Animal Crackers - Service Center

Transcription

Animal Crackers
A Global Education and Stewardship Resource for Children, Youth and Adults
Since 1944, Heifer has helped more than 18.5 million families
in more than 125 countries move toward greater self-reliance
through the gift of livestock and training in environmentally
sound agriculture. The impact of each initial gift is multiplied
as recipients agree to Pass on the Gift by giving one or more
of their animal’s offspring, or the equivalent, to another in
need. Heifer also provides opportunities for global education
to the many individuals and congregations whose generous
gifts make its work possible. Heifer is a member of InterAction
(American Council of Voluntary Action).
Heifer International works with many congregations around the
globe, including the following covenant agencies:
1. Church of the Brethren
2. Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)
3. Episcopal Relief and Development
4. Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
5. National Catholic Rural Life Conference
6. Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)
7. United Church of Christ, Wider Church Ministries
8. United Methodist Committee on Relief
1 World Avenue | Little Rock, AR 72202 | USA
888.5HUNGER | 888.548.6437 | www.heifer.org
Unless otherwise noted, Scripture quotations are from the
New Revised Standard Version of the Bible and are copyrighted
© 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National
Council of Churches of Christ in the U.S.A. and are used
by permission. Scripture quotations marked CEV are from
the Contemporary English Version of the Bible, copyright ©
American Bible Society, 1995.
Limited Reproduction Rights granted—Chapters, sections and
pages of this book may be reproduced for congregational,
group and individual use if appropriate credit is given.
Reviewers may quote brief passages in connection with a
review in a magazine or newspaper. Resale of any reproduction
of this book is prohibited.
To order additional copies of Animal Crackers Leader’s Guide,
phone 888.548.6437. Ask for item #RALGUID13.
© Heifer International, 1999
Revised 2013
Table of Contents
Introduction
What’s This Book About? How Can I Use This Resource?..........................................2
Key Questions People Ask About Heifer....................................................................3
The Heifer Cornerstones For Just And Sustainable Development.............................4-5
Heifer Inputs
Chickens • $20..................................................................................................6-9
Cows • $500..................................................................................................10-13
Fish • $20.....................................................................................................14-17
Goats • $120.................................................................................................18-21
Ask the
animals and
they will
teach you
—Job 12:7
Llamas • $150...............................................................................................22-25
Pigs • $120...................................................................................................26-29
Rabbits • $60................................................................................................30-33
Water Buffalo • $250......................................................................................38-41
Come and
take refuge
in my shade
Seedlings • $60.............................................................................................42-45
—Judges 9:15
Sheep • $120................................................................................................34-37
Water • $150.................................................................................................46-49
Global Education Curriculum
Preschool – Kindergarten.................................................................................50-53
Grades 1 – 3..................................................................................................54-57
Grades 4 – 6..................................................................................................28-61
Youth............................................................................................................. 62-69
Scripture Study..................................................................................................... 70-73
Small Group Discussions....................................................................................... 74-77
Resources
An Intergenerational Event...............................................................................78-79
Heifer Animal Information/Glossary.......................................................................80
Song/Hunger Facts..............................................................................................81
Fundraising Ideas.................................................................................................82
Heifer Foundation/Additional Resources................................................................83
Heifer Gift Ark......................................................................................................84
Gift Ark $5,000 Challenge....................................................................................85
Heifer Interpretive Resources...........................................................................86-89
Animal Crackers | Introduction
1
Animal Crackers
A Global Education and Stewardship Resource for Children, Youth and Adults
What’s This Book About?
This book is an educational resource to help children, youth
and adults see themselves as part of the global family
and gain a deeper appreciation of the ways in which Heifer
helps people, animals and plants live in harmony as God’s
good creation. It also includes a number of fundraising
ideas to support the work of Heifer International as we
work alongside families and communities to improve their
income, nutrition and standard of living.
There are two sections to this Leader’s Guide.
The first section of the book from pages
6 to 49 focuses on the livestock and other
resources provided to families by Heifer
International. This section contains facts
about the resources, stories from families,
photos and easy activities to energize and
increase awareness in your congregation.
The second section, pages 50 to 79 includes
lesson and activity plans for religious educators
and volunteers to use with students from preschool
to adult. The lesson plans and activities can be
used to complement and provide educational
content for Sunday School, weekday programs,
Vacation Bible School or small group studies.
How Can I Use This Resource?
2
1
With children (pages 50–61), youth (pages 62-69) and adults (pages 70-77) separately—or
together (pages 78-79)
2
As a complete set of lesson plans for a five–session Bible school, Sunday school, small
group ministry, weekday program or study group for children, youth and adults (pages 50-79)
3
As a resource for topics you may be studying in existing programs: People
(pages 50, 54, 58, 62) Animals (pages 51, 55, 59, 64) Land (pages 52, 56, 60, 66)
Giving (pages 53, 57, 61, 68)
4
As a source of material for “Moments for Mission” in worship, Sunday school
or other gathering (pages 6–49)
5
As a source for facts, stories, pictures and activities about Heifer animals and other inputs
(pages 6-49)
6
To interpret the mission of Heifer International (pages 3, 4-5)
7
To provide inspiration and ideas for raising funds to buy Heifer animals (pages 80-85)
www.heifer.org/AnimalCrackers
Key Questions
People Ask About Heifer
What’s so special about Heifer’s
approach to world hunger?
How did you get
started?
Heifer International is unique among nonprofit
organizations working around the world. What sets us
apart is our model. We only enter communities upon
invitation. We train project participants extensively and
on a host of topics that range from animal husbandry
to gender equity. But what really sets us apart is our
strategy of Passing on the Gift.® It’s an approach that
has evolved over our nearly seven decades of work.
Dan West, a youth leader and farmer,
was a relief worker during the Spanish
Civil War. Assigned to pass out
powdered milk to children on both
sides of the conflict, he grieved when
the supply of milk ran out with children
still waiting in line. He reasoned that
these people needed not a cup but
a cow. He challenged friends back
home to send heifers. And because he
believed that everyone who receives
should also experience the dignity
of giving, he conceived the idea of
Passing on the Gift. Every family who
receives a Heifer animal, he insisted,
should pass on one of their animal’s
offspring to someone else in need.
We live in a world that has become increasingly
interdependent and globalized. The quest to end hunger
and poverty requires sound community-based work
that builds social capital and business skills, as well
as knowledge that empowers the communities to take
appropriate actions to achieve sustainability. There is also
a global movement building coalitions of governments,
the private sector, organizations and foundations to find
more effective solutions to end poverty and hunger, which
creates new opportunities for Heifer to form partnerships.
Heifer International is committed to ending hunger and
poverty while caring for the Earth, and to living its core
values as a coherent, unified and strong organization
committed to providing deeper, more profound and
sustainable impact through all its programs and projects.
How big are you?
Heifer has programs that provide different kinds of food–
and income–producing animals in dozens of countries
on five continents. Since our founding in 1944, we have
supplied animals and the opportunity to become self–
reliant for food and income to families in more than 125
countries, including the United States. We’ve helped 18.5
million families directly and indirectly through Passing on
the Gift.
When I give to Heifer,
where does my money go?
To help the greatest number of families
move toward self-reliance, Heifer does
not use its limited resources to track gift
animals from donation to distribution.
Instead, your gift supports the entire
Heifer mission. We use your gift where
it can do the most good by combining
it with the gifts of others to help
transform entire communities. Heifer’s
unique community development model
assisted more than 1.9 million families
last year with gifts of animals, training
and Passing on the Gift. And, because
you are helping Heifer fight hunger and
poverty, your gift is tax deductible.
3
The Heifer Cornerstones
for Just and Sustainable Development
Passing on the Gift allows
families who received Heifer gifts
to become donors as they pass on
these gifts to other families in need.
Accountability means that
we are mutually accountable to the
communities we serve for how we
achieve common goals.
Sharing & Caring embodies
the belief that global problems can
be solved if everyone commits to
sharing resources and caring for
others.
Sustainability & Self-reliance
is the goal for families we work with
so that they will continue to thrive
after our support ends.
Improved Animal
Management means that project
participants learn how to keep their
animals safe, healthy and productive.
Nutrition & Income are the
rewards Heifer expects recipients
to reap from their gift animal
through the consumption and/
or sale of products such as milk,
eggs, cheese, honey and wool.
4
Gender & Family Focus
encourages women and men to
share in decision making as well
as in the benefits the animals and
training bring.
Genuine Need & Justice
ensures that those most in need
are given priority in receiving
animals and training.
Improving the Environment
through sustainable farming
techniques, reforestation and
tree-saving biogas is at the core
of our projects.
Full Participation is expected
by all participants. Leaders at the
grassroots level should involve all
members in decision making.
Training & Education are
key to ensuring that animals are
well cared for and that self-reliance
is achieved by project participants.
Spirituality is expressed in
common beliefs about the value
and meaning of all life, a sense of
connectedness to the Earth and a
shared vision of the future.
5
Heifer Chicks
Chicken
Checklist
M
any families around the world want Heifer chicks
because they give protein–rich eggs or meat to eat
or sell. They don’t take up a lot of space and adapt
well to different climates. Chickens aren’t expensive to feed,
either. They round out their diet by pecking at bugs, weeds
and seeds, and they improve the ground by scratching up the
soil with their sharp beaks and claws and fertilizing it with
their droppings.
To make the most of chickens’ natural habits, some project
partners keep their chickens in movable pens. In Asia, others
build the chicken house over the fishpond, so that their
droppings fertilize the underwater algae that fish like to eat.
Newly hatched chicks are good travelers because they can go
for 72 hours without food and water. In six months, the young
hens (pullets) are ready to lay eggs themselves.
6
$20
Flock
Fundraising Idea
Create a display or bulletin board
with the words “Put a Feather in
Our Caps!” Post enlarged photos
of church staff, Sunday school
class members or youth group
students wearing funny hats. As
funds are raised, staple feathers
onto the hats. (You can purchase
brightly colored feathers at a craft
store.) One feather = $1 toward
the purchase of chicks!
Conversation to
Change the World
A healthier
life in
Guatemala
Virginia Jimenez Mateo of
Laguna Verde, Guatemala,
had a difficult life. “The
only time I left my house
was to go to church,”
she said. With seven
children—all boys—she
struggled just to feed
and clothe them. Their meals consisted of beans, steamed broccoli or
carrots. They had to buy eggs from their neighbors every other day and
could only afford meat twice a month.
She found out about a Heifer women’s project in her area and
received 10 chickens. “I was very impressed that there was someone
out there who was willing to help take care of us,” she said. She also
received a goat, who gave birth to twins just two months later. Virginia
received a variety of trainings in animal care, building shelters for her
animals, Heifer’s 12 Cornerstones and gender equity. “No one can take
away the knowledge that we received,” she said.
The training sessions themselves have become important
opportunities for women to get to know each other. “Every time we get
together we invite other women to participate,” Virginia said. Men are
participating in trainings too, and the gender training is opening up their
minds. “Part of the training was teaching my children that they can do
anything a woman can do,” she said. This means she has more help
around the house, and their family has begun to thrive.
This project has changed her family in many ways, but the biggest
benefit has been their improved diet and nutrition. “If we want chicken
for lunch we can just grab one. We don’t have to save up the 100
quetzals ($13) to buy one. Now we have more variety,” said Virginia.
They raise their own chickens, so they no longer have to buy eggs, and
they can regularly eat omelets with herbs. They can also afford meat
once a week.
Better nutrition means that her sons are less susceptible to illness.
“I have noticed that my children aren’t as sick as before,” she said.
Virginia remembers that Mario had stomach problems. “He used to
get ill all the time,” she said. Her boys can focus more energy on their
school work. “We do still lack some resources, like money to buy the
things we need,” she said. But, “We are not poor because our bodies
are complete.”
Children
What kinds of foods did
Virginia’s family eat?
What kinds of food
do you like to eat?
How would you feel if you
weren’t able to eat your
favorite food very often?
Youth and Adults
Virginia says, “No one can
take away the knowledge
that we received.” Why
was it important that the
women’s group received
training in addition to the
chickens and goats?
How could this knowledge
help Virginia’s children
and future generations?
Animal Crackers | Heifer Input: Chicken
7
Chicks Activities
Decorate Eggs
Children in China get hard–boiled eggs
on their birthday, throwing the shells
in the river to wash away misfortune;
grownups delicately hand paint scenes
on blown eggs. Children in the USA hunt
for eggs—a sign of new life—at Easter. In
Russia, jeweled golden eggs were once given to the Tsar; now
in Ukraine* and Poland*, people of all ages make elaborately
painted pysanky. Try it for yourself.
Older Children
Materials
Hard-boiled eggs, white wax crayon, food coloring, paper towels,
clear acrylic spray, heating utensil such as iron, plate warmer or
electric skillet
Method
1. Draw a wax crayon design on a dry white egg; a tape
measure helps with straight lines (lines of eternity).
2. Dip egg evenly in lightest food color; dry.
3. Crayon over areas to remain lightest color;
dip in next darkest color; dry.
4. Repeat with progressively darker colors; dry.
5. Wipe off wax with heated paper towel wad.
6. Spray with acrylic to seal pores and add sheen.
Young Children
Materials
Tempera, paste, newspaper, string, egg–shaped balloons
Method
1. Tear newspaper into strips six inches long and ½ inch wide.
2. Inflate balloons, knot, tie on one yard of string.
3. Paste paper strips all over balloon; hang by string to dry
overnight.
4. Paint in bright colors; dry.
5. Spray with clear acrylic spray outdoors.
*Note: Heifer has supplied chickens to farm
families in Poland and to orphanages in Ukraine.
8
Compose a Prayer
Give thanks that God is like a mother
bird (Deuteronomy 32:11–12)
who cares for her young (Matthew
23:37). Through Heifer, we, too,
can demonstrate our care for all
members of God’s family.
Poultry Play
Use the information on page nine to
improvise a Heifer play that answers
the question, “Which came first—
the chicken or the egg?” Half the
groups are eggs (they wear hooded
sweatshirts or old pillowcases,
stuffed); the rest are chickens with
face–painted beaks and tails made
from bunched and fringed tissue
paper attached to a belt. Let the
debate between cracked eggs and
feather–brained chickens begin!
Chase the Chickens
(China)
Chicks (everyone except Hawk),
get in line with both hands on the
shoulders in front of them. Mother
Hen heads the line, twisting and
turning it this way and that as Hawk
darts at the last chick in line. Once
tagged, the last chick drops out.
Hawk goes for the next last chick
until all are caught.
Traditional
Proverbs
It’s one thing to cackle,
it’s another thing to lay
an egg. (Ecuador)
However full the house,
the hen finds a corner to
lay eggs. (Sierra Leone)
What Else Can We Do?
Do a chicken dance (step, step, dip, wiggle)
Rooster Riddle
Make up a story about Chicken BIG (see “Brain
Which came first—the chicken or the egg?
Teaser,” right)
Make chicken soup, deviled eggs or egg salad
sandwiches
See who can think of the most dishes you can
Answer: According to the Bible (Genesis
1:20), the chicken. Heifer agrees, usually
supplying chicks to families who may not
have equipment to incubate hatching eggs.
make with eggs
Make confetti eggs and open them to celebrate
when you reach your fundraising goal www.heifer.
org/blog/2012/12/confetti-eggs-new-year.html
Run an egg and spoon race
Make an egg carton and pipe–cleaner sculpture
Collect egg shells and sprinkle them around your
garden or potted plants
Make chick masks from paper plates,
construction paper and yarn
Read The Chicken and the Worm by Page McBrier,
available through shop.heifer.org
Play “Fox in the Hen House” (hide and seek)
Spin a hard–boiled egg, then a raw one on a
plate. What happens? Why?
Give many answers to the question, “Why did the
chicken cross the road?”
Make a “Fabergé” egg: decorate a Styrofoam egg
with sequins and beads.
Read God is Like a Mother Hen and Much, Much
More by Carolyn Stahl Bohler
Test Your Knowledge
1. A group of baby chickens is called a
____.
2. Chickens wear a ____ on top of their
head.
3. Chicken ____ makes you feel better
when you’re sick.
4. People in ____ began raising chickens
around 1400 B.C.
5. The ____ part inside an egg provides
food for the developing chick.
Answers: 1. brood 2. comb 3. soup
4. China 5. yellow (yolk)
Brain Teaser
One Heifer egg produces one hen that can
lay around 400 eggs during her lifetime;
half the eggs (200) will be cocks and half,
hens. If the 200 hens each lay 400 eggs
in their lifetime (80,000), and half are
given to adults, how many eggs are there
to provide hungry children with nutritious,
protein-rich food?
Answer: 40,000
Animal Crackers | Heifer Input: Chicken
9
Heifer Cows
Cow
Chronicle
10
C
ows are a sign of wealth in many countries, and moving
cows to seasonal pasture and water has been a way of
life for nomads since earliest times. Heifer dairy cows,
though, are usually zero–grazed: kept in a fenced area with
fodder carried to them. That way, they don’t wander, risking injury
and disease. Dairy cows are bred to give milk and can give four
or more gallons every day. Heifer partners value them highly
as suppliers of nourishing protein, so children grow strong and
healthy. Families can sell extra milk, butter, cheese or yogurt to
provide a steady income. They sell calves after the first heifer
(young female cow) is passed on to another family in need.
Heifer teaches farmers to plant special grasses and trees with
leaves cows like to eat. These plants hold water in the soil,
improving its quality. Cow manure is valuable because it is an
excellent crop fertilizer. Some cattle pull plows or other heavy
loads. Read more about cows at www.heifer.org/whencowsfly.
$500
Fundraising Idea
Set the cowbells ringing! A Heifer
cow costs $500. Monitor your
fundraising by ringing the largest
bell you can find every time you
receive $10. When you announce
the grand total, pass out many
small bells and let everyone ring
them in celebration.
One cow made
Big change
For Hakizimana Peter, Heifer’s
cows mean health and healing.
Peter, his wife and their children
survived the Rwandan genocide,
escaping on foot to Congo.
When they returned home, their
family farm had been destroyed.
Peter smiles widely when
he remembers the day he received his cow. “It was the happiest day for
me. It was like a wedding day,” he said. Peter named his heifer Seruka
Useka, which means “to come when laughing.” Seruka produced three
offspring for him, one bull and two heifers. The first heifer was passed on
to another family. Peter kept the second heifer and named her Byishimo,
“Happiness.” He also received seeds for animal fodder, veterinary
medicines and important minerals for his animal’s health.
The sales of the excess milk tripled the family income. They also sell
calves, roughly two per year. Eventually they earned enough to take loans
from the bank to purchase land for a tea plantation. Peter also planted
several crops, including beans and sorghum. Sales of the tea and crops
significantly increased the family’s income as well.
This dramatic change allowed all of the children to attend school.
The family has been able to rebuild their home, adding pipe water and
electricity to it. They have also bought a shop, guest house and additional
land. In addition to his Passing on the Gift requirement, Peter has given
away two pregnant heifers to neighbors who needed dairy cows.
Peter’s success has impacted his entire community. He employs 12
people on the tea plantation, one in the shop, two part-time workers, one
housekeeper and one watchman. When poorer families need milk, he
happily gives it to them for free. Before this Heifer project began, there
was no milk production. His example has caused others to buy quality
dairy cows, and now the village produces 150 gallons of milk every day.
Peter wants Heifer to expand their projects throughout Rwanda.
“Heifer hasn’t reached everywhere in the country. I want everyone to
reach the same level of development as me.” He continued, “We trust
Heifer. The farmers know that when they get a cow from Heifer it will be
very productive.”
There are several things that ensure Heifer’s projects will succeed.
“Before Heifer places animals, they train the farmers,” said Peter. Heifer
also monitors the farmers and provides guidance when needed. “The
good thing with Heifer is they do follow up,” he said.
Conversation to
Change the World
Children:
A cow made a big change
for Peter's family. What are
small things that you can
do for others to give them
big joy?
Make a list and try to do
some of those things this
week!
Youth and Adults
The gifts of training and
livestock sparked an
entrepreneurial spirit
within Peter and his family
that affected their entire
community. Discuss other
examples of small actions
or gifts that had big results.
Why do you think Peter’s
family was able to achieve
success? How can you
apply those things to your
life?
Animal Crackers | Heifer Input: Cow
11
Cow Activities
Compose a Prayer
Wear a Cow Face
Young Children
Use face paint to paint cow faces directly on children’s
faces. Cows have big eyelashes and broad noses.
Older Children
Materials
Children’s plastic sun visors and 20-millimeter wiggle
eyes from a crafts store, construction paper, glue
Method
1. Wiggle eyes: glue two to top center of visor.
2. Ears: cut two paper spoon shapes and glue on
each side of visor.
3. Horns: cut two large paper banana shapes; glue to
top underside of visor bill between eyes and ears.
4. Nostrils: cut two small paper banana shapes and
glue to visor rim.
Youth
Paint black patches on white plastic visors.
Wave a Fly Whisk
Make African-style fly swatters to wave at fundraising
celebrations.
Materials
Unsharpened natural wood pencils, tan raffia, rubber
bands, scissors, glue
Method
1. Cut raffia (or string) in pieces the length of two
pencils.
2. Bundle 12 strands, fold in half, bind tightly with
rubber band at one end.
3. Snip raffia at folded top; glue pencil top and poke
well into the bundle.
12
Cows are symbols of blessing
(Deuteronomy 7:13) and well being
(Leviticus 3:1). Heifer cows bless families
and build peace in communities.
Pet Poor Bossie
Everyone sits in a circle with Bossie inside.
Bossie kneels before someone and says,
“Mooooo,” butting him with her head up to
three times. He must stroke Bossie’s head
and say “Poor Bossie!” three times without
laughing, or he takes Bossie’s place.
C
Make Barnyard Banks
Use an empty potato chip canister or
tennis ball can to make a round silo
and an empty cardboard box to make a
rectangular barn. Measure and cut paper
to cover the sides of the can completely;
draw barn or silo design on it (or just
glue black Holstein patches on white
paper cut to fit) and tape to can. Cut a
slit in the plastic lid to insert money.
The Chief Commands (Africa)
Everyone sits in a circle with the
chief seated in the middle, holding
a fly whisk. The chief may then give
directions to the group saying, “The
chief commands (stand, kneel, jump,
etc.).” Everyone does the action called
for unless the chief fails to say, “The
chief commands” first. If mistakes are
made, the individual must step out of
the circle and sit down. The last person
standing becomes the next chief.
Traditional
Proverbs
I have a cow in the sky,
but I cannot drink her
milk. (Ethiopia)
The cow is as good as
the pasture in which she
grazes. (Ethiopia)
Hold an “I Can Moo Louder Than You!”
contest
Make butter: shake chilled whipping cream
10 minutes in a covered glass jar
Bring cowhide and cow novelty items for
show and tell
Make a list of all the foods you can make
with milk
Read Faith the Cow by Susan Bame Hoover,
available at shop.heifer.org
Cow Riddle
Do you know which animals were given in
the first Heifer project?
