All our leaders and clubbers were reunited last night to kick off our 2017 Winter/Spring session! The Cove was packed with 68 kindergarten through 3rd graders – and 16 of them were brand new clubbers joining us this session! In addition, there’s the 28 volunteers that make this program happen; they give up their Wednesday evenings to pour into these kids, helping them learn God’s word and enjoy every minute of it!

Let’s give an AWANA shout-out to our amazing leaders: Lesley Hyatt, Marty Wiler, Jenny Madsen, Darlene Shadden, Sandy Heim, Susan Portrey, Cassie Portrey, John Ager, Natily Ager, John Ager Jr., Ryan Williams, Lorie Porter, Dalilah Dang, Stefanie Beeman, Mackenzie Beeman, Natalie Cooper, Ellery Archer, Shelby Garrett, Daphlie Hawkins, Abby Roy, Brooke Woodworth, Michelle Sedgwick, Kelli Miles, Amelia Thomas, Pam Provenzano and Alissa Speziale.

We announced our theme for this series… EMOJIS! Every week, we will highlight a different emoji face and our Bible lesson will teach on that emotion. This week was…

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(HAPPY FACE!)

Our Bible story was from the book of Luke. Jesus sent out 72 of his followers to tell others about him, heal people and drive out demons. They returned to him so excited that they were able to do these things and that they had all this power! Jesus told them that he was glad they were happy but that their happiness was misplaced; he wanted them to be happy that their names were “written in heaven.” This applies to us too! The Bible tells us that if we believe in Jesus, believe that he is God’s son and died on the cross for our sins, that we too will be in heaven with him someday. That can bring us happiness anytime – whether we’re having a bad day or we get hurt or someone is mean to us – we can find joy in knowing that one day we will be in heaven with Jesus where there will be no sadness, no tears, no pain. All happy all the time – forever! :)

Congrats to the GREEN team for being this week’s winner! They did a stellar victory dance!

Next week is Winter Wonderland – dress accordingly (scarves, hats, earmuffs, boots)! The following week is B.A.R.F Night (that is, Bring a Real Friend). Giving you a heads up so you can start inviting friends now!

Be sure to practice those verses throughout the week to help your child work toward completing their book this year!

Have a great weekend!

The AWANA Team

Awana Pictures