Eight Things You and the Kids Can Do to Stay Sane and Love the World
By Shane Bennett
Maybe you’ve got some kids of your own. Maybe you just see kids skulking around the neighborhood or gazing forlornly from their living room windows. Maybe your kids know kids whose parents are nice enough to let them watch TV because we’re in a pandemic after all; kids who live in houses to which the UPS guy just delivered a PlayStation 4 Pro, again, because we’re in a pandemic after all.
You know there’s a sweet spot somewhere in the midst of the TV option, mandatory four-hour naps, 12 hours a day of online school, and “Just go outside before you burn the house down!”
Let’s say you also have a passion for the nations. You want God’s kingdom to come in the midst of and in spite of the coronavirus. You also want those heart-melting kiddos to grow up to be powerful ambassadors of the kingdom. Good on you!
Here are eight things you and the munchkins can do to redeem some “lockdown” time for the Lord’s purposes.
1. Fix a foodie fest.
As I type, it’s just after 10am and one of the kids drifted through asking, “What’s for lunch?!” Have you heard that lately? Happily, we have food for lunch.
You can combine this seemingly insatiable desire for food with a little nudge to the nations. How about treating your kids to some ethnic yumminess? For the truly intrepid, invite them into the cooking process!
Scout around KidWorldCitizen.org for recipes you can make for or with your kids. Here’s a drool-inducing page featuring Moroccan snacks. As you say grace, pray for the country and peoples your food represents.
To spark generosity and encourage empathy (but hopefully not shame), check out What Kids Around the World Eat.
2. Hide the Word in your heart.
Scripture memorization? I see that eye roll! In fact, I’m having trouble not rolling my own eyes as I write this. I have some little kids and it’s a bit unsettling to think about trying this with them. But Christians used to do this. Muslims still do. (I know! Christians do, too!) Here’s a list of ten nations-oriented verses. How about one per day, week, or month until we’re through this?
3. Power through with prayer.
You have a globe, right? Spin it and pin your finger on a country. Have someone Google how that country’s doing with COVID-19. Take a minute to pray for them. Don’t have a globe? Ask Siri or Alexa what countries start with the first letter of your kid’s name. Pick one from the list.
Here’s an idea to inspire prayer if you find yourself socially distanced from the people you long to reach out to. Phil Moore, a pastor in London writes about an experiment undertaken by hall-of-fame missionary James Fraser:
”Fraser worked out that it would take him three to five days to conduct church services in the highland villages of Lisuland—one or two days of travel up into the mountains, a day of gathering together, and then one or two days of travel back down again. He therefore decided to find out: What would happen if I decided to spend the time that I would have spent gathering with these Lisu people praying for them instead?”
Read the interesting article to confirm your guess as to the results!
Now is also the time to grab this year’s “30 Days Muslim World Prayer Guide.” This guide corresponds to the month of Ramadan which starts on or around April 24th. I’d love to see most of us grab the kid’s PDF version and use it with our kids or gift it to some kiddos we love.
4. Watch a great movie together.
My new favorite film is “The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind.” I expect I’ll be long haunted by the scene of the family of five standing scared around a paltry pile of corn; their entire food supply for the coming months. I actually paused the video to give the kids time to contemplate that. It’s really hard to imagine.
Another pick is “The Pianist.” It’s definitely not for kids, but it’s worth your time even if, like me, you get no deeper than the surface lessons, “Things could be worse than they are,” and “If other people can act that way, could I?”
5. Go around the world and across the street, but from home.
Check out the news series of videos my friend Jeannie is doing on how to personally grow and impact the nations from home. They’re called the Global Stay-at-Home Guide. Watch the first and subscribe for the rest.
You might also like Off-Road Encounters, a seven-part series chronicling one family’s travels to four Muslim countries. Jeannie has written some great questions for you to discuss with kids and things for them to do after each video.
6. Discover the pen is mightier than the virus.
My friend Aaron recently shared how he helped his kids connect with pen pals in Muslims countries. Read about the simple process. I tried with my ten-year-old and now she’s corresponding with a fellow Harry Potter lover in Istanbul!
7. Read a missionary biography to your kids.
I just downloaded one about Mary Slessor and am contemplating diving in with the kiddos. I’ve always loved the Christian Heroes Then & Now books. GoServeLove.net also gives a look at some missionary biographies you can currently stream on Amazon Prime.
8. Learn to talk like a missionary.
Now is a perfect time to encourage your kids to learn some phrases in a foreign language. Go to omniglot.com to find go-to phrases in a gazillion languages. You can also get audio clips so you have some hope of saying them accurately!
This might also be fun: Put sticky notes on five household items per day. Here’s a list of Chinese words and one for Spanish. In a week, you and the kids could learn 35 words. By the end of lockdown, they’ll be running businesses in Guangzhou and Guadalajara!
I’d love to hear your take on these and other ideas you have for staying sane and connecting to the world in these days. You’ve got a minute, right? Please comment on Facebook, Twitter, our website, or respond to the email.
Up for some armchair travel? Join two “philanthropologists” with cameras who explore courage and kindness around the world. The Good Road is a new series from a couple of grown-up missionary kids now airing on PBS in the US.
Eight Things You and the Kids Can Do to Stay Sane and Love the World