by Yuen Kwong
I can’t believe that it’s going to be eight years since I first joined the Fireflies ministry. It has truly been an amazing experience and I loved every minute of it! Being in a ministry for this long has allowed me to see how God has grown this ministry not only in size but also spiritually over the years. We went from a few toddlers at the old church in the Scripps Ranch area to our current location and taking up 2 rooms to accommodate for the 30+ babies and toddlers that we care for.
When the Elders first announced that Fireflies will now have a teaching curriculum for the older kids (generally 15 months to 3 year-olds) years ago, my initial thought was that the kids are so young, would they really grasp anything that we’re teaching them? What would the lesson look like? As the Nursery staff began to go over the curriculum, we slowly fine tuned what lessons to go over, how often we will teach the lesson, what memory verses to go along with each lesson, and what songs to sing. Our staff holds quarterly meetings to discuss how things are working and how we can better serve the children and aiding their parents in teaching them who God is.
As the years progressed, I transitioned from the regular rotation to the teaching rotation, and all the while, God has humbled and blessed me in so many ways as I learned and continue to learn how to care for the children physically and spiritually. Caring for the little ones can be physically exhausting, but I find that the days when we have to address heart issues with the kids to be the most fatiguing days. Rather than behavior modification, we seek to help the children understand that their behavior (refusing to obey, pushing, biting, hitting, snatching, etc.) stems from a sinful heart and we want to help them identify the root issues as we teach them appropriate responses.
To all the parents, kudos to you for your loving patience with your kids and your diligence in going over the lessons and memory verses/motions with them. Although sometimes they may be a little shy during the lesson time to show what they’ve learned at home, all your hard work shows through subtle things. For instance, on a particularly chaotic Sunday a few years back, I had to teach a lesson on how only God is big showing how God made everything and also Adam and Eve’s disobedience in eating the forbidden fruit was due to their attempt to be like God. Our curriculum comes with picture illustrations as visual aids, and the picture of the forbidden fruit and its tree looked like an apple and an apple tree. I was afraid that the kids would associate apples as the forbidden fruit and would refuse to eat them, so I repeated many times that the pictured fruit was not an apple, but a type of fruit that God told Adam and Eve not to eat. During the lesson, we were already late into our normal schedule. Typically, we start our lesson between 10:00am – 10:15am, but due to lots of crying kids, potty breaks, lots of poopy diapers, and disciplining issues, service was ending with the hymn and we haven’t even had the lesson yet! At the end of the day when the kids were picked up, thinking back on the lesson, I struggled with whether or not I had communicated the lesson clearly and effectively, especially since so many of the kids were distracted by some of the inconsolable kids crying in the background. Later that evening, I saw a Facebook video post that one of the church members took of some kids in the car as they were heading out to lunch. The kids were asked what they learned today and the nursery aged child responded that he learned that Adam and Eve disobeyed because God told them not to eat the fruit, and he emphasized that the fruit was not an apple, just a fruit. When the auntie asked the child, if he disobeys, he responded sadly, “Yes, I disobey sometimes because mommy and daddy tell me not to cry but I still cry.” That short video brought me such joy! Even in my failure, shortcomings, and anxiety, God makes everything glorify Him.
To all the parents, I encourage you to continue to depend and trust in the Lord as you parent your child(ren). Please let the teachers or Nursery Coordinators know how we can better serve you and teach your children. To the nursery staff workers, I challenge you to invest in the kids during the playing time and make every opportunity a teaching opportunity. And to take the time to get to know the parents and encourage them with something that the child did in nursery. To the female LBC members who may be potentially interested in this ministry, please come and observe! If you don’t know how to care for children, it is a great place to observe and learn from the more experienced sisters – we’ll teach you everything from changing poopy diapers to shepherding a child’s heart!