Scripture: Exodus 3-4:17
Learning Objectives:
- Students will learn that even when people sin, God can still use them later to do His will.
- Students will learn sometimes God makes people take a long time to prepare for something He wants them to do.
- Students will learn when God wants them to do something, He will provide what they need to accomplish His will.
- Students will collect bilingual books for refugee children and will visit a refugee center where they will read and play with refugee children.
Guiding Question: How does participating in another’s culture show care and willingness to serve them?
Materials: Collected bilingual books
Procedure: Review the story of Moses in exile from the scripture above. Emphasize that God wants us to be a part of serving His Kingdom and be willing to help others who are in need. Explain that when Moses was in exile, he was away from a place that he was used it. Tell the students that there are people all around the world called refugees. These people have left their home to go somewhere that is more safe and/or has better opportunities for them. Ask the students how they might feel if they had to leave their home suddenly to go to a new place and did not know anybody/understand the culture of the new place. Tell the students the refugee camps/shelters are set up to give refugees a place to go and many mission teams work to help refugees.
Introduce the service project. Explain to the students that often refugees come from another country where they did not speak English or spoke English as a second language. If they are in a country where English is the first language, they may not know how to read books in English or understand much English. Tell the students they are going to collect bilingual (explain the meaning of bilingual if needed) books for children at a local refugee camp. Give the students a certain amount of time to collect the books. After the set date, you can arrange for a time for yourself and the students to go to a local refugee camp and deliver the books, help the children read the books, etc.
Note: Prior to the lesson, reach out to refugee camps in your area to see the primary language spoken by the refugees and what kind of books are most needed.
Additional Questions: How can refugees’ basic needs be met?
Supplemental Activity: Reach out to local refugee camps to see what basic care items the refugees are in need of most. Have the students create a donation drive at your church for these items.