|| books ||

^^ Joy loves Little House on the Prairie books  :)

Soon after moving here, I was given the task of the library at our church.  At the time, there were a few faithful kids who would come and get a book but not very many.  I was actually quite surprised to see the selection of books for such a small church.  What a treasure!!  For someone who loves books, it was amazing to see the resources available here.

Within a few months, I began a little contest for the kids.  Each book read and returned merited a star on a fish.  For each five stars, a prize was given.  A simple enough promotion but what a motivation for the church kids!!  Library usage for the kids' side absolutely soared.  To get a free pencil or pen or eraser is a REALLY BIG DEAL here.  I even had to clamp down a bit on who was able to check out books because we started to have kids move away (which is common) and then books get lost.  

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My friend gave me Dr. Seuss decorations that she didn't need anymore.  So last year while in the States, I bought these punch cards.  So if they keep and finish one punch card from start to finish, they will have received four prizes.

This feels a bit unusual to ask but I've been wanting to post about the library for a while.  For those of you that live near my parents, do you have any old books that are just lying around?  Any books that your kids aren't interested in reading?  They don't have to be brand new or even in excellent condition.  We have a lady who repairs damaged books each week.  :)  My friend, Marian, and I who run the library would love new additions to the kids' books section!!!!  These kids are not exposed to books like we had growing up.  Even in school, lessons are copied.  To have a Bible is a luxury, so you can imagine books are even more rare.  And what an opportunity to expose some of the kids who attend our church to good books.  SO, if you have any spare books, would you be willing to drop them by my parents' house or give them to her at church?  They are getting ready to ship a barrel here in a few weeks.  We would be so grateful!!

Gershom and Sylvester are just two of the boys who will say a very big THANK YOU!