Prepared by Cathie Hopkins

Editor’s Note

These ideas are arranged in weekly programs for ease of use. The weeks are numbered but you do not have to use them in order. All ideas can be used alone as well, & are by no means exhaustive (although my brain was exhausted afterwards ) I am hoping that for those of you who are time challenged or inexperienced, that you will be able to pick this up and prepare your *bit* and run with it. It is not meant to be the entire input for the achievement, but having said that, I hope to make it possible to use the content in its entirety and still be able to give the girls enough to earn their achievement.

HERE ARE SOME THOUGHTS - You could “mix and match* the weeks… to put one story in a different week, or an activity in a different position. You might change the suggested method of story or memory verse presentation. You may like to use the resources in here for other achievements, for example the Burning Bush week for “Camping” or the Balaam Week for “The Animal Kingdom” for example. (although you may have to change the focus slightly or the memory verse.) Do not be afraid to change the order, usually we present the game, learning, story, memory verse and craft in that order. Why not mix it round a bit? Think laterally!!  Do not feel you have to do EVERYTHING for each week. (You can spread it out) For easy identification at the head of each page is a coloured strip. Red is for devotions, Green is for learning and information, yellow is for craft and blue is for games. I hope this helps. Blessings on your great woolly heads, ~ Cathie

NOTES ON GAMES

 A good way to get the girls into fairly equal teams is to line them up in one long line according to school year. Youngest at the front. Then starting at the front, number them off according to how many teams you have. So if you have three teams 1, 2, 3… and then 1,2,3. Then put the teams together by number and you will have a good cross mix of girls in each team.  When awarding points for games, instead of giving one point for a win, give 100 or 1000. That way when the losing team doesn’t feel so bad; they may have lost but they scored 1300 points!!! (I watched a girl once go running to her mother when she picked her up and cry out “Mum, we scored 900 points!” It did not matter that she lost!)  Always make sure that you tell the girls the name of the game. The name of the game is significant. It gives the kids their first impression of what they can expect. Before you get into rules, tell the kids the primary objective of the game. If you start with rules the kids won’t know how to apply the rules, give them the objective of the game first and then the rules will make more sense. Explain the rules fully. Ask them to wait until you have finished explaining as their questions may be answered.  Lead clearly, strongly, loudly and enthusiastically.  Be excited about the game! Your demeanour sets the tone for the entire game. The more fun you have the more the kids will enjoy playing the game.  Focus on the fun, not the winning, though I don’t think competition is a bad thing, you should award and thank all of the participants.  If it is an “elimination” type game, give those who have been eliminated tasks to help with the game. Like standing at the “end point” to make sure no one goes over, or sitting on the empty chairs, or keeping score, etc.

NOTES ON CRAFT *ALWAYS* have a finished craft to show the girls. NOTES ON MEMORY VERSES If you like them to learn the verses and give awards, give them awards according to their ability and the effort made. If someone is capable of getting it right, then do not give them a sticker or whatever until they do. If a girl is not able but you can tell she has made a genuine effort, then she should be rewarded. Always have a small copy of the memory verse for each girl to take home, if it is not incorporated in your craft. 2

WEEK ONE DEVOTIONS

GOD COMMUNICATES THROUGH A BURNING BUSH EXODUS 3: 1 -15

God desires to communicate with us all the time. Sometimes however we are just too busy to listen to God. Perhaps we feel God has more important things to do than talk to us. But that cannot be further from the truth. God loves us very much and wants to tell us many things. That's why we need hear what God has to say.

Moses and the Burning Bush

Theme: God speaks to Moses and he speaks to us. Scripture: "Do not come any closer," God said. "Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground." Exodus 3:5 (NIV)

What you need: You need a LARGE drawing of a tree with lots of green leaves. If you put it on card and laminate it you can use it again… or you can just use butchers paper …

Have the leaves different shades of green. Now the story below is divided into “leaf” sections. Have some leaves in orange, red and yellow, sized to fit over the green leaves. (It doesn’t matter if the green leaves still show… but cover some of them.)

Have the Bible story printed out in sections on the back of the orange, red and yellow leaves. Read off the back (it saves you having to remember it) and then when you have read it, stick it with the story side down, in no particular spot so the girls only see the colour onto the green tree. (Number the leaves with a small number somewhere so you have them in the right order) I just numbered them by writing L1, L2, L3.. etc

I have laminated my leaves and contacted my tree so I can use them again.

LEAF ONE This is a TRUE story, it comes from Exodus, in the Bible. God told Moses to take off his shoes while he communicated with him!

LEAF TWO You may already know why God said that, but I think it might be good for us to take off our shoes during the lesson today to help us to think about why God told Moses to take off his shoes. I'm going to do that. If you wish, you may join me. (Take off your shoes.)

LEAF THREE As our story begins, Moses is out in the field taking care of the sheep and goats of his father-in-law, Jethro. He led the sheep out into the wilderness near the mountain called Sinai. Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared to him as a flame from the middle of a bush.

LEAF FOUR The most amazing thing was that the bush was on fire, but it wasn't burned up! "That's strange," Moses thought. "Why isn't the bush burning up? I'll go closer and see."

LEAF FIVE As he came closer, God called out to him, "Moses! Moses!" "Here I am," Moses answered.

LEAF SIX "Don't come any closer," God said. "Take off your sandals, because you are standing on holy ground. I am the God of your father -- the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob."

LEAF SEVEN When Moses heard those words, he hid his face because he was afraid to look at God. God continued speaking to Moses. "I have heard the cries of my people in Egypt. I know all about their pain and suffering at the hands of the Egyptians.

LEAF EIGHT I have come to help them to be freed from Egypt and enter into a good land that flows with milk and honey. It's time for you to go back: I'm sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people, the People of Israel, out of Egypt."

LEAF NINE "Why me? What makes you think I could go to Pharaoh and lead the children of Israel out of Egypt?" asked Moses.

LEAF TEN "I will be with you," God said. "And this will be the proof that I am the one who sent you: When you have brought my people out of Egypt, you will worship God right here at this very mountain."

LEAF ELEVEN But Moses continued to offer excuses. "But, suppose I go to the People of Israel and I tell them, 'The God of your fathers sent me to you'; and they ask me, 'What is his name?' What do I tell them?" 4

LEAF TWELVE God answered, "I-AM-WHO-I-AM. Tell the People of Israel, 'I-AM sent me to you.'"

LEAF THIRTEEN What a story! Now, do you remember why God told Moses to take off his sandals? Because, God said, "You are standing on holy ground." It was holy ground because God was there and wherever God is surely "holy ground."

LEAF FOURTEEN Does God speak to us today? YES!! He uses GB leaders, Sunday School Teachers, Ministers, other Christians, and the Bible.

LEAF FIFTEEN Father, we are gathered in your name. Just as you spoke to Moses long ago, speak to our hearts today. In Jesus' name we pray, amen.

MEMORY VERSE

Psalm 85:8 “I will listen to what God the LORD says”

Using an almost identical tree as the one you used for your story, combine red and green and yellow and orange leaves. Write the words of the memory verse on them.

Repeat the verse a few times, then turn over one of the leaves and stick it back on the tree, with only the colour showing.

Keep doing this until you only have coloured leaves (either green, red, yellow or orange) showing.

I have put some words sideways as the picture is small, but you should be able to position the leaves so the words are all the right way. AND in the right order!!

I have contacted my burning bush and my leaves, so I can use double sided tape and re-use it again.

IDEAS AND INFO BUSH TRACKING (Given that we are talking about burning bushes) Leaving tracking signs for someone to follow in the bush is a means of communication. Signs are usually made on the ground, close to the left-hand side of the path/track. They should never be made where they will damage or disfigure property. Don’t lay a track that anyone can follow, there is no skill or learning in that. It should be laid so that it can be followed by someone with a keen eye. You could even invent some of your own so that only your company knows them! Here are the most common tracking signs. Please note that the definition is written above the pictures so a circle of stones With one stone in the middle means “I have gone home.” And a cross means “not this way”

CRAFT

MAKE A BURNING BUSH

WHAT YOU WILL NEED Uncooked spaghetti Glue Heavy duty white cardboard green glitter Scissors Red, yellow and orange crepe paper

To make the trunk of the burning bush, use four pieces of spaghetti. Squeeze some glue on the cardboard and put the pieces on the glue, side by side. Break some more spaghetti into branch lengths and glue on the top of the tree for branches. Drip glue on branches, and sprinkle green glitter to create the branches and leaves. Scrunch the crepe paper into small bunches. Drip on more glue and stick them

onto the top of the tree.

Trim the cardboard around the tree and trunk.

GAME BURNING BUSH RELAY

You will need a Burning Bush poster (without leaves) for each team. So it will look like this:

There needs to be space above the bush for leaves, which will come during the course of the game.

WHAT YOU DO On one side of the playing area, WHAT ELSE YOU NEED FOR EACH TEAM make one pile of equipment for each Coloured leaves (orange, red, yellow and green) team, comprising of one bathrobe/dressing Double sided sticky tape gown, one walking stick, one pair One dressing gown of slippers, some sticky tape and the

One pair of easy slip on slippers walking cane. Green, red, orange and

One walking stick or cane, or just a really long yellow leaves in a bowl, same number for

stick. Aka “Bible Staff” (optional) each team. On the other side directly

One ice cream container or bowl. opposite each team, set up their

“leafless bush”.

WHAT THE KIDS DO Taking turns, like a relay, put on the WHAT THEIR FINISHED dressing gown, slippers, pick up the BUSH SHOULD LOOK walking stick, one leaf and the sticky LIKE tape. (or similar) They then race to the other end of the room, take their slippers OFF, put one leaf on the bush, put their sandals back on and race back to their team, take off

their robe, slippers, etc and give them to

the next person. Game continues in this fashion until all leaves are on the tree.

NOTE: If a leaf falls off, girls must put it back on before any more leaves are attached. You may only attach leaves if you are dressed and your slippers are on the ground beside you, and you are holding your staff. Leaves must only be attached one at a time.

WEEK TWO

BALAAM AND THE DONKEY – NUMBERS 22

(Communicating, Old Testament Style)

CHARACTERS: 2 Seniors or Pioneers, or leaders if they feel inclined! I actually asked two people from our church that not all the girls knew, so it was novel. One is Dr Don Quixote (pronounced don-key-o-tee) and the other is Jenny. A donkey, who is welcome to wear “donkey ears”

PROPS: Dr. Don Quixote has a microphone, with a label on it that says something like 150.9 Canaan News, and a clipboard: you can then hide the script on the clipboard and she can hold it in a position so they can both see it.

SETTING: TV or radio show

Based on Numbers 22 – 24, 2 Peter 2:15, Jude 1:11, Rev. 2:14

SCRIPT

DR. DON QUIXOTE: Welcome to Talk About Animals . I’m Dr. Don Quixote a virtuous, valiant, valuable, verbose, versatile, vivacious vet and the host of this show. On every show we examine the wonders of God creation in the animal world. As you know, on my show, animals are able to speak with human voices. But how many of you knew about a donkey who spoke with a human voice in the Bible? We will be interviewing that delightful, daring, dynamic, darling, diligent, dazzling donkey today. The story can be found in Numbers Chapters 22 – 24 in the Bible, so we KNOW it is true!

