Sparks to Light the World

Josh has been in AWANA for a month now, and he is really loving it. It's so cute to see him in his vest. I meant to post of picture but now my camera is MIA. I'll add one in when it shows up again.

The Sparks program just changed its format around this year. So the Skipper, Hiker, and Climber ranks are now HangGlider, WingRunner, and SkyStormer. The patches on the vests changed this year too, but since the church still has a lot of the old style vests they are still being distributed. Josh got an "old" one, and some of the other kids got the new ones. (Different sizes, I think.) He's a little bummed because he likes the patch on the new one better, and and the new one is designed to fit his new Hanglider patch and his new Wings pin perfectly.

But I can't help thinking it's sweet that he has exactly the same vest we had when we were kids. I'm a little sad that we missed the cut off for the old-style handbooks too. But I guess most kids would prefer being a HangGlider to being a Skipper, right?

Either way, he's having fun and I'm getting a kick out of helping him with his handbook. He's already got a red jewel and will probably have a new green one this week. He's getting through his sections a lot faster than I ever did! And he loves the games, of course. I couldn't help feeling nostalgic when I watched them on the first night, reciting their pledges,singing the songs, and lining up with their teams.

I loved AWANA when I was a kid. The memory verses have stuck with me from kindergarten until now -- just ask me about Jeremiah 17:9 and how He is the PROPITIATION for our sin. =) The doctrines, repeated over and over in different ways and mediums, have stuck as well. I also managed to snag a best friend at AWANA camp, so I really owe the program a lot!

So I love that Josh gets to go now. I'm excited to see where he will go with the tools he's getting there. Sometimes I can't believe how big he is and how much he's learning, but so goes the world!