February 2015

Fascinating

Facts about zebras on page 9

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Compass comes to you thanks to the Free Church of Scotland Home Missions Board, The Mound, Edinburgh, EH1 2LS. Sharon Macleod, Maria Wighton, Susan Clyne, Karen Murray and Neil D. M. Macleod helped with this month’s issue.

February 2015, volume 1 number 5.

3 February’s star birthdays

4 - 5 bracken, the imaginary dogCathie has some very strange homework.

6 - 7 Project 2015News about this year’s project.

10-11 it’s all about jesusWould you be seriously scared in a storm at sea?

14-15 comPetition corner What’s missing in this month’s competition?

18-19 the story oF john newtonCaptain Newton, slave trader.

PLUS

Hi there!

You have a real mixture of things in Compass this month. There’s an imaginary dog,

two storms at sea, a riot in Ephesus and puzzles to keep

your mind in a twist.

Would you like to be a member of The Young Reporters’ Club? If you would, send me a letter about something that’s happening to you, in your Sunday school or in the world. My address is on page three and my email address is ihowat@aol.com. If you email, please tell me your postal address and I’ll send you a Club badge.

God bless you all,

Irene

What’s Inside

16 - 17riot! 8 - 9

god’s wonderFul world

12 - 13the young

rePorters’ club

4 - 5bracken, the

imaginary dog.

FEBRUARY’s Star Birthdays

Ewen Campbell, from Oban, will be nine on 12th February. Ewen says:

I have a big sister called Beth. She is eleven. We have a rabbit called Fudge and I’d really like to have a dog too.

I’ve lived in Oban all of my life.

I like going to Sunday school because I learn about God there and I also like the colouring in that we do.

My sports are shinty and football, but I like shinty best. The photo shows me wearing my first ever medal.

I think the most interesting animals are monkeys because they are fun to watch.

Of all the people in the world, the person I most like to see is my best friend Sam. My favourite colour is blue.

Alicia Pontin, who lives in Epsom, will be eleven on 10th February. Here’s what Alicia says about herself:

I have two older brothers. Angus is 16 and William is 13.

I don’t have any pets, but I would like to have a Labrador puppy. I have always lived in Epsom, Surrey, England.

I like getting chocolate for learning memory verses at Sunday school!

Playing the piano and doing arts and crafts are some of the things I enjoy. I like running, playing hockey, cycling and swimming. My favourite colour is sky blue.

I think that chameleons are very interesting because they change colour to hide themselves against the background.

I would like to meet Kate, Duchess of Cambridge.

thanks!The editor says a big thanks to Compass readers who have been in touch this month.

David Chisholm and Ross Munro (Maryburgh and Killearnan), Amy Renwick (Knockbain), Kaitlin Macleod (Stornoway), the Aleluja children in Govanhill (Glasgow), Alicia Pontin (Epsom), Ewen Campbell (Oban), Yoshi Chan (Aberdeen), Elspeth Murray and Amy MacLean (Kilmallie), and Ruth Mackay, (Kinloch).

PRIZE NEWSSend your competition corner, Young Reporters’ Club

letters, and It’s All About Jesus sheets to Mrs Irene Howat, 57 Garvine Road,

Coylton, Ayr, KA6 6NZ, for your little prize.

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‘Well,’ explained Mum. ‘The first bit is to decide what animal you’d like to be. That’s not too hard, is it?’

The girl agreed.

‘The next bit is to think up a story about your animal,’ went on Mum.

‘That’s not hard,’ said Cathie. ‘I like making up stories.’

‘And then the third part is to write the story down.’

‘That does sound a bit easier,’ Cathie said.

And Mum knew, from the expression on the girl’s face, that her imagination had already begun to work.

James, Cathie’s big brother, had a suggestion when he heard that his sister had decided to imagine being a dog.

‘I think you should be a sheepdog,’ he said. ‘They run very fast and they are great workers.’

Cathie came home from school with a scowl on her face.

‘What’s wrong with you?’ Mum asked. ‘Why are you scowling?’

Cathie thumped her backpack down on the floor and threw herself into a chair. ‘I hate homework!’ she said. ‘Who invented homework anyway?’

Mum tried not to smile. ‘Tell me about your homework. Sometimes things become easier if you talk about them.’

‘This won’t,’ Cathie announced. ‘Mrs Smith asked us to think what kind of animal we’d like to be and then to imagine ourselves as that animal and write our story.’

Mum said, ‘That’s really three bits of homework.’

Cathie asked what her mum meant.

Mum sat down at the table with her coffee.

Bracken, the

imaginary

dog

4

Cathie liked the idea of rounding up sheep and running fast. Mum smiled a few minutes later when she saw her daughter sitting at the kitchen table, pencil in hand, ready to begin writing.

‘Hello there, Cathie,’ said Dad, when he came home from work.

The girl looked up and smiled.

‘I’m not Cathie today. I’m Bracken the sheepdog.’

Dad made a cup of tea and sat down at the table beside her.

‘And what’s Bracken doing?’ he asked.

‘She’s at the sheepdog trials, and she’s to take the sheep down the hill and put them in the pen at the bottom.’

‘How’s she getting on with it?’ Dad wondered.

Cathie, who could picture exactly what was happening in her mind, explained.

‘When the shepherd whistled Bracken raced up the hill and the sheep started to run away. Then the shepherd used a different whistle and Bracken ran round and round the sheep until they were in a wee huddle and then she brought them down the hill and into the pen!’

‘And what happened then?’ Dad asked, winking at Mum, who was standing

behind Cathie listening to the story.

‘The shepherd gave Bracken a pat on the head and rubbed behind her ears because she likes that. Her tail wagged and wagged,’ Cathie said.

