BGMC: Peru

Got a little behind here as we did our 5th Sunday Family Service on March 30 and I was out to District Council this week.

Peru is on the western coast of South America.  Peru is a bit smaller than our biggest state, Alaska.

The first Assemblies of god missionaries arrived in 1919.  They went into mountain villages to preach and start churches.  At times, they were forced out of towns and pelted with stones.  But they kept on telling about Jesus' love and the power of the Holy Spirit to save people.

Today, 14 U.S. Assemblies of God missionaries work with the Peruvian Assemblies of God.  They teach in the Bible schools and plant churches.  More than 330,000 people meet to worship God in more than 4,000 churches.  6,000 ministers are serving these churches and reaching others, and 72 Bible schools around the country are training nearly 3,000 more students.

BGMC is helping reach the children in Peru by providing Royal Rangers materials, Missionettes (Girls Ministries) materials, and Sunday School materials.  BGMC is helping to disciple kids by providing the Peruvian edition of the King's Castle discipleship materials for kids ages 5-8.  BGMC has also helped with the expenses and supplies for various children's outreaches and children's crusades.

Snack: Canchita (Palomitas) - Popcorn!  Like many other places in the world, popcorn is fancied by children.  In Peru, there are numerious "popcorn" varities.  It's not only made from the usual popping corn, but also from large kernels corns, Kiwicha or quinoa (KEEN-wah) giving the good old popcorn a completely new, but interesting and very tasty touch.

Let's Pray....

• for the kids of Peru, and for the children's workers and missionaries that work to teach them about Jesus.  Pray for the kids in the Latin America Child Care schools and for their families.

• for the young people of Peru, especially those who struggle with drugs and alcohol.  Pray that they would find Jesus and He would set them free.

• for pastors and for those who are starting new churches.  Pray that people will come to these churches to learn about Jesus.

April BGMC Challenge - 30 Pieces of SilverJudas, in Matthew 26:14-16, was willing to betray Jesus for 30 silver coins.  Through the month of April, and in conjunction with Easter, we have challenged our kids to collect 30 pieces of "silver" for BGMC.  Instead of using 30 silver coins to betray Christ, we're taking 30 pieces of silver to help spread the Gospel!  Everyone who brings 30 pieces of silver for a BGMC offering on May 4 will receive a prize!

BGMC: Kyrgyzstan

Kyrgyzstan is a small country located just above the northwest corner of China.  Kyrgyzstan is the size of the state of Nebraska!

The first United States Assemblies of God missionary couple arrived in 1995.  In 1996, Assemblies of God missionaries opened a Bible college in Bishkek to train new leaders.  Some have already graduated and become pastors.  Today, 10 workers help with the 32 churches, their pastors, and 2,000 members in Kyrgyzstan.  Two Bible schools are teaching 46 new students as well.

BGMC has been a big help to the Bible schools in Kyrgyzstan by providing the translation and printing of needed textbooks and library books.  BGMC has also helped to translate and print various children's books.

Teen Challenge has a center to help those addicted to drugs and alcohol.  BGMC has helped the Teen Challenge center with repairs and remodeling.  BGMC has also helped provide supplies for a women's and children's center.

BGMC is helping to reach the kids in Kyrgyzstan by providing the money to put grass on a ball field and providing baseball equipment to teach kids about baseball.  Sport camps are opening doors to telling kids about Jesus!

Snack: Atkanchay (Kyrgyz Tea, made with tea, milk, butter, sour cream and salt) and Flat Bread (also called Uzbek Bread, being as popular in Uzbekistan as it is in Kyrgyzstan.

 

Let's Pray....

• for the health and safety of the workers and pastors in Kyrgyzstan.
• for new churches and freedom of worship.
• for the kids of Kyrgyzstan, that they will learn that Jesus loves them and died for them.
• for the Mission of Mercy Children's Home, that their needs will be provided and that many children can be reached through them.

March Missions Madness - Lost Change for Lost Souls
Who can bring the most change in April 6?  Search your home, car, couch, washing machine, dresser drawers, etc. for "lost change."  By giving this "lost change" to BGMC, lost souls will be reached with the gospel.

Care - BGMC: Madagascar

Care:

At some point every kid says, "That's not fair!"  To which, many parents will respond, "Life's not fair!"  It's true, life doesn't seem fair sometimes.  God is concerned with how we respond when life hands us disappointments.

When friends don't treat us well, it's natural to want to treat them badly too, but God says if we are Christians, He can help us treat people with care, even when they don't treat us well.

Connecting Points
Take turns answering the following questions with your kids this week.  Create meaningful conversation.  Adjust as needed.  Use one or two of these to begin a conversation.  Look for teachable moments - at home, in the car, wherever.  Pray and ask God to provide you opportunities to have spiritual conversations with your kids.