Answer: Why COWS, of course! Seventeen
cows were given to malnourished families
in Puerto Rico in 1944. Learn more about
the cowboys who accompanied them at
www.heifer.org/ourwork/cowboys.
Whip up milk shakes or smoothies with
your favorite flavorings. Try these great
recipes, www.heifer.org/blog/2012/07/easymilkshakes-a-kid-can-make.html
Act out the Bible story of Pharaoh’s dream
about cows (Genesis 41:14–45)
Take a blindfolded taste test. Identify
samples of milk products on crackers
Guess what you call chuckling cows
(Laughingstock)
Make cheese. Learn how at www.heifer.org/
blog/2012/05/when-life-hands-you-milkmake-cheese.html
Test Your Knowledge
1. A group of cows is called a ____
2. Cows, bulls, steers, heifers, calves
and oxen are all ____.
3. Cows swallow and chew their food ____
times.
4. Methane gas for cooking and lighting
comes from cow ____.
5. The first Heifer cow helped hungry
people in Puerto Rico in 19____.
Answers: 1. herd 2. cattle 3. two (they
are ruminants who chew cud) 4. manure
5. 1944
Brain Teaser
If a cow gives an average of seven gallons
of milk a day for nine months (273 days),
how much milk does she get? How much in
eight years (2,184 milking days)?
Answers: 1,911 gallons; 15,288 gallons
Animal Crackers | Heifer Input: Cow
13
Heifer Fish
Fish
Findings
14
N
ext to agriculture, fishing is the world’s most important
food source. At least 100 billion pounds of fish are caught
every year, and the demand continues to grow. Fish farming,
when it doesn’t pollute water or compete with humans for grain,
can help. Heifer partners grow fish in freshwater ponds they build
themselves. They feed them crop residue like rice husks, and they
often build rabbit hutches or chicken houses over the water, so the
droppings will help grow pond algae for fish to eat. Project partners
catch their fish—often tilapia—with nets rather than fishing poles.
One fish with rice and vegetables makes a family meal with none left
over—important where there is no refrigeration. Families can also sell
fish to neighbors. With a 40-foot by 50-foot pond stocked with Heifer
fingerlings (fish under one year old), a family can earn six to eight
times as much as with a rice crop. Heifer aquaculture is small–scale,
self–sustainable farming that helps give a satisfying quality of life.
$20
Fundraising Idea
Drape a net over a small
rowboat or a rubber dinghy
(volleyball net is fine). Toss in
a construction paper fish for
every dollar you raise. Make
a sign that reads “A Great
Catch—Heifer Fish, $1 each!”
No boat? Pin or tape the net
on a wall or bulletin board.
Teaching his
neighbor to fish
As a Heifer participant in Tanzania,
Nicholas Mwakabele built ponds
and saw the benefits of raising
Nile tilapia. His family ate well and
grew healthier, and soon neighbors
heard of his project and came
around to check it out. He trained
fellow villagers on fish farming and
gave away countless fingerlings.
He began to earn a profit, despite
all the fish he gave away.
One of those villagers was
Wailos, whose last name,
Nzalayalyuma, translates to “I’m
feeling hungry” in Swahili. Wailos is blind. He stopped Nicholas on
the bridge to beg for a meal. “I told Nicholas, ‘I’m hearing stories
you are raising fish. I’m begging for some few fish for a meal today,’”
Wailos said.
But Nicholas had a better idea. Instead, he helped Wailos build
his own fish pond and then donated fish fingerlings to him so he
could grow his own and never be hungry again. The two continue to
work side by side as fish farmers in the community.
Yet not everyone was pleased. The government water authority
heard about Nicholas and his ponds and came stomping up, saw
the pooled water and demanded he stop.
“I was arrested and thrown in jail,” Mwakabele said. “They said I
was wasting the water. But it was their ignorance. I told them that I
was not using the water in a bad way, but instead was conserving it.
“I told them, go ahead, put me in jail, but I will not stop the fish
farming because I am not wasting water.”
He sat in jail for several days, then was sentenced to community
service, as if giving away tens of thousands of fish fingerlings and
training his neighbors in a sustainable business was not service
enough.
Heifer’s Tanzania Country Director came to his rescue, educating
the government on the conservation benefits of the project. Within a
year, the same district officials who tossed him in jail built him a fish
pond worth $5,000 on his land.
Conversation to
Change the World
Children
How did Nicholas help
Wailos? How can we
help others in need?
Youth and Adults
Nicholas was arrested for
wasting water, a precious
resource in his community.
Have you ever been mistreated
or punished for what you
thought was the right choice?
Were you able to bring others
to see your point of view?
Who or what helped you?
Animal Crackers | Heifer Input: Fish
15
Fish Activities
Compose a Prayer
Make a Fish Mobile
Materials
Coat hanger, sewing thread/
needle, colored paper strips
six inches or more long by
one inch wide, sequins
Method
1. Slit opposite sides
of paper strips an
inch or more from
each end.
2. Make a fish by inserting one slit into the other.
3. Suspend a sequin fish eye from a length of thread
to fit inside the fish shape and stitch thread to
inside top of fish’s head.
4. Suspend fish from coat hanger/other fish with
lengths of thread.
Create a Watery World
Materials
Shoebox, watercolor paint, sandpaper, tissue paper,
cellophane, shells, pebbles, netting, sequins, glitter,
fabric or paper scraps, glue
Method
1. Turn shoebox on its side; glue sandpaper (or
sand), shells and pebbles to inside bottom.
2. Cover rest of inside with blue tissue, or paint
underwater design.
3. Glue sequins and fish–shaped fabric scraps to
inside back of shoebox.
4. Glue netting and tissue paper streamers to hang
from inside top.
5. Sprinkle glitter and cover the open front with shiny
cellophane.
16
Are we giving the world’s children a stone
when they ask for a fish (Matthew 7:10)?
Jesus told his disciples to fish on the
other side of the boat (John 21:1–9). How
might we need to change our life habits,
so there is plenty of food for everyone?
Catch a Fish
Materials
Small wading pool, construction paper,
24 inch strings, ¼ inch dowels or
twigs, magnetic tape, paper clips
Method
1. Make fishing rod: attach a dowel to
one end of a string and a magnet to
the other.
2. Make paper fish: cut out twice as many
fish shapes as you have dowels; attach
paper clip to the mouth of each.
3. Place fish in dry wading pool and let
anglers test their skill.
4. Promote with posters that say, “Get
Hooked on Heifer Fish!” and “Don’t
Let This Be the One That Got Away!”
Bite the Carp’s Tail (Vietnam)
To become the carp, all children form a
line, each holding the other’s waist. The
leader, pulling the line behind, tries to
catch and hold the last person in line, who,
in turn, tries to pull the line the other way.
Traditional
Proverbs
A big fish is caught with
big bait. (Sierra Leone)
A bird’s strength is in its
feathers; a fish’s strength
is in its scales. (Indonesia)
Hold an outdoor fish fry and invite people with
whom you don’t normally interact
Borrow a fish tank with real fish in it
Invite a fisherman to demonstrate how to catch
and clean a fish
Sing all the songs you know that mention fish
Make fish faces: top feeders—raise bottom
jaw; middle feeders—keep mouth even; bottom
feeders—lower jaw
See how many different fish you can name;
compare with an encyclopedia
Play “Upset the Fish Bowl”: use salmon, halibut,
marlin, etc., instead of fruit
Find out why the fish is a symbol for the church
Sponsor a swim contest—for all ages and
abilities
Blow up balloons, add fins, scales, eyes with
markers; add a tissue paper tail
Read Psalm 8 out loud together
Fish Riddle
Why do people say,“That’s fishy!” when
something sounds suspicious?
Answer: Because it sounds too good
to be true (smells bad). But it is true
that a Heifer fish pond can supply
more than a family’s protein needs.
Test Your Knowledge
1. If you have a backbone, gills and
...... blood, you are a fish.
2. A group of fish is called a .......
3. Aquaculture is (a) underwater
etiquette (b) aftershave (c) fish
farming.
4. Fish help control malaria and
yellow fever by eating ....... eggs.
5. Do fish lay eggs?
Answers: 1. cold 2. school 3. fish
farming 4. mosquito 5. Yes
Play Chinese Checkers, using fish-shaped
crackers for markers
Cut sponges in fish shapes, dip in tempera and
print on art or rice paper
Watch Finding Nemo
Read Swimmy, a children’s book by Leo Lionni
that has a lesson for all ages
Brain Teaser
A farmer stocked his pond with 10
pounds of young Heifer tilapia. The fish
grew three pounds a week. How many
pounds of fish did he have when he
harvested them after 24 weeks?
Answer: 82 pounds
Animal Crackers | Heifer Input: Fish
17
Heifer Goats
Goat
Grapevine
18
P
eople around the world love goats—for good reason. Goats
do well on rocky, unproductive land, browsing on weeds and
brush other animals can’t eat. They produce rich, nutritious
milk—usually four quarts a day—that can be made into cheese
and yogurt. Goats’ milk is often prescribed for children who can’t
digest cow’s milk. Heifer partners usually keep their goats in
roomy zero–grazing pens, carrying fodder and water to them. That
way, goats’ sharp hooves won’t damage fragile terrain, and they
don’t risk injury and disease. Since goats are hardy and adapt
well to different climates, the only shelter needed is protection
from rain, wind and cold. With a Heifer goat a family can expect
two kids a year. After passing on a female to another family in
need, these offspring can be an ongoing source of income for
school fees, medicine, clothing and home improvement. And all
for about one–sixth of what it would cost to keep a cow. Read
more at www.heifer.org/whencowsfly/?t=goats.
$120
Fundraising Idea
On a large piece of poster board,
outline a sharp–peaked mountain
(triangle); at the tip, draw a stick–
figure goat. Draw dotted lines
across the mountain, dividing it
into 12 sections—mark each one
to represent $10. For every $10
you receive, color in a section of
the mountain. Make up a caption,
such as, “We're Not Kidding!
$120 Gets the Goat!"
Goat in
Bangladesh
Anjuara Begum was born into a
poor family, as was her husband.
Together they lived in a small
village in Bangladesh’s Natore
district. After years of struggling,
Anjuara heard of a Heifer project
that was giving goats and chickens
to families. After joining the project,
she spent the first year in training
in vegetable growing, Heifer’s
Cornerstones, improved animal
management, and Gender and
Justice.
Anjuara was given two goats and 10 chickens from Heifer. She
also received olive and mango saplings, vegetable seeds, and
building material to make poultry cages. “When I saw my goats I
was worried because they were so small,” she said. These small
goats proved to be healthy and very fertile. In the past three
years they have produced 25 kids. Anjuara has sold 19 and given
six away as gifts. She used her new income to purchase two
cattle and lease almost an acre of land to grow lentils, rice and
wheat, which they eat and sell. “I want to lease more land and
buy beef cattle. I will use the money I earn from this to buy my
own land,” she said.
Anjuara’s diet has improved along with her income. “We have
experienced a lot of changes in terms of nutrition and income,”
she said. Typically she ate only once or twice a day before this
project started, and her meals were mostly rice with a wild
vegetable. She was only able to eat meat once per year. Now she
eats three meals per day with rice and multiple vegetables, and
she can afford meat times three per week and fish five times a
week.
This project has greatly improved Anjuara’s village. “We know
how to better use our resources,” she said. Beyond the physical
impacts of this project there has also been an important mental
shift. “Women are more aware of the environment, nutrition and
income, and are more confident to speak in public,” said Anjuara.
“Women have become more active in decision making. ”Heifer’s
trainings taught villagers about proper food and family hygiene.
“Every household is now cleaner,” she said. Homes and sheds
are now cleaned daily to prevent the spread of disease.
Conversation to
Change the World
Children
How do you feel when
you are hungry and you’re
not sure what is going to
happen next? How do you
act? What do you do?
Youth and Adults
The goats weren’t the
only things that changed
in Anjuara’s life or in her
village. What were some
of the things that were
different after participating
in a Heifer project?
How did the goats serve as
motivation for those changes?
Adults
Anjuara spoke of a change in
her village, as a result of the
Heifer project. The goats are
the most tangible change,
but they served as a catalyst
for other changes. Why do
you think that is the case?
How do you feel about this?
Animal Crackers | Heifer Input: Goat
19
Goat Activities
Compose a Prayer
Easiest Goat Ever
Materials
Two clothespins, one craft stick, ½ pipe
cleaner, spray paint
Method
Body and legs: clip craft stick between
two clothespins, leaving about two inches
protruding at one end. Horns: twist
pipe cleaner around stick, an inch from
protruding end; curl ends. Spray paint all
over. Add your own touches: neck ribbon
and bell, turned–up tail, wiggle eyes,
child’s name, etc.
Mountain goats and all animals are
attuned to the pulse of life on this planet
as God intends (Job 39:1–4). How can we
show respect for God’s good creation and
humbly join the dance (Psalm 147:7–11)?
Scripture Search
Goats were an important part of
life in biblical times. These verses
explain how: Exodus 26:7; 2
Chronicles 17:11; Proverbs 27:26–7;
Matthew 9:17; Hebrews 11:37.
Put On a Play
Improvise a play inspired by the
traditional tale of “The Three Billy Goats
Gruff.” What trolls might prevent the
goats from crossing the bridge from the
land of Poverty to the land of Plenty.
Indifference? Greed? Confusion? Assign
everyone a group—any number of goats,
trolls, Plentylanders or Povertylanders.
Let groups design their own costumes
from items they find themselves.
Play Goat Tag
In a large room or outdoor area,
scatter carpet squares or flattened
cardboard boxes. The Kids leap or
run from square to square. The Goat
can only tag them while they’re on the
ground or in the air. Once tagged, a Kid
becomes a Goat, until no Kids are left.
20
Traditional
Proverbs
Do not cook the goat’s
young in the goat’s milk.
(Baguirmi)
Because someone has
injured your goat, don’t go
out and kill his ox. (Kenya)
Measure daily milk output: village
goats—one cup; Heifer goats—one
gallon
Use washable markers to draw Indian
lacy patterns (mehndi) on your palms
Examine goat products like Moroccan
leather, cashmere sweaters and mohair
scarves
Read about the jealous brother who
wanted a goat feast (Luke 15:25–32)
Sample goat cheeses (chevre) on apple
or pear slices with pine nuts
Find out why we say we handle difficult
things and people “with kid gloves”
Read Give a Goat, by Jan West Schrock,
available at shop.heifer.org
Make a goat sock puppet with button
eyes, yarn beard and felt ears
Animal Wisdom
Goats are so popular in Africa that every
youngster knows lots of goat proverbs. See if
you can guess the western equivalent of these:
1. If the first goat goes lame, those that follow
won’t reach the pasture.
2. When a poor person’s goat is about to kid,
needs multiply.
3. The doe that bears six kids feeds them, too.
Try making up your own goat proverbs from
familiar Western ones.
Answers: 1. One bad apple ruins the barrel
2. Don’t count your chickens before your eggs
are hatched 3. God will provide
Test Your Knowledge
1. We call them Billy and Nanny, but,
really, they are a buck and a ____.
2. The long, silky hair of the Angora
goat produces ____ yarn.
Brain Teaser
If a Heifer goat produces four quarts of milk
a day, for 250 days of the year, how much
milk will a project partner have to supply
his or her family, a baby goat and to sell?
Hint: Four quarts = one gallon
Answer: One ton…that’s 250 gallons of
milk!
3. Do goats eat tin cans?
4. Since goats are ruminants, they chew
their ____ like cows.
5. Heifer goats are the (a) most (b) least
requested animal.
Answers: 1. doe 2. mohair 3. no, but they
might nibble on the label out of curiosity
4. cud 5. most
Animal Crackers | Heifer Input: Goat
21
Heifer Llamas
Llama
Lessons
22
D
omesticated and selectively bred for gentle nature and fine fiber by
the Incas 6,000 years ago, llamas are intelligent, serene creatures.
They are sometimes called “camels of the clouds” because they
are essential to indigenous people in the high plains of Bolivia, Ecuador
and Peru. Llamas are valuable because their two–toed feet with padded
soles are kind to fragile terrain. They are sure–footed in rocky, steep places,
and their thick coats protect them from harsh weather. Since they require
little water and browse on twigs, moss and brush, they are easier on the
environment than other livestock. Baby llamas run with the herd an hour
after birth and double their weight in the first month. Llamas live around
15–20 years and can weigh 280–450 pounds. In Bolivia, llamas are the
subject of indigenous people’s songs, dances and stories. Heifer is helping
to upgrade their stock, thus preserving their culture. Besides being hardy
pack animals, llamas supply wool, hides, rope, candle fat and manure
pellets for fuel. They easily carry loads one–third their weight over long
distances. With intelligence and sharp vision, llamas are excellent guards for
sheep and cattle. Learn more about llamas at www.heifer.org/whencowsfly.
$150
Fundraising
Idea
Llamas love to out
climb each other,
so hold a “Leaping
Llamas Hike for
Heifer” with sponsors.
Trek up a hill or a
mountain, if possible.
Llama gives
benefit
Raul Pachani and his wife, Jacinta
Quispe live in the Andes mountains in
Bolivia where they farm potatoes with
their three sons. Jacinta remembers
the day they received their two llamas
(one male and one female). “We
were really, really excited. My children
were especially happy. They love the
llamas,” said Jacinta. “The llamas are
now part of our family, and they are
spoiled by my children. The children
love to take care of them.” Llamas
can give lots of benefits to the family,
including wool, meat and manure.
Many farmers in Bolivia no longer
know how to raise llamas. Raul and
Jacinta saw this as an opportunity
to regain part of their heritage as
Ayamara people. “The trainings have
helped us to regain the knowledge of
our grandparents,” said Jacinta.
Jacinta has learned many things
through the Heifer trainings. The llama
husbandry training taught her how to
feed and care for their animals. Raul
and Jacinta learned how to make
organic pesticides to protect the
fragile altiplano environment.
Jacinta and Raul have found that adding manure to their field has
made the potato plants stronger, and the tubers have doubled in size.
Before the project, they got eight small potatoes per vine, but now they
get 10 large ones: a 150 percent increase. There are also fewer of the
bad worms that eat potatoes.
“The most important thing I learned was how to share with my
community. I can see that through Passing on the Gift my community
is developing,” said Jacinta. Her family received pass-on animals, and
soon they will be able to pass on. “We have been responsible with
what Heifer has given us and the tasks we have been asked to do. We
will Pass on the Gift because we want to see other families benefit.”
Conversation to
Change the World
Children
Have you ever been to the
top of a high mountain? If so,
what did you notice about the
scenery?
Why must people take extra
care of mountain land?
Youth
Raul and Jacinta were able to
regain a part of their heritage
when they began taking care of
the llamas. Why is it important
to connect to our past?
What are “gifts" that have
been passed to you from your
parents, grandparents or older
friends?
Adults
It was important to Raul and
Jacinta that they could raise
llamas as their ancestors did
and that they could share this
with their sons. How can we
help younger generations to
connect to their heritage?
How do we encourage youth
to stay engaged in their
congregations as a religious
heritage?
Animal Crackers | Heifer Input: Llama
23
Llama Activities
Make a Poncho
Children in many Latin American countries wear
brilliantly colored woven ponchos or knitted ones in
natural llama wool colors of brown, black, grey and buff.
Materials
Squares (36 inches or to fit children) of brightly colored
fabric; or cream–colored cotton, brown and black
marking pens, scissors
Method
1. Cut a square of colorful fabric, fold in half into a
triangle.
2. Make a right–angle slit in the center of the fold for
head opening.
3. If plain fabric is used, draw border design and llama
silhouettes with black and brown markers.
4. Fringe edges with scissors.
Compose a Prayer
Be glad that all things on Earth are
created to live in joy and harmony
(Psalm 32:11). Ask that the small
steps we take to reconcile animals,
land and people may bring us closer
to the heart of God (Psalm 104).
Play Leapin’ Llamas
(older children)
Hold a llama–style sack race (llamas
are herd animals and like to stay
together). Wearing sacks, racers run
as a team and all must cross the
finish line together. The goal is to beat
the clock, not the other players.
Play ”Is Your Mama a
Llama?” (younger children)
Paint a Mural
Preparation
Review pictures of life in the Andes from encyclopedias,
National Geographic and World Ark (www.heifer.org/
media/world-ark/archives/2012/august). Plan the
mural design and assign a section to each participant.
Materials
Roll of butcher paper, tempera paint and brushes,
crayons, chalk, markers
Method
1. Arrange a long piece of paper on wall or floor; with
chalk, mark the mountain horizon and a section for
each muralist to complete.
2. Artists make first sketches in chalk; everyone
discusses composition.
3. Artists fill in color and details.
24
Whisper to each child the name of
a familiar animal, including a llama.
Choose one child to be Baby Llama
who goes around asking each one,
“Is your mama a llama?” The answer
is, “No, she’s a goat,” etc., until Baby
Llama finds the secret llama, who
says, “Yes!” and hugs Baby Llama.
Mama Llama then becomes Baby
Llama, and the game begins again.
Traditional
Proverb
Progress should not gallop like a
horse, but move at the pace of the
people like a llama. (Bolivia)
Listen to Andean flute music
Examine the area where you live: is it rocky,
fragile, green—or paved?
Hike the nearest mountain trail or trek to the
local park
Gather samples of all the things llamas like
to eat
Check to see if there’s a llama farm
anywhere near you. If so, visit it.
Knit and sell Bolivian—style woolly caps with
earflaps and tassels
Llamas spit when annoyed; hold a bubble–
blowing contest
Read the Inca version of Noah’s Flood in
How the Llama Saved the Day: A Story from
Peru
Read Is Your Mama a Llama? by Deborah
Guarino
Learn how to dye yarn with food coloring, go
to www.heifer.org/blog/2013/01/how-todye-yarn-with-food-coloring.html
Test Your Knowledge
1. A baby llama is called a (a) creole
(b) cria (c) cry baby.
2. Smaller cousins of llamas with finer
wool are vicunas and ____.
3. Llamas settle disputes by spitting:
True or False?
4. As modified ruminants, llamas chew
their ____ like cattle.
5. Llamas provide cultural identity to
the indigenous people in ____.
Answers: 1. cria 2. alpacas 3. True
4. cud 5. Bolivia
Brain Teaser
Each year when a llama is shorn, it
produces eight pounds (128 ounces)
of wool. The project partner makes two
ponchos using 32 ounces of wool for
each and a cap and sweater using 24
ounces. How much wool is left to sell in
the market?
