Using Jelly Babies To Pray For refugees .
This works best with children's groups, but can be adapted for use in the home.
Notes for Children's leaders are at the bottom of the page.
You Will Need:
Jelly Babies! Individual ones, small packets, whatever works best for your children.
Depending on how you do this activity and how many children, you may need to wrap individual jelly babies in clingfilm or put them in small clippy bags.
What The Bible Says:
"First, I want you to pray for all people.
Ask God to help and bless them.
Give thanks for them".
1 Timothy chapter 2 verse 1 (NIrV)
Ponder:
We’re going to ponder by playing ‘what if…?’.
After each question, have a short chat with the people around you and find out what everyone thinks.
- What if….. you had to leave your home and country and everything you like, because it was too dangerous to stay?
- What if….. you then had to walk a long, long way every day without a rest, with not much food to eat?
- What if….. you couldn’t take your toys, not even your favourite one, on your journey?
I would find all of those things scary!
I would also be sad and just want to go home. What about you?
You may have heard about refugees having to leave their countries because it’s too dangerous to stay.
Lots of them are children.
It's not safe for children to be walking though strange countries, with nowhere to sleep and no adults looking after them.
They must feel very lost and scared!
The Jelly Baby Hunt:
Go and find as many jelly babies as you can!
Don't eat them yet!
If you find lots and you can see someone who hasn’t found any - share them!
Come back together:
I hope you’ve had to search really hard for them!
They may have been lost in a smelly sock or shoe - and now, they are at risk of being eaten at any moment.
But don't eat them yet!
Ponder Some More:
Did you share your sweets? Did someone share them with you?
There are people helping refugee children to be safe. Let’s be thankful for people who are kind and share what they have to keep the children safe.
Child refugees who have come to live in our country have very few ‘things’ like sweets, toys and warm clothes. They need people to be kind and share things with them as they settle in their new, but safe, home.
Pray:
As you eat the jelly babies, ask God to show you how to be kind to refugees, and if you can, to share.
Ask Him to help you be a good friend to them.
Pray for the people who are helping refugee children to find somewhere safe to live.
Notes for children’s leaders:
This activity works best with a children’s group, but feel free to adapt it for use in family groups or in the home.
I've used it a few times with mixed age group and with 9 - 11 year olds - each with good outcomes.
The words are there just as a guide to point you in the right direction, they are not a set script. Adapt them to the age and ability of the children you have. Use the ideas as a launch pad!
If you have older children who like discussing, feel free to add extra ‘what if’ questions or fill out the existing ones.
You will need Jelly babies, individually hidden in lots of locations before children arrive. Remember they will be eaten later, so you may want to wrap them in clingfilm first - or just be careful how and where you hide them!
TIP: I buy mine in bulk on Ebay - much cheaper than the little packets! Although, with a small group you may want to get the small packets and hide those instead.
Of course, some children will find lots, others won’t find any. Encourage the children to share them out equally - because this is part of the ‘action’ part of the prayer.
©2023. Kay Morgan-Gurr. Pondering Platypus Resources. Please credit when using this activity in a church/organisational setting.
