Murphy's law ideas

Group, Jul/Aug 1998 by Nappa, Amy, Nappa, Mike

Activities you can use when the bus breaks down,

the sky dumps its load, the speaker doesn't show up, or other little disasters strike.

You're halfway to Mexico on a missions trip and you hear the grinding, gearmashing, transmissionreaming sound of a bus in midbreakdown. Nothing's worse than that sound... except maybe the thick, oily, rubbery smell that accompanies it.

The upside: You have your church-issued cell phone and can call for help.

The downside: You're not anywhere close to civilization, and you've got two hours of stranded time to fill. You survey the situation: 42 teenagers who are hungry, bored, and heading off to hunt rattlesnakes.

When minor disasters strike, whip out this handy poster and you'll get a jumpstart on salvaging the situation. We've categorized the ideas by disaster, but they work in almost any setting.

Rained Out When bad weather cancels your outdoor event, gather indoors in the largest room available. Form two teams for indoor baseball. Use a hymnal, notebook, or hands as the bat, and paper wads for the balls. If the room is small, have everyone play on their knees. Or ask the kids to come up with wacky rules to make the game crazier.

Let your weather problems be a reminder to give thanks in all situations, and pray for those (such as farmers) who are blessed by the rain.

Done Too Soon Still too much time and not enough meeting? Spend extra time in singing, affirmation, and prayer. You just might go over your time limit!

Filling Straggller Time Have trouble with Stragglers? Hate to begin before everyone arrives? Play Top 10 with the early birds!

Have someone call out a category such as flavors of ice cream, movies, ways to eat chocolate, reasons for owning a dog, and so on. Then everyone joins in determining the top 10 of that category. Throw in a few with a spiritual challenge, such as top 10 reasons for reading your Bible, going to church, and so on.

No-Show Parent Pick-Ups Some parents can't seem to pick up their kids on time. When you're sitting in the parking lot waiting with kids, play a few rounds of What If?/Would You Rather?/ Have You Ever? Take turns making up and asking questions with these beginnings, either silly or serious. What if you found $507 Would you rather eat spinach or sauerkraut? Have you ever told a friend about Jesus? These questions are great for building community in your group.

Stiffed by the Speaker The speaker's late. The crowd's restless. Form small groups and describe the topic for the evening. Have groups come up with three things they already know about the topic, three questions they could ask the soon-to-arrive speaker, and any Bible verses they know related to the topic.

A Serious Shortage of Kids When only two kids show up for the volleyball game, take advantage of the mobility available when your group is very small. Hop in the car with a couple of kids and head out for french fries, video games, tossing a football at the park, window shopping, and so on. Express thanks for those who showed up, and spend quality time getting to know them. Look for ways to talk about God.

Toasted Bus And that roadside bus stop we discussed earlier? Form small teams and ask each person to loan one item to the team pillow, empty soda can, earring, or whatever's handy). Each team uses all their items to invent a new game; then teams take turns teaching their games to everyone else. Play these games until the.tow truck arrives.

Remind kids that just as every item was needed and important in the game, each of us is needed and important in God's family. G

Amy and Mike Nappa are veteran youth leaders and author in Colorado.