[This article is submitted by Wendy Cibils, whose father Jim Hoke worked with his granddaughter Jenna to earn the God and Me award.]

 

As an American Heritage Girl Troop Coordinator and coming from a Scouting family I was anxious to have my daughter start working on the God and Me series and hopefully work up to getting the 4-Star pin.

    

But with all the other demands on my time - family, friends, church activities and my civic volunteer work - there didn't seem to be much time left to really get serious with the program.  Thankfully, my father stepped in and said he'd be glad to help.  Even though my parents live 4 hours away from us, we do get together fairly frequently and during those visits he would work with my daughter on her God and Me booklet.

    

To see your daughter and your father working together was very comforting to me as a parent.  For my father, it provided him with some serious one-on-one time with his granddaughter.  They both enjoyed the process and as the laughter burst forth from the dining room table, I knew they were both enjoying not only sharing their common faith in Jesus but also strengthening the bond between a grandfather and his granddaughter. 

    

My father remarked, "If I knew grandchildren would be this much fun I would have had them sooner" and they both look forward to working on the next series together.

 

About the photo: Jim dressed up in his "mountain man" outfit (an outfit that he wears when he volunteers with kids at the nature center) to do an outdoor activity and make lesson one "God Created Me" extra fun. 

 

Jenna's grandfather is Rev. Dr. James Hoke who currently serves on the P.R.A.Y. Board of Directors. Click here for a short bio: http://www.praypub.org/jhoke.htm

 

 

Thanks, Wendy, for the reminder that the P.R.A.Y. program can be delivered in many ways, even by grandparents! Don't forget that if the program is done at home with the family, the eligibility guidelines still require that the child present her work to a pastor for the final review.

http://www.praypub.org/god_country/eligibility.htm

The P.R.A.Y. Series incorporates sequential recognitions for adult participants which may be worn on the AHG uniform. Click here to find out about the Mentor Pin, Counselor Pin, Building Faith in Youth Award, and God and Service Adult Recognition. 

Troop TN516 in conjunction with Forest Hills Baptist Church in Nashville, TN is offering the P.R.A.Y. program for the third straight summer.  Stephanie Arredondo, former Troop Shepherd and current Vice Coordinator and Explorer Unit Leader, has coordinated the classes and considers it a "wonderful outreach to the community." As she explains, "It all started with me seeking some people to complete God & Me and lo and behold, it's now a big scouting program at our church." The fact that it is offered as a fun summer experience helps the church target families during the typical summer lull. The program offers flexibility for families to complete the requirements individually or with the group when summer vacations take them out of town. It has taken time to build this program. One of the challenges has been f inding parents to help teach and lead the classes. But once the classes get started, everyone enjoys them and they are sad to see them end.  According to Stephanie, "Summertime has been the best time to offer the [P.R.A.Y. Program] as it's a great way to support social development along with spiritual development... Everybody enjoys the P.R.A.Y. Program."

 

The 2016 program will offer God and Me, God and Family, and the new Bible Basics RP3 Patch Series. Click here to see their promotional flyer.