D.A.T. #8 | Living Stones

Have you ever built a human pyramid? What would happen if someone on the bottom, or in the middle of the pyramid decided to leave and go home? I don't think the chances of the pyramid remaining standing would be very high!

Have you played Jenga? Or built a tower with blocks? What happens if you take out a block from the bottom? The tower becomes unstable and often collapses. 

Our readings today remind us that we are all 'living stones'. Living stones help one another and build each other up. Just like stepping stones on a path or across a creek help us to get across safely. If a stone is missing, it makes it harder to get across. Each stone is needed and important, just like we are all needed and important to the family of Christians.

Welcome to this week's D.A.T. (Digital Awesome Time)! Special welcome to Liam and Livvie, who have helped with our video message.

Check out this AWESOME song, written ESPECIALLY for us, by Siu! Thank you to her very talented kids, Vaiuli, Massey and Ílaisaane for helping produce such a great music video.

https://youtu.be/dIa3kteAt4k

Thanks to Carol and Siu, who have given us some great ideas for this week's challenges. Have a go at one (or more) of the challenges below. Send us your photos or videos - every time you enter you go into the draw to win a scrumptious prize!

Challenges

Challenge #1 | Puzzle Time

Do a jigsaw puzzle, with one or more members of your bubble. Take a photo and send it in!

Challenge #2 | Rock Art

Create a piece of art using small rocks or pebbles. 

Here are some videos of stone pictures, which might give you some inspiration:

Challenge #3 | Leaf People

Collect fallen Autumn leaves from your garden, or on a walk around your neighbourhood. Use the leaves to make a person. You could turn your whole family into leaf people. Or, use your imagination and create your own leaf animal or character.

Challenge # 4 | You Rock!

(a) Paint a stone with a message of kindness, or

(b) Paint a stone with a smiley face, or

(c) Paint a stone for each member of your family, or

(d) Collect enough stones to make a tic-tac-toe game. Paint half with noughts and the other half with crosses. Play a game with someone in your bubble. If you don't have paint, you could use felt pens.

Challenge #5 | Lego Build

It's pretty hard to build something out of Lego if you only have ONE brick! You definitely need lots of bricks of all sorts of shapes, sizes and colours. Just like we need all kinds of people in our church family.
Your task: Design and build your own creation out of Lego (or your choice of building blocks, or boxes).

Extra for experts: Can you build a brick rainbow?

Challenge #6 | Balancing Act

Balance one object on another object. Or, balance an object on a person, or a person on an object. Or, balance a person on a person! Take a photo and send it to us.

Challenge # 7 | Stack 'em Up!

Build a pyramid. You could use people (if you have enough in your bubble!), or cans, cups, toys... be creative!

Challenge # 8 | Hand-print Bouquet

Trace around your hands or make painted hand-prints to create a beautiful hand-print bouquet to give to a parent, grandparent or caregiver this Sunday.

Challenge # 9 | Three Ingredient Baking

Bake something using 3 ingredients. (If you leave one ingredient out, it's not going to work!) Here are a couple of options:

(a) Peanut Butter Cookies

using peanut butter, sugar and an egg

https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/244614/3-ingredient-peanut-butter-cookies/

(b) Lemonade Scones

using lemonade, cream and flour - do some research for a good recipe and let us know!
https://www.foodinaminute.co.nz/Recipes/Lemonade-Scones

(c) Ice cream

using condensed milk, cream and vanilla - do some research for a better recipe and let us know!

(I'm pretty sure you can also add a chopped up chocolate bar for extra goodness!)

Easy Ice Cream Recipe:

2 cups (500ml cream

400g can (approx) sweetened condensed milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Pour the cream into a bowl and whip until just stiff, do not over mix.

Fold the sweetened condensed milk and vanilla into the cream.  Spoon into a plastic container, seal with a lid and freeze until firm.

Challenge # 10 | Cuppa and a Chinwag
Make someone special a cup of tea, coffee or milo this Sunday. Sit down with them (without your phone, laptop or tv) and have a good old fashioned chat.