Answer: 40 ounces
Animal Crackers | Heifer Input: Llama
25
Heifer Pigs
Pig
Portrait
E
ven though some cultures don’t eat pork, pigs are still
among the world’s most popular animals. There’s a
good reason: pigs (or hogs) are highly efficient meat
producers. One mother pig (sow) usually produces two litters
of 10 babies a year. Weighing only three pounds at birth, at six
months pigs may weigh 200 pounds and are ready for market.
Traditional pigs require more food to achieve fewer results than
Heifer crossbred pigs. Families with Heifer pigs often find they
can double their income. And there are plenty of offspring to
pass on to others in need. Heifer pigs are kept in clean, shady
pens and fed carefully. They do not compete with humans for
food and can even eat some vegetable waste. In return, they
produce manure to enrich the vegetable garden, body-building
protein meat to supplement a rice or beans diet, and money for
family income.
26
$120
Fundraising Idea
Kiss a pig! Set your fundraising goal
and challenge a dignitary to kiss a pig
when you reach it. Add incentives to
double or triple your goal. One school
principal wore a tuxedo and carried
a bouquet of vegetables; a pastor
wore her best white silk suit. No pig?
No problem! Maintain the suspense,
but ask the most dignified person
you know to play the part, wearing
appropriate porker headgear.
Pigs Inspire
Self-Confidence
Jane Bangao-Lutong was widowed
when her children were very young.
A resident of Maggon, in northern
Philippines, Jane suffered many
hardships and raised three children
amidst a life of want and poverty.
She was insecure and kept to
herself. Jane only completed the
fifth grade, but worked hard to
ensure her children received an
education.
Jane supported her family by growing rice and a few vegetables.
She and her children would occasionally work as farm laborers
when possible, to add more income. However, Jane’s life began to
change when she learned about a Heifer project.
“Things happened so fast in that workshop, I realized I have
imprisoned myself all these years in self-pity and insecurities,”
she says. “That was when I realized I should get out of my shell
and develop my self-confidence; this Heifer project is the perfect
opportunity.” Jane also attended other skills trainings, such as
improved animal management, savings and loan management,
organic farming, values-based planning, and community-managed
disaster risk reduction planning.
Jane finally received her gifts from Heifer. “I received one female
pig, fruit tree seedlings and assorted vegetable seeds for kitchen
gardening." Barely 10 months after receiving gifts from Heifer, Jane
was able to sell eight of the pig’s offspring. “I sold eight of them
and I still have one left in preparation for my pass on. I am again
taking care of three piglets, which my mother pig gave me for the
second time.”
Because of her participation in training, Jane has taken on
leadership roles in her community. She is a clerk in the community
sales terminal and leads the monitoring of family and livestock in
her group for reporting. She recently had the opportunity to present
some of their work to the Secretary of Agriculture of the Philippines.
Growing from a reserved mother into a community leader, Jane
is now gaining the respect of her fellow partner families as she is
empowered to lead others by example. She has honed her skills
and developed her leadership capabilities, not only for her benefit,
but in service of the community.
Conversation to
Change the World
Children
What does a pig look like?
Why do you think Jane liked to
have her pigs?
If you had a farm, what animals
would you like to have?
Youth
Sometimes it’s easy to think
only of our problems and
withdraw from our friends and
family. What are ways that you
can stay connected with your
community?
How can you help others who
may be struggling?
Adults
Jane struggled for many years
and refused to reach out to
others. What are ways that
your congregation or community
reach out and provide support
to struggling families?
How can you keep people from
“slipping through the cracks?"
Animal Crackers | Heifer Input: Pig
27
Pig Activities
Compose a Prayer
Prepare Popcorn Pigs
Materials
Popcorn, 1¼ cup sugar, ½ cup light corn syrup,
½ cup water, pink food coloring, 3 teaspoons butter,
wax paper, candy thermometer, gumdrops, toothpicks
Method
1. Pop corn; keep warm.
2. Mix sugar, corn syrup, water, food coloring and
butter until dissolved.
3. Cook without stirring until 270 degrees.
4. Pour syrup over warm popcorn; form egg–shaped
balls by hand.
5. When dry, attach gumdrop eyes, nose and ears;
make legs and tail with toothpicks.
Carve an Apple Head Pig
Materials
Pared apples, one cup water with one teaspoon salt,
craft sticks, knife, Styrofoam block
Method
1. Carve a pig face on the apple with round protruding
wrinkled nose, wide–apart, deep–set eyes and a
pointed ear on each side.
2. Poke a craft stick into the “neck” and dip apple
into salted water to prevent browning.
3. Stand stick in Styrofoam and allow carving to dry
two to four weeks.
4. When dry, paint with watercolors or markers;
preserve with shellac.
28
Romans 14:17–19 reminds us that
we can be peacemakers through
the everyday choices we make. We
need God’s help to see when we
are enjoying the good life at the
expense of others (Hosea 12:6–8).
Play “What’s the Question?”
Preparation: Provide appropriate
costumes for a TV talk show with host,
Old MacDonald; and guests, Miss
Piggy, Porky Pig, Wilbur and Babe.
Write questions on index cards, place
in envelopes on which answers to the
questions are written; seal, place in
mason jar.
Presentation: Guests attempt to find
questions to answers “psychically
revealed” by the host, who then opens
the envelope and reads questions.
Sample quiz questions . . . add your own.
Q: What do you call a dull, tiresome pig?
A: A boar
Q: What do you get if you teach a pig
karate?
A: Karate chops
Q: What do you call pigs that tell tales?
A: Squealers
Q: What do you call it when hogs do
their laundry?
A: Hogwash
Q: What do you call a pig in a pine tree?
A: Porcupine
Bible
Proverb
Do not throw your pearls before swine,
or they will trample them underfoot and
turn and maul you. (Matthew 7:6)
Try touching noses to communicate, the way pigs
do
Bring piggy banks from home to show and tell
Make a pig from a whole potato; use toothpick
for legs, clove eyes, bay leaf ears
Wear a pig snout—small paper cup secured with
elastic around your head
Publicize your pig project with a dialogue in "Pig
Latin" (igPay atinLay)
Pigs have a strong sense of smell. Identify some
common foods blindfolded.
Advertise your pig project by asking teens to give
preschoolers piggyback rides
Grunt a song tune and see if your friends can
guess it
Sculpt a pig: draw one on a soap bar; carve it out
with a paring knife
Incise a pig on the cut half of a potato; print on
tissue with tempera paint
Sample ham cubes, ham salad and cocktail
wieners on crackers
Read Pigs! Under the Post Office? By Krista Van
Aken
Pig Riddle
Is it true that “You can’t make a
silk purse out of a sow’s ear?"
Answer: Maybe, but Heifer sows
are much more than a purse.
They’re a whole piggy BANK!
Test Your Knowledge
1. Pigs wallow in mud to (a) make a
mess (b) cool off (c) find food.
2. What kind of hogs do you see on the
highway?
3. Baby pigs can gain over 100 pounds
in three months: True or False?
4. A group of pigs born one at a time is
called a ____.
5. Income from the sale of ____ shoat
(young male) can double a family’s
income in Ecuador.
Answers: 1. cool off 2. Road hogs
3. True 4. litter 5. one
Brain Teaser
If a sow produces 16 pigs a year and all
reach market weight of 200 pounds, how
many pounds of meat does she produce?
Answer: Assuming all parts of the pig
are eaten, 3,200 pounds. People in many
countries use almost the entire animal
for food; since meat is rare, they serve
small portions to supplement a basically
carbohydrate diet.
Animal Crackers | Heifer Input: Pig
29
Heifer Rabbits
Rabbit
Report
30
S
ome families don’t have land for larger animals or time to
manage them. Rabbits can be kept beside the house, or on
the back porch out of rain and wind. All they need is a shady,
uncrowded hutch off the ground, with straw or a box for the doe
to make her nest. Rabbits can eat readily available garden and
vegetable waste so they aren’t costly to raise. In return, Heifer rabbits
supply families with high–protein, low–fat meat in the right amount
for homes that don’t have refrigerators. Best of all, since rabbits
reproduce so fast—up to 30 offspring a year—there’s a steady
supply of nutrition and income. Heifer provides project partners
with a buck and two does. Since a doe produces a litter after only
31 days of pregnancy, and she can have four litters of eight to 10 a
year, families benefit in a short time. Besides meat, they can give fur,
hides and nitrogen–rich manure to enrich vegetable gardens or fish
farms, and extra income for children’s schoolbooks and uniforms.
Read more about rabbits at heifer.org/whencowsfly/?t=rabbits.
$60
Fundraising Idea
Turn your church hall into
a restaurant called Mr.
McGregor’s Garden. Decorate
with clay pots and baskets of
fruit, flowers and vegetables.
Use gardening tools to serve
salads. Tell the youngest
patrons the story of Peter
Rabbit.
Rabbits Ensure a Better Life
Beso Kakhelashvili lives in a typical village in Georgia called
Kumisi. Beso received his rabbit family in a Passing on the Gift
ceremony from his neighbor Nodar. “Nodar’s family lives right next
door to us. I could see how rapidly his farm grew and what benefits
it brought to the family,” Beso said. Ten four-month-old rabbits were
the gifts that started what today is a successfully developing farm.
Beso participated in trainings conducted by Heifer Georgia staff,
featuring experts on Heifer’s 12 Cornerstones, rabbit keeping,
forage production and other topics. Today, Beso happily shares the
valuable knowledge he received to help others.
Beso’s large family includes his grandparents, parents, brother
and sister-in-law, and their young children. Before Heifer, the family
owned one cow and a few beehives, but this hardly sufficed for
such a large family. Their situation has changed considerably since
then.
At the beginning of the project, the family’s diet was enriched
with rabbit meat. As their rabbit population increased, they
started selling the meat. The additional income allowed them to
invest in home renovations to make it more comfortable for the
large family. Now they stay toasty warm, even in winter, which
is notoriously snowy in Georgia. They also are able to buy new
clothes, medicine for Beso’s grandparents, and additional nutrition
and vitamin supplements. The
Kakhelashvilis also added
cattle, turkeys and sheep to
their farm, where Beso works
with his parents.
“The concept of Passing
on the Gift is very important,”
Beso said. “Neighbors help
each other, share with and
take care of each other, and
that creates a special bond.
This is vital in the village’s
life.” Beso has already
continued this tradition,
passing on 10 rabbits to
another family. He says he’ll
gladly do it again.
Conversation to
Change the World
Children
Why were the rabbits so
important to Beso’s family?
Beso did not know about rabbit
farming. What kinds of things
did he have to learn?
Youth and Adults
Besides food and income, what
did the rabbits give Beso and
his family?
Beso said that Passing on the
Gift had been important to his
village. Why do you think that
is true?
Who is your village? How can
you help, share with or take
care of members of your
village?
Animal Crackers | Heifer Input: Rabbit
31
Rabbit Activities
Make Thumbprint Bunny Cards
Many Heifer project partners have never had the
opportunity to learn to read and write. They sign their
Passing on the Gift contracts with a thumb print. Give
thanks for education and write a note to someone
telling about your rabbit fundraising project.
Materials
Blank folded note card and envelope, pencil, ink
stamp pad or tempera paint, fine-point color pens,
colored pencils
Method
1. On card front sketch background scene lightly in
pencil.
2. Shade in background with color pencils.
3. Make a paint or ink thumb print for each bunny in
your picture.
4. Add ears, whiskers, eyes and tail with pen.
Compose a Prayer
Give thanks for gentle creatures of
peace like rabbits that have their
place in the balance of nature (Job
38:39–41). Pray for wisdom to work
within God’s purpose for the planet,
not against it (Isaiah 40:27–31).
Play Rabbit-Squat Tag
In the wild, a rabbit that senses
danger freezes in tall grass until safe
to dart for cover. In this game, Coyote
(Tiger, Fox, Cougar, Eagle or any other
predator) chases Rabbits. If in danger
of being caught, a Rabbit squats and
says, “Rabbit Squat!” and cannot be
tagged. Rabbits get three squats per
game. When caught, Rabbit becomes
Coyote.
Learn from Habits
of Rabbits
Make Sit-up Bunny Place Cards
Fold a four inch by
six inch index card
lengthwise. Outline
a sitting bunny with
its back on the fold.
Color in ears, eyes
and whiskers. Cut
out bunny; add a fluff
of cotton for a tail.
Unfold bunny a little
so it will sit up.
32
Wild rabbits have sharp teeth and
powerful claws, but they seldom
use them aggressively. How do
they protect themselves? Rabbits
have thick fur and eat a variety of
available foods in harsh weather.
What can rabbits teach us about
living with neighbors and nature?
Traditional
Proverbs
Slow and steady wins
the race.
If you chase two rabbits,
you will not catch either
one. (Russia)
Dance the bunny hop
Reproduce rabbits: turn one old glove (doe) into
five finger puppets (kits)
Bring rabbit toys to show and tell
Borrow a pet rabbit; take notes on how it nibbles,
hops, shows fear, etc.
Play hide and seek
Sing all the songs you know that mention rabbits,
like “Here Comes Peter Cottontail” or “Little
Bunny Foo Foo”
Snack on “rabbit food,” like carrots, lettuce, and
celery
Ask Peter Cottontail, Velveteen Rabbit and Bugs
Bunny to promote Heifer
Rabbits have sharp hearing; whisper your
fundraising goal from ear to ear
Test Your Knowledge
1. A male rabbit is a buck, a female
is a doe and a baby rabbit is a
____.
2. Rabbits are ready for market at
____ months.
3. The longer the ears, the better the
rabbit: True or False?
4. Rabbits' front teeth never stop
growing: True or False?
5. Heifer rabbits are valued as a
source of food and ____.
Answers: 1. kit 2. six 3. True,
because they help keep the rabbit
cool 4. True 5. income
Make rabbit tracks: left hand down; right hand
down; both feet jump ahead
Some rabbits can leap 10 feet; have a long jump
contest
Make a bunny bank from a one-pint milk or juice
carton turned on its side with the pointed end
as the head. Cover with cotton balls, add paper
ears. Cut a slit in the top for inserting money.
Read Rabbit’s Gift by George Shannon
Brain Teaser
If a project partner in Sichuan, China,
received a trio of Heifer rabbits—a
buck and two does— and the two
does each produced litters of eight
kits four times a year, how many
offspring would there be in 10 years?
Answer: 640
Animal Crackers | Heifer Input: Rabbit
33
Heifer Sheep
Sheep
Sketch
34
A
ble to adapt to cold, rocky mountains or hot, dry plains, sheep
have supplied people with fleece and skins for 12,000 years.
Over time, people discovered that beating wet, unwoven wool
produced thick, rainproof felt—ideal for tent coverings and shoe linings.
They drank sheep’s milk and made candles from sheep tallow. Today,
people around the world value sheep’s wool to make knitted and woven
clothing that is warm in winter and cool in summer. Sheep offer many
advantages. They flock together, making them easy to control. They are
ruminants, which means they can digest roughage, and they don’t need
a lot of water. They have two or three lambs a year, which are ready for
market in about five months. But sheep require more care than some
other farm animals, and they can be hard on fragile land. Heifer partners
limit the amount of grazing their sheep do, rotating their pastures or
keeping them in roomy grazing pens part of the time and carrying specially
grown fodder to them. Most families raise sheep for wool, but some
raise them for meat. Many value sheep manure to fertilize their vegetable
gardens. Read more about sheep at a www.heifer.org/blog/tag/sheep.
$120
Fundraising Idea
Make a flock frieze
(horizontal banner) that
spells out “Heifer Sheep—A
Sure Thing,” “Follow the
Leader,” or “Heifer Sheep
Are Shear Joy.” Display it
prominently as a reminder
of your fundraising goal.
See instruction on page37.
Sheep provide
a future
Life in Meigu County, China
is difficult because there are
limited sources of income, poor
transportation and a harsh
environment. It is located in a
mountain range that is translated
as “big, cold mountain.” Heifer
works with two villages in this
area: Waxi and Dala Amo.
Suori Gatie and his wife, Jizuo
Shiwu, live in Dala Amo with their
three daughters: Erzuo, Xiaoying,
and Xiaomei; as well as Gatie’s
grandfather. The adults grew up in impoverished conditions but had
hope for a better life for the children.
Life rapidly became more hopeful in when they received eight
sheep, a sheep fold, veterinary medicine, clothing, stationary, and
shoes from Heifer International. They also received trainings in
environmental protection, livestock care, Heifer's 12 Cornerstones, and
health and sanitation.
“The biggest change for us is that our income has increased
because we have gone from zero to 16 sheep,” said Gatie. More money
has allowed them to buy more and better quality food. “Now I can buy a
variety of food sources and some snacks for my children,” said Shiwu.
“We can also buy shoes and coats.” The sheep manure has even made
their garden more productive.
Dala Amo is in a remote area with no electricity, so they sold two
sheep and bought a small water powered generator to provide power
to their house. When asked why a generator was important for their
family, Gatie responded, “The first reason I wanted it was to brighten
my house. The second thing was so I can buy a TV and my children can
see the outside world,” he said. They have been able to buy the TV, an
electric stove and a rice cooker. Using the electric cooking appliances
helps the environment (not cutting trees for firewood) and saves time
(for gathering firewood).
They are also using the money to send their children to school.
Shiwu and Gatie want their children to have a good education. “It is
important to send my children to school,” said Shiwu. “I have had a
very harsh life. I don’t want my children to have to live this way. Through
school they can get a good education and find a good job in the future.”
Conversation to
Change the World
Children
The Suori family did not have
electricity before they received
their sheep. How do you use
electricity during the day?
How would your day be different
if you did not have electricity?
Youth and Adults
The adults in this family have
made several choices for the
benefit of their family, so their
children will have a better
future. Are there stories like
this in your family?
Why is it important to take time
to learn our family stories?
Animal Crackers | Heifer Input: Sheep
35
Sheep Activities
Wool Weaving
Materials
Four lengths of 36-inch
yarn, four drinking
straws, ball of yarn,
pieces of cardboard
Method
1. Thread each piece of
yarn through a straw;
divide yarn in pairs.
2. Knot pairs together; loop over doorknob or
hook; push straws against knot. To anchor,
wrap yarn ends around slit cardboard.
3. Wind ball of yarn on to cardboard shuttle;
weave over and under on straws until they
are covered.
4. Push weaving away from you; pull straws
toward you.
5. Continue until long enough to make a belt.
6. Remove straws; knot yarn ends.
Play Lost Lamb (young children)
One child is the Shepherd and leaves the
room. The group chooses a Lamb and
decides where it will hide. The Shepherd
must find the lost Lamb, guided by the
group’s loud or soft “baaing.”
36
Make a Sheep Project
Poster
Materials
Poster board (any color), black marker,
120 cotton balls, glue
Method
Draw sheep outline on poster board; color
head and legs black. For each dollar you
raise for your sheep project, glue a cotton
ball to the sheep’s back.
Make a flock frieze
Materials
Sheep pattern (photocopy drawing above);
3¼ inches by 22 inches flocked or textured
paper strips, scissors
Method
1. Fold paper strip in half; fold in half again.
2. Center pattern on folded paper with
edges on folds; trace with pencil.
3. Cut out sheep with scissors through all
thicknesses, but do not cut on folds.
4. Unfold sheep paper chain; print one
letter on each sheep with marker.
Follow the Leader (older children)
Yarn Toss (youth)
One child is the Sheepdog; one is the
Alpha Sheep (leader); the rest are Sheep.
The flock lines up behind the leader with
an arm’s length space between each one.
Following in line, they imitate the leader,
who may hop, strut, jump, somersault, etc.
When the Sheepdog barks, “Turn!” the
flock does so; last one in line is leader.
The group sits in a circle on the floor. Gently
toss a ball of yarn across the circle, retaining
one end. The recipient does the same, until
everyone holds some yarn and the circle is
joined in a yarn web. Use the exercise to talk
about all the ways people depend on one
another and on the environment for life.
Traditional
Proverbs
God tempers the wind
to the shorn lamb.
Beware the wolf in
sheep’s clothing.
Top cookies made with a lamb–shaped cutter
with marshmallow frosting
Display examples of things made with wool,
felt or sheepskin
Smooth on some lanolin (the oil in sheep’s
wool) hand cream
Look at encyclopedia pictures of Navajo rugs
Compose a Prayer
Give thanks that God cares for us like
a shepherd (Isaiah 40:11) and for the
promise that those with a gentle spirit
will possess the Earth (Matthew 5:5).
made from churro sheep wool
Make up a Heifer song to the tune of “Baa,
baa black sheep ...”
Find out what it means to be “sheepish” or
“woolgathering”
Tell a Bible story about sheep—Genesis
30:25–43 or Luke 15:1–7
Knit caps and mittens or weave scarves to
sell to raise money
Make a sheep bank. Visit www.heifer.org/
blog/2013/01/help-end-hunger-and-povertywith-your-homemade-sheep-money-box.html
Sample sheep’s milk cheeses like Roquefort,
feta or kasseri with fruit
Listen to Handel’s “Messiah” or “Sheep May
Safely Graze” by Bach
Read Sheep in a Jeep by Nancy Shaw
Test Your Knowledge
1. A male sheep is a ram; a female is
a ____, and a baby sheep is a lamb.
2. For hundreds of years people wrote
on special sheepskins, called ____.
3. What is the oily substance that
keeps sheep dry and softens your
hands?
4. How many toes does a sheep have?
5. A sheep can yield up to (a) 9 (b) 3
(c) 18 pounds of wool a clip
Answers: 1. ewe 2. parchment
3. lanolin 4. two on each foot
5. 18 pounds
Brain Teaser
In the first year, a sheep has two
lambs—the female is passed on to
another family, and the male is sold.
In the second year, the sheep has two
females, which each have two lambs in
the third year. How many sheep does
the project partner have?
Answer: Seven
Animal Crackers | Heifer Input: Sheep
37
Heifer Water Buffalo
$250
Buffalo
Briefing
38
S
ix-feet tall with wide, sweptback horns, water buffalo
are awesome to behold. They are usually gentle when
domesticated, though, and rural people throughout
Asia value them as family members. With their great
strength, buffalo can plow muddy fields for planting rice and
are surprisingly nimble on terraced mountain plots. With
a water buffalo, farmers can plant four times as much as
when they plow by hand. After the harvest, buffalo can pull
loaded wagons to market. In India, river buffalo also give
rich milk for the family to drink and sell. Buffalo produce
valuable manure for fuel and fertilizer. And with a calf
born every other year, Heifer partners can expect a steady
increase in income, after they have Passed on the Gift to
another family in need. Read more about water buffalo at
www.heifer.org/blog/tag/water-buffalo.
Fundraising Idea
Ask youth and adults to list every
load-pulling or weight-bearing
item they own (car, truck, riding
mower, tractor, bicycle, motor bike,
skates, exercise equipment, walker,
wheelchair, crutches, etc.). Request
$1 for each one. Ask children to
name toys and sports equipment
(wagon, tricycle, merry-go-round,
spaceship, etc.) they have. Request
25 cents for each one.
