Fresh out of school holiday parties, having eaten candy canes and Christmas cookies all afternoon, kids poured into SOZO Kids eager to get a jump on their Winter Break. SOZO Kids are constantly bursting with energy, but tonight they broke their previous threshold :)
After playing "Rudolph Dash" where kids smeared vaseline on their noses so a red construction paper nose would stick while they ran a relay, they sat in a big circle to play a "hot potato" game with a wrapped present. Every time the music stopped, whoever held the gift got to unwrap one layer...until the last layer revealed the gift. The box was not only filled with one big gift, but also had candy (maybe we should have thought that one through since these kids were already on an outrageous sugar high :) ) for every child in the circle. With the mounted anticipation of who would win, those desiring to have a closer look at the winner's loot rushed over and slight chaos ensued...but, we knew this was the small price to pay for an exciting Christmas party (we can handle it once a year!)
Then came time for "Holy, Holy, Holy" to grace our presence with his Christmas songs. Now if you are expecting the usual "Joy to the World" or "Jingle Bells", you would have been at the wrong party. "Holy, Holy, Holy" has his own Christmas raps that are written about Jesus that are fairly catchy...and the kids love them (maybe it has something to do with Santa suit?!) and dance whole-heartedly to the beat.
By this point of the night, I began exchanging glances with the other leaders, wondering if we could really pull off what we had planned next...I really felt like it was from the Lord and we had nothing to lose, so we went forward, nervously laughing at the thought of what these kids were capable of with this much sugar and pre-Christmas excitement pumping through their veins. We all were to be throughly amazed by what the Lord did next.
With the kids gathered on the floor, we began handing out parts for our Christmas Pageant. We had Mary, Joseph, Gabriel, and Caesar Augustus who had the most speaking lines who were whisked away for a simple costume and to learn their few lines. Then we had groups of kids become the innkeepers, shepherds, angels, animals, Wise Men, etc. who also got in a group with a leader and learned their part and got their prop. After ten minutes we gathered together again and began our first ever annual (I hope!) SOZO Christmas Pageant! I was the narrator and kids came up when it was time for their part...
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| Gabriel with Mary |
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| Joseph hearing the angel in his dream |
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| a proud Caesar |
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| animals eager to meet the baby |
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| Shepherds coming to visit |
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| the Wise Men bringing their gifts |
It was the most focused I have seen our kids...maybe ever. They were SO proud of their roles and took them very seriously (even with 10 minutes of prep!) I only wished I had greater vision to what this would be and could have recorded it and invited their parents (next year!) And I truly believe what the Lord had desired for them was fulfilled. The story of Jesus' birth came
ALIVE, possibly for the first time for these kids.
The Christmas story is one of the most powerful stories ever. In my adult years I cannot make it through reading it in Luke without getting choked up...
Immanuel,
God with us...and most certainly, on this sugar-high night in Kids SOZO, Immanuel here too.
And, thanks to an extremely generous donation, "Holy, Holy, Holy" came back with gifts ($5 Target gift cards in stockings with...a candy cane!) while kids waited as patiently as their little hearts could handle for it to be their turn to get one.
My favorite was the next day when I was shopping in Target, I ran into one of my SOZO Kids (one of the animals in the manger) who was with his grandpa and proudly clutching his gift card from the night before in his hand :) (Did I mention they were both wearing Santa hats?) I LOVE what I get to do!
Merry Christmas, SOZO Kids!