DR. DON QUIXOTE: Welcome to the show. What is your name?

JENNY: Jenny. In fact, all female donkeys are called Jennies.

DR. DON QUIXOTE: Where were you living in Bible times?

JENNY: In the desert area around Moab, I worked for a man named Balaam. It was a tough area, but we donkeys were fashioned by God to do quite well in a land with little water or grass.

DR. DON QUIXOTE: That is quite different than … say, horses.

JENNY: Very different. We are smaller than horses, have a tail that looks more like a cow’s tail and our voices carry almost 2 kilometres. And we are much more beautifuller.

DR. DON QUIXOTE: Two kilometres! Why?

JENNY: In the wild, donkeys do not live in close herds as horses and ponies because food is generally scarce. That means there isn’t a lot of food. Our HEE-HAW has to carry over great distances so we can keep in contact with one another, and send “mule-tide” greetings at Christmas.

DR. DON QUIXOTE: I guess that’s why God created you with such big ears.

JENNY: Precisely. God knew we’d need larger ears also allow us to hear the distant calls of our friends and neighbors. We can communicate in sign language using our ears. Kind of like semaphore for Donkeys.

DR. DON QUIXOTE: That is fascinating.

JENNY: Our long ears also help keep us cool in the hot desert heat. We donkeys are some of God’s finest creations.

DR. DON QUIXOTE: Tell us about what happened before you spoke like a human the first time..

JENNY: King Balak had seen how God was with Israel. They had heard how he had helped them leave Egypt.

DR. DON QUIXOTE: Yes, Egypt was one of the world powers at that time. Go on.

JENNY: Balak and all the Moabites and Midianites were very afraid. King Balak tried to hire Balaam to come curse them. The first time, my master Balaam, wisely refused because God told him not to go.

DR. DON QUIXOTE: What happened the second time?

JENNY: God told Balaam he could go, but God was angry about it.

DR. DON QUIXOTE: Was that because He loved the Israelites and didn’t want anything bad to happen to them?

JENNY: Yes. Balaam was riding on me. Suddenly an angel of the LORD was standing in the road with a drawn sword in his hand, so I turned off the road into a field. Balaam didn’t see the angel and started beating me.

DR. DON QUIXOTE: YIKE!.

JENNY: Yes. I got back on the road once the angel had moved. Then the angel appeared a second time. He looked like he might use his sharp sword on Balaam so I pressed close to the wall. Unfortunately that crushed Balaam's foot against it.

DR. DON QUIXOTE: Did Balaam see the angel?

JENNY: No. He was too busy hitting me again. And his ears were too small.

DR. DON QUIXOTE: How mean. People shouldn’t hit their animals.

JENNY: I agree. Especially when I was just trying to protect Balaam. We donkeys are very protective, you know.

DR. DON QUIXOTE: I didn’t know that.

JENNY We are. We are often put with sheep or goats because if a fox or dog or dingo comes to hurt one, we’ll protect the animals like they are one of our own.

DR. DON QUIXOTE: A predator like a fox or dingo that might try to eat a sheep or goat or calf?

JENNY: If we hear any strange noises with our big ears we will voice a warning to the herd and chase off the predator. Able to hear small sounds in a single ear flick… to run and jump … saviour of the weaker…

DR DON QUIXOTE: (interrupting) Can we get back to the Bible here?

JENNY: Right. Donkeys are slower and less powerful than horses but we are extremely intelligent animals. We have a strong sense of survival.

DR. DON QUIXOTE: Then what happened? 10

JENNY: We were back on the road to King Balak’s when the angel of the LORD moved on ahead and stood in a narrow place between two vineyards with walls on both sides. There was no room to turn, either to the right or to the left.

DR. DON QUIXOTE: What did you do?

JENNY: What any intelligent creature would. I lay down. If a donkey deems something as dangerous we simply won’t do it,. In times of panic or danger horses will run away but donkeys, will simply freeze. Even in summer when it is hot!

DR. DON QUIXOTE: Did Balaam finally see the danger?

JENNY: No, he started hitting me again. God then gave me the ability to speak like a person. I said “What have I done to you to make you beat me these three times?” Balaam was so angry he didn’t even notice a donkey was talking to him. He says “You have made a fool of me! If I had a sword in my hand, I would kill you right now.”

DR. DON QUIXOTE: He was going to kill you?!!!

JENNY: Yes, for saving his life. I said “Am I not your own donkey, which you have always ridden, to this day? Have I been in the habit of doing this to you? Then the angel of the Lord spoke to him and asked “Why have you beaten your donkey these three times? I have come here to oppose you because your path is a reckless one before me.”

DR. DON QUIXOTE: Did that finally get his attention?

JENNY: Yes. The angel told him that I had turned away these three times and had saved his life. He did add “I would certainly have killed you” meaning Balaam, “by now, but I would have spared her.”

DR. DON QUIXOTE: What a close call for Balaam.

JENNY: Unfortunately, my master did not learn his lesson permanently. He did bless the Israelites instead of cursing them after this incident. However, later on, he really messed up.

DR. DON QUIXOTE: I think I remember something in the New Testament about that.

JENNY: The New Testament writers talk not once, not twice, but three times about Balaam. And it isn’t good.

DR. DON QUIXOTE: Can you give us an example?

JENNY: Sure. Both Peter and Jude talk about Balaam rushing off to do evil to make a profit. Peter says “wages of wickedness”

DR. DON QUIXOTE: That is too bad.

JENNY: Very much so. How quickly you humans forget God’s graciousness.

DR. DON QUIXOTE: I wish God had given humans ears as big as you donkeys have. We need to listen to him better.

JENNY: And big ears sure do help you be quick to listen.

DR. DON QUIXOTE: So what lesson do you think our listeners should take away with them after hearing your story?

JENNY: Besides how important it is to listen to God, they should remember it is always important to protect other by warning them when they are headed for danger. I mean, if God can speak through a donkey, he can speak through human beings made in his image.

DR. DON QUIXOTE: You know there is a verse in the Bible that says “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.” It’s from John 10:27

JENNY: Shouldn’t that be donkeys?

DR. DON QUIXOTE: Well, I am sure it would include donkeys.

JENNY: What a relief!!

DR. DON QUIXOTE: Jenny, thank you so much for being on Talk About Animals today. Stay tuned for further adventures in God’s wonderful world of animals.

MEMORY VERSE

“Hear the word of the LORD, you nations” Jeremiah 31:10

Make lots of donkey ears, and give one to each girl with the memory verse printed on it, or you could use this for an activity… they could make their own and write the verse on it. Then sit and repeat the verse a few times until they can say it without looking.

Then.. play pin the ear on the donkey. (Just like Pin the tail on the donkey, only with ears instead). As they pin it on the donkey, they must say the memory verse!

*Given that Balaam would have spoken in Hebrew, I used ancient languages for this week’s learning component.* (which makes sense in my head)

HIEROGLYPHS – EARLY COMMUNICATION

Over 5000 years ago, the ancient Egyptians wrote things down using a picture writing called hieroglyphics. The people who did the actual writing were called scribes.

The scribes had a problem. The ancient Egyptians wrote everything down, absolutely everything! Although hieroglyphics were very pretty, it took time to write in pictures.

Scribes needed a faster way to write things down. They created a new form of writing called Demotic script. The new scribes did not study the old language of hieroglyphics. They could write much more rapidly with some of the new scripts they created.

Hundreds of years later, archaeologists discovered beautiful hieroglyphic writing on the walls of ancient Egyptian pyramids and tombs. The archaeologists had a problem. They knew hieroglyphics had meanings. Although lots of archaeologists could read Demotic script, there was no one left in the world who remembered what the ancient hieroglyphics meant.

It was most frustrating!

It was not until quite recently, a mere 200 years ago, that a stone was found in Egypt. This stone had the same short story written on it in Greek, in Demotic, and in hieroglyphics. Scientists could read Greek. Scientists could read Demotic. And now, scientists could begin to read hieroglyphics. They named this famous stone the Rosetta Stone. Today, the Rosetta Stone is on display for everyone to see. Currently, it makes its home in the famous British Museum in London. And it is a lot bigger than you would fits expect!

Hieroglyphs is made from two Greek words:

 hieros meaning holy  glyphe meaning writing

So hieroglyph means holy writing.

How do you know which way to read Hieroglyphs?

You need to look closely at the hieroglyphs to find out. It depends on which way the people or animals are facing. For example, if an animal hieroglyph faces right, you read from right to left. If it faces left, you read from left to right (the same way that we do). Just to confuse you, sometimes they read Hieroglyphs from top to bottom.

What did Ancient Egyptians write on?

Hieroglyphs were written on papyrus reed, which is a water or marsh plant, with tall straight hollow stems. The reeds were flattened, dried, and stuck together to make pages. The Egyptians also carved hieroglyphs onto stone and painted them on the walls of the tombs.

What did Ancient Egyptians use to write with? Egyptian writing was done with pen and ink on fine papyrus. Egyptian "pens" were thin, sharp reeds, which they would dip in ink to write with. The ink and paint came from plants which they crushed and mixed with water.

Where did the Ancient Egyptians use writing? They used writing in a variety of places including in scribe schools, on tomb walls, in fields, in temples, at war and in the government.

 There are some websites where you can find the means to translate your own name into hieroglyphs. You could make bookmarks from them!

CUNEIFORM – ANOTHER ANCIENT LANGUAGE

It was the end of the Stone Age, and the beginning of the Bronze Age or the Age of Metallurgy and Writing!

The ancient Sumerians believed in education. Record keeping was very important to them. They wanted their sons (not daughters) to learn how to read and write.

Their written language began as pictographs, pictures of things that acted as words. Similar to hieroglyphs. Pictographs worked, but they were rather cumbersome.

Soon, the clever ancient Sumerians started to use wedge-shaped symbols for objects and ideas instead of pictures.

Today, we call this written language of wedge-shaped symbols cuneiform.

We know a great deal about the ancient Sumerian civilization from the written records they left behind in stone and clay. The ancient Sumerians kept excellent records and lists of things. They listed their household goods. They listed their court activity. They listed their sales and purchases. They kept diaries. They wrote everything down!! It was like an ancient form of blogging. They even kept a list of their kings that was updated from time to time, as new kings came to power.

Cuneiform is very, very old. As the civilization of Sumer started to decline, other civilisations continued to use the Sumerian written symbols. Thanks to the Sumerians, we also know a great deal about the ancient Mesopotamian civilisations of Babylon and of Assyria. These civilisations are mentioned in the Old Testament.