Challenge # 3. Nature Treasure Hunt

Here is a collection of treasures Angie, 'Emeline, Tevunga and Peatalisa discovered this morning. I love the pops of colour with the orange nasturtiums, and the way the girls have displayed their treasures in the basket. Great photography skills, Angie!

More mysterious fairy houses!

Look what the O'Keefe family discovered on their walk this morning! 

Another great treasure discovered for Challenge # 3. Nature Treasure Hunt

Drumroll please...

Announcing the WINNERS of this week's Challenges...

Our Awesome Kid of the Week

for doing not just one, but TWO fabulous interviews for the Journalist Challenge is...

Our Awesome Adult of the Week Award goes to...

The winner of this week's CHYPS Chalk Your Walk Challenge...

Chocolate bars are on their way to you soon!

Bottle Lake Forest Treasure Hunt with Jack

Jack went on a different kind of scavenger hunt... looking for Fairy Homes in Bottle Lake Forest. Mini fairy homes have mysteriously appeared on trees in Bottle Lake Forest during Lockdown, giving locals on their walks something different to hunt for.

Here's Jack's collection of photos for Challenge #3 Nature Treasure Hunt.

D.A.T. #7 | God's Love is Always With Us

God is always with us, through all the ups and downs of life. When we're feeling sad, happy, worried, afraid, hopeful. In the busy, noisy times and in the quiet, still times. God is always with us, loving us always, no matter what.

D.A.T. #7 | Psalm 23

Take some quiet time this week, to be grateful for the good things in our lives. We can be thankful for family, friends, a heart of love, things that bring us joy (like playing games, music, drawing, going for walks) and for a shepherding hand guiding us.

I'm super thankful and so excited to have Siu and her amazing children on board this week. Siu is the Youth Co-ordinator for the Central South Island Methodist Church of NZ. Siu and her family have put together a music video of 'My God is So Big' especially for us... so please click below and enjoy singing along! HUGE thanks to Siu, Vaiuli on the ukulele, Massey the dancing batman superhero, and the Frozen dancing girl, Ílaisaane! We are in awe of your talent, and look forward to seeing more of your music videos! 

Click HERE to sing along

This week's bible reading comes from the book of Psalms... there are a couple of versions here you can listen to:

Click HERE to listen to today's bible reading: Psalm 23

Click HERE for another version of Psalm 23

Challenges

Here are our challenges for this week. Why not give one a go? You can try more if you like... and we would love to hear how you got on. If you'd like to send me your photos/videos, please email me!

# 1. Psalm 23 Quiz

Click HERE to do this week's quiz.

# 2. Paper Beads

Using coloured paper, or pages from old magazines, make some paper beads like these ones. Thread them together to make a necklace or bracelet for yourself, or to give to someone.

# 3. Nature Treasure Hunt Box

Go on a walk around your neighbourhood. Collect some interesting treasures and put them in a cardboard box or egg carton. Take a photo and send it to us!

#4. Gratitude Heart

Draw a large heart on a piece of A4 paper. Divide the heart into random segments. Colour each segment and label it with something you are grateful for... something or someone you love.

Some ideas might be...

– Something that someone else did for you today.

– A person in your life that you appreciate.

– An activity or hobby you are grateful to be able to do.

– A positive quality of someone that can sometimes be hard to get along with.

– A skill or ability you have.

– A part of your body you are grateful for and why.

– An item that you love.

– Something that made you laugh.

– What you have learnt from something that was hard.

#5. Toilet Roll Characters

Here's a use for those empty cardboard toilet rolls! Get creative and make some characters - maybe they could represent people in your bubble.

#6. Bubbles for your Bubble!

Make some home-made bubble mixture. There are lots of different recipes around, but you could start with the basic recipe of 2 Tablespoons of Dishwashing Liquid and 1 Cup of Water. You can make a bubble wand out of almost anything... pipe cleaner, an old wire clothes hanger, cookie cutters, straws... use your imagination!

