Every year our partner Fishers, Trainers and Senders (FTS) hosts a Bible Quiz and Sport Competition for thousands of children who attend Kids Clubs. That was all before COVID-19. Important government meeting restrictions and good social distancing practices sidelined all the sport components, and nearly caused the entire event to be canceled. But not so fast, COVID!
To ensure the children didn’t miss out on an event they look forward to all year long, the FTS team went into high creativity gear. Instead of one big week-long event, they modified the format to be held at 97 different Kids Clubs locations. At first the task seemed overwhelming. To pull this off they would need the support of 180 volunteers and the full-time commitment of 18 staff members. The events would need to be stretched out over 11 days straight!
Once they derived a plan the work began. There were logistics to solve. More vehicles would be needed. There were thousands of gift bags to assemble. More prizes would be needed because there would now be more winners. Overnight stays had to be planned. Local officials had to be included and approvals all obtained.
It was a massive undertaking. Yet, in this time of COVID-19 challenges, with schools closed, with adults facing depression and other challenges, with more children vulnerable than ever before, the team reasoned that they could not let these children down in their time of greatest need. They didn’t.
When it was all over, they were exhausted. Across the 97 locations almost 7,000 children had attended. Restrictions prohibited sports, but that didn’t stop them from reciting Bible verses, listening to stories, testimonies, and sharing in fun at a safe distance. The best news is that those 7,000 children heard The Word of God. They learned about Jesus; they saw love in action. They realized someone cared during a time when for some, that might seem an impossible reality.
Take that COVID!
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