Although cuneiform was used for many thousands of years, and many things have been discovered written in cuneiform, cuneiform is still not easy to read. That is because the shape of cuneiform letters, and the meanings of various cuneiform symbols, changed over time and varied by region. When archaeologists find ancient cuneiform script, they are always excited about it. Although it often gives them a headache!!  But, they need time to translate it to discover if they have found a household list of repaired items, a shopping list, or a new poem or story.

There is much yet to be discovered about these ancient people as archaeologists continue to translate the ancient written language of Cuneiform.

If you feel inspired, you can also make the donkey’s jaw hinged, using a split pin. ** Template for donkey is on the following page*

WHAT AM I???

In turn, each girl is given the name of an animal or bird on a piece of paper, and at her turn has to describe herself without giving it away.. in other words, saying “I have a trunk” for an elephant is disallowed, however, saying “I have a long nose” is.. as that could apply to a few animals. The longer a person keeps the group guessing the better. It is a good idea to also have on the paper words which are not allowed… How well can they communicate?

EXAMPLE OF ELEPHANT

You are an elephant, you must not use the words “trunk” or “ivory”

WEEK THREE – SAMUEL LEARNS TO LISTEN – 1 SAMUEL 3: 1 - 19

(Listening although more passive is still a form of communication)

SAMUEL LEARNS TO LISTEN

This story is about a woman named Hannah who really really wanted to have a child. Every year she would go with her husband to a place called Shiloh.

While they were there, there would be a big festival and everyone would celebrate all that God did for them. They would thank God for their crops and everything God gave them, and give sacrifices or presents to God to show how thankful they were. This sometimes made Hannah very sad because she wanted so badly to be thankful, but was discouraged because she couldn't have a child. That didn't mean Hannah moped around and felt sorry for herself but in her heart she was very sad. Her husband still loved her very much and tried to make her feel better but nothing seemed to work.

Finally Hannah did the only thing she knew that she could do to help her situation. One evening when they had finished eating and drinking Hannah went to the temple and began to pray. When Hannah prayed she was very honest with how she was feeling. She sometimes cried a lot and probably felt like God had forgotten her. But while she was praying she promised God, "Dear God, if you would only look and see how sad I am and remember me, please give me a son. If you would do that for me I will dedicate my son to you for his whole life."

As Hannah was praying there was a man named Eli, a priest, who was sitting nearby and saw her. While Hannah was praying she was praying to herself, her lips were moving but Eli couldn't hear her say anything. We can pray just like this to if we need to, we can pray to God in our head so no one can hear.

Eli realized that Hannah was being very honest and truthful with God and he said to her, "Go in peace and may God answer your prayer." After that Hannah left she felt much better because she had talked to God about what bothered her. Early the next morning she even went to worship God before she went home. You see, sometimes God doesn't answer our prayers, but we can't just be mad forever and not talk or thank God for all the other good things in our life. God knows what's best so there's always a good reason why he hasn't answered your prayer.

But a while later a great thing happened. God of course remembered Hannah (because God doesn't forget any of us) and gave her a son, and she named him Samuel. Hannah had waited so long for this child and she loved him so much, but she remembered that she made a promise to God. Hannah was an honest woman and when she made a promise she meant it. Again, Hannah had a good attitude and wanted to give Samuel back to God, she wasn't mad at herself and change her mind. Hannah kept her promise.

When Samuel was old enough she went back to the place where she had prayed and said to Eli the priest, "Do you remember me? I am the woman that cried and prayed for this child and He answered my prayer. Now I give him to the Lord and I will leave him with you to learn and work with you." So Samuel lived with Eli and every year Hannah would pack her suitcase and visit him and bring him new clothes. It might have been hard for Hannah to see Samuel only once a year but she wanted to keep her promise. God blessed Hannah again and gave her and her husband even more sons and daughters.

Samuel did very well while staying with Eli. Then one night something unusual happened. Eli and Samuel had both gone to bed and were having a nice sleep. When Samuel all of a sudden woke up, someone was calling him, "Samuel."

Well, Samuel thought it was Eli so he ran to his bed and answered, "Here I am; you called me?" But Eli said, "I did not call you; go back and lie down." 19

So Samuel went back to his bed. He didn't know this, but God was calling him. Just as Samuel got settled God said, "Samuel!" And Samuel jumped up and went back to Eli and said, "Here I am, you called?" Again Eli answered, "No I didn't call you; go back to bed."

The Lord called Samuel a third time, and Samuel got up and went to Eli again and said, "Here I am; you called me."

Eli couldn't figure out what was going on. He had been thinking who could be calling Samuel, they were the only ones there. Suddenly Eli realized there was only one other explanation so Eli told Samuel, "Go and lie down, and if you hear the voice again, say, 'Yes, Lord, I'm listening.'"

Sure enough, Samuel went to lie down and the Lord called again, "Samuel! Samuel!" So Samuel quickly replied, "Speak Lord, I am listening." Samuel realised how important it was to hear the word of the Lord.

From then on Samuel knew when God wanted to talk to him and he always listened. God blessed Samuel and he grew up to be a great prophet or spokesperson of the Lord.

So Hannah did the right thing when she kept her promise to God. Her son Samuel helped many people know God better, and he learned that we need to listen to God when he communicates with us.

For this story, I simply had the girls lie down and play “dead lions” as if they were sleeping on a mat in Bible times. When they stopped giggling, and they were quiet, I just quietly read the story out. It worked surprisingly well!!

MEMORY VERSE: “Hear the word of the LORD, you nations” Jeremiah 31:10

For this memory verse I simply had the girls sit in a circle and repeat it a few times (including the reference) clapping on each syllable. Then we repeated it leaving out one word, then two words etc…. until finally all we were doing was clapping. They had to listen for the claps. For example:

1. “Hear the word of the LORD, you nations” Jeremiah 31:10 2. “*clap* the word of the LORD, you nations” Jeremiah 31:10 3. “*clap* *clap* word of the LORD, you nations” Jeremiah 31:10 4. “*clap* *clap* *clap* of the LORD, you nations” Jeremiah 31:10 5. “*clap* *clap* *clap* *clap* the LORD, you nations” Jeremiah 31:10 6. “*clap* *clap* *clap* *clap* *clap* LORD, you nations” Jeremiah 31:10 7. “*clap* *clap* *clap* *clap* *clap* *clap*, you nations” Jeremiah 31:10 8. “*clap* *clap* *clap* *clap* *clap* *clap*, *clap* nations” Jeremiah 31:10 9. “*clap* *clap* *clap* *clap* *clap* *clap*, *clap* *clap -tions” Jeremiah 31:10 10. “*clap* *clap* *clap* *clap* *clap* *clap*, *clap* *clap* *clap*” *clap*-er-mi-ah 31:10 11. “*clap* *clap* *clap* *clap* *clap* *clap*, *clap* *clap* *clap*” *clap*-er-mi-ah 31:10 12. “*clap* *clap* *clap* *clap* *clap* *clap*, *clap* *clap* *clap*” *clap*-*clap*-ah 31:10 13. “*clap* *clap* *clap* *clap* *clap* *clap*, *clap* *clap* *clap*” *clap* *clap* *clap* 31:10 14. “*clap* *clap* *clap* *clap* *clap* *clap*, *clap* *clap* *clap*” *clap* *clap* *clap* *clap* -ty 1:10 15. “*clap* *clap* *clap* *clap* *clap* *clap*, *clap* *clap* *clap*” *clap* *clap* *clap* *clap* Clap* *clap* :10 16. “*clap* *clap* *clap* *clap* *clap* *clap*, *clap* *clap* *clap*” *clap* *clap* *clap* *clap* Clap* *clap* : *clap* 17. And finally, say it all together out loud again.

LEARNING AND INFORMATION

COMMUNICATION THAT NEEDS LISTENING

THE PHONETIC ALPHABET

A phonetic alphabet is a list of words used to identify letters in a message transmitted by radio or telephone. Spoken words from an approved list are substituted for letters. For example, the word "Brigade" would be "Bravo Romeo India Golf Alpha Delta Echo" when spelled in the phonetic alphabet. This practice helps to prevent confusion between similar sounding letters, such as "m" and "n", and “p” and “t” or “b” and to clarify communications that may be garbled during transmission.

Phonetic Alphabet Poem

A is Alpha, Bravo is B C you remember stands for Charlie D for Delta , Echo is E Foxtrot - won’t you dance with me? G is for Golf , H is Hotel I is for India (where Indians dwell). J is for Juliet (she’s Romeo’s date) K is for Kilo, a measure of weight Lima is L (It’s a city I like) M’s the next letter and stands for Mike, N is for the month of November (That makes it easy to remember) O is for Oscar, just like the grouch P is for Papa who sits on the couch, Q is for Quebec which is hard to rhyme R is for Romeo, who loved Juliet all the time. S is for Sierra you see

T is for Tango, dance.. two, three.. U is for uniform (worn in Brigade) V is for Victor (A Christian who prayed) W for Whiskey, which girls should not drink, It is only for adults, I think! X is for x-ray, I can see through you! Y is for yankee (an American true) Z for Zulu- we are now at the end And a phonetic message you can send.

(Yes, I know the above poem is not Wordsworth, but it helped my girls learn their phonetic alphabet)

MORSE CODE

Common punctuation:

. (full stop) *-*-*- , (comma) --**-- ? (question mark) **--**

Special characters:

error ******** + *-*-* stop (end of message) @ ***-*- end (end of contact) SOS ***---*** international distress call. (Used by the Titanic on April 15, 1912.)

Morse code is a system of representing letters, numbers and punctuation marks by means of a code signal sent intermittently. Possibly developed by Alfred Vail while he was helping Samuel Morse with Morse's invention of the telegraph (1835) which is considered a fore-runner of digital modes of communication like email.

Morse's first and original code consisted of sending dots and dashes that represented numbers. Each number represented a word. This required looking up the number in a book to find the word. A telegraph key was then used to beat out the sequence of dots, dashes and pauses that represented the word.

Although Morse invented the telegraph, he lacked technical expertise. He entered an agreement with Vail who built more practical equipment. Vail developed a code where each letter or symbol is sent individually. Vail's method representing individual symbols was included on Morse's patent. It is this kind of code that was used for the first telegraph message.

The code is transmitted either as an audio tone, a steady radio signal switched on and off an electrical pulse down a telegraph wire, or as a mechanical or visual signal (eg. a flashing light).

 Your girls can try it with torches!!!! They can send their name, the GB motto, or simply something really important like, “Please bring more chocolate”

Morse code was used as an international standard for ship-to-ship communication until 1999.

SAMUEL LISTENS TO GOD

WHAT YOU DO Give each girl a piece of cardboard, a square of fabric and a picture of Samuel. Have them colour and cut out the picture of Samuel. To form the bed and blanket, help the girls spread a line of glue close to the three edges of the fabric. (Don’t put any in the middle) Press the fabric on top of the card as shown in the picture. Slip Samuel into the pocket. Girls may like to draw a pillow.