#7. Juicy, Crispy, Crunch

Eat something, like a piece of fruit (or maybe some rice bubble cake... see recipe below!). Take note of all your senses as you eat. Describe what you see, hear, smell, feel and taste. Write a poem about it!

#8. Sheep Paper Craft

Using strips of paper looped over, make a sheep like this one. If you don't have googly eyes to stick on, just draw some. You could try using different coloured paper, or even using strips of newspaper for a different look.

#9. Bubble Bake-off

Cook up a storm in the kitchen. Bake something to impress and delight the people in your bubble, or challenge them to a Bubble Bake-off! Pick a recipe of your choice, or you might like to give one of these a try.

Rice Bubble Cake

• 125 grams Butter
• 125 grams Chelsea White Sugar
• 2 Tbsp Honey
• 4 cups Rice Bubbles

1. Combine butter, Chelsea White Sugar and honey in a pot and boil for 5 minutes.  
2. Add rice bubbles and stir.  
3. Spread in buttered slice tray and cut while still warm.

Gingerbread Biscuits

• 2 cups flour
• ½ tsp baking soda
• 1 Tbsp Gregg's Ground Ginger
• 1 tsp Gregg's Ground Cinnamon
• 1 cup soft brown sugar, firmly packed
• 150g butter
• 1 egg
• 1 cup icing sugar

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C (fan assisted). Line 2 baking trays with baking paper.
2. Sift the flour, baking soda, Ground Ginger and Ground Cinnamon together into a food processor or mixing bowl. Add the soft brown sugar.
3. Add the butter and pulse in food processor or rub with your fingertips until the mixture resembles fine crumbs. Add the egg and pulse or stir to mix. If the dough is too sticky, add a little more flour to the mix. Work the dough into a ball. Wrap it in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
4. Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface or between 2 sheets of baking paper until 5mm thick. Using cookie cutters, cut shapes and place on the baking trays. Form the leftover dough into a ball and re-roll and repeat cutting out until all the dough is used up.
5. Bake the gingerbread for 8–10 minutes or until cooked and golden. Remove from the oven and cool on a wire rack.
6. Make the icing by sifting icing sugar into a bowl. Mix in 3–4 tsp hot water to make a piping consistency. Using a small piping nozzle, fill a small piping bag with icing and decorate biscuits. You could decorate them to represent different members of your bubble/family!

BE IN TO WIN!
Take a photo of your completed challenge/s and send it to us! 
We'll post your pictures on the blog and all entries go into the draw to win a scrumptious prize.

Click HERE to CONTACT us.

Interview with Kathy Thorpe

Our very intrepid reporter, Bella Prince, has interviewed Mrs Kathy Thorpe, who is a 93 year-old-Awesome Kid, in the Christchurch North Methodist Parish. 

Bella: What are your favourite things to do?
Kathy: Playing scrabble, watching t.v. and shopping.

Bella: What did you do for a job, before you retired?
Kathy: I was a Land Army Girl, looking after the animals.

Bella: What was the naughtiest thing you did at school?
Kathy: I can't quite remember... but I didn't like sewing at school. I think I was quite naughty in that class!

Bella: What did you do for fun as a teenager?
Kathy: I can't remember that far back!

Bella: What is the most interesting place you've visited?
Kathy: New Zealand! I love it here. I grew up in England and went on cruises every year, but I love New Zealand best.

Bella: Who do you admire most, and why?
Kathy: Jacinda Adern, for her leadership.

Bella: What do you do best?
Kathy: Play scrabble. I'm very good at it! And I used to love cooking, a long time ago.

Bella: What is your favourite word?
Kathy: Love and thankyou.

Bella: What was your favourite book when you were a child?
Kathy: I'm not sure... as I wasn't a great reader then.

Bella: What is the most difficult thing for you now?
Kathy: Not being able to shop.

Bella: What lessons do you think the world can learn from the past?
Kathy: I think we could all be kinder today.


