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The Citizen, 1994-08-31, Page 3THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 31, 1994. PAGE 3. 101 children at Bible school Returning home Debbie Van Steelandt, of the Blyth area, returned recently from a six week stay in Austria as part of the Lions Youth Exchange Program. Girl home from exchange By Janice Becker For one Blyth area youth, one of the most memorable experiences of her summer was hiking over snow- covered mountains, in shorts. Debbie Van Steelandt, 17, daughter of Frank and Dorothy Van Steelandt, spent six weeks of her summer vacation in southern Aus­ tria as part of the Lions Youth Exchange Program. Debbie says, "The first two weeks of my visit were spent at the camp held for all the young people involved in the exchange." "There were people there from 28 countries and it was easy to com­ municate with everyone because everyone spoke English." "During my four weeks with my host families, the temperature was 35 degrees Celsius so we did a lot of swimming," says Debbie. "The most outstanding feature about Austria is the number of churches. Every small village had at least one church." "The cities are also very clean. The old architecture, the colour of the buildings and the art make the cities very nice," she says. Debbie says, "Farming is not really a big thing in Austria though there is a lot of sweet com grown. The land in the south, where I was, is very hilly because it is the base of the Alps." "The school year is also set up differently," she says. "Classes run until July and don't begin again until the third week of September. After elementary school, the stu­ dent then spends eight years in gymnasium (Austrian term for the equivalent of Canadian high school). Acceptance into a school for further education is based on a single exam at the end of gymnasi­ um." "Students take 13 or 14 subjects in one year as compared to our seven or eight," says Debbie. "I found the people of Austria to be very friendly and polite. There were formal greetings for everyone you met. I really liked the people and the country and I made friends with students from Norway and Finland as well as with my host families," says Debbie. "Anyone who has the opportunity to take part in the exchange pro­ gram should do it. It was a really great experience and I loved it." Debbie was sponsored by the Blyth Lions and Legion. The Daily Vacation Bible School from Aug. 22-26 was held al Blyth Christian Reformed Church and sponsored by Blyth Church of God, Blyth United Church and Blyth Christian Reformed Church. A total of 101 students attended. Morning began at 9 a.m. with all children joining in a sing-song. Songs corresponded with the themes for this year The Sower, Watch It Grow to go with the younger children’s theme of "Son Country Farm" and 1 have Hidden your Word in My Heart, What a Mighty God We Serve to go with the older children's theme of "Round Up the Sin Gang". The children sang loudly and lustily, and kicked up their heels in the action songs. At 9:20 a.m.the children ages four, five and six remained in the church fellowship hall for the "Son Country Farm" program with "Gramps" (Rob Datema). The lesson themes for the week were Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness respectively. These fruits of the Spirit were brought to life for the children each day by a skit featuring "Gramps". The children learned to show God's love to others because Jesus showed God's love to us (Day 1), that God gives us His joy even when sad things happen (Day 2), that because God cares for us, we can have peace in our lives (Day 3), that because God is patient with us, we can learn to have patience, too (Day 4) and that we show our love for God by being kind to others (Day 5). After the 30-minute program the children would have a nutritious snack that related to the "Son Country Farm's" theme. The older (Grades 2-6) children went upstairs for the "Round Up the Sin Gang" program with Les and Jackie Cook. This program drew a parallel between the "Old West" and living a successful Christian life. Just as the west needed to be tamed with laws and fences, not to deprive the herds but to protect them, God's Word provides protective boundaries for His children to live in. The lesson each day had a single theme and objective including a Bible story to bring the theme into clearer focus. The first day's theme was "Fill Up with God's Word" based on Psalm 119:11 to encourage the children to store up their Biblical knowledge; the second day was based on "Anger" (Psalm 34:13) and the third day on "Jealousy" (Proverbs 17:22) both days featuring sins that needed to be rounded up. The fourth day's focus was "Believe on Jesus" (Acts 16:31) and the fifth day "Praise" (Philippians 4:8) to encourage the children to live thankful and fruitful lives to the honour of their Creator. Through puppetry and story-telling, Les and Jackie impressed upon the children that Registration for • Brownies • Guides • Pathfinders Wed., Sept. 14 6:30 - 7:30 p.m. Blyth Legion Hall Registration Fee - $25 Guide Store Available New Leaders Welcome For more Information - Heather Jackson 523-4813 they can move forward with confidence that the power of God is a mightier voice than anything that can come against them. After a time of refreshment, the children were divided into classrooms to put their creative energy to work. The younger children made crafts such as painted flower pots, watermelon tambourines, painted hearts, pie plate sheep, painted placemats and completed Little Sprouts and Barnyard Bulletin worksheets/ newspapers to take home with them. The older children made bams, wreaths, aprons, painted pots, butterfly fridge magnets, spoon hangers, modge podge, pencil holders and hats. All crafts related in some way to the "Son Country Farm/Fruits of the Spirit/Round Up the Sin Gang" theme. On Friday all parents and friends were invited to join the children for the morning as certificates and awards were presented. To finish the week of Daily Vacation Bible School, a pot luck picnic was held in the church fellowship hall due to the morning thunder shower. Continued on page 15 Registration for • Beavers • Cubs • Scouts 'Venturers Wed., Sept. 14 7-8 p.m. Blyth Public School Registration Fee - $30 For more information - Barb Knox 523-4290 BINOCULARS RULERS 25% off ^'"g paper "otebooks 25% off BF"STo.toAno Help send a ripple of hope to the children of Croatia & Bosnia. Light the Way Children’s Fund International Light the Way Cafe “For the Love of Children” Blyth Memorial Town Hall ThursSept. 15,1994 • 7:30- 10:00pm • Doors open at 7:00 pm Enjoy an evening of local entertainment, coffee, desserts and refreshments. Singer Renee Stalenhoef, clogging, fiddling, ballroom dance exhibition & much more! Plach time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope, and those ripples build a current which can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance. Senator Robert F. Kennedy University of Cape Town. South Africa June 6, 1966 Tickets are $10.00 and are available at: Bainton’s Old Mill-5234740 The Old Mill - 523-4595 Blyth Mini Mart - 523-4486 Can’t make it? Donor tickets also available for $10.00 PENCIL CASES ^C/Ls CALCULATORS GEOMETRY SETS GLUE Sale runs Aug. 31 - Sept. 10 DUO TANGS SttcSA 7 7-^ Girls' Jogging Pants $7.49 Fleece Sets $15.00 Sport Socks $4.99 Movie Special 3 PACK SPECIAL RENT 2 MOVIES AT REGULAR PRICE GET 3RD FREE S\*eS Boys' Jogging Pants $8.24 Sport Socks $4.993 pacY Watson Briefs $1.69 Boys’ Converse sa®® Fleece Sets * -6 $12.99 Girls' Fashion Stripe Fleece ________Sets-$9.99 Infants' Sizes 12-18-24 Knit Sets $9.74 - $11.99 Bell's Discount Centre Ltd. Variety, Video & Card Shop Open 7 days a week Blyth 523-9785