GAME (Learning to listen)

Chinese Whispers

First, as many players as possible line up or sit in a circle so that they can whisper to their immediate neighbours but not hear any players further away. A phrase will be told by the judges and the first player whispers it as quietly as possible to his or her neighbour. The neighbour then passes on the message to the next player to the best of his or her ability. The passing continues in this fashion until it reaches the player at the end of the line, who says to the judges the message he or she received. The game has no winner: the entertainment comes from comparing the original and final messages. Intermediate messages may also be compared; some messages will be unrecognizable after only a few steps. As well as providing amusement, the game can have educational value. It shows how easily information can become corrupted by indirect communication. The game has been used in schools to simulate the spread of gossip and its supposed harmful effects. It can also be used to teach young children to moderate the volume of their voice, and how to listen attentively

WEEK FOUR DEVOTIONS

THE WRITING IS ON THE WALL – DANIEL Ch. 5

Writing is one form of communication, and we can read about the “writing on the wall” in Daniel.

How I presented this story takes a lot of preparation, but is very effective and well worth the effort.

I wrote the story on butcher’s type paper in invisible ink, Then, bit by bit (I put each bit on a different page), I revealed the story and then would read it out loud to the girls. Then I would stick each page up in order around the walls, using blu-tack.

Instructions  Mix equal parts water and baking soda.  Use a cotton swab, toothpick, or paintbrush to write a message onto white paper, using the baking soda solution as 'ink'.  Allow the ink to dry.  One way to read the message is to hold the paper up to a heat source, such as a light bulb. The baking soda will cause the writing in the paper to turn brown.  A second method to read the message is to paint over the paper with purple grape juice. The message will appear in a different colour.  The grape juice method is my preferred method.  MAKE SURE YOU DO A TEST RUN AT HOME FIRST.

A very long time ago, before even Jesus was born a mean king named Nebuchadnezzar. When he died, his son, Belshazzar, became king. He did not worship God. He worshiped false statues that were not God at all.

One day, the king had a big banquet. He invited many important people. There was lots of delicious food and things to drink.

Suddenly the king had an idea. He remembered that his father took some gold cups (goblets) from God’s temple. He thought it would be wonderful for all his guests to drink from these expensive cups. He did not think about how these were special cups from God’s church temple.

As the guests were drinking from the gold cups, they worshiped false gods that were not real. Suddenly, something scary happened. Fingers of a human hand started writing on the wall in the banquet room.

When the king saw what was happening, he became very white and pale. His knees knocked together and he dropped to the floor.

The king called special people to come and translate when the handwriting meant. They could not figure out what the message said. This made the king very scared and terrified. Just then, the queen came into the banquet hall. She remembered that there was a special man who could interpret things like this. His name was Daniel.

They called Daniel to come. The king promised him lots of expensive things if he could interpret the words. Daniel told the king that he did not want the things. He explained that the only true God gave his father Nebuchadnezzar the kingdom. Over time, his heart did not care about God. He loved the power of being the king.

When Belshazzar became king, he was proud too. Instead of worshipping God, he worshipped false statues. Daniel shared that even at the banquet, he did not honour God.

He looked at the words. They said “Mene, Mene Tekel, Parsin.” Daniel told the king what each word meant. “Mene” meant that his days were numbered. That meant that he would die soon. “Tekel” meant that God had judged him and he had done wrong. “Parsin” meant that other people would come and rule the country. Just as God said, that very night, the king died and another person, Darius, became king.

Daniel followed God and worshiped Him only. He was a messenger for God to help the people know about Him. We can be messengers too, helping people know about Jesus. If we truly believe in Jesus, then we can know that He died and rose again, and we will one day live forever with Him. Jesus is our king.

MEMORY VERSE

“Keep my teaching with you all the time; write it on your heart.” Proverbs 7:3

I displayed a copy of this verse where all the girls could see it, and then we made our own memory verses using invisible ink!! (It was awesome). Some of them revealed it at GB and some decided to take it home and *surprise* their family with their cleverness.

TEACHING AND INFORMATION

CODES & SECRET STUFF

(Since the writing on the wall had to be deciphered)

A code is a system of symbols, letters, words, or signals that are used instead of ordinary words and numbers to send messages or store information. A code is used to keep the message short or to keep it secret.

Codes and ciphers are forms of secret communication. A code replaces words, phrases, or sentences with groups of letters or numbers, while a cipher rearranges letters or uses substitutes to disguise the message. This process is called encryption or enciphering. The science that studies such secret communication is called cryptology.

Secret writing has been employed about as long as writing has existed. Codes have been used throughout history whenever people wanted to keep messages private. Cryptology has long been employed by governments, military, businesses, and organizations to protect their messages. Today, encryption is used to protect storage of data and transactions between computers.

In ancient times when messages were carried by foot for miles, kings and rulers would encrypt the letters they would send to allies. This helped to protect the secrecy of the message in case they were stolen. When the telegraph was invented, the “Morse Code” was used to send understandable messages via sound patterns.

Today, computer users encrypt documents, network space, and e-mail messages as a way to protect the confidentiality of their messages. The new types of encryption are very advanced, and sometimes complicated….but, the basic skill remains true to the ancient methods!

Below you will find a collection of links on cryptology use through history.

 Invent your own code, and write the memory verse in it.  Make a mural of the Girls’ Brigade Motto, Crest or the Aim in code. Decorate it.

Cryptograph Wheel

You can make a special Cryptograph Wheel to solve cryptographs (see the picture!) First make two circles of cardboard, one a bit smaller than the other, and use a protractor to mark them off into 26 pieces of about 13.8 degrees each. Write one letter of the alphabet in each division on each wheel.

Then attach the two wheels together using a split pin so that you can rotate them independently.

Now if you want to solve a cryptograph where the alphabet slides along by 3 places, just rotate the wheel so that A is opposite the C, and then you can read the code letters off the wheel.

Pigpen

The Pigpen code is quite easy to catch on to. First you write out the whole alphabet in two grids, as shown:

Each letter is represented by the part of the "pigpen" that surrounds it. If it's the second letter in the box, then it has a dot in the middle.

So an A looks like this: And a B looks like this:

Example:

This reads, “listen to the wind” (I hope)

NUMERIC

Simply substitute letters for numbers. For example, A = 1 B = 2 or you could start at Z= 1 Y = 2

CRAFT

Make your own code wheels as from above and learn to write the memory verse in code. (see suggestion under “memory verse” in this week’s devotion section)

WHAT YOU DO

Give each girl a piece of black paper, 2 big paddle pop sticks and 2 small

ones. Glue them to the edge of the paper, as per the picture.

Give each girl a “Jesus loves You” or memory verse paper to colour and

glue in the centre.

After the paddle pop sticks have dried clip on the pegs. (Note: the picture

shows 2 pegs, but I use three, and with three, if it is carefully balanced, it

will stand up.)

WHAT YOU DO Give each girl a piece of black paper, 2 big paddle pop sticks and 2 small ones. Glue them to the edge of the paper, as per the picture. Give each girl a “Jesus loves You” or memory verse paper to colour and glue in the centre. After the paddle pop sticks have dried clip on the pegs. (Note: the picture shows 2 pegs, but I use three, and with three, if it is carefully balanced, it will stand up.) 31

GAMES

Terrible Telegrams

Have the alphabet written out twice, each letter on a separate bit of paper. Draw the letters out of the hat/bag and then get the girls to make sentences from them. They can do this in pairs or groups, ane the girls should try and compose sentences that make some kind of sense, however odd. For example, L T U V M K F E could become “Large tomatoes under van, Must keep for elephants.”

SMS MESSAGES

A variation on “Terrible Telegrams”

Equipment: Pencil and paper for each team. List of words displayed on card or progressively written on whiteboard or similar.

Divide the girls into teams of 3 or 4, and try and make them teams of varying literacy. Next, select word and tell teams that their task is to compose an SMS message using the letters in the order they appear in the chosen word.

If your word is “basket” for example, it could be saying “Bring Aunt Sally’s Knitting Etc., Thanks.” Or for “drive” it could be “Democratic Russians Investigate Vladivostok Environment”

Make your words suitable to the age group.

After the allotted time, you set, for example 3 minutes, each team will read it’s SMS to the others.

Examples of words:

Game brown drive grow table cover

Suit bank sink tulip iron train

Photo trust seek thank spots sell

WEEK FIVE DEVOTIONS THE TOWER OF BABEL – GENESIS 11: 1 - 9

Bible Reference: Genesis 11:1-9

The Story:

It all started with a King named Nimrod.

Everything was going great. Everyone in the whole world spoke the same language. Some of the people ended up living in a place called Babylonia.

Then King Nimrod decided he wanted to be famous. He wanted everyone to know him and how great he was. He convinced the people that lived in Babylonia that, they too could be great if they built a tower that went all the way to heaven.

So the people went to work making bricks for the Tower of Babel. It was hard work but the people wanted everyone to know that they made the tower that reached heaven, so they just worked that much harder.

The people also convinced themselves that by building the tower that would stay united. Since they already spoke the same language, now they would be building the tower together. Their pride had taken over and all they were thinking about was that they'd be known in all the world for building the biggest and best tower ever.

They worked together to make bricks from the clay to build their houses. Then they had a great idea! They thought, "Why not build a great tower out of the bricks? We could make a tower that reaches all the way to the heavens. We could make a name for ourselves. We will be famous for our great tower. People will see it for miles around. Everyone will hear about it and want to come and see our great tower."

They all worked together day after day making bricks, and cementing them together to make a great tower. It took a lot of planning, a lot of work and lot of time, but they didn't care because they knew that when they were finally finished everyone would see how great they were.

God could see what was happening all along, but decided to come down to earth and see the tower the people were building. God could tell the people's hearts were more focused on themselves and the tower than on him. He was very disappointed and angry with them.

God said, "I see that the people think they can do anything because they all speak the same language. They have already begun to turn away from me and soon there won't be anything good left, all they'll do is sin. I will mix up their language so they won't understand each other, this way they won't be able to work together to sin against me."

God decided to stop them right then and there and teach them a lesson. He could have knocked down their tower, but he didn't. Instead he changed their languages. All of a sudden they started speaking in other languages. Now you know how difficult it is to talk to someone who doesn't speak your language. Just think how difficult it would be to build a tower when everyone spoke a different language. It was so difficult that they stopped building the tower, and the people started moving away forming their own settlements and eventually forming countries. And that is why we have so many different languages today.

This was the beginning of the languages. Imagine what would've happened if the people didn't try to build the tower in the first place and they focused on God instead. Maybe we would all speak the same language today.

From there the Lord scattered the people all over the whole earth.

It's interesting because when the people starting building the tower of Babel, Babel meant "gateway to God" but after God mixed up their language it meant "confusion". Even the word babble that we use today is said to come from that day when everyone was babbling with confusion.

How did I tell this story?

I ferretted out a person who spoke in another language, whether it be sign or a spoken language, and I got them to read it out, sentence by sentence with an interpreter.

If you can find a signer and a person who speaks another language, it has a great impact. Your guest speaks for example, Arabic, your translator speaks English and then it is signed as well.

