LOCK-IN!!!

This was a special weekend experiencing our 7 year old granddaughter's first lock-in at our church on Friday night. The event started with HAULING in sleeping equipment for the 2 of us, Easter basket, clothing and pajamas for overnight, along with toiletries and bath linens, and lots of excitement and anticipation.



We arrived at 6:30pm and immediately had a meet and greet for her and processed into the church garden for a quick Easter egg hunt. The several hundred plastic eggs were everywhere! You could stand in one spot and pick up your quota of 12 eggs stuffed with candies. After all that darting around in the yard and lots of squeals about the bounty, we returned to the fellowship hall for a pizza dinner. Brownies and rice crispy treats were served about an hour later for dessert.


There were crafts: making baby chicks out of pom poms, making "stained glass" crosses with transparencies and colored tissue paper, and dying eggs. The young participants were divided into 3 groups and they had lessons concerning the crucifixion of Christ along with the meaning of Easter. They rotated from one lesson/craft to the next and so on.


In a category all on its own was a group of 9 baby chicks! The first through fifth graders (both boys and girls) fell in love with these little creatures. A few of the children had separation anxiety when the chicks needed their rest. They adored holding and observing the chicks!


In the kitchen, they had yet another lesson/hands-on activity. They made meringues and put them in the oven to slow bake for several hours. The next morning before breakfast they assembled in the kitchen again for "the rest of the story." The meringues were hollow when broken apart and that detail was used to discuss the empty tomb of Christ and its implications for our lives.All were great learning experiences!


We watched one of the Narnia movies after getting in our sleeping bags, had popcorn, and drifted off to sleep around 1:30am! We were back up before 7am to a delightful, hot breakfast of casserole and monkey bread with milk and/or orange juice to wash it all down. There was a scurry to pack up and load our gear before 8am when the event ended.

When asked if she enjoyed her first lock-in and if she would do it again, our sweetheart of a grandchild answered with a resounding "yes" and made me promise to let her know when she could do it again. It's great seeing children receive Christian training and seeing them enjoy being children! I found the children to be well-informed when answering the questions asked by their leaders during their lessons.


It gives me great hope for the next generation of Christian disciples.