Thank you Bella and Kathy, for a wonderful interview! 

Interview with Hazel Eilken

Our intrepid reporter, Bella Prince, interviewed the lovely Hazel Eilken today, and discovered some very interesting facts about this rather awesome adult in our parish.

Bella: What are your favourite things to do?

Hazel: Weaving and pottery.

Bella: What did you do for a job before you retired?

Hazel: I was a Cook at Lincoln Hospital and also worked for the Land Army during the war tending the land/ farming etc.

Bella: What was the naughtiest thing you did at school?

Hazel: I stole some pretty paper when I was very young and got into big trouble for it.

Bella: What did you do for fun as a teenager?

Hazel: Dance mainly – tap and ballet.

Bella: Where is the most interesting place you’ve visited?

Hazel: I’ve been to China twice.

Bella: Who do you admire most and why?

Hazel: Charles F Goldie – Artist. I met him once in person when out walking.

Bella: What do you do best?

Hazel: Weaving.

Bella: What is your favourite word?

Hazel: Blessed.

Bella: What was your favourite book when you were a child?

Hazel: Anne of Green Gables.

Bella: What has been one of your most memorable moments in your life?

Hazel: A good one - the freedom of running around in the paddocks on the farm when I was young. A bad memory was when my daughter died in a car accident.

Bella: What is the most difficult thing for you right now?

Hazel: Briskly walking to keep up with my children who walk fast! And vacuuming.

Bella: What lessons do you think the world can learn from the past?

Hazel: To be patient and kind.

1. Hazel (R) with Merilyn  2. Poster for Women's Land Army in WW2
3. Modern cover of Anne of Green Gables  4. Photo of artist Charles F Goldie in his studio

Sophia's ANZAC challenges

Sophia has been busy again, working on this week's challenges! 

She has completed Challenge #5 On the Road, Challenge #1 Poppy Painting, Challenge #3 Make a Poppy, and Challenge #2 Anzac biscuits. Wow! (I have to say, I'm very impressed with the look of her biscuits - they look a whole lot nicer than mine!)

I see that Sophia and Angie, Peatalisa, 'Emeline & Tevunga have all successfully completed this week's Quiz on Road to Emmaus.

Click here to find this week's challenges - remember, every time you enter you increase your chances of winning a scrumptious prize!

Chalk Your Walk

Here is an entry for the # 7 Chalk Your Walk challenge - from Angie. I'm sure this will brighten the day of everyone who sees it, Angie! Great job.

Awesome Adults take up the Challenge!

Check out the cool egg-carton poppies, made by Phil Parton and his daughter, Catherine. They are definitely in the running for a chocolate prize, having taken up the Make a Poppy Challenge, Decorate Your Letterbox/Stand at Dawn and baked Anzac biscuits... not to mention leaving lovely comments on the blog! Go Team Parton!!!

Phil lives just down the road from us, and here is a lovely message we received from them this morning:

Thank you for the beautiful version of the Last Post during Stand At Dawn - we heard you from further down the street. All our immediate neighbours were also at our letter boxes and we all loved hearing it echo across. Dad (Phil) and I made egg crate poppies which are strung up between our letter box and our immediate next door neighbours.

Our ANZAC biscuits were not entirely successful (too crumbly) but pretty tasty. Not as flash as Dylan's chocolate ones. They look amazing!!

Loving reading the journalist reports on interviewing their grandparents too - please keep those coming :-)

Dylan's Anzac Biscuits

Dylan made some delicious chocolate Anzac biscuits... they look scrumptious! 

de Groot Family's Peace Wreath

The de Groot family have sent in photos of their Peace Wreath, from last week's Challenge # 5 - MAKE A PEACE WREATH.

Yoshua has such concentration on his face, as he studies the cut-out hands.

I love the words in the middle of the wreath: Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, Self-control... all bring PEACE.

#Stand at Dawn

 Our family got up early this morning, and together with many of our neighbours, stood at our letterboxes (in our bubbles, and remembering social distancing), for the #Stand at Dawn.