The girls were rivetted.

LEARNING AND INFO

FLAGS - A Rather Interesting Exercise in Communication Without Language

SEAMAPHORE

Semaphore is the system for conveying information at a distance by means of visual signals with hand-held flags, rods, disks, paddles, or occasionally bare or gloved hands. Information is encoded by the position of the flags; it is read when the flag is in a fixed position. Semaphores were adopted and widely used (with hand-held flags replacing the mechanical arms of shutter semaphores) in the maritime world in the 19th century. It is still used during underway replenishment at sea and is acceptable for emergency communication in daylight or, using lighted wands instead of flags, at night. Your girls could try it with glow sticks!!

MARITIME FLAGS

These flags are used at sea for communication between ships. They can spell out short messages, and individual flags and various combinations of flags also have special meanings. On ceremonial and festive occasions the signal flags are used to 'dress' (decorate) ships.

This signalling system was drafted in 1855 and published in 1857, and was gradually adopted by most seafaring countries. It has since been revised.

Usage

 One-flag signals are urgent or very common signals (meanings below)  Two-flag signals are mostly distress and manoeuvring signals  Three-flag signals are for points of the compass, relative bearings, standard times, verbs, punctuation, also general code and decode signals  Four-flags are used for geographical signals, names of ships, bearings, etc  Five-flag signals are those relating to time and position  Six-flag signals are used when necessary to indicate north or south or east or west in latitude and longitude signals  Seven-flags are for longitude signals containing more than one hundred degrees.

Special meanings of individual flags

 a (alpha) = Diver Down; Keep Clear  b (bravo) = Dangerous Cargo  c (charlie) = Yes  d (delta) = Keep Clear  e (echo) = Altering Course to Starboard  f (foxtrot) = Disabled  g (golf) = Want a Pilot  h (hotel) = Pilot on Board  i (india) = Altering Course to Port  j (juliet) = On Fire; Keep Clear  k (kilo) = Desire to Communicate  l (lima) = Stop Instantly  m (mike) = I Am Stopped  n (november) = No  o (oscar) = Man Overboard  p (papa) = About to Sail  q (quebec) = I Request  r (romeo) = (The way is off my ship. You may feel your way past me)  s (sierra) = Engines Going Astern  t (tango) = Keep Clear of Me  u (uniform) = You are Standing into Danger  v (victor) = Require Assistance  w (whiskey) = Require Medical Assistance  x (x-ray) = Stop Your Intention  y (yankee) = Am Dragging Anchor  z (zulu) = Require a Tug

Still on the subject of flags….

A flag is a piece of fabric with a distinctive design that is usually rectangular and used as a symbol, as a signaling device, or decoration. The term flag is also used to refer to the graphic design employed by a flag, or to its depiction in another medium.

The study of flags is known as vexillology, from the Latin vexillum meaning flag or banner. Flags are widely used in communication.

Half mast is the term describing flying a flag below the summit of the flagpole (mast). This is done in many countries as a symbol of respect, mourning, or distress. The tradition of flying the flag at half-mast began in the 17th century. A ship flying a yellow standard in olden times was known to be carrying disease. (like smallpox or the plague) When hoisting a flag that is to be displayed at half-mast, it should be hoisted to the finial (top) for an instant, then lowered to half-mast. Likewise when it is lowered at the end of the day, it is to be hoisted to the finial for an instant, and then lowered.In Australian rules football, the goal umpire will wave two flags to indicate a goal (worth six points) and a single flag to indicate a behind (worth one point).

For safety, dive flags indicate the locations of underwater scuba divers.

A pair of red/yellow flags is used to mark the limits of the bathing area on a beach, usually guarded by surf lifesavers. If the beach is closed, the poles of the flags are crossed. The flags are coloured with a red triangle and a yellow triangle making a rectangular flag On many Australian beaches there is a slight variation with beach condition signalling.

 Have a look at the history of the Australian Flag.. what does it communicate to us?

(I really love the Southern Cross on our flag… it is one of the things I missed when overseas… the Southern Cross was absent from the night sky, and it made me realise I was far from home)

The present Australian flag can be considered to consist of three main elements:

 The Union Jack in the upper hoist quadrant or first quarter (also know as the Canton), denoting Australia's historical links with Great Britain. The Union Jack itself is composed of red and white intersecting and overlayed vertical and diagonal crosses on a blue background,  The Southern Cross in the second quarter (also known as the top or head) and fourth quarter. Consists of five stars in a more or less kite-like pattern - Alpha Crucis (7-point), Beta Crucis (7-point), Gamma Crucis (7-point), Delta Crucis (7-point) and the smaller Epsilon Crucis (5-point). The outer diameter of each of the 4 major stars is 1/7 the width of the fly and the inner diameter is 4/9 outer diameter; the diameter of Epsilon Crucis is 1/12 the width of the fly and the inner diameter is 4/9 the outer diameter. The constellation of the Southern Cross is a significant navigational feature of the southern hemisphere, strongly places Australia geographically and has been associated with the continent since its earliest days,  The Commonwealth Star or Star of Federation, central in the third quarter or lower hoist, has seven points to denote the six states and the combined territories of the Commonwealth. The seventh point was added in 1909. The outer diameter is 3/5 the width of the Union Jack (3/10 the width of the fly) and the inner diameter is 4/9 the outer diameter.

The Aboriginal Flag was designed by Harold Thomas, an artist and an Aboriginal, in 1971. The flag was designed to be an eye-catching rallying symbol for the Aboriginal people and a symbol of their race and identity. The black represents the Aboriginal people, the red the earth and their spiritual relationship to the land, and the yellow the sun, the giver of life.

In the late 1960s, Aborigines stepped up their campaign for indigenous land rights through protest marches, demonstrations, banners and posters. The protests increased in the early 1970s and Harold Thomas noticed they were often outnumbered by non-Aborigines with their own banners and placards. He decided they needed to be more visible and the idea of the flag was born.

The Aboriginal flag was first raised in Victoria Square in Adelaide on National Aboriginal Day in 1971, but was adopted nationally by Aborigines and Torres Strait Islanders in 1972 after it was flown above the Aboriginal "Tent Embassy" outside of the old Parliament House in Canberra. 39

The Aboriginal flag is increasingly being flown by both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people. In view of its increasing importance in Australian society, the Government initiated steps in 1994 to give the flag legal recognition. After a period of public consultation, the Government made its own decision in July 1995 that the flag should be proclaimed a "Flag of Australia" under section 5 of the Flags Act 1953. The flag was so proclaimed by the Governor General of Australia, William Hayden, on 14 July 1995.

The First Union Jack

The first Union Jack was the Cross of St George combined with the Cross of St Andrew to for the Union Flag in 1606. The flag raised by Govenor Philip on the first Australian Day, 26 January 1788, was this version of the Union Jack.

Cross of St George

England - vertical red cross on a white field - dates from the time of Crusades and the decoration of the tunics covering the chain mail of the crusaders.

Cross of St Andrew

Scotland - Also known as the Saltire. Diagonal white cross on a dark blue field (this colour was adopted for the general background of the Union Flag) - origin obscure, and probably nothing to do with the apostle Andrew. The reason for the white surround the the red Cross of St George is that it an heraldic taboo to place red directly on blue.

"Cross of St Patrick"

Ireland - diagonal red cross on a white background - nothing to do with St Patrick as he was not a martyr and has thus never been associated with a cross - added to the Union Flag in 1801 in such a way that neither the red or white diagonals are seen to be superior (on the hoist side the white is superior, on the fly side the red is superior.

CRAFT – MAKE YOUR OWN SEMAPHORE FLAGS

Australian Flag Collage. You will need some royal blue, white and red crepe paper or tissue paper. Lots of it. Print out the template on this page, one for each girl. (You may like to enlarge it) Girls stick it on to harder card, like a cereal box or something. (For younger girls, you may have this done already.)

Girls rip small bits of paper off and scrumple them up into small balls. (you may like to precut them for smaller girls.) Then they glue their scrumpled bits on to the appropriate paper onto the appropriate bit of the flag

GAMES

SEMAPHORE RELAY

Girls are in teams up one end of the hall and a leader or pioneer is up the other. The girls each have a number. The leader signals using semaphore an action “hop” “skip” “jump” “Crawl” “walk” etc. Or you could do it using a torch and morse code. Then the leader calls a number, the girl with that number must travel to the leader, in that fashion. First girl travelling in correct mode wins a point for her team. Make sure that there is a chart on the wall.

SEMAPHORE DRAWING

Divide the girls into groups and give them their own space and some butchers paper and pencils. Leader signals a word in semaphore or morse and the girls have to draw it. They have 2 minutes to do so. It is not a drawing contest, as long as you can tell what it is. The team at the end with the most correct drawings wins. SUGGESTIONS: House, sheep, car, bike, bird, flower, baby, sandwich, ice cream.

FLAG DICE

For each team you will need - one cross each of St. George, St. Andrew and St. Patrick. Make sure they are coloured correctly. (Actually cut the specific crosses out.) - one set of Southern Cross Stars - cut the stars out individually - one Commonwealth Star - one Blue background - 1 die

Girls sit in a circle and pass the die from person to person until a 6 is thrown. That scores them the Blue flag background.

Then they can start assembling the Australian flag, according to the roll of the die as follows: 6 – blue flag background. This has to be rolled before they can add any of the others. 5 – St Andrew’s cross 4 – St George’s cross 3 – St Patrick’s Cross 2 – The Commonwealth Star 1 – any of the stars of the Southern Cross, but only one per throw of the number one.

I also display prominently a chart showing what you get for each roll of the die, or you could give a small copy to each team. As the girls throw the correct number, they race up to the other end of the hall where the components are waiting for each team and race back to the circle with their “bit” and start assembling it in the middle. First team to make a complete (and correct) Australian flag wins.

Note: you will have to make sure the widths of the crosses in the Union Jack are sized correctly so they all show and can be placed in the right order. I have laminated all my flag components so I can use them over and over. 44

WEEK SIX DEVOTIONS God’s “signposts” to us directing us in the right direction. EXODUS 20

THE TEN COMMANDMENTS

Worship only God and declare to Him his worth Never worship anything else in heaven or on earth. Never use God's name in a disrespectful way. Always honour God on his special holy day.

Respect your parents even if they are old and grey, (Be nice to them and listen to what they say.) Never take another human life. Always be loyal to your husband or your wife. Never nick what does not belong to you. Report about others only what is really true. And don’t envy those dudes who just happen to Have lots more stuff than you ever do.

The commandments above they number ten But it’s not yet time to say “Amen” In the gospel of John. a commandment new Love one another, as I have loved you.

The Israelites had been traveling in the desert for about 3 months (which is a little longer than regular summer holidays) when they came to Mount Sinai. They were going to stay there for a while plus they excellent shelter from the mountain.

Moses got unpacked and decided to walk up the mountain to talk to God. Remember that this wasn't very easy for Moses, he was already over 80 years old.