Water buffalo Make a better life
Ioan and Daniela Sârbu and their three daughters Delia, Christina
and Alina, live in a small village called Cristorel in Romania. Their
water buffalo, Ruji (which means rose), is changing their lives for
the better.
Water buffalo have been a feature in Transylvanian villages
for generations, one of the few places in Europe where they have
a history. But they fell out of favor in the region after the fall of
communism when farmers received better subsidies for cow milk.
When Romania joined European Union in 2007, there were new
subsidies and regulations in favor of water buffalo milk and dairy
products. Heifer Romania seized on the opportunity to benefit the
farmers financially while also preserving a species, and began the
water buffalo revitalization program with World Vision Romania in
2010.
Since receiving Ruji, they have Passed on the Gift of one calf to
another family, and Ruji has just had a second calf. Ruji gives the
family about five liters of milk each day. When Ruji’s calf is a little
older they will be able to take all of her milk, keeping five liters for
themselves and selling the other five for about $10.
Before they received Ruji they had no regular access to milk and
thus no real protein in their diet. Now they have milk to drink and
the milk they need to make yogurt and cheese. Their diet consists
mainly of what they grow: onions, carrots, cucumbers, tomatoes,
corn, potatoes, beans, maize, wheat, barley, and alfalfa. In summer
they grow apples, pears and plums. In winter they often go without
fruit and are happy to get one piece of fruit a week. Daniela hopes to
use extra money from selling milk to buy her daughters fruit during
the winter.
Ioan
would like to
increase his
family’s buffalo
herd to five,
a number he
thinks would
allow him to
earn enough
money to
create a better
future for his
children.
Conversation to
Change the World
Children
What do Daniela, Cristina
and Alina usually eat?
What are your favorite foods?
What is your favorite fruit?
What if you were not able
to buy that fruit? How would
you feel?
Youth and Adults
The water buffalo project is
an example of how Heifer
partners with other
organizations to help families
improve their lives. What are
examples of the way your
congregation has partnered
with (or can partner with) other
organizations to meet the
needs of your community?
Adults
The Sârbu parents want
to multiply their herd to
benefit their children. As a
congregation, what are ways
you invest in the youth of
your community?
Animal Crackers | Heifer Input: Water Buffalo
39
Water Buffalo Activities
Wallowing Water Buffalo Doorstop
Materials
Paper milk carton, sand or kitty litter, black and blue
acrylic paint, paint brushes, blue glitter, paper scraps,
glue, marker
Method
1. Cut milk carton in half; fill bottom half with sand and
spread glue over outside; place carton top over bottom.
2. Glue or staple top opening of milk carton closed; cut crescent–
shaped horns and spoon-shaped ears in one piece; attach to
top.
3. Water: draw wavy line around doorstop, 3 inches up from the
bottom; paint blue below line; add glitter waves.
4. Buffalo head: paint black above water line; cut out leaf–shaped
eyes and nostrils, and glue on to head.
5. Make signs: “Water Buffalo Open Doors to Better Life!” “Heifer
Water Buffalo Stop Hunger!” “Wade in with Heifer Water
Buffalo!” Place doorstops around the building where your group meets.
Make Water Buffalo Print
Bookmarks
Materials
Black and brown construction paper or leather, 12-inch
lengths of yarn or twine, glue, scissors, white ink pen
Method
1. Hoof shape: cut two black and two brown circles,
each 2½ inches across.
2. Stack circles; flatten one “side” a little, by trimming
off a straight line; cut out a wedge shape “toes”
directly across from it.
3. Write a short Heifer message on each of the brown
hooves.
4. Bookmark: spread glue on back of both written–on
hooves; place yarn ends on them.
5. Place two black hooves over two glued hooves and
press firmly.
40
Compose a Prayer
The Law (Leviticus 19:10–11), the
Prophets (Isaiah 3: 15) and the
Letters (1 John 3:17–18) take hunger
seriously. Pray for grace to live the
words of our beliefs in deeds.
Invite Buffalo Bill to Speak
Buffalo Bill (William Cody) was a
frontiersman who killed 4,000
American bison in 18 months for
railroad builders. Invite him to come
and express his sorrow, telling why he
now realizes that both species—bison
and water buffalo—are essential for
people and the environment.
Traditional
Proverbs
Once you’ve been tossed by a wild
buffalo, when you see a tame ox, you
think it’s another buffalo. (Kenya)
The last buffalo into the
water hole gets the dirty
water. (Vietnam)
Place a water buffalo hoof bookmark in every
pew Bible or hymn book
Hold a fundraising dinner featuring rice entrees,
salads and desserts
Sponsor a swim party: wash, wade and wallow
like water buffalo
Make footprints in mud (or plaster of Paris).
Are they like a water buffalo’s?
Find out who “Buffalo Gal” was and why there’s
a city named Buffalo
Make giftwrap: dip sponge hoof-shapes in
tempera, then press on rice paper
Wear a water buffalo head: cut eyes in a brown
paper grocery sack; add features
Read Water Buffalo Days: Growing Up in Vietnam
by Haynh Quang Nhuong
Sing "The Water Buffalo Song" from Veggie
Tales 25 Favorite Silly Songs CD
Test Your Knowledge
1. American bison have more ribs than
river or water buffalo. True or False?
2. The small Philippines buffalo is a
(a) caracal (b) caribou (c) carabao.
3. Buffalo cannot swim; they sink
in the water. True or False?
4. Heifer provides buffalo to these
continents: (a) Asia (b) Africa
(c) Australia.
5. Buffalo have two wide, flat ____ on
each hoof, to help them walk in mud.
Answers: 1. True—bison have 14 pairs
and water buffalo have 13 2. carabao
3. False 4. Asia and Africa 5. “toes”
Brain Teaser
A Heifer project partner has two acres
of land from which he used to get 5,000
kilograms (over 11,000 pounds!) of rice
per year. With the help of his Heifer water
buffalo, he can now harvest three times
as much rice per acre than before. If
he keeps half for his family to eat, how
much will he have to sell?
Answer: Over 16,500 pounds!
Animal Crackers | Heifer Input: Water Buffalo
41
Heifer Seedings
$60
Packa
g
e
Tree
Teachings
T
rees are the largest and longest living of all plants. Since they give
off oxygen and breathe in carbon dioxide—the opposite of animals
and people—they are essential to life on Earth. Their roots hold
the soil together, preventing desert and mountain landslides. They act
as windbreaks and help hold water in the ground and moisture in the air.
People and animals throughout the world enjoy the leaves, fruits and nuts
trees produce, and people turn to trees for many natural and chemical
products, including medicines. But demand for wood for construction
and fuel has greatly reduced the number of the world’s trees. So has
increasing need for crop and pasture land.
Heifer partners learn the importance of zero-grazing animals in shaded
areas and carrying fodder to them. They prepare for their animal’s arrival
by planting fast-growing trees that put nitrogen from the atmosphere
back into the soil. Leaf mulch improves crops. And they no longer have
to travel long distances to diminishing natural forests to gather wood for
fuel and fencing. Read more about trees at www.heifer.org/blog/tag/trees.
42
Fundraising Idea
Hold a plant, produce and
pie sale. In advance, ask
gardeners to plant extra
vegetables and, later, to
sprout seeds and prepare
cuttings. Ask non-gardeners
to prepare jams, jellies, dry
fruit, dried flowers, potpourri
or fruit pies.
Conversation to
Change the World
Hope for
a better
Future
Cynthia is a single
woman and the
only breadwinner
of her family of
seven. They live in
Thafeni, a small
village in South
Africa. Just a few
months ago, her
family's financial well-being depended on small part-time jobs that
she managed to find from time to time. But without a permanent
income, the family struggled with food insecurity. Not having a warm
and healthy meal was part of everyday life. Once Cynthia started her
journey with Heifer, her family's life started to change.
During the first couple of months, she participated in various
trainings, such as Heifer's 12 Cornerstones, community skills,
vegetable management and record keeping. Cynthia received fruit
trees from Heifer, as well as onion, cabbage and spinach seedlings.
With new skills gained through trainings and a gift of vegetable
seedlings and fruit trees, Cynthia began her own food garden. She
planted beetroot and carrots and started to grow fresh food. Soon,
Cynthia and her family began to see a positive difference. "I can
see change. Now I am able to get vegetables from my own garden
and cook for my family. We eat rice, beans, potatoes and sometimes
meat. Since I have a fruit and vegetable garden, we are also able to
eat fruit regularly."
Cynthia continued participating in training, including workshops
about chicken management, and a few months later received
chickens from Heifer. With determination and hard work, she is on
her way to becoming a successful small farmer who produces fruit,
vegetables, chicken and eggs to eat and sell.
Even though Cynthia has just started her long journey toward a
better future, she already sees the changes that participating in the
project has brought to her life. When asked about expectations from
the project, she said, "I wish to see the continuation, so that Heifer
will assist others as well."
Children
Think about your favorite fruits
and vegetables. Do you know
if they grow on trees, vines or
bushes?
Youth and Adults
Cynthia is making progress
toward positive change for her
family. Sometimes we want to
reach success so quickly that
we don’t recognize the smaller
achievements along the way.
Think about the dreams and
hopes you have for your future.
What smaller goals might you
need to achieve first?
Adults
This story is a good example
of step-by-step change that
happens in some Heifer
projects: first Cynthia received
the training, then crops and
trees, then more training,
then chickens. Think back
on your life and reflect on
the gradual changes, rather
than the dramatic ones. What
lessons have you learned?
What growth have you seen in
yourself over time? Are other
goals toward which you are
patiently progressing?
Animal Crackers | Heifer Input: Seedling
43
Seedling Activities
Make leaf sun catchers
Materials
Clear contact paper, lots of different types of leaves,
scissors
Method
1. Cut long rectangles of contact paper. The
rectangles should measure about six inches by
20 inches.
2. Fold the contact paper in half (leave backing on)
and crease, so that you have a rectangle that is
10 inches long.
3. Peel the backing off half the contact paper,
stopping at the crease.
4. Arrange leaves on the sticky side. Then, peel the
remainder of the backing off and seal the leaves
together.
5. Cut off any sticky edges and display in a window.
Give thanks that trees are given to sustain
our life (Genesis 1:29–30); pray that
we may help right the wrong of wanton
destruction and that we may join trees in
rejoicing in God’s presence (Psalm 96:12).
Seed Sower Relay Race
Players form teams. Ten sunflower seeds
are placed on the floor in front of each
team. Player One scoops up seeds, runs
to finish line, “sows” the seeds in a
straight line; runs back and taps Player
Two, who runs to the finish line, scoops
up the seeds and runs back to give them
to Player Three. First team to finish is the
winner. Rest and read Isaiah 55:10–11.
Study the Soil
Examine the Earth
Materials
Baby food jars and lids; filler: pebbles, aquarium gravel,
sand, potting soil, garden dirt; felt, spoon, glue
Put samples of different types of soil—
two or more of each type—into egg
carton compartments. To some, add
another ingredient, such as eggshells,
sand, salt, much or little water, pine
needles, fertilizer. Label each carefully.
Plant grass seeds in all compartments;
sprinkle water daily. Make a note of
which ones sprout, when and why.
Method
1. Slowly spoon filler into the jar in layers; fill
completely.
2. Spread glue on inside rim of jar lid; screw tightly on
jar
3. Glue a circle of felt to lid top; turn jar upside down.
4. Read Ezekiel 17:1–10 or Matthew 13:3–8.
44
Compose a Prayer
Traditional
Proverbs
Don’t look for an apple
under a poplar tree.
(Slovakia)
When a dead tree falls, it
carries a live one with it.
(Kenya)
Trace around real leaves to make construction paper
nametags
Compose slogans like “Breathe Free—Buy a Tree!” or “Sow
Seeds of Hope!”
Tree Tongue Twister
Three terrific tropical Heifer trees are
Leucaena, Acacia and Leucosphala.
Invite someone who works with wood to demonstrate the
craft
Compare all types of wood you can find—balsa, oak, cherry,
walnut, etc.
Test Your Knowledge
1. The world’s tallest and oldest trees are
found in ____.
Find out why some leaves are needles and others fans
2. A tree feeds on ____ made by its leaves.
Roll pinecones in peanut butter and sunflower seeds for
3. Trees provide flowers, fruit, fences,
furniture, firewood and ____.
birds
Snack on nuts and cubed fruits, served on wood toothpicks
Make a soda bottle terrarium. www.heifer.org/
blog/2012/10/make-a-soda-bottle-terrarium.html
Find out how to make compost and why it improves soil
Read The Great Kapok Tree by Lynne Cherry
Make a tabletop tree: attach tissue leaves to a branch;
4. In scripture, judge (a) Deborah
(b) Delilah (c) Dorcas tried cases under
a palm tree.
5. Some trees enrich the soil by putting
helium into it from the air. True or False.
Answers: 1. California 2. sap 3. fodder
4. Deborah (Judges 4:4) 5. False; they put
back nitrogen
anchor in Styrofoam
Look at a 12-inch section of a live tree trunk through a
magnifier. What do you see?
Make driftwood centerpieces for your next fundraising meal
Read Wangari’s Trees of Peace: A True Story from Africa by
Jeannette Winter
Make leaf prints: paint leaf, place between two sheets of
Fast Fact
Heifer distributes one package of 500
Leucaena seedlings to up to 50 families.
Tended well, each will produce a tree that
provides an ongoing source of seeds—too
many to count—that can be germinated to
plant for more trees or to share with others.
paper; press gently
Sprout seeds in potting soil in half an eggshell balanced in
a toilet roll tube
Read The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein
Animal Crackers | Heifer Input: Seedling
45
Irrigation Pump
Wonder
of Water
W
ater is a basic necessity of life for people, animals and crops.
It is a main part of sanitation and healthful food preparation—
cleaning hands, utensils and bowls. Yet it is estimated that
780 million people worldwide are without access to clean water.
In the impoverished communities where Heifer works, many of the homes
lack running water, and some families do not even have a well nearby.
Instead, they must spend hours each day fetching water. Carrying water
is a chore often left to the children—especially girls—leaving no time
for school. Some families must buy purified water to drink, which places
additional strain on lean budgets. This is one burden we can easily lift by
helping communities install irrigation pumps.
Families in Heifer projects also learn to protect their water supplies. They
receive education on how to prevent contamination of water sources
through good sanitation practices and use of organic fertilizer. They are
also trained in farming methods that focus on conservation of water and
use of plantings to prevent erosion and soil run-off into streams or lakes.
46
$150
Fundraising Idea
Get all wet for Heifer! Ask
your pastor, youth group
leader or Sunday school
teacher to volunteer to get
all wet in a dunk tank to
raise money for Heifer. Can’t
find a dunk tank? Use water
balloons! Sell three water
balloons for $5 and invite
people to toss them (gently,
of course!) at your volunteer!
Conversation to
Change the World
Hand-Pumped Wells Deliver
Fresh Water in Vietnam
The Khmer people
of Long Phu District,
Soc Trang Province
project suffered
critical shortages
of fresh water for
daily use. Prior to
the Heifer project,
which helped them
secure a clean
source of water, they
fetched water from
rivers and canals.
Heifer Vietnam
and more than 20
project members
contributed money
to build handpumped wells that
provide healthier water to drink and use for household activities,
like washing foods and food preparation areas and utensils, as
well as other hygiene uses. Local authorities from their village
supported the project wholeheartedly.
One hand-pumped well costs nearly $200. Each participating
household contributed $50 and will pay the balance with no
interest rate within two years. Two or three families can combine
their money to purchase and share one well. "I and other neighbors
will no longer carry river water every day," said project participant
Kim Thi Ngon. "My family recognized the importance of a well, but
we couldn't afford it, so I'm so glad to receive Heifer Vietnam's
timely support." Another project participant, Kim Van, added,
"Though we know that water from rivers and canals is dirty and
harmful for our health, we had no choice. My family had limited
finances to build one for our consumption, so we are now very
happy to use fresh and clean water."
The first 10 hand-pumped wells have brought joy, pleasure and
inspiration for the entire community. Now, wanting to access fresh
water for their families, even more project members are saving
money to contribute to the cost of their own hand-pumped wells.
Children
What are the ways you use
water during the day? (Drinks,
brushing teeth, watering plants,
etc.)
How do you get that water? If
you had to walk a very long way
to get the water, would that
change the ways or how often
you use water? What if the
water was dirty?
Youth
It is easy for us to take our
access to water for granted.
We simply walk to a faucet
and we have clean, safe water.
What are other things that
seem ordinary, but might be
luxuries for other people?
Adults
There are lots of examples
and imagery of water in the
Bible. (John’s baptism of Jesus,
women drawing water from
wells, etc.) What do these
examples teach us about
water?
What are your favorite Bible
stories that involve water?
Why?
Animal Crackers | Heifer Input: Irrigation Pump
47
Water Activities
Compose a Prayer
Make a rainstick
Materials
Paper towel tubes or wrapping paper rolls,
construction paper circles (cut to be larger than
the end of the cardboard tubes), masking tape,
aluminum foil, art supplies for decoration, a mixture
of any of the following: dried beans, popcorn
kernels, small noodles, dried rice, small gravel.
Method
1. Seal up one end of the tube with the paper
circle, folding the edges around the tube. Use
masking tape to seal securely.
2. Cut a piece of aluminum foil about one
and a half times as long as your tube and
approximately six inches wide. Roll this into a
“snake.”
3. Curl the foil into a tight spiral and poke the
spiral into the tube.
4. Pour your mix of dried beans, popcorn kernels,
etc. into the tube until it is one-tenth full.
5. Seal up the other end of the tube with another
paper circle and masking tape.
6. Turn your tube vertically and turn it over. Does it
sound like rain?
You can experiment until you get the sound you like
the best—add or subtract the bean mixture, make
another foil spiral and add it into the tube.
48
Water is considered a blessing (Psalm
65:9-10) and a symbol of eternal life (John
4:14). Heifer projects that focus on water
quality and water access help families to
improve their lives and livelihoods.
Have a Water Relay
You need two large buckets filled with
water and two large empty buckets. Teams
must scoop and carry the water and
transport it to an empty bucket several
yards away. Provide small cups, large drink
containers, sand pails, etc. for scooping.
Who can transport the most water within
the time limit?
Make Sun Catchers
Materials
White paper coffee filters, washable
markers, spray bottle of water, covering
for table.
Encourage the children to draw designs
(lines, zigzags, shapes, dots) all over
the coffee filter. When the children finish
their designs, allow them to spray the
coffee filter (not each other, unless this
is an outdoor activity!) with water. (Do
not soak the coffee filters.) Watch as the
colors bleed together and change the art.
Carefully lay the filters flat to dry. Display
on a window with tape or with a small
amount of washable glue stick.
Traditional
Proverbs
Filthy water cannot
get washed.
(West African)
The frog does not drink up
the pond in which he lives.
(Native American)
Talk about your church’s baptism rituals and the
role of water
Make water music: Fill different sizes of glasses
or glass jars with different amounts of water.
Strike with pencils to hear how it sounds. Add
food coloring to the water for more variety!
Got an iPhone or iPad? Download and play “Get
Water,” a free game that teaches about the
challenges facing a girl sent to collect water for
her family
Make a list of all the ways you use water in a day
Read One Well: The Story of Water on Earth by
Rochelle Straus (2007)
Want to see a treadle pump? Look here:
www.kickstart.org/products/super-moneymaker/
Look for all the different places water is
mentioned in the Bible
Make a water turbine: www.heifer.org/blog/tag/
water-turbine
Turn off the water! Look for ways to conserve
while shaving, brushing teeth and other everyday
activities
Learn more about rainsticks. www.nativevillage.
org/Messages%20from%20the%20People/
Rainsticks-Heard%20Museum.htm
Water Riddle
What runs but never walks?
Answer: Water!
Test Your Knowledge
1. Approximately ____ percent of all water
on Earth is salt water.
2. Approximately ____ percent of all fresh
water (not salt water) on Earth is frozen.
3. Around ____ percent of all fresh water
(not salt water) is underground (in
shallow and deep underground basins,
swamp water, soil moisture).
4. Only ____ percent of fresh water (not
salt water) is in lakes and rivers.
Answers: 1. 97.5 2. 70 3. 30 4. 0.3
Fast Fact
If the average person uses 80 to 100
gallons of water a day, how many gallons
of water are used in your household every
day? Every week?
Find ways to save water at ga.water.usgs.
gov/edu/qa-home-percapita.html
Animal Crackers | Heifer Input: Irrigation Pump
49
Session
1
Global Education
Preschool/Kindergarten
Celebrating Children
Scripture
Mark 10:13–16; John 6:1–11
Preparation
1 Cut paper doll chains: Fold
paper in an accordion fold
with each face approximately
3 inches by 3 inches. Cut
person shape through all folds
at once, but do not cut around
fingers at the edges of the
paper. Get crayons and other
supplies for decorating chains.
2 Download and print pictures of
people from different countries
and different ethnicities. Visit
www.flickr.com/photos/heifer/
and choose from the collection
titled "From the Field." Post
these in your meeting space.
3 Review information about the
animal or input you plan to
purchase (pages 6–47).
4 Create a progress chart to
be used in every session.
Other Ways to Learn Together
1 Create Cooperative Collages.
Draw four large circles on
newsprint. Let children take
turns choosing a picture from
stacks of animal, habitat, food,
wool, milk, eggs, other animal
products, and pictures of people
who might use the products
or care for the animals. Match
animals to habitat and products;
glue matching pictures in circles.
2 Together, read the book Whoever
You Are by Mem Fox and carefully
examine the illustrations.
50
Gathering
Greet and welcome children. Direct them to a center to make paper doll chains.
Give each person a paper doll chain and invite him/her to color the paper dolls to
represent a variety of races and cultural clothing using the pictures as guides.
Bible Story
Allow time for children to show and share their creative work. Talk with children
about differences among people, using pictures for some clues. Ask children
to name some ways people are different. Help children explore the diversity
of people, not only in the way they look, but also in differences in interests,
skills, food choices, language and lifestyles. Talk about why diversity is good.
Read Mark 10:13–16 and talk about Jesus’ response to children. Ask:
How did Jesus treat the children who came to see him?
How do you think Jesus wants us to treat other people?
Sing together, “Jesus Loves the Little Children.” Then say, “I wonder if you can tell
me some ways people are the same.” Encourage children to talk about the needs
for food, water, safety and the love that all people share. Invite children to name
some of the people who take care of them and some of the ways they are cared for.
Explain that some children do not get enough food to eat every day, even though
their families love them and want to take good care of them. Explain that they are
sad and their families are sad because they can’t get enough food. Tell the story
found in John 6:1–11 and ask:
How can we show Jesus’ love to people who are hungry?