Izak wore his Air Cadets uniform, and Monica played 'The Last Post' on the saxophone - which was appreciated by the neighbours (although probably not by those who were trying to have a sleep-in!)

We decorated our fence with poppies, and wore felt poppies I made last night with scraps of fabric and buttons I found in the sewing box. Later, I tried to make Anzac biscuits, but I must have got something slightly wrong, as they were very crunchy (and just a little black on the bottom!) 

Has anyone else made Anzac biscuits this weekend? If you have, you'll have to give me some tips!

My failed Anzac biscuits and some poppies I found on my walk today.

Jokes from Sophia

I received this lovely email from Sophia last night, which brought a smile to my face. These were in honour of Holy Humour Sunday last week, and CHALLENGE # 2 - SHARE A JOKE. Sophia also sent in a photo of her family's Peace Wreath, for CHALLENGE # 5 - MAKE A PEACE WREATH.


Hey Mel these are my jokes:


Q: What animals need to be oiled?

A: Mice do… they squeak



Q: What is a good way to keep a dog of the street?

A: Put him in a ‘barking’ lot.


From Soph

Prince Family Peace Wreath

D.A.T. #6 | Anzac | Love Lives On

Welcome to this week's Digital Awesome Time!

This week, our story from the bible is about Jesus appearing to two of the disciples on the road to Emmaus. The disciples didn't recognise him at first, so got rather a big surprise when they realised the stranger was Jesus! You can read the story from the bible, or watch the two videos below.

The story reminds me that every day we make new discoveries, about ourselves and the world around us. Sometimes we discover new things about someone, when we thought we already knew everything there was to know about that person. 

Every time I go on my afternoon walk, I see God's amazing world shining all around. The trees, flowers, streams, the chattering little fantails flitting around me. All are reminding me of God's wisdom and power and beauty. And I think of God's most incredible love... that came to Earth to live with us. It is awesome to know that God's never-ending love is here with us, every day, in every moment.

Read the Bible : Luke 24:13–35

This week's story is from the book of Luke. See if you can look it up in your bible, or online and read the story together.

Here's a great video from the Bible Society, about this seriously surprising story:

Watch this rather different interpretation of the story :o)

Questions to Ponder
Where do you see signs of God's love in the world?
How do you show love to God's creation and to other people?

You might like to talk about this with your family, and email or phone me with your ideas.


Pray
Have a go at this simple breath prayer. Begin by breathing in and out, slowly and
deeply. Read each line slowly and quietly. Repeat the prayer several times.

As you breathe in, say silently, “Peace be…
As you breathe out, say silently, “with you.”

Then, as you breathe in, say silently, “Peace be…
As you breathe out, say silently, “with me.”

God's Peace goes with you. Amen.

CHALLENGES

#1 Poppy Painting

Using a potato as a stamp, paint some poppies. If you don't want to waste a spud, then just use a paintbrush or your fingers. If you don't have paint at home, draw some poppies with pencils, crayons or felt pens.

# 2 ANZAC Biscuits

Try making these delicious ANZAC biscuits to share with your family.

Ingredients

125gm Flour

150gm Sugar

100gm Butter

1 Cup Coconut

1 Cup Rolled Oats

1 Tbsp Golden Syrup

½ tsp Bicarb Soda

2 Tbsp Boiling Water

¾ Cup Chocolate Chips (optional

Method

1.     Preheat oven to 180◦C

2.     Mix together in a big bowl flour, sugar, coconut and rolled oats.

3.     Melt the butter and golden syrup together in a saucepan.

4.     Dissolve the bicarb of soda in a small glass with the boiling water.

5.     Add the soda mixture to the butter and golden syrup (it will bubble up lots so make sure you keep stirring)

6.     Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients, add the golden syrup liquid in and stir to combine. Add the chocolate chips if desired.