God knew that Moses was coming so He spoke to Moses and told him to tell the Israelites to get ready. Moses came down to tell the people to have a bath and to clean all their clothes.

By doing this the people were getting prepared to hear important words from God. That is why we sometimes dress up or make sure we have clean clothes on when we go to church. It makes us hopefully behave a little nicer and shows respect to God.

On the third morning after Moses had talked to God, the Israelites where busy making their breakfast when all of a sudden there was a large rumble and a flash of light over the mountain. Anyone who was still sleeping was startled and woke up suddenly.

Everyone went out to look and just over the mountain there was lightning and thunder, and a very thick cloud hung over the mountain so you couldn't see the top. Even the mountain shook and the sound of trumpets could be heard getting louder and louder.

So Moses went up the mountain to hear from God once again. This time God told Moses, "Go down to the people and tell them not to follow you up the mountain, the mountain is a special place because I am here." So Moses warned the people not to touch or go to close to the mountain.

After that Moses went back up the mountain. But this time he stayed there for a long time (40 days and 40 nights), God sure had a lot to tell him. God wanted to instruct the people on how to live. By following His rules they would have less sadness in their lives. God just wanted to protect them.

It's just like when our parents give us rules to protect us: to look both ways before we cross the street, to not hit our brother or sister... they give us rules because they love us and know what's best for us.

We'll just talk about the first ten commandments God told Moses, otherwise we might be here for 40 days and we don't have time for that. Besides, the 10 commandments are the most important for us right now. Remember as you hear each commandment that they are all equally important, one is not more important than the other.

The first commandment is to put God first. This means that nothing should be more important than God - a hobby you enjoy, tv or video games, even your friends and family should not be more important than God.

The second command is to worship only God. This is like the first commandment in that God wants our love, and He doesn't want us to bow down and worship a statue just because we can't see Him. In other words God is the only one that we should pray to.

The third commandment is broken all the time. God commands us to use His name with respect. Many people use God's name like a swear word, or say it when they're upset. God wants us to use His name when we're talking to Him, or telling others about Him in a nice way. To use His name in these other ways is very disrespectful and hurts God to hear it.

The fourth commandment should be easy, we are to remember God's Sabbath. God wants us to take one day of the week and rest. When God made the world in six days, He rested on the seventh day. This gets harder when you get older, there always seems to be something to do, but remember God commands us to take a day off.

The fifth commandment might be a little tricky for some of you, but it’s very important (like all the other commandments) that you follow it. He tells us to respect our parents. Sometimes you might think you know what's best, or you get frustrated because your parents won't let you do something. Remember your parents were once kids just like you, and they are trying to keep you safe and from making the same mistakes they've already made.

Which commandment is next...oh right, it's the sixth commandment. This commandment says don't hurt others, and don’t kill anyone. Now imagine for a minute if everyone in the whole world obeyed this rule like God wants us to. We probably wouldn't have any jails and we would all get along with one another.

The seventh commandment is for those who are married. God tells us to be faithful in marriage. He wants us to love our wife or husband someday (even if they get on your nerves once and a while) and treat them with respect.

The eighth commandment is don't steal. This means that we shouldn't take something that doesn't belong to us.

We are almost done, the next commandment is don't lie. It is always better to tell the truth, and while you're at it don't do anything that would make you want to lie. Usually parents know when you're lying anyway, and if you don't get caught God sees and hears everything and He knows.

The last commandment is don't be envious of others. This means that we shouldn't wish to have things that someone else has. I know there is always a new toy or game - there is always something that we want to get. It's important to remember that these things aren't really important. God is the most important (if you remember the first commandment).

Now I know this list might seem impossible to follow all the time. I know that I don't follow all these commands all the time, and I'm going to pray to God and ask His forgiveness and try to do my very best to not do it again.

Another thing to remember is that if you disobey a commandment God sees the smallest lie just the same as if someone hurt someone really bad. I know sometimes we think if we just told a little lie it wouldn't matter or God wouldn't notice, but it does matter and God does notice. It makes Him sad when we disobey Him, so when we make a mistake we need to say sorry to God and to the person you've wronged and try to be a better person next time.

How did I present this story? I had a copy of the poem for each of the girls, and we read it through a few time. (Some of them even went home and learned it!)

Then we moved on to the story, I had the Pioneers miming the story as I read it. This of course requires rehearsal. If you have a Pioneer leader, she can do the reading while the Pioneers do the miming.

Then I divided the girls into groups and each group gets one “commandment” from the poem to “dramatise”.

After much rehearsal they can perform it for the rest of the company, while you read out the poem. 

MEMORY VERSE: “If you love me you will keep my commandments” John 14:15

How did I teach them this? I made a “string of hearts”.. like this… made like those paper chain dolls you cut out that are attached to each other.

“If you love me you will keep my commandments.” John 14:5

Now, in this illustration, the word “commandments” is very tiny, I made the hearts of a suitable size so that the words are all the same size. We read the verse out a few times and then one at a time, I folded the hearts in so that they were not visible. After each fold, we repeated the verse again. Finally there was only one heart showing and I turned it so that the word was not visible and we repeated the verse again. Depending on the size of your hearts, you may have to get girls to hold them. As the chain gets smaller, allow the girls to sit back down.

Teaching and Learning

Look at all the signs in the modern world (have some pictures if you can) for example,

Use also shop signs, signs that indicate libraries, train destinations or plane destinations, etc etc… talk about how our life is influenced by signs and how these are a form of communication.

Then talk again about how the Ten Commandments are God’s signposts to communicate to us the way to live the life He wants us to live if we have given our hearts to Him.

INSIGNIA & SYMBOLS

Identifying insignia e.g. The Red Cross, Fire Brigade, Police, the QANTAS “flying kangaroo”, the Nike flash, the Australian Flag Other instantly identifiable symbols. What do they communicate to us? Why are they significant? What do they communicate to us? Why are they significant? Don’t forget to include iconic symbols of our time, like Coca Cola, the Pepsi circle, Google, the Commonwealth Bank, The GB Crest (just thought I would sneak that one in), the ABC, Telstra, football team logos, Australia Post, the Tourist “I”, Police blue and white checks, Ebay, the list is endless, and you can play games like removing the identifying words and asking the girls to name the company.

I even had a chat about addresses that can identify people, or phone numbers that come up on caller ID.

CRAFT

Doorhangers

You can blow up this template to an appropriate size, or you used to be able to buy blank ones from Brigade House in NSW.

On one side I put the memory verse (I had it ready for the girls to colour and cut out and paste on, on the other side they could put whatever they wanted like “Those who enter here may be cuddled by unicorns” or something they wanted. (Just direct them so they do not put rude things.)

Alternate Craft

Make chains of hearts with the memory verse on them.

GAMES

CONCENTRATION

Make a set of cards with everyday signs and logos on the reverse. There needs to be two of each, and play concentration with your girls, be sure to let each of them have a turn.

My suggestion is to make two sets, so four of each card and then you can have two games running simultaneously, each with a leader present and at opposite ends of the room.

If you have large numbers of girls, make an appropriate number of sets. Again, I laminated mine so I can re-use them.

All of the cards are shuffled and are laid face down on a surface in orderly rows and columns, like so:

All of the cards must have a mate. Each turn, two cards are flipped over. If the cards do not match, they are both turned back face down. If the cards match, they are left face up and the person who made the match receives a point. Then someone else has a turn. My suggested designs for the cards are on the following pages. You could cut them out, stick the signs and logos on the reverse and laminate them. This takes a lot of preparation, but you will use them over and over! (Trust me!)

***Make sure that the logos cannot be seen through from the back. You may have to add a small sheet of paper in between front and back before you laminate. Also make sure that you do not put the logos on numbers next to each other!***

NOTE: 30 Reverse pictures have been provided, (as the numbers are all different) but only 15 logos, you will have to copy the logos so there is a double set. Other suggestions for logos for use on Concentration cards include Coca-Cola, QANTAS, EBay, Google, Australia Post, Apple, Woolworths. None of these have been printed on the sets of cards provided to ensure copyright is not breached.

WEEK SEVEN – GOD’S SIGNPOSTS – GENESIS Ch. 9

SYMBOLS & SIGNS OF GOD COMMUNICATING WITH US GOD’S RAINBOW

The Bible tells that long ago God looked on earth and here below Saw his creatures not full of love, but hate: He asked: “Oh, what did I create?” “Why do my people war and fight When they’ve been told about what’s right? They don’t seem sorry for their ways Nor want to change to better days.”

God thought a while and then declared: “The only one that can be spared Is Noah, who it’s plain to see, Has lived in peace, with his sons, three. But every other living thing Will be destroyed by covering The whole wide world with floods so great I’ll sweep away the fear and hate.”

To save him from the floods to come, God spoke to Noah near his home, An ark he must start building now, One hundred and twenty two metres from stern to bow Three stories high, and extra wide, With door and window on the side.

“It must be big, since in this boat You’ll need to keep yourselves afloat – Your wife and sons and wives then bring A pair of every living thing That creeps or crawls or runs or flies. What space you’ll need just for supplies!”

Shem Ham and Japheth Noah’s sons, all three Found each was willing to agree And started building this great ark,

All working hard from dawn to dark. They heard their neighbours laugh and jeer – And say, “How crazy they all appear – To build a boat on high dry land!”

They just refused to understand. The ark took many years to build God watched and waited while they filled The ship with all the needed things For months of water voyagings. Much food and clothing, pots and plants Were stowed aboard, they took no chance Of starving either beasts or men While on the ark for weeks on end.

Next, Noah searched before the rain: From mountain hill, and jungle plain He led the creatures two by two, Tigers, bears and kangaroo, The horses, goats and porcupines, And more, all in two long lines.

The sky grew dark with flapping wings: The ground alive with creeping things: Earth trembled at the mighty roar Of creatures moving towards the door. Then Noah’s wife and sons and wives Went up the ramp, they dried their eyes As the sun shone hot about, They heard people laugh and shout.

Aboard at last! The rains did come They beat the roof with steady drum For forty days and forty night As the land below sunk from their sight. The tops of the mountains disappeared As Noah from his windows peered An awesome sight to look around And see no trace of your home ground!

Can you imagine how you’d feel To hear the thunder’s crashing peal, And pitch and toss in wind and storm And be the only people warm?

For six long months on board they stayed It was not easy, but they prayed That God would see them safely through Until dry land came back in view. The rains did stop: the flood went down Until the ark bumped on a crown Of mountain tall called Ararat, And there the ship stuck fast, and sat. Soon Noah let a raven go A big, black bird which to and fro Went flying, finding food afloat As they all watched it from the boat.

God sent strong winds the earth to dry, Yet still the waters seemed so high! A dove flew next to look around But did not find unflooded ground. A week went by, and out again This time the dove – Oh kewl! – AMEN! Brought back a fresh picked olive leaf – A sign of life! What a relief!

Another week, the dove once more Was sent abroad to search, explore This time she did not reappear, Which meant that dry land must be near! The earth was drying rapidly, And soon they found that they were free To leave the ark; this small family They jumped around with joy and glee.

