AWANA - 2nd Year

The boys started their 2nd year of AWANA (Approved Workmen Are Not Ashamed) in September. AWANA is great because they get to spend time with other children while learning about God and memorizing Bible verses. They earn awards for learning and reciting their verses.

This year Ryan has moved up from Puggles (under 3) to Cubbies (3-4 year olds). Last year in Puggles, Ryan didn't really learn any verses because he was too little, so they read Bible stories and did cute little projects. This year though, he's actually responsible for learning at least one verse per week. I'll be honest, I was a little worried. He never really seemed to take an interest in that kind of thing like JD did. But man, he surprised us both! Ryan is REALLY good at learning his verses. In order to get his book and vest, he had to learn 3 verses! He learned one the first week: 1 John 4:10 "God loves us, and he sent his Son," and two the second week: Romans 3:23 "...all have sinned" and Romans 5:8 "...while we were...sinners, Jesus died for us." He also had to learn the Cubbies motto: "Jesus Loves Me." Once he knew all of those, he could get his book and vest. Here is a picture of him getting his book. Unfortunately his AWANA teacher accidentally marked the book wrong and didn't show that he'd said all three so he didn't get his book and vest with the rest of the kids. So here's a picture of Ryan getting his book during game time. And this weekend, he's going to get his vest while we're in the sanctuary in front of all the other kids.

For AWANA this Sunday, he knows three verses, so he'll be ready for his first patch next week! I'm so proud of Ryan!!!

JD has moved up from Cubbies to Sparks (Kinder-2), and has done fantastic so far. The very first verse JD had to memorize in order to get his book and vest was John 3:16 "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, and whosoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life." He learned it in no time. I'm so proud of him. AWANA has been a lot of fun so far and I think JD really enjoys being with the bigger kids because game time is a lot more fun. The bigger kids are more competitive and understand how to play the different games a little better than the Cubbies did last year.

Here's a picture of JD getting his book and vest in the sanctuary on Oct 2. For tomorrow, he knows three new verses, so I think he'll be ready for his first award too. Yay JD and RYAN!!!!!