Here's a peak at what I did. Keep in mind that each day I had 2-3 minutes during the opening session to collect coins and 5 minutes during the closing session to talk about our mission initiative.
Day 1 ~ This was a general introduction. We had a sample mosquito net hanging in the sanctuary and I briefly told the kids we were raising money to buy mosquito nets. I explained that many, many children around the world are at risk of contracting malaria and that for most, this disease is fatal.
I issued a challenge to raise $100 ~ enough for 10 nets. I told the kids that if we could raise $100, I would give each child a bracelet.
We also sent the following handout home with each child.
Day 2 ~ I showed the following video and read the script out loud so the younger kids and slower readers wouldn't miss out on the message. I loved that most of the kids giggled when the little boy in the video started dancing ~ it's my favorite part of this video.
Day 3 ~ My daughters and I put on a skit to further explain and illustrate how malaria is transmitted from one person to another. We got a lot of positive feedback about this simple skit.
I don't know if you could tell from the video, but my "mosquito" was wearing this t-shirt that I made for her. I used the stencil provided in the Bite Back presentation kit.
Then, we popped balloons to see how many nets we had raised money for (thank you Nicole for the idea!). Our goal was $100 so I put 10 balloons on a cardboard box. Each balloon we popped would represent one mosquito net. I used the stencil found in the Bite Back kit to draw mosquitos on each balloon.
As I popped balloons, the kids counted. Keep in mind, when I made this, I had no idea how much money the kids would bring in that night.
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7.....(pause), 8.....(longer pause - gotta build up the suspense!)....9, 10!
They did it in two nights of collecting money! God is so good. (I should have probably set a higher goal, but I was afraid to shoot too high). So everyone got a bracelet. I didn't quite have enough of the official bracelets from Compassion, so I made a few of my own (I'll tell you about that in the next post).
Day 4 ~ On day 4 we watched another video from Compassion.
On day 4 the church told me they would match whatever the kids brought in. So I told the kids.
Day 5 ~ My only plan for the final day was to announce just how much money we raised. I really wanted another visual illustration (like the balloons), but thought I should try to do something different. I decided to stuff kids under a mosquito net to show them how many kids' lives we would be saving from our efforts that week. The balloon illustration focused on the mosquitos and this one focused on the lives that were being saved.
I had one net to illustrate the money the kids raised, and a second net to illustrate that our efforts would be doubled by the church.
I was absolutely floored when I learned the total amount.
Friday's donations alone amounted to $151, which doubled our previous total.
When all was said and done, we are able to send a check for $600 - that's 60 mosquito nets!
I actually ran out of kids to stuff the nets and had to turn to the adults.
What a week!
I love that I was asked to be the missions representative.
I love that I was able to raise money for mosquito nets.
I really love that I was able to do this through Compassion.
I really, really love that God is faithful and good.
