc. Use these to sing one of the songs learned earlier.
Snacks – 1. Fruit salad using fresh fruit p. 6 day 1
2. Tortillas with cheese p. 5 day 3
3. Rice Pudding p. 5 day 4
4. Maria Louisa cake p. 5 day 5
Close with prayer – p. 4 day 5.