How can we help people who live far away, people we don’t even know?
Talk about Heifer International; say that sometimes people need just a little help,
and then they can take care of themselves and their children. Show pictures of
two or three animals and ask how each animal might help a hungry family. Explain
that you will save the money that the children bring and together you will get an
animal to send to a hungry family. Tell what animal you intend to purchase and give
information about the good that animal can do. Show the chart that will display
their progress toward their goal. Help children experience excitement and joy as
they anticipate helping hungry people.
Closing
Close with a snack of animal crackers or cookies made into the shapes of the
animal you plan to purchase. Lead in this prayer: Thank you, God, for giving us the
food we need. We know you love all of us, no matter what we look like or where we
live. Thank you for loving us so much. Help us to show your love to other people by
helping everyone get enough food to eat. Amen.
Global Education
Celebrating God’s Creatures
2
Session
Scripture
Psalm 104:1a, 10–28
Gathering
Welcome children and collect money for your animal project. Let children make changes
to the progress chart to show how much money they have collected. Invite children to
talk about their pets and the care animals need. Explain that God made many kinds of
animals, animals are for God and people to enjoy, and God cares about animals.
Bible Story
Read aloud Psalm 104:1a; 10–28 from a children’s translation. After each verse,
or introduction of an animal, let children take turns adding the appropriate animal
to the picture you have prepared. Talk about the psalm with children.
How does this psalm say God takes care of animals?
Why do you think God made so many different kinds of animals?
What can chickens do that donkeys can’t do? What can donkeys do that birds
or goats can’t?
How can chickens, donkeys, goats and bees help hungry people?
What would you do to take care of chickens, cows, goats and bees?
What might happen if you didn’t take care of (feed) your pet?
What might happen if people didn’t take care of their animals?
How do people take care of the animal you are purchasing?
Describe the training and preparations Heifer partners make before they receive
an animal from Heifer.
Activity
Help children make puppets: glue craft sticks to photos or images of animal
www.heifer.org/animalcrackers puppets already cut out. Encourage children to
choose a variety of animals to make. Let children use their puppets as they sing
an animal song together. “Old McDonald Had a Farm” is a good idea.
Game
Preparation
1 On a large sheet of paper,
draw a scene that includes
streams of water flowing,
grass, trees, etc. as described
in Psalm 104. Draw pictures
of animals, download and
print from www.heifer.org/
animalcrackers, to add to the
picture as you read the psalm.
Attach with glue or tape.
2 Make cards for memory
matching game.
3 Gather things to glue on
puppets.
1 Invite a beekeeper to the
class to talk about the care
bees need, the way they
pollinate trees and flowers,
and the production and
gathering of honey. Give
children a taste of honey.
2 Using illustrations in this book
(pages 6–47) as a guide, make
animal mobiles to display at the
Intergenerational Celebration.
Play a memory matching game of animals and their babies. Draw animal pictures
or glue pictures cut from magazines, or printed from the Internet, onto blank index
cards or small squares of colored paper. Half the cards should have pictures of adult
animals. For each adult animal card, there should be a corresponding picture of the
baby animal. Turn all cards face down. Each child takes a turn looking at two cards. If
the cards don’t match, turn them over again and let the next child take a turn. If they
do match, the child keeps the cards. Continue until all cards have been matched.
Closing
Tell children to make the sound of each animal you name as you pray:
Dear God, Thank you for goats (maah) and bees (bzzz) and cows (moo) and chickens
(cluck-cluck) and donkeys (hee-haw) and all the animals you put on Earth. Please
help us to take care of the animals and to spread them around so everyone can have
enough food to eat every day. Amen.
Animal Crackers | Preschool/Kindergarten • Session 1 & 2
51
Session
3
Global Education
Celebrating God’s World
Scripture
Genesis 1:1–27
Gathering
Preparation
Greet children, collect money and add to the progress chart.
1 Prepare pictures to correspond
to the six days of creation.
Pray
2 Collect and display pictures of
farming practices in different
parts of the world. Find
examples at www.flickr.com/
photos/heifer. Click on "From
the Field." Or go to www.heifer.
org/media/world-ark
3 Cut pictures of food from
magazines or from an online
image search.
Thank you, Lord, for giving us this good world with lots of plants and flowers and
trees.
Distribute the following pictures to children: (1) sun; (2) sky and clouds;
(3) green grass and trees; (4) moon and stars; (5) fish and birds; (6) people, cattle,
wild animals, bugs and reptiles. Tell the story of creation found in Genesis 1.
As you read the story, invite children to hold up the appropriate picture.
Bible Story
4 Create a poster showing the
food cycle. You can find an
example at www.craftjr.com/
plant-life/how-do-plants-growcolor/.
Talk about the creation story. Ask:
When God made the world, what kinds of food did God make for animals?
For people?
Where do you get your food? (Trace food back to farms/gardens.)
What kinds of things do you have to do to grow food in a garden?
How do animals help people grow food?
People/Land/Animal Cycle
Show pictures and tell stories
of how people and animals work
together to take care of God’s world.
Some examples:
Some farmers use geese
to weed vegetable gardens.
Once the vegetables are large
enough, the geese eat only the
small weeds and fertilize the
plants with their droppings.
Ducks on a pond keep the water
clean and stirred up so fish can
live in it. Meanwhile, the ducks
have a place to live, swim and
find food for themselves.
52
Post pictures that show people raising crops in a variety of countries and settings
using different animals and tools. Look at each one with children and note the
differences in resources and land. Use pictures to show how animals help: a cow
can plow the soil and give milk to make people strong for work, animal manure
fertilizes the soil, seeds are planted, plants grow, crops are harvested and made
into food for people and the fodder fed to the cow. Show pictures of different kinds
of food, such as those in the book, Hungry Planet, by Peter Menzel. Talk about the
kinds of foods you eat and how that differs from what other people eat around the
world.
Closing
Close with a song about trees, food or the Earth. Pray:
Thank you God, for all the plants and trees and flowers. Help us to take good care of
the Earth so every person and animal will have food to eat. Amen.
Global Education
Celebrating Sharing
4
Session
Scripture
Luke 3:11
Gathering
Welcome children; collect money and note progress on the chart. Ask three
volunteers to be players in a story.
Give each of the children one of the three prepared lunch bags. Two of the bags
should contain snacks, the third should be empty, except for a napkin. Tell a story
about three children who go to preschool together. Describe some of the fun things
they might do in a day and ask the children to show happy faces. Include details
in the story that will give the children opportunities to show scared faces, sleepy
faces and excited faces. Then, say it is snack time. Tell the first child with food to
open the bag and show what he/she has to eat. Ask that child to make a face that
shows how they feel about having the food. Do the same with the second child who
has food. Finally, let the third child, with the empty bag, show what he/she has and
make a face that shows sadness. Then ask:
What would make the third child happy?
Where could we get some food for this child?
Ask all three children to show happy faces and give everyone snacks.
Bible Story
Talk about how sharing makes people feel good on both sides. Ask one child to hold
two jackets; another, two apples; another, two pairs of shoes; and another, pictures of
the animal you are planning to purchase through Heifer. Then read Jesus’ words from
Luke 3:11 and ask the child holding two coats what he/she should do with one. Let
that child pass one to another child. Do the same with the apples, shoes and animal.
Describe how you are going to share with others by sending an animal through Heifer
to a family in need. Explain the Heifer tradition of Passing on the Gift to another family.
Preparation
1 Pack three brown lunch bags.
In two of the bags, put animal
crackers and fruit. In the
third bag, put only an empty
container and a napkin.
2 Create game cards. Cut stiff,
colored paper into animal
shapes. You may want to use
the shape of the animal you
plan to purchase. Create enough
cards for each child to have four.
Make pairs of cards by drawing
animals, kinds of trees, or food
on the cards. You may make the
pairs by attaching stickers, two
of each picture, to the cards. The
Animal Crackers collector cards
are perfect for this game. Order
them in the "Congregational
Resources" section of the
Shop@Heifer at shop.heifer.org.
3 Gather two coats, apples,
pairs of shoes, stuffed animals
or pictures of each item.
Game
Play a card game resembling Go Fish using cards that you have made. Deal out the
cards and explain that players should try to get a matched pair. Go around the circle
allowing each child to ask one other for one of the cards he/she already holds. If
the asked child holds that card, he/she passes it to the one who needs it. If not, the
game continues with the next child asking for a card. Do this until all the cards are
matched. Invite children to share their feelings about sharing. Ask:
How did you feel when you had a card you could share?
How did you feel when other people shared their cards with you?
What happens when people don’t share with one another?
Review how Heifer helps hungry people get food and how children help Heifer.
1 Invite an older class to share
an activity or information
they’ve learned in their study.
2 Create greeting cards to
share with people in your
church who are lonely.
3 Help children prepare a snack
and share it with another class.
Closing
Practice a giving statement for the Intergenerational Celebration, such as,
“God loves people everywhere. We can help hungry people get food.”
Animal Crackers | Preschool/Kindergarten • Session 3 & 4
53
Session
1
Global Education
Grades 1-3
One Big Family
Scripture
Exodus 2:1–3:12
Preparation
1 Prepare a summary of Moses’
story found in Exodus 2:1–3:12.
2 Display a large world map.
Attach small pictures or stickers
of animals to the map with
pushpins, glue or tape.
3 Cut pictures from magazines
that show people from different
countries. Or download and print
photos: go to www.flickr.com/
photos/heifer and select the
collection titled "From the Field."
1 Discuss ways families take care
of one another. Give children
magazines, scissors and glue,
and help them create a collage
that shows people caring for one
another.
2 Let children decorate
clothespins to represent their
family members. Use these in a
diorama made by decorating the
inside of a shoebox to represent
the family home.
3 Make sock puppets, or paper
puppets attached to craft sticks.
Using a story from World Ark,
help children create a puppet
play. Present this to other
classes.
Gathering
Greet and welcome children. Introduce Heifer and explain how people are helped
when they receive animals, trees and training that assist them to care for themselves
and their family. Explain your role in the work of Heifer and discuss your goals for this
project. Identify the animals that Heifer provides, and, if you have not already done
so, choose an animal to purchase. Invite children to read and share information from
pages 6–347. If you have computer and Internet access, you might want to visit
www.heifer.org/alt-gift/sarah for a fun way to decide which Heifer gift to choose.
Collect offering and note on a progress chart.
Map Activity
Present material from the “Heifer Animal Information” list (page 80). After each
explanation, name the country and ask a student (or two) to attach a picture of
that animal to the appropriate area on a world map. Younger students may need
assistance in finding the correct location. Talk with children about the need to help
hungry people all over the world, what a big job that is, and how everyone who can
needs to help.
Bible Story
Invite them to talk about their own families—how many people, the kinds of work
and chores they do, how family members care for one another and have fun together.
Using background material from Exodus 2:2–3:12 and reading selected verses, tell
the story of Moses and his families. Some key points to cover are these:
Moses’ Hebrew mother did everything she could to keep him from being killed.
Moses was raised by the Pharaoh’s daughter—families come in a variety of shapes.
Moses had a much easier life growing up than other Hebrew children, who lived as
slaves under the Egyptians.
When Moses was grown and saw how the Egyptians treated his people, his family,
he was angry and upset. He couldn’t ignore their sadness.
When God told Moses he could help the Hebrew people, Moses did what God told
him to do. He returned to Egypt and led the people out of slavery.
Then ask:
What choices did Moses have when he learned how the Hebrews were treated?
How do you think Moses felt when he asked the Pharaoh to set the Hebrews free?
Do you think it was easy for Moses to go to the Pharaoh? Why did Moses do it?
Conclude this activity by emphasizing that we are all part of God’s family and whenever
we know about someone who needs help, God wants us to do what we can to help
that person. Talk about how it is sometimes easy to help someone and other times
more difficult. Talk about the ways we help people we know and care about and people
we don’t know, but still care about.
Closing
Sing “Jesus Loves the Little Children” and pray.
54
Global Education
Grades 1-3
We Share the Planet
2
Session
Scripture
Deuteronomy 25:4; Proverbs 12:10
Gathering
Greet children and ask volunteers to collect today’s offering and mark their progress
on the chart. Pray, giving thanks for all the good things you have and for the
opportunity to help others. Sing together, “He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands.”
Create your own verses.
Game
Play a memory matching game using cards prepared in advance. To play the game, all
cards are face down on a table. Children turn over two cards on a turn. If they make a
match they keep the cards. If they do not find a match, the cards are turned face down
again and the next child takes a turn. Do this until all cards have been matched.
Bible Story
Introduce the idea that we share the Earth with animals and that God cares for the
animals and want us to, also. Begin the Bible lesson with a guessing game.
Assign children to one of two teams. Let each team choose 10 letters from the
alphabet that they want given to them. For each team, fill in only the letters they
have chosen as they appear in the following verse: “Good people are kind to
their animals” (Proverbs 12:10, CEV). Each team will be given a paper with their
particular letters filled in. Let the teams guess what the verse says. If neither team
figures it out, let the teams work together. Then read the verse aloud. Tell children
that the Hebrew people used oxen to break the grain away from the husks when the
plants were harvested. Explain that if the people put a muzzle on the ox’s mouth,
the ox had to work a long time without eating. But, if they did not muzzle the ox,
the ox could get a bite of grain or fodder to eat as he worked. Ask a child to read
Deuteronomy 25:4 and ask:
What does this verse and the verse in Proverbs tell us about how to treat
animals?
Why do you think God wanted these verses about taking care of animals in the
Bible?
How do you think God feels when we are cruel to animals?
Caring for Animals
Invite children to tell about their pets or other animals they have helped care for.
Children who do not have pets may share information about an animal from one of
the cards they have from the memory game or from this book. Explain that before
people can receive an animal from Heifer, they have to learn how to care for the
animal. Invite children to share their ideas about how one might prepare to receive a
cow, a goat, chickens, rabbits or bees, and what kinds of care one must be prepared
to give to the animal.
Preparation
1 Find music for “He’s Got the
Whole World in His Hands.”
2 Prepare cards for memory
game. Cut playing-card size
rectangles from stiff, colored
paper. On one side of each card
attach a picture of an animal.
Make a card that contains the
name of the animal and either
a picture of that animal’s baby
or of a kind of food it produces
to match each animal card.
3 Get Bibles, paper and pencils.
1 Invite a veterinarian who
specializes in livestock care
to the class to talk about
the care of farm animals.
2 Present information about dogs
for the blind, deaf and people
with other special needs.
3 Make a trip to a pet store,
farm or zoo, and ask a
worker to explain some
of the special needs of
different kinds of animals.
4 Describe a zero-grazing pen and
tell why it’s better than letting
animals roam freely. Share
the image and the information
found at www.heifer.org/
ourwork/approach/heiferscornerstones/improved-animalmanagement/zero-grazing.
Closing
Read responsively Psalm 148:1–13.
Animal Crackers | Grades 1–3 • Session 1 & 2
55
Session
3
Global Education
Grades 1-3
We Care for the Earth
Scripture
Genesis 1: 26, 29–31a
Preparation
1 Get Bibles and music.
2 Create bingo cards, at least
one per child. Draw lines
on a piece of plain paper to
create nine or 16 spaces,
or search online for a Bingo
card generator. In each space
write the picture and name of
a tree or plant. Put these in a
different order on each card.
3 Cut pictures from magazines
or download and print some
that show people caring
for, enjoying or abusing
some part of creation.
Gathering
Greet children and ask volunteers to collect offering and note progress on the
chart. Begin with a game of tree or plant bingo. After the game, talk about the many
different kinds of plants in the world, how vegetation differs from one geographical
area to another, and the many uses for plants and plant products. Show some
pictures of food-supplying plants common to your area and ask children to tell the
food the plant gives and how it might be used. You might also choose to serve a
"dirt" snack. (Instructions are on page 66.)
Bible Story
Ask a volunteer to read aloud Genesis 1:26 and 1:29–31a. Allow children to ask
questions about these verses, and answer their questions, even if only with “I don’t
know.” Explain to children the concept of dominion or rule (page 80). Suggest that
one could use the word "caretakers" to describe the role of humans in relation to
all of creation. Ask children to share their ideas of how people can take care of
creation. Show a series of pictures cut from magazines or printed from the Internet.
For each picture, ask children to explain or describe how people are enjoying, caring
for or hurting some part of God’s creation.
1 Invite a naturalist to take
children on a nature walk and
identify plants and trees. Or get
a tree identification book from
the library and let children use
it to identify trees in your area.
2 Invite an herb grower to visit you
and talk about uses of herbs.
3 Do a produce scavenger
hunt. Give children pictures
cut from seed catalogs that
show pictures of food likely to
be found in a local produce
store. Have pairs of children
find the matching foods.
4 Start or extend a recycling
program in your church
or community.
56
Present the following scenarios, and ask children to share how they might feel in
the situation of each character. You can choose to discuss as a group or divide the
students into groups for discussion.
You loaned one of your favorite books to your friend. Your friend left it in the rain,
and when you got it back it was all wrinkled and dirty.
Your brother/sister let you borrow their bike. You left it in the street and a car
ran over it. Now it's bent and broken.
The family next door asked you to water their garden while they were out of
town. You forgot and never watered it. When they returned, all the flowers were
dead and the vegetables dried up.
Ask:
What do you think God expects from us as caretakers of creation?
What are some things we can do to take care of creation?
How do you think God feels when we don’t take care of the Earth?
Closing
Close with prayer and a song, such as this 17th-century one, titled "Let All the World
in Every Corner Sing." It is found in most denominational hymnals:
Let all the world in every corner sing; My God and King!; The heavens are not too
high; God’s praise may thither fly; The Earth is not too low; God’s praises there may
grow; Let all the world in every corner sing; My God and King!
Global Education
Grades 1-3
Sharing is Fair
4
Session
Scripture
John 21:3–13; 15–17
Gathering
Greet children, ask volunteers to collect the offering and note progress on the chart.
Give children magazines and instruct them to find pictures of people sharing things,
including time together. When everyone has a picture, invite children to show their
pictures and tell about what is being shared. (Option: Use these to create a collage.)
Talk about the pictures and ask:
What are some things people share with you?
What are some things you share with other people?
What would it be like if nobody shared things with other people?
What is the best thing anyone ever shared with you?
Bible Story
Distribute pictures to illustrate the story of Jesus sharing the fish breakfast with
the disciples or assign each child one or more elements in the story to make from
modeling clay. Tell the story, reading selected verses found in John 21:3–13, 15–17.
Include (1) Jesus’ willingness to share his help in getting the fish; (2) Jesus’ help
made a big difference to the disciples; (3) Jesus also built the fire to help out; (4)
the disciples shared their fish with Jesus; (5) Jesus told Peter to share the good
news with people all over the world. As you tell the story, invite children to post
pictures in sequential order or add their clay figures to the scene. Let children
choose simple costumes from a box of sheets, towels, curtains and robes. Set out
props made in advance. Assign the roles of Jesus, Peter and the disciple Jesus
loved. Assign everyone else roles as disciples in the boat. Tell the story again, giving
simple directions for children to role-play as you tell it.
Begin a discussion of the story with these questions:
Who needs help in the story?
Who needs help in today’s world?
How does it feel when you need some help and there’s no one to help you?
When the disciples got to the shore with the fish, what did they do?
How do you think Peter felt when Jesus told him to share with others?
How can we share with people who don’t have enough food?
Closing
Review the work of Heifer as a way of sharing with others. Describe the tradition
of Passing on the Gift. Write a giving statement to use at the Intergenerational
Celebration. Example: “God created people, plants and animals. We want all people
to have enough food. We want to help.” Have the students think of ways they
can help others. Make a list as they go. The leader can help craft this list into a
responsive prayer for the closing. For example:
Leader: When someone is angry. Students: Let us be kind.
Leader: When some one is lonely. Students: Let us be friends.
Preparation
1 Gather magazines, scissors,
paper and glue for the collage.
2 Provide modeling clay to
illustrate the Bible story scene.
3 Collect costumes. Make or
collect props: Something to
serve as a boat (like a table
turned on its side), wood or
charcoal for fire with paper
flames, paper fish for cooking,
paper bread for eating with the
fish, fish nets.
4 Find a story in World Ark.
1 Present the role-play of the
Bible story to other classes.
2 Use resources in Animal
Crackers to talk about the
animal you will purchase.
3 Share a fish breakfast of fishshaped crackers.
Suggestion for a Fifth Session
Set up centers where children
participate in projects that invite
some kind of sharing. Some
possibilities include:
Make greeting cards or cookies
for people who are sick or lonely
Make door or table decorations
for a local nursing home
Plant seeds to raise plants that
can be used in a community
garden for people in need
Do a clean-up project in your
church or community
57
Session
1
Global Education
Grades 4-6
People Are Amazing
Scripture
2 Kings 4:38–41
Preparation
1 Prepare notes on work and goals
of Heifer and gather material to
make a progress chart.
2 Get Bibles, paper and pens.
3 Choose and print photos from
World Ark (www.heifer.org/media/
world-ark) or National Geographic
that show different people around
the world. You can also choose
to bring in print issues of those
magazines and allow children to
choose their own photos.
Game
Remind children that Heifer provides
animals, seeds or trees, and training
to people to help them get food, and
that those recipients Pass on the
Gift as soon as possible. Use this
word game to start a discussion
about the relationships between
people, animals, and plants/trees.
Give each person a sheet of paper
and tell them to write the following
categories on their papers: an
animal; a kind of food; a tree or
plant; something people can share;
the name of a place. Choose a letter
of the alphabet and ask children to
name something in each category
that begins with that letter.
1 Provide simple costumes to
present the Bible story as drama.
2 Give children three inch by five
inch unlined index cards, pens
and markers. Ask them to design
Heifer postage stamps. This can
be done in teams or small work
groups.
58
Gathering
Greet and welcome children. Ask children the following questions:
Where does food come from?
How do you get food?
How do people without money get food?
Describe the goals and the work of Heifer. Explain how you will participate in that
work by purchasing an animal for Heifer to send to a family who needs help. Set
goals for fundraising and choose an animal to purchase. Collect offering today.
Make a progress chart to record money collected. If you have computer and Internet
access, you might want to visit www.heifer.org/alt-gift/sarah for a fun way to choose
your Heifer gift.
Opening Prayer
God, thank you for the gift of people for us to love and to love us. Help us spread
your love all over the world and to care for one another. Amen.
Give children photos of people from around the world. Ask them to look at the
pictures and see if they can observe things about the way people live. What are
the houses like? What kind of food might they eat? What is the weather like? Let
children show and talk about their pictures. Talk about the diversity among people
and the blessings of our differences. Suggest that there are many good ways for
people to live, but not everyone in the world has what they need for a good life.
