By Nancy West, Slingshot Volunteer

Saturday, June 8 dawned bright and sunny and promised a warm, summer-like day at Back of Beyond.  What a perfect backdrop for the first-ever Slingshot Saturday event held at the farm!!

Slingshot Saturday is a children’s outreach program developed by Child Evangelical Fellowship.  The Back of Beyond event was sponsored by Harvest Church. The purpose of this event is to reach the children of the local community with the hope of the gospel.  There are so many children of unchurched families that do not know or understand that God loves them – and that He wants to draw them into His family.  God can work mightily in the hearts of children, and often, children are the ones who bring the rest of their families into the Church for the first time!  The event was promoted in both Huntsville and Bracebridge.

To our delight and gratitude to the Lord, nineteen children between the ages of 7 and 12 flocked to the farm, full of curiosity, energy and enthusiasm!   For those children with no rides, volunteers picked them up from a designated location in both towns.  The day was packed full of activities and delicious food. The children got to play games like, “everybody’s it!!” and “horse’s tail”.  They listened to a Bible story that taught them about what Jesus did to save them. When it was time to sing songs, EVERY child got an instrument to play – drums, rain sticks and shakers of all kinds.  The sound was amazing!

What was a favourite with the children, however, was when they got to paint the Bible memory verse on the horses.  The children were divided into smaller groups and got to pick a horse.  Each group received a part of the memory verse to paint on the side of their horse.  The children proved to be very creative, adding extra designs to their living work of art!!  They then brought their horses into the arena and lined them up in order so that the verse reads correctly.  The children loved it!

The most exciting thing for the volunteers, however, was that two little girls gave their lives to Christ that day!!  God is truly amazing.  It is so humbling to see how powerfully and quickly he can work in a child’s heart.

Slingshot Saturdays are designed to be fully accessible to families who might not be able to afford the other community children’s programs that come with a cost to participate.  Slingshot Saturdays are totally free.  Lunch and snacks are provided, ensuring the children are well-fueled for the day’s activities.

The remaining Slingshot Saturdays will occur on Saturday, July 13, August 10, and Sept 14 (the second Saturday of the month) from 10 am to 3 pm.  We can’t wait to see what the Lord will do then!