Merry Christmas!
And what a Merry Christmas it has been so far this December for many of the kids and families involved with the Maple Leaf Afterschool Tutoring Program.
Our Christmas celebrations began on Saturday, Dec. 6th with our 2nd annual Christmas party inside the clubhouse. Even though the rain was falling hard outside, inside was filled with Christmas cheer provided by the many volunteers from Grace Bible, St. Paul’s Methodist, Calvary Presbyterian, Remedy and True Life Church. Christmas music rang out all day while the kids were treated to an afternoon full of laughs, love and Jesus!
Our older kids arrived first and heard a Christmas letter that explained the true meaning of the Christmas season… Jesus. They were then divided into smaller groups where they got to participate in a giant cookie decorating and eating feast, made a hot chocolate mason jar craft, laughed through a ‘snowball’ fight with marshmallows, and snacked on the many desserts that were brought. We were all surprised when Officer Jim Kelly came inside with his fellow officer and his K9 companion Max. The kids were treated to a demonstration of Max’s obedience and learned more about the Brick Town K9 unit.
Our second party was for our younger kids. They heard the Legend of the Candy Cane when they first arrived before breaking into their smaller groups. They too enjoyed decorating and eating a giant Christmas cookie, made an ornament for their tree, heard and participated in the Christmas story around the Christmas tree, played ‘pin the star on the tree’ and snacked on many treats and hot chocolate.
Each child left with a Christmas bag filled with candy, bible scripture and a 365 day bible devotional.
Then on Friday, Dec 12th we took our first van trip (thank you St. Paul’s for the use of your vans) to Grace Bible Church and enjoyed a beautiful play put on by the Agape FaithWorks Homeschool Co-op. Agape FaithWorks invited the families from Maple Leaf to this wonderful evening that not only involved the play, but also desserts and gifts for all the children and mom’s. There were 30 families involved, with a total of 70 children. The gymnasium was full of families from all over. It was wonderful to enjoy such a celebration together!
Thank you to all who made those events possible and to all who continue to pray for our involvement in this community. Have a very Merry Christmas!