To show thanks that they were safe and sound The family built an altar on holy ground And God was pleased as He looked on: He blessed Noah and his three son. To them He said, “Go build a new home; Have children who in turn will roam And settle countries far and near: Another flood you need not fear.

“To show you that my promise will Be kept forever, see that hill? Beyond it I have placed up high A lovely rainbow in the sky. By this great sign will people know My promise will be kept. So go With faith to plant the earth again” To this Noah’s family said “AMEN!”

You will need two competent Pioneers or two leaders for this. Make sure they get at least a week to practice. The two “poem readers” stand each side of the room at the front, and read the following poem alternately, one verse at a time. (try and get the lilt of the poem into the reading, the children will love it.) I even dressed them in Biblical garb. (Read: sheets and tea towels).

Another thought: This can work really well on display night, Pioneers reading, Juniors acting it out… they only have to mime, so if someone is away on the night, you can easily replace them.

Note of interest: When viewed from above, for example in a plane, a rainbow is not an arch, but a complete circle, so from “God’s view” His promise is never ending.

MEMORY VERSE

“I have put my bow in the clouds.” Genesis 9:13

Method:

The colours of the rainbow are red, orange, yellow, green blue, indigo and violet (or purple.) Draw a massively large rainbow on card and colour it. Then cut out the coloured arches separately. Divide up the words of the memory verse and in large heavy black artline pen, write the words of the verse as follows:

Red “I have Orange put Yellow my Green bow Blue in the Indigo clouds.” Purple Genesis 9:13

Here is a hint: because they are dark, you may have to write the words for the indigo and purple arches in white liquid paper.

TEACHNG AND INFO

Some of the teaching from last week can be carried over to this week, as we are still looking at signs that communicate things to us.

However for this week, looking at the sign of God’s great promise, here is some information on rainbows.

When the Sun is shining and there is rain as well you may see a rainbow in the sky!

As sunlight passes through the water droplets, it is bent and split into the colors of the rainbow . Sunlight is known as visible or white light and is actually a mixture of all visible colors. Rainbows appear in seven colors because water droplets break white sunlight into the seven colors of the spectrum (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet).

You can only see a rainbow if the Sun is behind you and the rain in front. The main rainbow becomes visible at an angle of around 40" from the horizon. You might be able to see a second rainbow above the main one in which the colors are in reverse order. You can even make your own rainbow using a garden hose or water sprinkler to form the water droplets in the air on a sunny day.

Here's an easy way to remember the rainbow colors and their order:

Just remember this: ROY G BIV. The letters stand for the first letter of each color. R is for red. O is for orange. Y is for yellow. G is for green. B is for blue. I is for indigo. V is for violet.

Now, this is super-mega humungously exciting… when viewed from above, for example from a plane, a rainbow is actually a full and perfect circle!! That means that God’s promise is never ending, especially from God’s viewpoint!!!! How awesome is that? Scientists refer to this as the “phenomenon glory”.

Revelation 4:3 reads “And he that sat was to look upon like a jasper and a sardine stone: and there was a rainbow round about the throne, in sight like unto an emerald.”

Rainbows are the circles around God’s throne!!!

Handprint Rainbow

In this project, the handprints of many children form a beautiful rainbow. It makes a great decoration or bulletin board. This project is good for a group of children I think it is good from time to time to do a group craft.

Supplies needed:

 Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple construction paper  A large piece of neutral-coloured paper (about 2 1/2 feet by 1 1/2 ft long), or work directly on a bulletin board  Scissors  A pencil and a marker  Glue

Alternately, you can make handprints directly onto the card by dipping them in paint!! (Messy but oh such fun!

Using the coloured construction paper, have the children trace their hands. Make about 10 handprints of each of the colours of the rainbow (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple). Cut out the hand prints and put the girl's name on her print.

If you want, stick or write a copy of the memory verse beneath the rainbow.

RAINBOW CRAFT (2) Duplicate and cut out the pattern found on the next page. Glue it onto card (I use old cereal boxes).

Using food colouring, colour different pasta shells and shapes colours of the rainbow.

Then, using craft glue, stick the pasta onto the rainbow. Glue some cotton wool onto the base of the rainbow to make a cloud. Stick or write a copy of the memory verse.

Alternate ideas: instead of coloured pasta, scrumpled crepe paper or material scraps or whatever collage stuff God inspires you with.

RAINBOW RELAY Preparation: make a list of cards - one set for each team - that read for example, 3 red items of clothing, 4 orange foods, 5 yellow school supplies 6 green things you have at home 7 blue things you can see in this room 8 purple things you can find in the natural world (plants, flowers, animals, etc.) ** you don’t have to use these exact cards, you could make up your own… you can even make the lists different for each team, as long as you have the same number in total of items**

You will also need two shoeboxes or plastic shopping bags for each team, and one piece of paper and a pencil for each team. If you have a girl who for whatever reason cannot shuffle, she can be the scribe.

Divide the girls into teams of up to 6 or 7. (For the colours of the rainbow), Teams line up on one side of the playing area.

Teams line up on the opposite side of the playing area. On “go” the first girl puts the shoeboxes (or plastic shopping bags) on her feet and shuffles to her team’s container with the cards. She selects one card only without looking , brings it back to her team, reads it out and they write down the number of items appropriate to what is on the card.

E.G. “5 yellow school supplies” they could write,

Bag Pencil Banana Lunchbox and yellow streamers to cheer their sports house. (Encourage the girls to think laterally). Then the next girl steps into the shoeboxes and the game continues until all teams have completed their lists. When reading out the lists, score 100 points for each correct answer, if answers are too similar like “yellow pencil” “Yellow texta” the second one is disallowed.

OPTION: If you do not have shoeboxes, or cannot get any, get the girls to walk to the other end of the play area holding onto their ankles. Check that they do not let go, if they do, they must go back to the beginning.

OTHER IDEAS FOR LISTS: Signs and logos, (use predominant colour if you use this category) Christmas things, Countries with in their flag, Things that smell bad (keep it clean) Things you can wear on your head (more variety than you think .. glasses… bands… lipstick, eyeshadow) Things found in water Things from a Stationary shop Sports teams with in their uniform Things you see at a Funpark Things you find in a toy shop etc etc…..

WEEK EIGHT – GOD COMMUNICATES WITH US THROUGH HIS WORD

The Bible is more than just a big old book! The Bible is full of adventure, mystery, and rules that we should all follow. But most importantly, everywhere you look in the Bible, you will find a promise from God.

The Old Testament Promise: The Saviour is coming The New Testament Promise: The Saviour has come & will return again

The Bible was not written by just one person, but was written by many different authors -- each one of them guided by God.

The Bible is made up of 2 different, but connected books - The Old Testament and The New Testament. The Old Testament is made up of 39 smaller books. The New Testament is made up of 27. All of these books are also divided into chapters and each chapter contains many different verses.

We've already learned some of the stories from the Bible. It's a very exciting book! In the Old Testament, we read about the creation of the whole universe, huge floods, burning bushes and major showdowns where God helps the little guys win. In the New Testament, we will read even more exciting stories about an evil king and a tiny baby who turns out to be the most important person that ever lived!

In the Old Testament books, the story of the beginning of the Universe and the creation of man are found. We learn about brave men like Noah, David, Daniel and Moses and we learn about brave women like Ruth, Esther and Sarah. Throughout the Old Testament, God asks His people to obey His laws, but over and over again His people disobey him. Despite this disobedience, God promised to make a way for all things to be right again.

The New Testament tells us how God's promise that he made in The Old Testament came true. The New Testament is all about the birth, life, teachings, death and resurrection of a very special person named Jesus Christ.

Jesus is the saviour promised to us in the Old Testament. In the New Testament we learn what Jesus taught and what happened in His life. We also learn how Jesus made the Old Testament promises of salvation come true when He died on the cross for us. The very best part of the story is that Jesus came back to life.

The Bible is like a long letter written to us from God. He made sure there were stories that we can learn from, and if we're ever having a bad day the Bible can help with that too. He made sure there were plenty of verses to make us feel better, and tons more where He tells us that He loves us.

MEMORY VERSE (1)

“All your words are true” Psalm 119:160

I made a VERY large Bible with only a few pages, (just out of cardboard) the pages all looked like this initially:

Then I wrote one word of the verse on each page in order, so as I turned it the girls would read more:

(1) (2) (3) (4) (5)

“All your words are true.”

(6) (7) (blank)

Psalm 119:160

I started off turning the pages slowly and gradually got faster and faster. Then I would start at page 2, then start at page three, and finally I just sat there with the blank page open and we would say it together.

MEMORY VERSE (2)

“Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path.” Psalm 119:105

Oh we had fun with this one. I used a stencil to cut out the letters from a sheet of cardboard: it looked like this:

“Your word is a

lamp to my feet

and a light to

my path”

Psalm 118:105

Then I covered the back of it with yellow cellophane and using a small torch from behind, illuminated each word as the girls said it. We repeated it over and over and then I said things like “Stand up if you have a pet” and made those girls repeat it. “Stand up if you had toast this morning” and made those girls repeat it. “Stand up if you have a brother or sister” etc etc.

FACTS ABOUT THE BIBLE

SHORTEST VERSE Each book in the Bible is broken into chapters. Each chapter is broken into verses. All of the verse are numbered so it easy to find your way around. The shortest verse is John 11:35. It says, “Jesus wept.”

The longest chapter is Psalm 119. It has 176 verses. The Psalm is divided into 22 sections. Each section has 8 verses. Every verse in the first section starts with the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet. Every verse in the second section starts with 2nds letter of the Hebrew alphabet. Every verse in the third section starts with the third letter of the Hebrew alphabet. This pattern goes on through The whole Psalm. Remember the Psalm was written in Hebrew! All 22 letters of the Hebrew Alphabet are used! The Longest Book is the Book of Psalms. It is Israel’s song book. It contains 150 hymns and prayers. When the Dead Sea Scrolls were found, they also found a 151st Psalm which is not in the Bible, but was written by David.

MIDDLE VERSES SHORTEST BOOK Open the Bible halfway through . You will hit Jesus’ friend John wrote 3 The book of Psalms. The middle verses of the letters in the New Testament. nd Bible are verses 1 & 2 of Psalm 117 Look it up!!! One of them, 2 John, has only 13 verses. .

WHAT THE BIBLE LOOKED LIKE The 10 Commandments were written on slabs of stone. Later the books of the Bible were written on flat strips of papyrus. They were made from papyrus reeds that grew by the Nile River. The sheets of papyrus were fastened together and rolled up into scrolls. Long ago when people wanted to write something, they used a chisel on a rock. Sometimes they used a stylus on clay. It was easier to go from right to left for most people. So Hebrew writing goes from right to left. The first page of the Hebrew Bible is the last page. Short notes, like shopping lists were written on broken bits of pottery and have been found by clever archaeologists.