1. What does being treated unfairly feel like?
2. Have you ever been treated unfairly?  What happened?
3. How can we respond to someone that has hurt us?
4. How does sharing show someone we care about them?
5. How can we show care to others this week?

We can reflect God's love to others by how we care and share with them.  It is especially important to be a caring example to someone who does not know Jesus yet.

BGMC: Madagascar

Caring and sharing are common themes in Madagascar too! 

A well-known Malagasy proverb is "Even one grasshopper is to be shared."  Most Malagasies are quite poor, but no matter how little they have, they share with others.  People share a lot of time together too, just visiting.  When friends come by, Mother sets out mats to sit on and serves tea and some small snacks.

Whenever a cousin or neighbor needs something, the family does their best to help.  Staying close to family and friends is more important to them than money and things . As another proverb says, "Better to lose money than to lose a relationship."

American Assembly of God missionaries came to Madagascar in 1990.  They preached and began new churches.  Today, nine US AG missionaries work in Madagascar.  They teach in the Bible school programs and have helped get a study Bible translated into Malagasy. BGMC helps the Bible school by providing schoolbooks, library books, and other supplies the school needs.

The AG also runs an orphanage for children, elementary schools, and a clinic!  BGMC has been a big help in providing supplies for the orphanages in Madagascar.  BGMC has also provided funding to help put in a cistern for clean water.

Snack: Fruit!
Malagasy kids eat very simply, and they enjoy a lot of fruit. The most popular fruits are mangos, bananas, pineapple, and oranges.

Next time you eat fruit, remember to pray for the Malagasy!

Let's Pray....

• for our missionaries in Madagascar, that God will keep them safe and healthy.
• for the pastors and churches.  Many are very poor, but they don’t give up.  Pray that God will protect and bless them.
• for the kids, that they will learn to love Jesus and to follow the Bible and not false beliefs.
• for the kids in the Madagascar Orphanage and for those who need a home.
• for the Bible schools and training programs.

February BGMC Challenge:  Who can bring the most pennies on March 2?

BGMC: France

The first Sunday of each month, we focus on our missions emphasis, BGMC, in Kids Church. Boys and Girls Missionary Challenge (BGMC) is the Assemblies of God missions emphasis for kids. BGMC equips kids to know, to care, to pray, to give, and to reach the lost. BGMC has a two-fold purpose:

• To reach the children of the world
• To create a heart of compassion in kids.

All funds raised through BGMC go to meet critical needs around the world such as feeding programs, water wells, Bible schools, curriculum, and whatever else a missionary needs in their part of the world. Each month, we focus on a different country and what BGMC is doing to help spread the Gospel there. This month, FRANCE!

A few interesting things we learned about life as a kid in France.

• School starts in September and ends in July
• School starts at 8am and goes until 4pm, with two hours off for lunch.
• There's no school on Wednesdays or Sundays, but there is school on Saturday morning.
• Kids play games like we play: le loup ("the wolf"), like tag, and cache-cache; hide and seek).
• On January 6, French people celebrate Epiphany, the visit of the Magi to the infant Jesus.  On this day, the Wise Men figurines are added to the nativity scenes in homes and churches.  Up until this date, the Wise Men figures are either hidden or placed a distance away and moved gradually closer to the stable.

French People Need Jesus.  More than 100 years ago, in the city of LeHavre, a lady named Helene Biolley began to tell people about Jesus.  She opened her home where missionaries could stay while they studied French.  In 1927, an Englishman named Douglas Scott came to study.  As he preached, people were healed of many problems.  Many were baptized in the Holy Spirit.  The Scotts started churches in many cities.  In 1932, the Pentecostal pastors met to create the French Assemblies of God.

Today, 17 US Assemblies of God missionaries work in France.  More than 360,000 people worship in about 625 Assemblies of God churches.  There are about 1,200 pastors, and 2 Bible schools are training about 270 more.

Snack: French Fries!

As one of our kids pointed out, these aren't actually French, per se.  There's an ongoing dispute on whether they actually originated in France or Belgium.  Thomas Jefferson had "potatoes served in the French manner" at a White House dinner in 1802.  The expression "French Fried Potatoes" first occurs in print in English in the 1856 work, Cookery for Maids of All Work by E Warren: "French Fried Potatoes. – Cut new potatoes in thin slices, put them in boiling fat, and a little salt; fry both sides of a light golden brown colour; drain."  In the early 20th century, the term "French fried" was being used in the sense of "deep-fried", for other foods such as onion rings or chicken.

Wherever they came from, we eat a lot of them!  The average American consumes 29 pounds of French fries per year!  Next time you do, may you remember to pray for the French!

Let's Pray....

• for our missionaries and for the pastors in the French Assemblies of God.
• for people who are looking for hope, that the Holy Spirit will help them to find Jesus instead of turning to fortune tellers and witches for answers to their problems.
• for the kids and young people of France, that they will find Jesus when they are young and tell others!
• for those from other nations.