7.     Roll into balls and place on a tray lined with baking paper.

8.     Bake for 15 – 20 minutes

# 3 Make a Poppy

You might like to make a paper poppy. Here's a tutorial I found for an easy one. If you don't have red card, you could use white and colour it with crayon or pencil. If you don't have a pipe cleaner for the stem, improvise with cardboard, a kebab stick, or an actual twig from the garden.

#4 Decorate Your Letterbox / Stand at Dawn

Decorate your letterbox either with poppies in acknowledgement of Anzac Day, or alternatively with messages of thanks to those working in the health sector in NZ, or for any person or people you are grateful for. 

Because none of the usual ANZAC Day Services or Parades can go ahead this year, Jacinda Adern has asked us to stand at our letterboxes at 6am on Saturday and take a moment to remember.

The RSA and New Zealand Defence Force would like us to remember those who given their lives for our country. This is a time to pay respect and acknowledge the many thousands of our military people who are serving or have served, who are called upon to support New Zealand in times of war, conflict and disasters.

Take a photo of yourself / and your bubble, at your letterbox.

#5 On the Road

This week's story from the bible is about some friends of Jesus discovering something seriously surprising on the road to Emmaus. This challenge has a few options:

a) Make a road (you could use cardboard, lego, whatever) and take a photo of something or someone on the road.

or...

b) Take a photo of a road in your neighbourhood. We'll see if we can recognise where it is!

c) Make a map of your neighbourhood, showing one of the routes you take when you go for a walk. Label the interesting spots you have noticed.

#6 Make a Jandal

Using paper, cardboard, or recycling a cereal box or page from a magazine... make a jandal like this one. 

# 7 Chalk Your Walk

Draw and/or write a message of kindness on your footpath in your street. It will be a nice surprise for people as they go on their daily walk. Take a photo of it and send it in!

Note: If you don't have any chalk, draw or write a message on paper and pin it to your fence, or to a tree nearby.

# 8 Go on a Gingko

A gingko is a Japanese word for a haiku poetry walk. Go on a walk... be calm... breathe... observe the moment unfolding before you. Take note of the sights, sounds, smells around you. You might like to take a notebook and jot down ideas as you walk. When you get home, try writing a tiny poem, to describe the things you noticed on your walk. Try to include adjectives (describing words) and details to really paint a picture with your words.

# 7 Road to Emmaus QUIZ

Read the story from the bible, or watch one of the videos above, then answer the questions in the quiz. Click HERE.

# 8 Be a Journalist

I'm putting this challenge from last week up again, as I think it would be really neat to get some more interviews up here on the blog. If you can't think of anyone to interview, send me a message and I can give you some people to phone. I'm sure they would LOVE to get a phone call from one of our Awesome Kids.

Phone an elderly neighbour, relative, or friend from church and interview them about their life. Have a list of questions ready. Some ideas could be:

What are your favourite things to do?

What did you do for a job, before you retired?

What was the naughtiest thing you did at school?

What did you do for fun, as a teenager?

Where is the most interesting place you've travelled to?

Who do you most admire in the world, and why?

What do you do best?

What is your favourite word?

What was your favourite book when you were a child?

What have been the most memorable moments in your life?

What is the most difficult thing for you right now?

What lessons do you think the world can learn from the past?

Using the information you gathered from the interview, write up an article about this person.

Easter Challenge Champion

The entries for the Easter challenges were all amazing. I continue to be impressed by the creativity and talents among our young people.

I want to make special mention of the awesome photography skills of Angie, the 'outside the box' (or 'outside the bubble' perhaps!) thinking of Mareijke and family, for their chalk cross on the footpath and Jack, who I am crowning Quiz-Master - as he has entered every quiz so far!

But this week, we have an overall D.A.T. | Chapel Street Challenge Champion! The prize goes to someone who has entered every single challenge in the Easter Challenge Week. She has crafted, coloured, constructed, created, quizzed and collected. Congratulations to our Champion of the Week...

Sophia!

Sophia's Easter baking: yoghurt bark