One of the oldest cities is Jericho. On the site of Ancient Jericho there is a round stone tower. It was built in the new stone age. This was even before the pyramids! A spring of water and an oasis made Jericho a nice rest stop for travellers. It was known As the city of palm trees. (See Deuteronomy 3:4)

Archaeologists dug up some ancient ruins in Egypt. They found a papyrus with part of John 18 on it. Someone had copied it out about 100 years after Jesus rose from the grave. Years ago, before even your grandparents were born, a shepherd boy in Israel stumbled across some very old pots and jars in a place called Qumran, near the Dead Sea. Inside he found dusty old scrolls. He was disappointed, he had wanted gold. But the scrolls were worth more than gold. They were Ancient copies of the Old Testament. They were hundreds of years older than any other copies in the world. They prove that the Old Testament has not changed since it was first written down. These are called the Dead Sea Scrolls.

BIBLE LANGUAGES The Old Testament was written in Hebrew and Chaldean. The New Testament was written in Greek and Aramaic. The Bible has now been translated into many languages. It can be read by about half of the world’s 5,445 languages.

SOME DISCOVERIES #1 - A boy discovered King Hezekiah’s tunnel. He accidently fell into the Pool of Siloam! In the rock he noticed a small hole which led to a narrow passage. The passage turned out to be a secret tunnel. King Hezekiah built it 700 years before Jesus was born. It linked the people of Jerusalem to their only water supply. It saved their lives when Jerusalem was attacked. You can walk through it today: it is full of water rats. (See Chronicles 32:30) #2 – The Bible says that King Cyrus of Persia let all his Jewish captives go back to Jerusalem. Historians did not believe this for a long time. Then they found the clay Cyrus Cylinder. The records on it tell how Cyrus released all captive people. He also gave them money to restore their temples (Ezra 1: 1 – 4, 6:3 – 5) #3 – Mesha was the King of Moab. He erected the Moabite stone which celebrated his success in war. The writing on the stone is about YHWH which is the special name given to God in the Bible. (2 Kings 3:4-5) #4 – A lot of people did not believe that the Plagues of Egypt occurred, as the only record was in the Bible. Then Archaeologists found the Ipuwer Papyrus which is written by an Egyptian and records the Plagues. (See Exodus). THE BIBLE IS TRUE and history and archaeology show us this over and over again.

BOOKS OF THE BIBLE

BOOKS OF THE BIBLE BOOKMARK

Give each of the girls a copy of the following template. When they have coloured it, they can cut it out, fold it in half and then laminate it.

BIBLE BUSTER RELAY

Set Up: You will need 4 cups, 66 small party balloons, 66 strips of paper and a lot of hot air!

Write each of the books of the Bible on a small strip of paper and place each one inside each balloon. Blow the balloons up and place them in a large basket or box, or make a “corral” by placing chairs in a square.

Divide the girls into two teams. Each team has a cup labelled "Old Testament" and "New Testament" which is placed on either side of where the balloons are. Place the balloons and cups at one end of the designated playing area. Have the teams line up at the opposite end.

How To Play: Someone says, GO! The first girl on each team races to the balloons and bats it back to their starting line where they must sit on it to pop it. The team must then decide which cup the paper goes into, the Old or New Testament? The girl then runs back down to place the Bible name into their Old or New Testament cup, and races back to their team line to tag off to the next player. Play continues like this until all the balloons are popped and all the Bible names are placed into the team cups.

Even if a girl thinks she KNOWS which Testament the book of the Bible comes from, she MUST consult her team.

How To Win: The team with the most correct responses wins!

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

(1) PASS IT ON

Aim: To help the girls realise that communication is not only verbal, but you can communicate many things, for example, the great love of God, simply by your actions.

Who has ever played Chinese Whispers? It is that word game where you whisper a sentence around a circle, or it is passed around! When the sentence has been whispered to everyone, the last person says it out loud. The leader then repeats the original sentence. The sentence rarely reaches the end the same as when it began. Once, the sentence “the birds sing sweetly in the Springtime” ended up as “the bugs sweep in the swimming pool”! The second sentence is different from the first, and this is what makes the game fun, and makes us smile.

You can play “Pass It On” with deeds. This is one way of communicating God’s love to others. Did you ever think of that? In the bushfire season in NSW, there were a few families who lost absolutely everything. A lot of these people are helped by others in the community who help them with material things and money. Some of the bushfire victims once asked a volunteer “How can we ever repay you for what you have done?” To this, the volunteer replied, “We don’t need repayment, not at all. When you get around to it, pass a good deed to someone else.”

Now, that’s a good idea, isn’t it? Think of how many people do kind things for you. Your mother may help you buy new clothes, or you might have a brother or sister who helps you with your homework. Now you can’t buy your mother’s clothes necessarily, and you may not be able to help your brother or sister with their homework, especially if they are older, but you can pass a kindness on to someone else. Maybe you can help your brother or sister carry a bag or make their bed. Maybe you could visit a lonely person in your church (ask Mum or Dad first, or take Mum or Dad with you). There are many ways you can pass on a kindness to someone else.

If you can do this, this is a way of communicating God’s love to others. We learn from the Bible that God loves each one of us. Surely a good deed or a kindness passed to another is an example of that love!

Jesus also said, “Love your neighbour as yourself” (Matthew 22:39)

And a neighbour is not just someone who lives next door to you.

So passing on kind deeds is part of doing what God wants, loving our neighbour and communicating God’s love to them.

Finish with prayer thanking God for the chance to pass on His love and kindness to others.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

(2) THE HOLE IN THE NET

AIM: TO help the girls understand that prayer is communication with God.

(Don your “fisherman’s” hat and use a little drama… HEAVE your nets, etc as you tell this story.)

Once there was a fisherman, using a bit net to catch fish from the side of his boat. He was having a hard time catching any fish, so he heaved the net aboard and took a close look and discovered a hole! The hole wasn’t huge, but it was big enough to let the fish escape.

Now the fish didn’t know what he was trying to do, but when they found themselves surrounded by the net, they sensed trouble. They darted this way and that way and they flipped and they flopped as fish do, but each time they would manage to find the hole and escape from their trouble.

Spiritual application:

You know, sometimes people are not as smart as fish… when trouble surrounded the fish, they swam for the escape hole. What do people often do when they are in trouble? Some worry and fret, and lose sleep. People have an “escape hole” but sometimes they forget to use it. Do you know what it is? It’s prayer – communication with God. When we cannot solve our troubles alone, we can turn to God in prayer. The troubles might still be there – like the net was still in the water where the fish were, but God will help us through a difficult time.

Prayers don’t have to be a great long list of troubles, God knows exactly what our troubles are. You may say you are too young to pray, but that isn’t true. A prayer can be as simple as “God is with me, I am thankful” Amen.

The next time you feel surrounded by troubles, be as smart as the fish, go for the escape hole and communicate with God…. PRAY!

“Is there anyone of you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praises.” (James 5;13)

Point out that singing praises is another way of communicating with God.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

(3) TAKE TIME TO PRAY

AIM: To teach the girls that prayer is something that can be used ALL the time, not just when you are in trouble.

You will need a toy or home made parachute.

How many of you have ever made a toy parachute? It’s easy to make, tie four corners of a hanky together and add a weight. A fishing sinker will do. Or if you don’t have a fishing sinker, use a small weighty thing that can be tied to the corners of the hanky.

After you toss the parachute up, it will fill with air and float to the ground. Toy parachutes are fun to play with. Real parachutes are used for a more serious purpose. Flyers use them to float safely to earth if something happens and they find themselves in trouble high above the earth. Some people skydive for fun, and need a parachute to bring them down safely. Some people go parasailing for fun! (It really is fun!!)

Some of us do not really fly regularly in an aeroplane, but many times some of us try to use a parachute of sorts. We try to use prayer as a parachute. Did you ever think of that? Sometimes we forget to pray when things are going fine for us, but the minute we get in any kind of trouble, we hunt for a prayer – parachute to hold us up.

Now, we know that prayer should not be used as a parachute. We all know that we should try to remember to pray regularly. Sometimes we make up excuses for not praying, We say we are too busy or there are too many people around us.

Some people find a quiet prayer time in the morning before they get up. Some people find a quiet prayer time at night, just before they go to sleep. It’s a good idea to choose a regular prayer time, but remember that God listens, anytime, anyplace, anywhere.

People in planes can be reassured to know that a parachute is there if they need it, and we can be reassured to know that God is always there, but try not to use prayer as a parachute, something you use only in times of trouble.

Prayer is communication with God.

“Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks.” (1 Thessalonians 5: 16 – 18)

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

(4) THE POWER OF WORDS

AIM: To teach the girls that we need to be careful about the things we communicate.

You will need a (cheap – generic brand) can of hair mousse and a plate

Pick a Senior or Pioneer to help you. (One that will not be embarrassed easily).

Ask your Senior to take the mousse, shake the can, and put a LARGE amount on the plate. When they have done this, say “That was great, thank you so much, now, please put the mousse back”

When the laughter dies down, ask what the problem seems to be.. “What?!?!? Can’t you put it back in?!?!?!” Then admit that you have asked them to do the impossible. State the obvious to the girls… “Once the mousse is out of the can, you cannot put it back!”

Words are like the mousse, once we let them out of our mouths, we can’t really take them back. This means we should be careful of the words we let out of our mouths. For example... some of the things we say about another person may not be true, we may only think they are true. If you are not sure, keep quiet!

Some of the words we say when we are angry are not very nice and we don’t really mean what we say. It’s times like this that we can hurt other people and we really should ask them to forgive us. But even if they forgive us, they will sometimes have a hard time forgetting what we said. There is nothing you or I can do to take back something wrong we have said. It is like mousse coming out of the can.

Being able to speak words and communicate thoughts and ideas is a marvellous gift from God. Let’s not misuse this ability by speaking words that hurt people.

Ask Jesus to help you control your tongue. Ask Him to help you say only things you should say, and remember the mousse… you cannot put it back!

“And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus.” (Colossian 3:17)

Pray with your girls.

Song… (to the tune of the Doxology…. You know the one that goes “Praise God from whom all Blessings flow…. My Juniors wrote this as part of their writer’s achievement.)

Our Girls’ Brigade puts trust in God We speak with joy and let God lead; He gives us strength to do all things In action, thought and word and deed.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

(5) Craft

PRAYING IS COMMUNICATING WITH GOD

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

(6) – GAMES

Alphabet Spaghetti Given that we use words to communicate, this is a fun game

Split your group into several teams. Give each team a platter and a few cans of alphabet spaghetti. Each team must sift through the goo to spell words or make numbers.

You can give points a number of ways: - words of three letters - words of four letters - words with five or more letters - You can give girls high points for spelling “spiritual” words or words pertaining to Brigade - the biggest word gets a lot of points - leaders' names get high points as well

Alternate: you can have a list of words, and teams can score points for each word they can make that you call out.

Best played outdoors on large trays, with girls wearing raincoats, or garbage bags.

They are given a time frame to do this (maybe 5 minutes or so). No curse words or body parts.