Bible Story
Many people in the world are trying to feed themselves, but they need just a little
help. Sometimes, receiving one goat and some training can make a big difference
for a family. Tell a story from World Ark that shows how Heifer helps people learn
how to provide for themselves. Talk about the ways our choices affect other people’s
lives. There really is enough food in the world, but some people use more than their
share, so others get less than their share. Invite children to talk about their own
attitudes toward food.
Questions
What is the longest time you have had to go without food? How did you feel?
Are you aware of times when your family wastes food? Why does that happen?
What does it mean to be caretakers of the things God gives us?
How can we help hungry people get the food they need?
Closing
Remind the students about the people in the photos they selected. Ask them to
write a short prayer for the people in their photo. Invite students who wish to share
their prayers with the group to do so.
Global Education
Grades 4-6
Animals Are Extraordinary
2
Session
Scripture
Deuteronomy 25:4; Proverbs 12:10
Gathering
As children arrive, ask volunteers to create pictures of the animals you have chosen
to use in the map activity. Provide art supplies and give specific directions about size.
Get children together. Collect the offering and chart progress.
Opening Prayer
God our Creator, you made everything that lives on the Earth. You made plants
and animals and people. We know you love all of us. Help us to take care of and to
appreciate all that you have given to us. Amen.
Map Activity
Give each child information (from “Heifer Animal Information” list, page 80) about
one of the animals. Let children take turns reading about how the animal will help
people in a particular part of the world, and then attach the picture of that animal
to a world map. Create a diagram that shows the cycle of interdependence of land,
people and animals. For example: A cow provides milk, which provides food and
energy for people; and it can also be used to pull carts or plows. The manure can be
used to enrich the soil, thus yielding a better crop. The cow may pull a wagon when
harvesting the crop. The grain will be used to feed the people; the fodder will feed
the cow. Show the diagram to the children and talk about how it works.
Bible Lesson
Say that the Hebrew people used oxen to separate grain from the husks once it had
been harvested. The oxen either trampled the shucks so the grain would fall out
and then it could be collected, or they pulled heavy boards across it to knock the
grain loose. If a muzzle was put on the mouth of the ox, the ox might have to work a
long time with no food. If a muzzle was not put on the ox, the ox could get a bite of
fodder now and then as it worked. Ask a volunteer to read aloud Deuteronomy 25:4
and Proverbs 12:10. Ask:
According to these verses, how are we to treat animals?
For those of us who don’t use oxen, how specifically can we care for animals?
What pets do you have, and how do you care for them?
What do your pets do for you in return for your care?
What would happen to your pets if you did not care for them?
Preparation
You will need Bibles, copies of
World Ark, a large world map,
paper and markers or stickers
to make animal pictures.
1 Using information found at
www.heifer.org/ourwork/
approach/heifers-cornerstones/
improved-animal-management/
zero-grazing, describe a zerograzing pen and discuss the
benefits of this kind of feeding
plan.
2 Get information, or a guest
speaker, to present information
on special care dogs, that is,
dogs for people who are blind,
deaf or have other special
needs.
3 Ask a veterinarian to visit the
class and talk about large
animal care.
4 Read together Psalm 23. Talk
about the characteristics of a
good shepherd.
These verses remind us that animals and people need and care for each other.
Geese fly in a V formation, otters tie themselves together while sleeping in water
and people depend on animals for certain nutrients.
Closing
Read the Canticle of the Sun or the lyrics of the hymn, “All Creatures of our God and
King." You might also choose to sing the hymn arrangements or play them from a
CD or MP3.
59
Session
3
Global Education
Grades 4-6
Enjoy the Environment
Scripture
Psalm 104:1–25; Genesis 1: 26
Preparation
1 Get Bibles and copies of
opening prayer and songs.
2 Prepare cards for tree
matching activity.
3 Place several common items
(example: can opener, keys,
light bulb, soap, shoe) in a bag
for the stewardship activity.
4 Gather construction paper
or poster board, markers,
crayons or other art supplies.
1 Illustrate Psalm 104.
2 Ask a naturalist to be a class
guide on a nature walk. Identify
local plants, and describe
how these plants benefit
people and animals. Talk
about the care they need.
Additional Resources
Common Ground: The Water, Earth
and Air We Share by Molly Bang
Gathering
Greet children and ask volunteers to collect the offering and note progress on the
chart. Open by praying the prayer of hope from the Chippewa tradition found on page
79. Introduce the topic for this session. Give each person a card with one of the
following: 1. Cocoa/chocolate; 2. Cacao Tree; 3. Quinine (malaria drug); 4. Cinchona;
5. Brazil nuts; 6. Brazil nut tree; 7. Aspirin (original source); 8. Willow Tree;
9. Rubber; 10. Rubber Tree; 11. Kola (cola flavoring); 12. Kola Nut Tree; 13. Chicle
(first chewing gum); 14. Chicle Tree; 15. Cinnamon; 16. Ceylon or Cassia tree;
17. Maple Syrup; 18. Maple tree
Ask them to match the tree to its product by finding the person who has the match
to the card they hold. Discuss the importance of trees in providing things for
everyday life. Discuss trees as a resource for fuel, food for people and animals,
making tools and household items, and paper products. Trees also offer shade and
decrease erosion. Define erosion (page 80) and talk about the farming practices
Heifer teaches. Explain that Heifer helps people grow trees and plants best suited
to their locale and offer the greatest benefits.
Activity
Take a walk together. Collect leaves from different trees. Return to the classroom
and make a booklet, labeling the types of leaves. If weather does not permit an
outdoor activity, play a game of tree and plant bingo described on page 56.
Bible Story
Ask volunteers to read aloud Psalm 104: 1–25. Then ask people to share images
they especially liked from the psalm. Ask:
What is the purpose of this psalm? What is the attitude of its author?
How do plants, animals, humans and God relate in this psalm?
Read Genesis 1:26, then ask:
What role has God given humankind in creation?
What does “to have dominion” mean (page 80)?
Suggest rewards and responsibilities of being caretakers of creation.
Stewardship Activity
Pass around a prepared bag containing common items. Ask each person to take one
item from the bag. Then have people take turns telling what item they have and how
that item relates to an issue of caring for creation. Ask: What does that item remind
you to do to make the world a better place for everyone to live? Encourage everyone to
join in the discussion and come up with as many ways to care for creation as possible.
Closing
Choose a story from World Ark to share. Sing (or read in unison) We Plow the
Fields and Scatter or All Things Bright and Beautiful.
60
Global Education
Grades 4-6
Give a Little—Get A Lot
4
Session
Scripture
2 Kings 7: 3–16
Gathering
Greet children and ask volunteers to collect the offering and mark your progress
chart. Open with prayer and sing a creation hymn.
Bible Story
You may prefer to tell rather than read it, or read only selected verses. Give children
this information: There was a terrible famine in Samaria, and the Aramean army
was attacking. The people of Israel were holed up behind the city walls to protect
themselves from the Arameans, but they were starving to death. God made the
Arameans hear sounds that made them think they were being attacked, so they
deserted their camp. Four men with leprosy, who were not allowed inside the city,
decided to turn themselves in to the Arameans and beg for food. They found the
camp empty, but food, animals and supplies had been left behind. They ate and
drank what they wanted and were going to hide the rest. Then they decided that
would be wrong, so they told the king of Israel about their find and shared the goods
with the other starving people. Discuss the events of the story. Ask:
What thoughts might the men with leprosy have had as they sat outside the city
wall? When they found the food in the camp? When they were able to share with
others?
What could the men have done rather than share the food?
Drama
Give children an opportunity to present the story in some dramatic form. Some
possibilities are (1) Make puppets together and let children retell the story in their
own words using puppets as props; (2) Provide simple costumes and props and
invite children to present the story as you narrate it; (3) Assign participants to small
groups. Ask each group to create a hypothetical conversation the leprous men might
have had while trying to decide what to do with the food—hide it or share it. Let
each group present their conversations.
Activity
Lead a discussion on sharing:
What kinds of things do you share and with whom do you share?
Talk about a time when someone refused to share with you. Think about groups
of people who are excluded (like the lepers). How are they treated?
Celebrate the gift of sharing by creating posters to be used in the Intergenerational
Celebration.
Closing
Pass on a blessing. Everyone should stand in a circle. Choose an item, like a
rainstick, to pass. Give the group a blessing that each person can say as he/she
passes the rainstick on. Sing a song everyone knows or listen to the song “All Good
Gifts” from Godspell.
Preparation
1 Get Bibles, copies of songs and
prayers, and material for posters.
2 Prepare costumes and props or
puppet-making material for drama.
3 Choose a blessing and get a
rainstick (or make your own using
instructions from page 48 or other
item to pass.
1 Find a CD of the musical Godspell
or download the song "All Good
Gifts" from Godspell.
2 Write a psalm that expresses
praise and thanksgiving for all of
creation.
3 Review information on the animal
you plan to purchase and discuss
how that animal can help hungry
people. Do related activities from
pages 6–47.
Study Hebrew laws regarding
harvesting grain found in Leviticus
19:9–10 and Deuteronomy 24:21;
discuss their intent. Talk about laws,
rules, or traditions your culture has for
sharing and for caring for people living
in poverty.
Create an opportunity for children to
make or do something to share with
people in need. Some suggestions:
1 Work in a community garden.
2 Plan a night of group baby-sitting
for young children in your church.
Collect donations toward your
Heifer goal.
3 Collect food for a local food
pantry.
61
Session
1
Global Education
Youth
God’s Gift of People
Materials needed
Modeling clay, Bibles
Preparation
Take some time to locate two or
three local ministries or agencies
in your area that provide outreach
services to homeless people. You
might like to invite a representative
to come speak to your students.
If your students choose to take
action (see “help bags” in the
Dream section), these individuals
can help them choose appropriate
items and other ways to help.
Opening Prayer
Lord, make me an instrument of your peace; where there is hatred, let me sow
love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is doubt, faith; where there is
despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; and where there is sadness, joy. O
Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled as to console; to
be understood, as to understand; to be loved, as to love; for it is in giving that we
receive, it is in pardoning that we are pardoned, and it is in dying that we are born to
Eternal Life. Amen.
—Prayer of St. Francis
Activity
Give each student a small square of clay. Tell them to hold it in their hands and that
after a short moment of silence you will begin to read verses from the Bible. As you
read these verses, the students will begin to shape and create a person. Tell them
to take time and care when they are molding their shapes and to form the person
into a beautiful creation of God. The person can be joyful, worshiping or anything
else that expresses the goodness of creation. There will be eight verses read, so
they should take their time shaping the clay.
Note: Read the verses slowly and give a 15 second pause between each verse.
Verses: Genesis 1:26-30, Jeremiah 1:5, 29:11, Zephaniah 3:17, Isaiah 41:10,
Psalms 136:1-9, 23-26, Romans 8:35-39, 1 Peter 5:6-7, John 13: 34-35
Ask:
How does it feel to try to make something from clay?
Can you imagine how God formed you?
Which of the scriptures that were read stood out to you, and why?
How does understanding God as the creator of ALL people change your view of
God, of other people, of your self?
Discover
Have the students read John 4:4-27. Ask them to try to determine why the disciples
were so shocked that Jesus was talking with the woman. We know that many of their
concerns with her were also reasons others rejected her. Some of the reasons are
listed below:
She was a woman: In the ancient Near Eastern culture, women were seen as
property and held little to no status or rights.
She was alone: There is some indication that because she was at the well alone
at midday, she may have had no friends. This time of day was hot, inconvenient
and a dangerous time to travel to the well.
62
She was a Samaritan: This was a religion that was in conflict and, in many ways,
a bitter rival with the Judaism that Jesus and his disciples practiced.
She had many husbands: This was another sign of rejection. At this time men
were allowed to divorce their wives and leave them with very little, if any, rights
or compensation. There is also the indication that she was living with a man who
was not her husband, which afforded her no rights by his name either.
Questions
How was this woman treated by others?
How did Jesus treat her?
How can we treat people who are different than we are, who do things we
disapprove of, or are even our enemies, in ways that reflect how God sees all
people, like in the verses we heard earlier?
Dream
“All men dream: but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of
their minds wake up in the day to find it was vanity, but the dreamers of the day are
dangerous men, for they may act their dreams with open eyes, to make it possible.”
—T.E. Lawrence, Seven Pillars of Wisdom: A Triumph
Make “Help Bags” to keep in your cars, distribute in church and for families to
have when they encounter someone who is homeless. These bags could be
old backpacks donated and filled with non-perishable food (crackers, canned
meats, nuts, trail mix), water bottles, travel toilet paper roll, socks, a small tarp,
small fleece throw for warmth, laminated list of all of the homeless services in
your area, and a Bible. Encouraging notes and cards from the children in the
congregation are also a wonderful addition.
Have students go to the International Justice Mission website www.ijm.
org/resources and learn about “The Justice Mission,” “The 24 Hour Justice
Experience” and “Loose Change to Loosen Chains.” Encourage students to
explore further, and share what they learn with the rest of the student ministry,
parents and the church.
Connection to Cornerstones
Heifer International’s work is guided
by our 12 Cornerstones for Just and
Sustainable Development. These
are the principles that have guided
families toward self-reliance for 70
years. One of those Cornerstones is
Genuine Need and Justice.
Genuine Need and Justice ensures
that those most in need are given
priority in receiving animals and
training. Genuine need exists
everywhere, not just in developing
countries. So does discrimination
and bias. Be generous with your
time and resources, and be mindful
of respecting people from different
backgrounds.
To learn more about our Cornerstone
of Genuine Need and Justice, visit
www.heifer.org/ourwork/approach/
heifers-cornerstone/cornerstonegenuine-need-justice.
Closing prayer
(Circle and pray together)
May the road rise up to meet you. May the wind be always at your back. May the sun
shine warm upon your face; the rains fall soft upon your fields and until we meet
again, may God hold you in the palm of His hand.
—Traditional Gaelic Blessing
Animal Crackers | Youth • Session 1
63
Session
2
Global Education
Youth
God’s Gift of Animals
Materials needed
Bibles, birdseed, recycled materials
like plastic bottles or containers
See the link in the Activity section
for more ideas.
Preparation
Read the instructions and gather
materials for the bird feeder
activity. You may want to invite
students to bring some of the
materials or birdseed.
Opening Prayer
O God, grant us a deeper sense of fellowship with all living things, our little brothers
and sisters to whom in common with us you have given this Earth as home. We recall
with regret that in the past we have acted high handedly and cruelly in exercising
our domain over them. Thus, the voice of the Earth, which should have risen to you in
song, has turned into a groan of travail. May we realize that all these creatures also
live for themselves and for you—not for us alone. They too love the goodness of life,
as we do, and serve you better in their way than we do in ours. Amen.
—Basil the Great
Activity
Read aloud Matthew 6:26-30.
Visit www.flickr.com/photos/
heifer/ or secure1.heifer.org/giftcatalog to gather images of Heifer
animals. Allow students to select
which images to print and display
as they build an ark (see the
Dream section).
We know that the traditional interpretation of this passage is an example of how
the people of God should not worry about what they do or do not have. If we look
deeper we notice that the birds of the air are held up as being so dear to God that
they are taken care of as well. They are used as an example: if God loves them that
much, how much more does God love us? Their songs, flight patterns and lives all
point back to a God who cares for all of creation. We are called through the creation
passages in Genesis to be co-caretakers of God’s creation. For the next 20 minutes
follow the instructions found at www3.northern.edu/natsource/DAKOTA1/Birdfe1.
htm and create bird feederss from recycled items. Encourage the youth to hang
these up around their homes where they can be seen during the day; reminders of
how we are to be co-caretakers of the animals with God.
Hanging Plastic Bottle Feeder
Remove the heavy plastic bottom and label from a 2-liter plastic soda bottle. Paint
the outside of the bottle with colorful images; let each student decorate his or her
own. Then, several holes must be made in the bottle either with a drill or a hot wire.
Make holes in the bottle as follows: a 1/8 inch hole in the bottom of the bottle; four
holes 5/16 inch in diameter near the shoulder of the bottle so that dowels can be
inserted for perches; and four feeding holes about one inch above the perch holes.
The feeding holes should be 5/16 inch round if you intend to fill the feeder with black
sunflower seeds, and ¼ inch by 1/8 inch if you will be using thistle seed. Take a 14
inch clothes hanger or other stiff wire and make three bends at one end as shown.
Insert the wire, straight end first, though the mouth of the bottle and into a 1/8
inch hole in the bottle's bottom. Pull the wire through the hole and fashion a loop
from which to hang the feeder. Cut off any extra wire. Insert two dowels to serve as
perches. Fill the feeder with the desired seed and suspend from a branch. This type
of feeder will attract several species of finches and chickadees.
64
Discover
Have a few students read Job 12:7-12 aloud to the group. It is also a good idea
to use several different versions of the text when doing this to give the hearers
multiple ways to understand the text. In these verses there is a certain wisdom and
knowledge that is attributed to the animals, even to the point where they have a
special relationship with God: they know God, what God choses to do. This can be
an example to humans about God’s work in the world. Ask the students to name
some animals and what they can teach us about life and God’s promises and
relationship with creation. A couple of examples:
Dog: Trust, love and loyalty
Birds: God takes care of the smallest and fragile among us, etc.
Questions
What is God’s relationship with animals?
Does God see animals as equivalent to humans?
What should our relationships be to animals? How should we treat them; how
should we be “co-caretakers” of them with God?
Dream
Fund a Project with Heifer International: Have students go to secure1.heifer.org/
fund-a-project.html and learn about different projects that they could partner
with Heifer International to accomplish, spread awareness and do fundraising.
Build an Ark: In this project the students will go to Heifer’s catalog page
secure1.heifer.org/gift-catalog and print off pictures of animals and other items.
They will then make an ark in the church (this could be paper, made of boxes
or even wood) and tape the picture of the animals with the prices on the ark.
Place it so that people in the church can come by, choose a picture and buy that
animal through Heifer International to populate the ark. Also, encourage the
youth group to decide on an animal or animals that it will purchase as well.
Improved Animal Management.
Improved Animal Management
means that project participants
learn how to keep their animals
safe, healthy and productive.
Training and preparation for livestock
often takes the entire first year of
a five-year Heifer project. Project
participants learn animal health
and husbandry, integration of
livestock into the ecosystem and
improvement of the environment.
Preparations for animals include
building shelters and planting fodder.
Heifer also trains community animal
health workers who can administer
vaccinations and other medicines to
keep gift animals healthy.
To learn more about our Cornerstone
of about Improved Animal
Management, visit www.heifer.
org/ourwork/approach/heiferscornerstone/cornerstone-improvedanimal-management.
Closing prayer
O Lord our God, how wonderful your name in all the Earth. You have given him rule
over the works of your hands, putting all things under his feet: All sheep and oxen yes,
and the beasts of the field. O Lord our God, how wonderful your name in all the Earth.
The birds of the air, the fishes of the sea, and whatever swims the paths of the seas.
O Lord our God, how wonderful is your name in all the Earth.
—The Blessing of the Animals, St. Francis (Based on Psalm 8)
65
Session
3
Global Education
Youth
God’s Gift of Land
Materials needed
Bibles, paper cups, ice cream,
Oreos (crushed), plastic spoons,
crayons or markers, toothpicks,
paper (many colors), scissors,
tape, glue, other art supplies
Preparation
Prepare the “dirt” cups. You’ll
need enough for each student
and a few extras for guests and
leaders. (See the Activity section
for instructions). Gather the art
supplies.
Print copies of Canticle of the Sun
for each student. (If you don’t have
it readily available, it can easily be
found with an Internet search.)
Download (if you don’t have it
already) the song “All Creatures
of Our God and King” by David
Crowder.
Opening Prayer
Lord, may we love all your creation, all the Earth and every grain of sand in it. May
we love every leaf, every ray of your light. For we acknowledge to you that all is like
an ocean, all is flowing and blending, and that to withhold any measure of love from
anything in your universe is to withhold that same measure of love from you.
—Fyodor Dostoyevsky
Activity
Prep: Before this session, gather enough paper cups for each student attending
(add a few more for guests). Get a bag of Oreos, one cookie for each person, with
guests in mind, and put them in a food processor or a Ziploc bag. Crush the Oreos
into a fine, indistinguishable powder. At this point the Oreos should look like potting
soil. Take the cups and fill them 2/3 of the way up with vanilla soft-serve ice cream.
Put a layer of the Oreo “soil” over the ice cream so that it looks like a cup of potting
soil. Place in the freezer until time for youth group.
Have crayons, markers and other art supplies set out with paper and scissors,
toothpicks and tape for the students when they arrive. Read aloud Psalm 56:5-13.
The New Revised Standard Version of this passage is especially well written.
Have the students create the most beautiful flower they can imagine out of the
materials supplied, while the leader reads the passage several more times. Once
finished, have them tape the flower to a toothpick and “plant” it into the Oreo dirt.
Have spoons ready! (It’s kind of fun not tell the students that it is actually Oreos and
ice cream. Just wait and see how long it takes them and who is brave enough to
actually try to eat “dirt.”)
Discover
Have the students read Psalm 104 aloud to the group. Now tell the group to use
some paper and pens and write down everything that the land is used for in the
verses.
Questions
66
What is the land used for in the verses to which we listened?
What would happen if those things were taken away?
How does God seem to view the land?
How do we as humans usually view the land and nature?
What are things that are done in your area that take care of the land?
What are things done in your area that does not take care of the land?
Is taking care of the land an environmental issue or a theological issue?
Encourage the students to download the song “All Creatures of Our God and King”
by David Crowder. Also print out and give them a copy of St. Francis’ Canticle of the
Sun to keep with them this week. Tell them to either read the canticle or listen to
the song each morning when they wake up this week and go through the day looking
for God’s beauty in creation.
Dream
Have the students go through the week with either the camera on their phones,
a digital camera or even a disposable camera, and take pictures of beauty
wherever they see it in God’s creation. They should be on the lookout from
the time they wake up until the time they go to bed for the beauty around
them. Have the students send the pictures to the youth leader before the next
meeting. Print out the photos and let the students make a collage of beautiful
things to hang in your meeting space. This is an activity that can be done many
times during the year, especially during the changing of the seasons.
Ask the leadership of your church if there are any areas that the youth group
could help “beautify.” This could be anything from planting a flower garden,
mulching and weeding, to planting box gardens around the church with
vegetables and herbs. If you are able to plant and maintain a vegetable and
herb garden, invite members of the church who have gardening experience to
join with the youth in the planting and upkeep. When you begin to harvest, allow
the youth to taste what you have grown. Have the youth research and decide on
a local food bank or homeless shelter to which to donate your produce.
Have the students research and tell others about an exciting organization
called Leaf for Life (leafforlife.org). This is an organization that helps combat
malnutrition all over the world with the nutrients found in common leaves.
Closing prayer
Hold on to what is good even if it is a handful of earth. Hold on to what you believe
even if it is a tree which stands by itself. Hold on to what you must do even if it is a
long way from here. Hold on to life even when it is easier letting go. Hold on to my
hand even when I have gone away from you.
