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| Image from Melonheadz |
They probably think of full-time missionaries in their black suit and ties and name badge.
Then ask the children, ‘Who else can be a missionary?
Some missionaries may wear Sunday clothes and name tags every day, but we too can be missionaries right now!
Today we are going to help a missionary pack his/her suitcase and learn how we can be a missionary now.
Have a picture of a missionary or pick one of the children to be your helper. Introduce the ‘missionary’ to the children:
‘This is Elder/Sister _______ and he/she needs help packing his/her suitcase for her mission. He/she has been called to serve in ________ {pick a place}.’
Have an open/empty suitcase at the front of the room where the children can see it.
On a table beside the suitcase have several items that a missionary might need on his/her mission: Clothes (shirt, tie, shoes, etc.), name tag, Scriptures, Preach My Gospel manual, Passport, etc.
The object of this game/activity is to get the missionary packed!
Here is what you need to do:
In a bag or bucket have pieces of paper with each item that will be going in the suitcase written on it, you could also have a small picture of each item.
For each item that goes in the suitcase have a scenario or a way that the children can be a missionary to their friends & family.
“You are at school and your friend starts asking you questions about the church. How can you be a missionary now?”
“You are invited to a birthday party on Sunday. When your friend asks if you are coming you tell her no. Your friend asks why you can’t come. How can you be a missionary now?”
“You are asked to read 20 minutes a day and write down what you read. You decide to write down that you read the Book of Mormon. You turn in your paper and after class your teacher asks you about the Book of Mormon.
How can you be a missionary now?”
To play the game:
Invite a child to come to the front and pick a piece of paper out of the bucket and show everyone what item he/she got. Have the child go find the item on the table and then have them read the scenario aloud. Have them tell you how they can be a missionary now. Once they’ve answered the question have them place the item in the suitcase.
Then continue on to the next child and item.
*Another way you could do this is pass the bucket around the room as you sing “I Want to Be a Missionary Now.” When the music stops whoever is holding the bucket, gets to choose an item.
When the suitcase is packed the game is done and the missionary is ready to serve!
Dress the Missionary
For this activity I think it would be fun to choose a child as your helper, but you can also invite someone in to be your helper.
The object of this game is to dress the person like a missionary to show that we too can be missionaries.
Have the person stand at the front of the room and have a basket of clothes beside them. On each article of clothing have a scenario or a way that we can be a missionary now.
Examples:
Serving others
Share a Book of Mormon
Invite a friend to church or an activity
You invite a friend over for Family Home Evening
You could also use the scenarios above
Have a child come to the front and have them pick an article of clothing. Read the scenario or way we can be a missionary and discuss it. Then add it to your person.
After all the clothes are put on and the scenarios are discussed show the children that the person is dressed just like a missionary would be.
Tell the children that we may not dress in Sunday clothes every day and wear name tags, but we can share the gospel with our friends and family just like missionaries do.
I would love to hear how it goes if you use it, so come back and leave me a comment.
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