La vie est belle: February 2014

Bina Iman Anak Stefanus

February 16, 2014

http://kubasantostefanus.blogspot.com/2014/02/arti-doa-dan-kerajinan-kokoru-di-bia.html

Minggu 16 Februari 2014 yang lalu, anak-anak wilayah St. Stefanus untuk pertama kalinya di tahun 2014 ini mengikuti Bina Iman Anak. Bertempat di kediaman Budi Mulyanto di cluster Gardenia GDC, Bina Iman dibuka dengan doa yang dipimpin Deo.

Sebagai prolog, dimulai dengan tanya jawab seputar doa."Anak-anak, siapa yang tahu artinya doa?" tanya pembimbing. "Berbicara dengan Tuhan,!" jawab Darryl spontan.

Anak-anak pun lalu menjelaskan satu persatu arti berdoa. Berdoa yang tidak hanya untuk meminta, tapi juga berdoa untuk mengucap syukur, atas apa yang Tuhan beri kepada kita.

Saat ditanya jenis-jenis doa, anak-anak dengan fasih menjawab dan mencontohkan doanya. Aurellius mencontohkan doa ucapan syukur, Austin dengan doa spontannya, dan Darrel dengan doa Bapa Kami.

Anak-anak kemudian diajak memahami arti doa, sikap yang baik dalam berdoa dan mengingatkan anak-anak agar selalu berdoa sebelum memulai sesuatu.

Udara yang cerah dan suasana yang menyenangkan membuat anak-anak bertambah semangat saat dikeluarkan karton-karton bergelombang yang disebut "Kokoru". Ya! Anak-anak lantas diajak membuat kerajinan Kokoru.

Mereka bebas berimajinasi untuk membuat sesuatu. Dengan bantuan lem dan gunting, terciptalah bunga yang cantik, buatan Dinda dan Tian, Singa yang gagah hasil karya Jojo dan Darrel, Prajurit khas Jepang hasil tangan kreatif Darryl, Kue yang terlihat lezat dari Deo, Mahkota Raja ala Aurellius dan tank keren karya Guido dan Austin. Wah, hasilnya bagus-bagus, lho...

Setelah membuat kerajinan Kokoru, tiba saatnya snack. Wouuw... mereka lantas menyerbu snack yang disediakan Koordinator BIA, Merry Martens. Sambil mengunyah kudapan, mata mereka menatap lekat film tentang nabi Yusuf yang diputar lewat video player

Banyak yang bisa mereka dapatkan dari kisah Nabi Yusuf, yaitu tentang perbuatan baik, saling memaafkan dan berbelas kasih.

Sore semakin beranjak gelap. Bina Iman Anak pun lalu ditutup dengan doa. Kali ini dipimpin Darryl.

"Selamat sore. Sampai bertemu di Bina Iman Anak bulan depan!"

(Veronica Lucy Indah K)

From Tian, for me...

February 14, 2014

Short History of Valentine

Valentine’s day is a fun celebration each year, especially when you receive candy and cards from your friends. There is a lot more to this day. Did you know that Valentine’s Day is actually named after a real person called St. Valentine? There are many stories and legends behind who the real St. Valentine was, but most scholars agree that he was a martyr (a person who was killed for his beliefs). Later in the Middle Ages, a great writer named Geoffrey Chaucer wrote a poem as a present to King Richard II, who was going to be married soon. In it, he mentioned St. Valentine, and over time, the idea of Valentine’s Day became associated with the idea of love.

During the Victorian times (in the 1800s), Valentine’s Day became extremely popular! Men and women spent a lot of time making beautiful Valentine’s cards with ribbon, fancy paper and even lace. In those days, people were very reserved and they did not often say what they were feeling. Valentine’s day gave them a great way to express their feelings to someone they were in love with in an anonymous manner (without showing their names). This meant that the sender would remain a mystery until they could speak more freely. Even before this time, in the late 1700s, printers would create large amounts of Valentine’s Day cards so that friends and families could exchange them.

In the last few decades, Valentine’s day has changed a lot! Today we still exchange cards, but many people buy ready-made cards instead. We also give flowers (usually a bouquet of red roses) or chocolates as a gift to remind people of our friendship and love for them. Older couples sometimes also celebrate this day by exchanging other gifts and going out to dinner. Most Valentine’s gifts and cards make use of the colors red and pink, and are decorated with images of hearts or roses. Another common symbol of love on this day is Cupid, the Roman god of love. He is usually shown as a little angel with a bow and arrow. According to legend, anyone who is struck by his arrows will fall in love.

Don’t forget that while it is great to remind people how much you value them on Valentine’s Day, it isn’t the only time to do so. You can continue doing nice things for people throughout the rest of the year too. Today, many people focus on giving gifts on Valentine’s Day and some people even get quite stressed out about it because they think they have to spend a lot of money on gifts! The main thing to remember is that Valentine’s Day is all about showing people that you love them and appreciate them. Sometimes the best way to do this is by doing something nice for them or making them a little keepsake. To get started, have a look at some of the easy but thoughtful suggestions below, or browse through the resources to learn more about Valentine’s Day.

And..This Valentine is different for me. No flower, no chocolate...but a little surprise from my son.
Tian give me a letter...
Thanks Tian... I love you too...