Improving the Environment.
Caring for the Earth is a huge part
of every Heifer project. Animals
are chosen based largely on how
appropriate they are for the local
environment. Reforestation is a facet
of Heifer projects in denuded areas,
and manure and crop residues are
used to reinvigorate anemic soil.
Environmental degradation is a
problem to which we all contribute,
so we all have a responsibility to
help the Earth heal. Be mindful of
how your choices of what to eat,
how to travel and where to live affect
people, animals and ecosystems
around you.
To learn more (and watch some
videos) about Heifer’s efforts toward
Improving the Environment visit
www.heifer.org/ourwork/approach/
heifers-cornerstone/cornerstoneimproving-the-environment.
—Pueblo Poem
67
Session
4
Global Education
Youth
God’s Gift of Generosity
Materials needed
Bibles, several sheets of colored
paper, writing paper, pens/pencils
Preparation
Gather materials. Visit www.
heifer.org to learn more about the
practice of Passing on the Gift
Opening Prayer
Empower me to be a bold participant, rather than a timid saint in waiting,
in the difficult ordinariness of now to exercise the authority of honesty
rather than to defer to power, or deceive to get it, to influence someone for justice,
rather than impress anyone for gain; and by grace, to find treasures of joy,
of friendship, of peace bidden in the fields of the daily you give me to plow.
—Ted Loder
Activity
Explain the Heifer tradition of Passing on the Gift, giving the animal’s first female
offspring, or the equivalent value, to another family in need. Show the magnitude of
this kind of giving in this way:
Give one-fourth of the people a sheet of colored paper—each person should have a
different color. Ask those people (group two) to tear their paper in half and give the
other halves to people (group two) who have no paper. Then ask both groups to tear
their papers in half. Group one may keep theirs (to build up their herds) and group
two people pass theirs on (to group three). Tell everyone to tear their papers in half.
Group two may keep both halves. Groups one and three pass on their other halves,
and so on. Discuss how many more people, besides the first recipient, benefit from a
Heifer gift.
Discover
Read aloud the story of the Good Samaritan from Luke 10:30-37. This story is
very interesting because it shows how generosity goes above and beyond normal
courtesy and kindness. It is also important to note that the Samaritan and the Jew
were cultural enemies because of some pretty major religious differences. It was
scandalous for Jesus, a Jew, to have two very high-ranking religious leaders pass by
the man of their same religion, for the injured man to then be helped by someone of
a rival religion. Jesus is calling us to be generous beyond what is accepted and what
is comfortable.
Questions
What would have been a “common courtesy” thing to do in this situation?
How did the Samaritan man go above and beyond common courtesy in his
actions toward the man who was stranded?
How are we called to do the same sort of things in our lives?
What are some ways you can go above and beyond in your life at school, home
and in your extracurricular activities?
What are some ways that people have been generous with you in your life?
68
Dream
Have the students form groups of three to four people and provide them with paper
and pens. Ask them to answer the following questions in each group and record the
answers. Allow two to four minutes for each question.
How have you been challenged?
How have your views have changed?
What pieces of the study have lit a fire in you to want to go out and do
something in the world?
With students still sitting in groups, have each group report their answers to the
questions. Take note of the answers to the last question.
When all of the groups have spoken, review the ways they answered the last
question. Write those answers on half sheets of paper or card stock and lay them
around the room on the floor. Ask the students to sit around the subject that
they are most passionate about, and to write their names on the sheet of paper
with their chosen project. For the remainder of the gathering, help the students
brainstorm the ways each group can work together over the next few months to
raise awareness, funds and do work for their projects. It will be important for the
leader(s) to check in week to week on the groups, encouraging, helping, resourcing
and bringing attention to their subject matter. At the end of a month, have the teams
report on their progress to the rest of the group.
Closing prayer
May I reach that purest heaven—be to other souls the cup of strength in some great
agony; enkindle generous ardor, feed pure love, beget the smiles that have no cruelty.
Be the sweet presence of a good diffused, and in the diffusion ever more intense! So
shall I join the choir invisible whose music is the gladness of the world.
—George Eliot (aka Mary Ann Evans)
Passing on the Gift.
Passing on the Gift allows families
who received Heifer gifts to become
donors as they pass on these gifts
to other families in need. After their
projects are established, families
that received resources from
Heifer—such as livestock, seeds
or training—pass on these gifts
to other families in need in their
community. This allows them to help
others as they have been helped,
and to share the resources that they
now have in abundance.
In what specific ways has someone
helped you or your family in the
last month? Using the spirit of that
gift, how can you pass it along to
someone else in need? Whether
reaching out to old friends or to
a stranger, the idea is to help
someone in the way you've been
helped, a way that might not have
occurred to you before.
To watch a video of a Passing on the
Gift ceremony, visit www.heifer.org/
ourwork/approach/passing-on-thegift.
69
Session
1
Global Education
Scripture Study
The Gift of People
Scripture
Exodus 2:11–3:12; Matthew 8:1–3;
Luke 18:15–17; Luke 19:1–10;
John 4:1–15; 2 Corinthians 8:9
Preparation
Get Bibles, pens and paper, and
choose a story from World Ark or
pages 6-47.
1 Discuss the rules, laws and
traditions that address hunger
issues.
2 Identify and learn more about
organizations in your community
that help hungry people.
For a free catalog of all
Bread for the World resources,
call 800-822-7323; write to:
Bread for the World,
50 F Street, NW, Suite 500,
Washington, D.C. 20001, USA;
visit www.bread.org.
Gathering
Welcome participants to the class, describe the work and goals of Heifer, make a
group decision on animals to purchase and set goals for raising funds. Open with a
prayer and sing “We Are One in the Spirit.”
Bible Study
Read aloud 2 Corinthians 8:9. Offer Paul’s description of Jesus’ life as an example
of how we should live. What does it mean to you? Jesus treated all people with love
and respect. Assign participants to one of four groups and give each group one of
the following scripture references: Matthew 8:1–3; Luke 18:15–17; Luke 19:1–10;
John 4:1 15. Instruct groups to read assigned passages and answer the following:
How is the person, or group generally regarded within the community?
What is uncommon or surprising about Jesus’ encounter with the person?
What does Jesus offer the person?
How does the person respond to Jesus?
What lesson does this story give about how to treat people?
Call everyone back together. Invite each group to tell about the story they read and
to share their responses to the story. Review the events of the story of Moses found
in Exodus 2:11–3:12, though you probably won’t want to read all of it. Discuss
these questions:
How do you think Moses’ life differed from other Hebrew people’s?
What were Moses’ choices once he saw how the Egyptians treated the Hebrews?
What events of justice or injustice appear in the story?
Why do you think God chose Moses to lead the people out of slavery?
How did the lifestyle of the Egyptians affect the lifestyle of the Hebrews?
In what ways do our lifestyle choices affect the standard of living of other people?
What do you believe to be your responsibility in determining the standard of living
of other people?
Defining Community
Give each person a piece of paper and a pen. Instruct them to draw four concentric
circles on the paper and write their family name, or names of family members, in the
smallest, center circle. Write the name of their town, school, or workplace in the next
larger circle, the name of their country in the next circle and EARTH in the last circle.
Assign participants to small work groups or let individuals answer specific questions
about each part of their world community. Ask people to answer these questions.
What needs have you met within each of these four communities?
What gifts and talents do you bring to the community?
What responsibility do you have to the people in each community?
Are we responsible for ensuring everyone has enough food? Why or why not?
Closing
Close by telling a story from World Ark and reading Psalm 146 responsively.
70
Global Education
Scripture Study
The Gift of Animals
2
Session
Scripture
Gathering
Welcome people and introduce today’s topic. Collect the offering and open with a
prayer or a unison reading of Psalm 148.
Bible Study
Begin by saying that many stories in the Bible include information about animals.
You may wish to review the story of creation given in Genesis 1–2 and talk about
the meaning of dominion (page 80). Discuss what rights and responsibilities are
given to humankind as caretakers of God’s creation, including care of animals. Give
background information before asking a volunteer to read aloud Deuteronomy 25:4.
Tell learners that oxen were used to separate the harvested grain from husks. If an
animal was not muzzled, it could get bites of fodder as it worked. Ask:
What seems to be the intention of this law?
What does it say to us about how to treat animals? Say that other Bible stories
support the idea that animals have significance to God. Assign small groups to
read these scripture passages and then report back to the larger group about the
significance of the animal in the story and the message the story relates.
1. Raven—1 Kings 17:2–6
2. Worm and cattle—Jonah 4:6–11
3. Fish—Matthew 17: 24–27
Ask a volunteer to read aloud Mark 11:1–11. Then, discuss the roles of the animal
in this story. Ask:
What details about the donkey are given?
How is the donkey a means of delivering a message to the people?
In what way does the donkey define who and what Jesus is?
In what ways do animals define who we are? (What kinds of animals do we own?
What benefits do we get from animals? How do we care for our animals?)
In what ways are project partners’ lives defined by or changed by receiving an
Heifer animal?
Deuteronomy 25:4; 1 Kings 17: 2–6;
Jonah 4:6–11; Matthew 17: 24–27;
Mark 11:1–11
Preparation
1 Get Bibles and copies of
discussion questions.
2 Prepare animal information and
large world map for the map
activity.
1 Ask someone from your local
animal shelter to speak to your
group and offer suggestions
on how you can better care for
animals.
2 Sing or read aloud the refrain
found in many denominational
hymnals: All good gifts around
us; Are sent from heaven above;
So thank the Lord; O thank the
Lord; For all God’s love.
Map Activity
Review the work of Heifer and include information about training in animal
husbandry and preparations that occur before a family receives an animal. To
explore the ways animals make a difference in the lives of hungry people and to
get an idea of the scope of Heifer’s work, do the map activity described on page
59. Use information provided in the “Heifer Animal Information” list (page 80) and
attach slips of paper that have the names of the animals to the appropriate places
on the map.
Closing
Sing “God of the Sparrow,” or “All Creatures of Our God and King,” or another
creation hymn your group knows.
Animal Crackers | Scripture Study• Session 1 & 2
71
Session
3
Global Education
Scripture Study
The Gift of Land
Scripture
Hosea 4:3; Leviticus 25:1–7, 18–23;
Deuteronomy 26:1–3, 12–13
Gathering
Preparation
Greet participants and collect the offering. Pray the words to a creation hymn from
your hymnbook.
1 Gather Bibles, copies of prayers
and songs, materials for
stewardship bingo and items for
the stewardship activity.
2 Gather information about zerograzing pens (page 80).
Find out how you can help with local
tree planting and soil conservation
projects.
Tree Activity
Begin by matching trees to their products. Use the list on page 60 and add others
of your own. Explain how Heifer works with project partners to find the animals best
suited to their needs and the available food sources. Share these examples of how
indigenous trees enable people to care for themselves and their animals:
In parts of India camels eat the leaves of wild Pala trees
In the Dominican Republic, goats eat the pods from mesquite trees
Heifer promotes the use of nitrogen-fixing trees that put nutrients back into
the soil. In Zimbabwe, Heifer helps children grow Leucaena trees that produce
livestock fodder and firewood. They help stop erosion of the soil.
Describe the concept of zero-grazing pens and discuss the advantages of this type
of feeding plan, versus letting animals graze at will on limited pasture.
Bible Study
Inform participants that the people of Israel were given specific laws about caring for
the land. Assign people to small groups and assign each group either the passage
from Leviticus or Deuteronomy. Ask the groups to read the verses and discuss these
questions.
What do these verses tell us about the proper attitude toward the land?
What do these verses tell us about ownership of the land?
What is the intent of the law?
How do these verses correspond to the lessons in Genesis 1:26 and Psalm 24:1?
List the roles and responsibilities of humans with regard to the land.
What lessons are there for us, today, about treatment of the land and how can we
respond in an active way?
Stewardship Activity
Use common, everyday items to prompt discussion about ways to be good stewards.
This activity is explained on page 60. You may choose to play stewardship bingo.
Give all participants a paper and instruct them to mark off 16 squares on a fourinch by four-inch grid. Brainstorm ideas for caring for the land. As items are named,
participants write these in the squares—each person will write the items in a
different order on the grids. Play the game like regular bingo.
Closing
Prepare a giving statement to be read at the Intergenerational Celebration.
Read responsively Psalm 104:1–24 and sing “We Plow the Fields and Scatter.”
Or, see closing on page 61.
72
Global Education
Scripture Study
The Gift of Generosity
4
Session
Scripture
Leviticus 19: 9–10; 1 Kings 17: 8–16;
Psalm 104:10–23
Gathering
Greet participants and collect offering. Tell a story from World Ark.
Preparation
Opening Prayer
Great, O God, are all your works. We praise you for gifts of food and water, for plants
and animals, and for your great love for all people. Help us to be good stewards of
all you have entrusted into our care—enjoying the magnificence of your creation,
but taking only what we need, always mindful of the needs of others. Give us hearts
eager to share and hands eager to do your work in the world. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
1 Gather Bibles, music, index cards,
pens and sheets of colored paper.
2 Find a CD or download the song
"All Good Gifts" from the musical
Godspell.
Bible Study
Review Psalm 104: 10–23 and explain that the psalmist celebrates God as both
creator and provider. Distribute blank index cards and ask participants to write a
two-part sentence that praises God as creator and provider. Collect the cards for
use in closing worship. Ask a volunteer to read aloud Leviticus 19:9–10, then ask:
How would you define generosity within the context of this law?
What do these verses say about ownership and stewardship of the land?
What responsibility do land owners and managers have to the poor, orphans,
widows and foreigners?
What attitudes are valued, and what attitudes are discouraged?
What lesson from these verses speaks to you?
1 Plan a group project to benefit
people in your church or
community who need help. For
example, plan a workday at the
homes of homebound people
or donate some time to a local
shelter for homeless.
2 Locate the nearest Habitat for
Humanity project, learn more
about their work, and spend a
day building.
Illustrate the principle of leaving for others something you could rightfully claim as your
own with examples from your own life. Talk about your reactions to the instructions in
these verses. Ask participants for specific examples of how to act on them. Read a
story about sharing in 1 Kings 17: 8–16 and look for details that define the widow’s
generosity, including her willingness to share though she and her son were in need.
Generate a list of suggestions for following her example.
Additional Resource
Activity
Tales of the Heart: Affective
Approaches to Global Education.
Hampson, Tom and Loretta
Whalen.
Explain the Heifer tradition of Passing on the Gift, giving the animal’s first female
offspring or the equivalent value to another family in need. Show the magnitude this
way: Give one-fourth of the group a sheet of colored paper—each person should have
a different color. Ask those people (group one) to tear their paper in half and give the
other halves to people (group two) who have no paper. Then ask both groups to tear
their papers in half. Group one may keep theirs (to build up their herds) and group two
people must pass theirs on (to group three). Tell everyone to tear their papers in half.
Group two may keep both halves. Groups one and three pass on the other halves, and
so on. Discuss how many more people benefit. Make plans to meet your financial goal.
Friendship Press offers the following
resources on their website:
friendshippress.org/index.htm
Eradicating Global Poverty, A
Christian Study Guide on the
Millennium Development Goals
Prepare and serve a simple meal
of beans and rice. Share goals and
suggestions for achieving a simpler
lifestyle.
Closing
Prepare a giving statement to be read aloud at the closing celebration. Listen to “All
Good Gifts” from Godspell.
Animal Crackers | Scripture Study• Session 3 & 4
73
Session
1
Global Education
Small Group Discussions
IMPROVING THE ENVIRONMENT
Scripture
Leviticus 25:23-24 (NIV)
The land must not be sold
permanently, because the land
is mine and you are but aliens
and my tenants. Throughout
the country that you hold as a
possession, you must provide for
the redemption of the land.
Gathering
Participants share news of what has been happening in their lives. Simple responses
to what someone shares are appropriate without extended dialogue or problem solving.
Discussion
Heifer’s work is focused on ending hunger, but that goal cannot be accomplished
without also caring for the Earth. Poor agriculture is often related to soil erosion. Lack
of water is often related to deforestation. And global warming is already hurting the
world's most poor and vulnerable through drought and changing ecosystems. If Heifer
is going to set families on a path of sustainable prosperity, then the work must be done
with the goal of a healthy environment in mind.
Achieving environmental sustainability is a part of everything Heifer does. Heifer
teaches farmers around the world how to farm in environmentally friendly ways,
including organic farming methods. Appropriate technology is introduced, such as
biogas which saves forests from being harvested for firewood. Creating a healthier
planet is the ultimate goal.
Questions
Environmental degradation is a problem to which we all contribute, so we all have a
responsibility to help the Earth heal. Be mindful of how your choices of what to eat,
how to travel and where to live affect people, animals and ecosystems around you.
What choices do you make to help the environment?
What do the verses in Leviticus tell us about the proper attitude toward the land?
How do we prioritize our choices regarding the environment? On economics? On
science? On ethics?
Sharing
We practice deep listening by refraining from commenting on what another says, letting
the silence between us convey our affirmation and carrying what we have heard into our
soul.
Likes and Wishes
This is a positive format for feedback. What in this session particularly moved you or
was meaningful?
Closing
"But ask the animals, and they will teach you, or the birds of the air, and they will tell
you; or speak to the Earth, and it will teach you, or let the fish of the sea inform you.
Which of all these does not know that the hand of the LORD has done this? In his hand
is the life of every creature and the breath of all mankind."
— Job 12:7-10 (NIV)
74
Global Education
Genuine Need and Justice
Gathering
Discussion
Heifer's Genuine Need and Justice Cornerstone helps guide our work to make sure
that those who get help are those who are most in need. Genuine Need means that
those who receive livestock and training from Heifer are experiencing hardship and
require assistance. The justice aspect of this Cornerstone corresponds to the need
to overcome generational poverty that has resulted from such things as discrimination
and racism. In many of Heifer’s project areas, women have been denied access to
education and income-generating activities; through this Cornerstone, Heifer often
seeks to ensure that women are the first to receive Heifer livestock and training.
Heifer works with marginalized groups as well, including those who have been
rejected due to social status or ethnicity.
2
Session
Scripture
Micah 6:8 (English Standard
Version [ESV])
He has told you, O man, what is
good; and what does the Lord
require of you but to do justice,
and to love kindness, and to
walk humbly with your God?
Questions
Genuine need exists everywhere, not just in developing countries. So does
discrimination and bias.
Have you ever been witness to discrimination or bias?
Who are the people who are excluded from our community?
How can we respond in an active way to the needs of people who are “on the
fringes"?
How can we hold ourselves and one another accountable for showing kindness?
Sharing
the silence between us convey our affirmation and carry what we have heard into our
soul.
Likes and Wishes
was meaningful?
Closing Word
“But whether they live on the plains or in the valleys, whether they live in slums or
isolated villages, whether they speak Hindi, Swahili or Uzbek, they have one thing in
common: They do not want charity. They want a chance. They do not want solutions
imposed from without. They want the opportunity to build from within. They do not
want my culture or yours. They want their own. They want a future enriched by the
inheritance of their past.”
—James D. Wolfensohn, World Bank President
Animal Crackers | Small Group Discussion • Session 1 & 2
75
Session
3
Global Education
Sharing and Caring
Scripture
John 13:34-35 (ESV)
A new commandment I give to you,
that you love one another: just as
I have loved you, you also are to
love one another. By this all people
will know that you are my disciples,
if you have love for one another.
Gathering
Discussion
Sharing and Caring embodies the belief that global problems can be solved if everyone
commits to sharing resources and caring for others. Cooperation and friendship are
key components of all Heifer projects. Recipients of animals and trainings are expected
to share what they learn with their neighbors. It's not uncommon for Heifer project
recipients to share their animals' bounty, too. Families who receive draft animals often
help till neighbors' fields, and people with chickens often share eggs.
Questions
Most of us have lots to share. Making a donation is an easy thing to do. Volunteering
your time to help a nonprofit organization is great, too. But there are smaller ways to
share and care that are also meaningful. Taking a meal to an elderly neighbor, offering
an afternoon of babysitting to a tired parent or even just picking up litter so the park is
nicer for everyone else are excellent ways to show you care.
In what ways do you care and share for others?
What are some needs within our community that we can meet as a group?
How can we cultivate a culture of caring within our families? Within our
congregation? Within our neighborhoods?
Sharing
the silence between us convey our affirmation and carry what we have heard into our
soul.
Likes and Wishes
was meaningful?
Closing Word
"Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear,
an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to
turn a life around."
—Leo Buscaglia
76
Global Education
Genuine Need and Justice
Gathering
Discussion
4
Session
Scripture
Luke 3:11 (ESV)
And he answered them, “Whoever
has two tunics is to share with
him who has none, and whoever
has food is to do likewise.
Passing on the Gift allows families who have received Heifer gifts to become
donors as they pass on these gifts to other families in need. After their projects
are established, families that received resources from Heifer—such as livestock,
seeds or training—pass on these gifts to other families in need in their community.
This action allows them to help others as they have been helped, and to share the
resources that they now have in abundance.
Focus Questions
In what specific ways has someone helped you or your family in the last month?
Perhaps someone pitched in with childcare during an emergency, brought over a meal
or simply listened to a problem you were struggling with. Using the spirit of that gift,
how can you pass it along to someone else in need? Whether reaching out to old
friends or to a stranger, the idea is to help someone in the way you've been helped,
a way that might not have occurred to you before.
Sharing
We practice deep listening by refraining from commenting on what another says,
letting the silence between us convey our affirmation and carry what we have heard
into our soul.
Likes and Wishes
was meaningful?
Closing Words
"We make a living by what we get; we make a life by what we give."
—Sir Winston Churchill
"A wise woman who was traveling in the mountains found a precious stone in a
stream. The next day she met another traveler who was hungry, and the wise woman
opened her bag to share her food. The hungry traveler saw the precious stone and
asked the woman to give it to him. She did so without hesitation. The traveler left,
rejoicing in his good fortune. He knew the stone was worth enough to give him
security for a lifetime. But a few days later he came back to return the stone to the
wise woman.' 'I've been thinking,' he said, 'I know how valuable the stone is, but I
give it back in the hope that you can give me something even more precious. Give me
what you have within you that enabled you to give me the stone.'"
—"The Wise Woman's Stone" Author Unknown
Animal Crackers | Small Group Discussion • Session 3 & 4
77
Resources
Intergenerational Event
Give God the Glory!
the lizards find a home under the rocks. Fish fill
the waters of the Earth and elephants and lions
roam the land. Praise God for people of all colors
and all sizes, and all ages. Let everything that
lives and moves on the Earth praise the Lord!
Gathering
As people gather show the opening scenes from the
Disney movie The Lion King that include the song,
“Circle of Life” or sing “This Pretty Planet”, “All
Good Gifts Around Us,” or “Let All the World in Every
Corner Sing” from a denominational hymnbook.
