For the seventeenth summer in a row Steve and Irene-Maria Campbell were planning on holding their MAGNETS Children’s Holiday Bible Club in Torrevieja with an Olympic theme – Run the Race. The year 2020 began with great hope for a new decade, with many proclaiming to have ‘2020 vision’ for this new year.
However, as the months rolled on that vision became blurred as the extent of the Coronavirus became clearer, a worldwide pandemic was declared and most countries went into lockdown.
Many events planned for this year had to be cancelled, including the Olympic Games in Tokyo. Steve and Irene-Maria’s flight to Spain in May was cancelled and they had to wait three long months before they could return here in early August. But what were they going to do about MAGNETS as the Church where it is normally held did not permit children into the building?
They decided to hold Mini MAGNETS@Home, meeting in their garden with smaller groups of children on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons, with a different set of kids on each of the days, observing social distancing. The couple were able to provide most of the usual programme for the Holiday Club, including games, memory verse, Bible story, quiz, crafts and finishing off with juice and biscuits – very welcome on a hot, sunny afternoon!
The theme they decided to follow was ‘Miracles of Jesus’ looking at some of the most well known, including Jesus stilling the storm, healing blind Bartimaeus and feeding the five thousand.
The miracles were explained then related to everyday life, for example the young boy who gave his lunch of five loaves and two fish to Jesus and witnessed a miracle of five thousand plus being fed showed that if we offer what little we have to Jesus; money, food, clothes etc. through food banks and charities, then others will be helped and a miracle can take place in our hearts and theirs.
So no lockdown for MAGNETS this year. It was different yet just as enjoyable as ever and all who came certainly would agree. No-one knows what next year will bring, but we hope and pray for an end to the pandemic. One thing is for sure, if Steve and Irene-Maria have anything to do with it, MAGNETS 2021 will go ahead. See you next year!
