This one's for the KIDS.

'KidsGames, everybody jump up,

KidsGames, we're here to have FUN,

KidsGames, doing it together,

Ahh, ahh, ahh, ahh ...'

Children ... the apple of God's eye.

With so many sporting events either coming or have come this year: World Cup, Winter Olympics and the Commonwealth Games, one wonders is the world missing out on celebrating what it is to be a child? After all, only adults can compete worldwide in fiercely competitive games, right? Wrong (buzzz). KidsGames is an entirely revolutionary sport - for Kids!

Yup, for kids... and not only that, it is a superb way to spread the Gospel. What could be better than that? According to a Children's ministry trainer that I had the pleasure of listening to, humans are more receptive to the Gospel message between the tender ages of 5-12 (if I am correct). Once they hit those teenage years and beyond, their minds get more and more clouded and they are more set in their ways, i.e. it is more difficult, as it were, to break through. Children are our future, so they say, and rightly so. Mould a child for God from a young age and fruits will be aplenty. Thus, the great importance of children's ministry and KidsGames.

KidsGames celebrates childhood and youth. You may be wondering by now what exactly KidsGames is. Well ..... "The KidsGames in each community are a multi-day, multi-group, sport focused, value-based, global initiative for children aged between 6-14 years. KidsGames provides a means for all sorts of groups to work together on an ongoing basis, serving children who learn and compete together. There are KidsGames happening on every continent and in a large number of countries. After launching in the year 2000 in seven countries, by 2003 over 75 countries had participated. This number is quickly growing. In 2004/5 it is believed that over 140 Countries have participated in KidsGames and well over a million children. Describing KidsGames is like describing a tree. Every tree has roots, branches, leaves and a trunk. But what those elements look like in one part of the world will be very different to how they look in another but both will still be a tree. In the same way, KidsGames varies greatly in different parts of the world." (please feel free to visit the website at www.kidsgames.com)

Cool huh?

You have to experience it to know what it is all about. I am going to share my experiences of KidsGames right here in Malaysia (my church, Bandar Utama Chapel has held it three times already :) ). Two weekends ago, it was a wonderful combined church effort in the Kota Damansara area and last weekend it was also a combined effort in Bukit Beruntung (somewhere near Rawang). Ok, I shall now present ... KidsGames 2006: Day 1.

Day 1: 17/3/06

There were two churches involved in KidsGames Bukit Beruntung: Dwelling Place and Bukit Beruntung Chapel (I serve in the work and in Children's ministry in BBC). BBC is planted by Bandar Utama Chapel (BUC - my church). Before this there were weeks of preparation and prayer and lots of meetings between the leaders of the two churches.

Day 1 finally arrived. Oh the kids were so excited (some in BBC had been to their first KidsGames in PJ about 2 years before) and the whole situation was abuzz. It was somewhat chaotic also. There I was, slightly nervous as I was handling the area of sports (with a good friend and ministry mate, Sahaya) and games (my first time). Ok, public speaking (check - should be ok), games in hand (check, all ready), first sport demonstration (check, whew). On to Kidsgames.

It started at about 4pm with the arrival of participants, so many children. We had a good number of about 160 plus kids from all over Bukit Beruntung. Registration was loud and messy. Hehe. We even had to entertain the children who had been waiting after being registered. We started with a game of 'Simon says', to which the chidren responded quite well (and we used it henceforth to get them to sit, be silent, etc).

Soon, at about 4.30pm, the games officially started with the March in parade of the four houses - four colours: red, blue, green and yellow, to the music of Kidsgames. After that, the planting of the Malaysian and Christian flags, the national anthem and the lighting of the torch (an actual fire). This was followed by the opening message by our emcee John Yip (you can find a link to his website: TheWallah). The Kidsgames song was then sung (look as above, complete with actions and more lyrics) and then John taught the children the Kidsgames cheer.

Pastor David (of Dwelling Place) opened the ceremony with a prayer, followed by the declaration of the opening of Kidsgames by BUC's Elder Christopher Leong. Yayy.

With Kidsgames officially on the way, the children took to stage to sing (Sunday School songs: Jesus Loves me, etc) and perform a scarf dance too (quite a spectacle).

Soon the time came for the demonstration of the first of two sports played in Kidsgames - the 12 x 10 Relay (results from KidsGames worldwide are posted on the website). The children were to form groups of 12 (6 boys and 6 girls, of mixed ages), 6 per side (boys and girls opposite each other, separated by 10 metres of track). The rules are a bit complicated to narrate here but it was basically a passing of a baton with differing racing styles: running, side stepping and hopping on one leg. The children took to it with hardly any trouble: good for you kids!

A leisurely (but loud) game followed where the children were given beach balls to keep in the air following music, for fear of a penalty. The hall was resonant with the delighted screams of children. Sigh .....

The day ended with a closing prayer and a reminder to the kids to prepare for the next two days of fun, learning and more fun.

Whew.

Truly all glory to our Lord Jesus for His strength and grace. KidsGames for God's Glory!

Days 2 and 3 to come ... but now, I have a class to teach. :)

God bless you.