Working With Jesus

Caring about others is one important lesson that Jennifer has learned by helping with Kidz Time. But Jesus has taught her lots of other lessons as well.

Jennifer lives in New Zealand, a beautiful island nation east of Australia. [Locate New Zealand on a map.] Her home overlooks the sea. Jennifer loves telling others about Jesus.

Kidz Time

When she was 5 years old her mother and two other women in their church started a children’s Bible club that they called Kidz Time. They held the club meetings in a classroom in a school on Sabbath mornings. Jennifer wanted to help. But what could a 5-year-old do? The answer? Lots!

She helped make signs to put up in the neighborhood inviting the children to come. And she posed as a Bible character for a picture her mom put in a leaflet to tell people about the Kidz Time Bible club.

At first just four children came to Kidz Time, but the number grew, and today as many as 14 children come. Some of their parents come too. They want to see what their kids are learning.

Jennifer helps teach the children while her uncle teaches the adults who come. “I teach them a Bible verse and tell the Bible story,” Jennifer says. “And sometimes I lead the singing and other activities. We invent games to teach the children Bible lessons. Once we did a very s-l-o-w game of ‘Simon Says.’ We wanted the kids to know that sometimes it takes a while to know what God wants us to do. It was fun, and they caught on quickly.”

Jennifer likes helping with Kidz Time. “I want other children to know about God,” she says. “I like to do things for people because Jesus has done so much for me. When I see someone give their heart to Jesus, it’s all worth it!”

Ernest

Ernest has been coming to Kidz Time since the program started. His parents don’t let him come every week, but he loves the programs and comes whenever he can. A few months ago Ernest gave his heart to Jesus and asked for his own Bible. Jennifer’s mother gave him a children’s Bible. Even when Ernest’s parents try to get him to stop attending the Kidz Time, he still wants to come. Ernest and Jennifer have become friends. Jennifer prays for him. She prays for all the children and adults who attend Kidz Time. She prays, too, for those who don’t come.

Caring about others is one important lesson that Jennifer has learned by helping with Kidz Time. But Jesus has taught her lots of other lessons as well.

Lesson in a Lamb

Jennifer’s grandmother has sheep, and one day a mother sheep gave birth to twin lambs. She couldn’t care for both of them, so she rejected one of the lambs. Jennifer found the little lamb lying crumpled and still. It was starving. Jennifer picked up the lamb and took it to her grandmother, who taught the children how to feed him and keep him warm. The children took turns feeding the lamb, which they named Tom. Soon Tom was strong enough to live with the other sheep. When one of the children called to him, Tom would run to them.

Then one day Jennifer found Tom lying near the fence. He wasn’t moving. She touched Tom’s lifeless body. “I cried for Tom, because I loved him,” Jennifer said.

As Jennifer’s father buried Tom, Jennifer thought about how much she had loved Tom. She thought of the Israelites who had to give their best lamb to be sacrificed for their sins. How hard that must have been! Jennifer thought. I could never have let Tom be sacrificed.

Then she thought about Jesus, who was the Lamb of God. He knew that He would have to die one day for the sins of everyone. That must have been hard too. But He did it for us because it was the only way to save us. “Thinking about that makes me want to never disobey Jesus,” Jennifer adds. “Jesus died for me, and I want to live for Him forever. That’s another reason I want to tell others that God loves us.”

We can tell our friends and neighbors how much God loves them, just as Jennifer does. And we can bring our mission offering to church so that more people will learn that God loves them so much He let Jesus die for them.