First outreach of the Little Wonders

My friends, Fr. Santan from Our Lady of Soccor invited Yvette to bring the 'little wonders'- that the name we call our Children’s ministry.

We started with a prayer before entering the Church, took the blessings of Fr. Santan; set up the musical instruments and mics started the praise & Worship with the children. In between the praise and worship, the 'little wonders' conveyed to the kids & their parents a message. Eaton read out a small story from Bible & & Neville read out the benefits of praising God.Treshel spoke about the importance of reading the bible in Konkani. Gracelyn's spoke for 10 min on the the true meaning of Christmas without referring to her notes. With Rajiv on the drums; Gracelyn played the Keyboard and the other kids had tablet pc's for singing the songs (words from Tablets). They bowled all the parish kids, parents & the Parish priests over. At the end Fr. Santan spoke how well the Kids carried the name of Jesus & shared it around. A photo session of theirs were taken by the parents of the parish. PRAISE GOD!

It is all too easy during the Christmas season to lose focus on Jesus and concentrate only on gifts, parties, decorations, and fun. If even adults have trouble keeping Christmas as a celebration of Jesus’ birth, how much more difficult it is for children entangled by the excitement and mystery of Santa Claus. But you can help your young children learn the true meaning of Christmas.

The symbolic colors of Christmas are red and green. Red symbolizes the Saviour’s sacrifice for mankind. Green is the color of the pine tree.

Pine TREE: the pure green color of the stately fir tree remains green all year round, depicting the everlasting hope of mankind, all the needles point heavenward, making it a symbol of man's thoughts turning toward heaven." STAR: was the heavenly sign of promises long ago. God promised a Savior for the world, and the star was the sign of fulfillment of His promise."

CANDLE: the candle symbolizes that Christ is the light of the world, and when we see this great light we are reminded of He who displaces the darkness." Mistletoe: It is a circle that symbolizes the nature of love. Real love never ceases. Love is one continuous round of affection."

ORNAMENT of Santa Claus: symbolize the generosity and good will we must feel during the month of December."

HOLLY LEAF: the holly plant represents immortality. It represents the crown of thorns worn by our Savior. The red holly berries represent the blood shed by Him.

A GIFT: God so loved the world that He gave his begotten Son." Thanks be to God for his unspeakable gift. The Gift Bow: Tied as we should all be tied together in bonds of goodwill forever.

A CANDY CANE: This sweet is said to remind everyone what Christmas is all about with the colour white symbolizing the purity and sinless nature of Jesus. The bold red stripe signifies the blood Jesus shed for mankind. The candy cane represents the shepherds' crook. The crook on the staff helps to bring back strayed sheep to the flock, because Jesus is the shepherd of mankind. Turned upside down, it becomes the letter J, which stands for Jesus’ name. The candy cane is the symbol that we are our brother's keeper." The hardness of the candy cane reminds Christians that the church was founded on solid rock. The traditional peppermint flavor of the cane is tastes like hyssop, a plant in the mint family. It was used in the Old Testament for purification and sacrifice.

ANGEL: it was the angels that heralded in the glorious news of the Savior's birth. The angels sang Glory to God in the highest, on earth peace and good will toward men."

A BELL: as the lost sheep are found by the sound of the bell, it should ring mankind to the fold. The bell symbolizes guidance and return.

THE FOLLOWING WEEK THE LITTLE WONDERS WERE INVITED BY FR CARMO TO GRACE CHURCH MARGAO. THEY LED THE THE OVER 500 KIDS INTO THE CHRISTMAS SPIRIT.