Litany of Praise
Assign small groups of people to each part and include
the whole congregation. You will not have to print this for
the congregation.
Leader: Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the Earth.
Worship the Lord with gladness. Come into God’s
presence with singing and sounds of praise.
Praise God, all you hens and chicks, and ducks.
Hens and Chicks: [make clucking sounds]
Ducks: [quack]
Leader: Praise the Lord all furry llamas and humpbacked
camels.
Llamas and Camels: [make spitting sounds with lips]
Leader: Praise God, our Creator, all trees swaying
in the breezes and rustling your leaves.
Trees: [some wave arms in the air; others rub
hands together to make rustling sound]
Leader: Praise God all hopping rabbits and cows
giving milk.
Rabbits: [hop]
Cows: [some “moo,” others say “squish-squish” and
make milking motions]
Leader: Praise the God who made you, all birds of
the air and reptiles on the land. Bless the
Lord all you buzzing bees.
Birds:
[flap arms and whistle]
Snakes: [hiss]
Bees: [buzz]
Leader: The Lord our God has created all things well. God
causes the grass to grow for cattle and plants
for people to use. God waters the Earth so all
can live. The birds find nests in the trees and
78
All: [Do whatever they did earlier in the litany.]
Leader: The Lord is good. God’s steadfast love endures
forever. God’s faithfulness is to all people in
all generations. Praise the Lord! Amen.
Sing Together
“All Things Bright and Beautiful”
Celebrating People
Ask younger children to hold up their paper doll
chains and sing, “Jesus Loves the Little Children.”
Skit
"A Variation on the Noah Story"
Preparation
Puppet faces can be made in advance or created in
intergenerational learning centers as part of this celebration.
Make puppets by taping paper plates onto wooden craft
sticks. Cut eyeholes in the plates and decorate them
with ears, facial features, etc. using feathers, cotton and
colored paper. Distribute puppets to people of all ages.
Draw an ark (see page 84) on a large piece of brown
paper and tape it onto the backs of two chairs. People/
animals can stand behind it when they are on the ark.
Scene 1
Using Genesis 6:9–22, 17–19; 8:6–19, one person (either
a narrator, or the person portraying Noah) should tell the
story of Noah on the ark. As the story is told, people holding
puppets (any number) should enter the ark. Sing together
“All Creatures of Our God and King” or another song with
repetitive phrases that people can sing without reading.
Scene 2
As animals prepare to leave the ark, a group of people arrive
and speak to Noah. Each in turn asks for some animal.
Use material from the “Heifer Animal Information” (page
80) and pages 6–47 to write the request from each person.
The conversation could go like this:
Person 1: “Hello, sir. I hear you’ve been on
this ark for a long time with a
bunch of animals. I was wondering
if you have any rabbits to spare?”
Noah: “Well, yes. We took two on
board, but we’ve got lots now.
I think we could spare a few.
What will you do with them?”
Person 1: “There are some Haitian families
who desperately need food
and money. The rabbits could
live well on the grasses there,
and the cages wouldn’t take
up too much room in the small
camps. Your rabbits might save
a lot of people from starving.”
Noah: “Here take these.” [rabbit
puppets go with Person 1]
Person 1: “Thanks very much for sharing.”
Create a similar conversation with several
animals.
Scene 3
Noah and his family gather round to say a
prayer.
All: “Thank you God, for all you’ve given
us, and for allowing us to share with
people who are poor and hungry. Amen.”
class colors the thermometer to signify
the money they add. Each class comes
forward, reads the giving statement
prepared in their last session, places
their money in the designated place,
and marks the progress chart.
3. Each group adds pieces to a
large Heifer animal puzzle until
the puzzle is complete.
Prayer of Hope from the
Chippewa tradition
We pray that someday an arrow will be
broken, not in something or someone, but by
each of humankind, to indicate peace, not
violence. Someday, oneness with creation,
rather than domination over creation, will
be the goal to be respected. Someday,
fearlessness to love and make a difference
will be experienced by all people. Then the
eagle will carry our prayer for peace and
love, and the people of the red, white, yellow,
brown and black communities can sit in the
same circle together to communicate in love
and experience the presence of the Great
Mystery in their midst. Someday can be
today for you and me. Amen.
—Book of Common Worship, page796. *
Closing
1. A picture of an ark. Each class attaches
pictures of animals their money will
purchase.
“Song of Hope” from Argentina
Give children simple rhythm instruments to
play along while you sing “Song of Hope”
or another benediction everyone knows.
May the God of hope go with us everyday.
Filling all our lives with love and joy and
peace. May the God of justice speed
us on our way. Bringing light and hope
to every land and race. Praying, let us
work for peace. Singing, share our joy
with all. Working for a world that’s new,
Faithful when we hear Christ’s call.
2. A picture of a big thermometer. Each
—The Presbyterian Hymnal, #432
Louisville, Ky: Westminster John Knox Press
The Offering
Preparation
Create a progress chart that can be
changed by each class to show the
growing amount of money and what it can
provide for hungry people. Examples:
Optional
Intergenerational
Activities
Make bread, cookies
or ice cream.
Talk about the sources
of ingredients as you
prepare the food. For
example, vanilla extract
from vanilla beans,
chocolate chips from the
cacao tree, honey from
bees, sugar from cane,
flour from grains, etc.
Make animal crackers
½ cup oatmeal; 2 tsp.
honey; ¼ plus
1/8 tsp salt; ¾ c. flour;
¼ tsp soda; ¼ cup
butter, softened; 4 T
buttermilk
Grind oatmeal in blender
until fine. Add honey,
salt, flour and soda.
Mix well. Cut in butter
and add buttermilk.
Blend well. Roll very
thin. Cut with animal
cookie cutters. Place on
ungreased cookie sheet.
Bake at 400 degrees
F until brown, 10-12
minutes
Animal Crackers | Resources • Intergenerational Event
79
Resources
Animal Information
1. In Guatemala, chickens provide a family with an
improved diet and better nutrition. This means
they have less illness and more energy for
activities like schoolwork.
Animal cracker: small animal-shaped cookie
2. In Bangladesh, goats have increased families’
income and encouraged women to take
leadership within their community.
Animal well being: Heifer requires project
partners to provide environment and care for their
animal that minimizes stress and satisfies its basic
behavioral and social needs
3. Llamas enabled families in Bolivia to regain their
connection to their heritage, while providing wool
and fertilizer (from manure) for their gardens.
Aquaculture: farming what grows naturally in
4. In Rwanda, cows have provided increased
income and encouraged entrepreneurial spirit as
a community and country rebuilds from conflict.
5. A gift of pigs and training helped a woman in the
Philippines regain a feeling of confidence and
self-worth in addition to adding needed income
and nutrition.
6. In the Eastern European country of Georgia,
rabbits improved the livelihoods of three
generations of a family, while bringing neighbors
together in strengthened community.
7. Income from a flock of sheep has helped a
family in a remote area of China to improve their
home by bringing electricity for light and cooking.
8. A man with a thriving fish farm in Tanzania
reached out to his impoverished neighbors to
help them establish fish farms that provide
nutrition and conserve the environment.
9. For a single mother of seven in South Africa, tree
seedlings gave variety to her family’s diet and
hope for a better future.
10. The milk from a water buffalo has improved the
diet and income for a Romanian family. Their
animal is part of an effort to revitalize water
buffalo farming and preserve the species.
80
Glossary
invented in 1898 and extolled in Christopher
Morley’s poem, which begins: “Animal crackers and
cocoa to drink; That is the finest of suppers, I think.”
water, such as fish or shellfish
Browse: to nibble or feed on leaves or shoots
Cornerstone: basic element or foundation
Dominion: exerting controlling influence on the
ecological community
Erosion: wearing away slowly
Heifer: female bovine that has not yet borne a calf
Leucaena: fast growing leguminous tree that
returns nitrogen to the soil
Project partner: individual or group who receives
Heifer animals and training and agrees to pass them
on to others in need
Ruminant: animals like sheep, goats, cattle and
camels with three- or four-chambered stomachs
Seedling: a young tree before it becomes a sapling
Sustainable: capable of continuing without outside
support
Zero-grazing: enclosing livestock in a shady,
fenced area and carrying fodder and water to them
Resources
Jesu, Jesu, Fill us with YOur Love
C HERE P ONI
Ghanaian Folk Song
Trans. Tom Colvin, 1969
Irregular with Refrain
Ghanaian Folk Melody
Adapt. Tom Colvin, 1963
Arr. Jane Marshall, 1982
© 1969 by Hope Publishing Company, arr. © 1982 by Hope Publishing Company, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. Used by permission. Permission to reproduce this hymn must be obtained from Hope Publishing Company 800.323.1049
Hunger Facts
868 million people around the
world are undernourished.
Source: Food and Agriculture
Organization of the United
Nations, The State of Food
Insecurity in the World, 2011;
www.fao.org/hunger/en/
852 million people in
developing countries alone are
hungry, with one in four living
in sub-Saharan Africa.
Undernutrition contributes to
2.6 million deaths of children
under 5 each year—one third
of the global total.
Source: Levels and Trends in Child
Mortality, UNICEF, 2011 www.
unicef.org/media/files/Child_
Mortality_Report_2011_Final.pdf
1 billion people live below the
poverty line, earning less than
$1.25 a day.
Source: United Nations Millenium
Development Goals Report, 2012
www.un.org/millenniumgoals/pdf/
MDG%20Report%202012.pdf
More than half of the world’s
hungry live in Asia.
In the United States, 17 million
households experience
hunger or the risk of hunger,
representing more than one
in seven households.
Source: “Household Food
Security in the United States,
2011.” ERS Research Briefs.
www.ers.usda.gov/media/884529/
err-141-summary.pdf
Animal Crackers | Resources • Animal Information • Glossary • Song • Hunger Facts
81
Resources
Fundraising ideas
There are FUNdraising ideas throughout this guide, but here are even more great ideas:
Make it easy to give
Coffee Break
Make coffee or tea available to your
organization after worship services.
Ask for a donation to Heifer in return
for each drink. Use the opportunity
to introduce participants to fair-trade
coffee.
Get Sporty
Set up a fundraising page for your
congregation at www.teamheifer.org.
You’ll find tools to help you set
fundraising goals and communicate
your success. You’ll also find links to
share your congregation’s fundraising
goals (and recruit others to help)
through email and social media.
Members of the congregation can
make donations online with your
Team Heifer fundraising page and
encourage their friends to make
donations too!
Organize a walk for water buffalo,
mini-golf for goats or a fish-bowl-athon. Donate the registration fees
to Heifer.
Share Your Talent
Be Creative
Does your congregation have knitters,
gardeners, or other crafty members?
Organize an all-day knit-a-thon, with
sponsors making contributions
to wool-producing animals. Sell
seedlings or garden cuttings to
provide seedlings to families in need.
Organize a craft fair with the proceeds
toward your favorite livestock!
Gift Different
A flock of chicks is a great Easter
basket idea. A hive of bees is a sweet
Valentine surprise. Honor the special
people in your life through Heifer gifts.
Want to do even more? Organize a
Living Gift Market to encourage your
entire congregation to give gifts that
truly keep giving. Visit www.heifer.org/
getinvolved/living-gift-market for more
information and to download a guide
to help you through every step.
82
Hold a talent show. Charge admission
to the show, and between each
act, share a Heifer story with your
audience to encourage involvement
and inspiration. Sell snacks to the
audience members. To determine the
winner, have each contestant solicit
donations after all the performances.
The person with the most money
wins.
Group Garage Sales
Establish groups of families to pool
items and hold a mass garage sale.
Publicize the event and use the
opportunity to Pass on the Gift of
knowledge about hunger and poverty.
Make sure that all your customers
know that the proceeds are benefiting
those in need here in the United
States and around the world.
Eat Together
Host an international potluck and
charge a small admission fee to
raise funds. Want to learn about the
challenges of inequitable resource
distribution while you eat? Host a Fair
Share Meal. Visit the Congregational
Resources section of shop.heifer.org
and download a Fair Share Meal
leader's guide.
Resources
A Nest Egg for Heifer
Special occasion endowments through Heifer Foundation are
a great way to honor a loved one’s special day annually while
simultaneously helping build a “nest egg” for Heifer International.
Here’s how it works
Your gift of $2,500 or more is professionally invested. Each year
a percentage of the endowment is made available to Heifer to
help send an animal to a hungry family. Also each year, your loved
ones receive a greeting card on their special days, reminding
them that, in their honor, a needy family will receive a gift from
Heifer International, helping the family to help themselves.
Special occasion endowments are perfect for birthdays,
anniversaries, or holidays. For more information, call Heifer
Foundation today at 888.422.1161, or visit the website at
www.heiferfoundation.org.
Barefoot Church: Serving the
Least in a Consumer Culture
Food & Faith: Justice, Joy
and Daily Bread
Brandon Hatmaker
Edited by Michael Schut
Craft It Up Around the World:
35 Fun Craft Projects Inspired
by Traveling Adventures
A Hopeful Earth: Faith,
Science, and the Message
of Jesus
Libby Abadee and Cath Armstrong
Sally Dyck, and Sarah Ehrman
Liberato C. Bautista
www.umc-gbcs.org/MDGBook
Earth Prayers From around
the World: 365 Prayers,
Poems, and Invocations
for Honoring the Earth
Hungry Planet: What
the World Eats
Moral Ground: Ethical
Action for a Planet in Peril
Elizabeth Roberts and Elias Amidon
Hunger No More
Finding Solutions to Hunger,
A Sourcebook for Middle
and Upper School Teachers
Stephanie Kempf
www.kidscanmakeadifference.
org/teacher-guide
Peter Menzel
Bread for the World Institute
www.bread.org/hunger-no-more/
Material World
Peter Menzel
Meditations and Devotions
on the Millennium
Development Goals
Edited by Kathleen Dean Moore
and Michael Page Nelson
Tending to Eden
Scott C. Sabin
When Helping Hurts: How
to Alleviate Poverty Without
Hurting the Poor and Yourself
Brian Fikkert and Steve Corbett
Everyday Justice
Love Does
Julie Clawson
Bob Goff
Animal Crackers | Resources • Fundraising Ideas • Heifer Foundation • Additional Resources
83
Resources
Heifer Gift Ark $5,000
Long ago, the ark was a place of refuge in
the storm. The people safe inside got a
second chance. Blessed with animals to
both delight and help them, they started life
over. Today, a storm of hunger and poverty
spoils the chance of a good life for many of
the world’s people and does great harm to
the environment. A Heifer Gift Ark launches
a boatload of help and hope for hungry
people and the Earth. Every family who
receives a Heifer animal begins a journey
toward better health and more income.
Families work together to Pass on the Gift
of livestock and learning to others in need.
The whole community improves as more
and more families practice sustainable
farming methods that are in harmony with
the environment as God intends.
For more information about the Gift
Ark Challenge, visit www.heifer.org/
getinvolved/gift-ark.
Your gift ark may include
Note
84
2 cows
2 oxen
2 goats
2 sheep
2 water buffalo
2 llamas
2 camels
2 donkeys
2 pigs
2 trios of rabbits
2 beehives
2 guinea pigs
2 flocks of geese
2 trios of ducks
2 flocks of chicks
To help the
greatest number
of families move
toward selfreliance, Heifer
does not use its
limited resources
to track individual
animals from
donation to
specific families.
Instead, your
gift supports
the entire Heifer
mission.
Resources
Gift Ark $5,000 Challenge
From Punishment to Promise
A retelling of Genesis 6-9
Once there was a man who walked with God. His name was Noah. Of all
the people in the wide world, he was the only one who was not corrupt and
violent. Even the Earth on which Noah walked was corrupt—spoiled by evil
people.
God said, “The whole Earth is filled with violence. I am going to destroy my
handiwork—people and Earth together. But not you, Noah, not your family.
Make an ark of cypress wood. Make it three stories high, with a door in the
side and a roof on top. I am going to bring a flood of waters upon the Earth,
and everything on it will die. But to you I make a promise. Bring your wife
into the ark and your three sons and their wives. And bring in two of every
kind of animal in the world—a male and a female of each. Bring birds and
insects. And bring the kind of food that each one likes.”
And Noah did it. He did exactly as God told him to do. Then the fountains of
the deep burst forth and the windows of heaven opened. The rain fell, and
the waters rose, and the ark floated high above the Earth; over the tops of
the trees, over the tops of the mountains. Floating. It rained. It rained for
40 days and for 40 nights.
But God remembered Noah and all the wild animals and all the domestic
animals that were with him in the ark. God made a wind blow over the Earth
and closed the windows of heaven and shut off the fountains of the deep.
It stopped raining. And the waters slowly went down, down, so that Noah
could see the tops of the mountains. He opened a window in the ark and
he let loose a strong-winged raven. It flew away, and it never came back.
Then Noah sent out a gentle dove. But the dove could not find a place to
rest, so it came right back, and Noah reached out tenderly and brought it
inside to safety. So Noah waited another seven days, and he sent out the
dove again. That evening, the dove came back once more but this time, in
its beak were fresh olive leaves. Noah waited seven more days, then he
sent out the dove once more. This time it didn’t come back. So Noah knew
the ground was drying.
Then God said, “Leave the ark now. Bring out your family and the birds
and animals and insects so that they may abound upon on the Earth.” And
Noah thanked God according to the custom of his time, and God said, “I
will never again destroy every living creature: As long as the Earth endures,
seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night,
shall not cease.” And God put a rainbow in the clouds as a sign. When you
see it, remember that God’s promise was to every animal and every person
on Earth. And so it is, even to this day.
Change the World
Conversation
Read the story aloud expressively.
Read it a second time with
appropriate music in the
background. Invite listeners to
paint their feelings about the
story in watercolors or retell it
with chalk. Others might like to
respond to the story individually
with body movement or as a group
in interpretive dance. Still others,
with eyes closed, might choose
to take an imaginary spiritual
journey on the floodwaters with
Noah and to experience the joy
of the covenant promise in a new
beginning.
Good Books for Children
Why Noah Chose the Dove
Provenson. Singer, Issac Bashevis.
A Peaceable Kingdom:
The Shaker Abecedarius.
Provensen, Alice and Martin.
Two by Two. Reed, Barbara.
A Prayer for the Earth: The
Story of Naamah, Noah’s Wife.
Sasso, Sandy Eisenberg.
Noah’s Ark. Spier, Peter.
Good Books for Adults
Noah’s Flood: The Genesis Story in
Western Thought. Cohn, Norman.
Prayers from the Ark. Bernos
de Gasztold, Carmen.
Noah's Ark- Ancient Accounts and
New Discoveries. Nissen, Henri.
Animal Crackers | Resources • Heifer Gift Ark • Gift Ark Challenge
85
Resources
Animal Crackers
Leader’s Guide
Provides resources and activities
on people, animals and the
environment for children, youth
and adults in congregations.
RALGUID13 (General)
RAX00J000 (Jewish version)
RACHICK13
RACHEIFR13
RAFSH2013
RAGAT2013
RALLAMA13
RAPIG2013
RARBBIT13
RASHP2013
RAWTBUF13
RATRE2013
RAWTPMP13
Animal Crackers Cards
Pictures and descriptions of the role of Heifer inputs. Choose
from chick, cow, fish, goat, llama, pig, rabbit, sheep, water
buffalo, tree, and water pump. Free, one per participant
KTACS2013 Set of 11 (one of each)
KTACSJV2 Set of 9 (Jewish)
Fill the Ark
Living Gift Market
Leader’s Guide
Step-by-step planning guide for
organizing a “market” to raise
support for Heifer International.
RLP005000
A four-week program for groups of all
ages to participate in a global education
and fundraising project together.
Fill the Ark Sample Kit
Contains one of each of the following:
Fill the Ark Calendar, Fill the Ark Leader's
Guide and Fill the Ark Bank.
KTFTASAM
Visit shop.heifer.org or call 800.422.0474 to order.
86
Resources
Feeding 5000 Sunday
School Curriculum
An Ark for Today’s World:
Bulletin Insert
Our flexible Sunday school
curriculum offers hour-long
workshops on arts, science,
drama and more. Available
only online at www.heifer.org/
congregations.
Depicts Heifer International as
an ark of refuge.
RP210700
Read to Feed Student Kit
Heifer Challenge Leader’s Guide
World Ark Magazine
Children improve reading skills
while raising funds to support
Heifer’s work around the
world. New edition meets state
Common Core Standards.
RRKIT2013 Student Kit
RRLDG2013 Leader's Guide
The Bible challenges us to do great
things for the good of others. Challenge
your congregation to get creative
with their fundraising through Heifer
Challenge. Available only online at
www.heifer.org/congregations.
Contains stories about Heifer’s
work, world hunger information,
animal features, donor and
program news and more.
GET IT!
A standards-based curriculum
for grades 6-8 that inspires
students to make a difference
in the world.
RGX68T000 (Leader’s Packet)
Animal Crackers | Resources• Heifer Interpretive Resources
87
Resources
Offering Envelope for
Congregation
Congregation Poster
General Brochure
Show your congregation's
support for Heifer International
with this 18"x24" poster.
RUCPSTR13
Introduces Heifer
International’s history and
approach to development.
RPHGEBR11
An envelope specifically for
congregations making an
offering to Heifer.
RP2018000
Passing on the Gift: Heifer
International’s Mission to
End World Hunger DVD
12 Stones DVD
Once There Was and Was
Not: A Modern Day Folktale
from Armenia
How Heifer helps families move
toward self-reliance around the
world.
NV1005DVD
Documents Heifer’s work with
illiterate women in Nepal and
their journey out of poverty to
self-reliance.
NV9001000
By Page McBrier
A true story of three boys who
raised a prize-winning cow
and learned valuable lessons
about sharing and caring.
NB07090HB: hardback
88
Resources
The Chicken and the Worm
Winter in Songming
By Page McBrier
Introduces the idea that even the
smallest creatures can work together
to care for the Earth.
NB07070HB: hardback
By Page McBrier
Follow a boy taking his first step
into manhood while his village takes
a step toward self-sufficiency. For
NB07180HB: hardback
Faith the Cow
Give a Goat
By Susan Bame Hoover
Children’s book tells about the
first Heifer heifer.
NB0705000: hardback
By Jan West Schrock
The true story of how one fifth
grade class was inspired to send
even more animals to struggling
families around the world.
NBGAGPB: paperback
Animal Crackers | Resources• Heifer Interpretive Resources
89
1 World Avenue, Little Rock, AR 72202
888.5HUNGER | 888.548.6437
www.heifer.org
© Heifer International
Heifer International is qualified as a charitable organization under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal
Revenue Code. Contributions to Heifer International are tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law.
EDMKT-449
69.RALGUID13

Animal Crackers - Service Center

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