‘And is that the end of the story?’ James asked. He’d been listening too.

‘No,’ Cathie decided. ‘I’ve still to write the last line.’

Mum asked what that was going to be.

‘That’s when Bracken wins the prize,’ announced Cathie.

Then she sat back in the chair and decided that it had been really interesting homework.

Mum, who remembered the look on Cathie’s face when she came in from school, just smiled. Mums do that.

That night at Bible time, Dad asked Cathie if she knew that she’d put a very good Bible lesson in her story.

Cathie didn’t know that until Dad explained what it was.

‘We all need to be like Bracken and learn to listen to the Good Shepherd and do what he tells us,’ he said.

Cathie grinned. ‘I’d forgotten that Jesus was our Good Shepherd,’ she said. ‘But I’ll remember it now.’

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For Project 2015 we are going to collect money for the Free church’s disaster and relief Fund that helps people when things go suddenly and terribly wrong.

Sadly sometimes disasters happen with no warning at all. For example, an earthquake rips a city apart. Houses crash to the ground and are no longer safe. People have to move out and sleep in the streets. They don’t have water because earthquakes shatter the water pipes that run underground. People soon run out of food and trucks can’t get in with more because roads are cracked and broken. When earthquakes happen, people need help right away.

Flooding is another kind of disaster. Countries like Bangladesh are often flooded. When that happens some people climb on to their rooftops and have to

wait there until they

Project 2015

collecting money for thedisaster and relief Fund

"

6

Do you like the Project 2015

logo? Cut it out and stick it on a jam jar and then use that

to collect money for the project.

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are rescued. Their homes are flooded and the crops growing in their fields are washed away. That means that the food they already have is soaked and dirty and that there won’t be a harvest next year. When floods happen, people need help right away.

And disasters happen because of wars. People leave their homes to get away from fighting and that makes them refugees. They often gather together in large groups, sometimes thousands of men and women, boys and girls, and then walk for days and days and days to reach a safe place. When they arrive at a refugee camp or a friendly country, there’s not enough food for them. Not only that, many

are exhausted and ill after their long, long walk. Refugees need food and medicine right away.

you’ll discover more about the disaster and relief Fund next month.

££

£

££

££

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8

9

did you know that there’s a zebra

film star? do you remember the film

‘madagascar’? the zebra that starred

in ‘madagascar’ was called marty.

when zebras gather in a group

to get away from a lion or tiger,

their stripes all mix together

and muddle the big cat’s mind,

making it really difficult to pick

out a zebra for dinner.

Zebra’s come from the same

family of animals as horses and

donkeys. so horses, donkeys

and zebras are way-out cousins

even though they look so

different.

did you know that z

ebras don’t lie

down when th

ey go to sleep? sleeping

standing up m

eans that if

predato

rs

come along, zebras can race off

without s

crambling to

their fe

et first.

whe

n ze

bras

are

bei

ng

chas

ed, i

nste

ad o

f run

ning

in

a st

raig

ht li

ne th

ey r

un fr

om

side

to s

ide

in a

zig

zag.

tha

t,

and

thei

r st

ripe

s, c

onfu

ses

wha

teve

r is

cha

sing

them

.

all

of

you

will

ha

ve

c

ross

ed

the

ro

ad

usi

ng

zeb

ra c

ross

ing

s. Z

eb

ra

cro

ssin

gs

ge

t th

eir

na

me

fro

m t

he b

lac

k

and

whi

te s

trip

es

on

zeb

ras.

i w

ond

er

who

th

oug

ht o

f th

at!

OURWONDERFUL

WORLD!

every single zebra has

a different pattern of

stripes. now

, doesn’t

that show you w

hat

a wonderful creator

god is? every person

is different too, even

identical twins are not

exactly the same!

Zeb

ras sho

w the

ir fe

eling

s by

how

they

hold

their e

ars. by

lo

ok

ing a

t a ze

bra

’s e

ars yo

u kno

w it is in a

g

oo

d o

r a b

ad

mo

od

.

One evening, after a busy day, Jesus and his disciples were beside the lake. A great crowd of people, who had been listening to Jesus, still surrounded them. ‘Let’s go over to the other side of the lake,’ Jesus said. The crowd watched as Jesus and his friends set out in a boat.

‘Why were you so scared?’

Jesus asked his disciples. The

men with him were amazed

at what Jesus did. They were

also terrified because he was

powerful enough to command

the sea to be still. ‘Who is

this?’ they asked each other.

And the answer, if course, is

that Jesus is God’s Son.

Jesus was really tired. Before long he fell sound asleep

on a cushion in the stern of the boat. He didn’t even

waken when a storm blew up and the boat was tossed

from side to side in the waves! Some of his disciples

had been fishermen and even they were terrified!

Start in the middle of the swirl and go round and round to read what it says.

Draw a sea scene with the waves crashing and thrashing and with the wind blasting the waves high in the air.

1010

One evening, after a busy day, Jesus and his disciples were beside the lake. A great crowd of people, who had been listening to Jesus, still surrounded them. ‘Let’s go over to the other side of the lake,’ Jesus said. The crowd watched as Jesus and his friends set out in a boat.

‘Why were you so scared?’

Jesus asked his disciples. The

men with him were amazed

at what Jesus did. They were

also terrified because he was

powerful enough to command

the sea to be still. ‘Who is

this?’ they asked each other.

And the answer, if course, is

that Jesus is God’s Son.

Eventually they yelled to Jesus to wake up. ‘Don’t you

care if we drown?’ they shouted. Jesus stood up and

commanded the wind to stop blowing and the waves

to stop thrashing. And they stopped! Immediately!

Because Jesus is God and made the wind and the

waves they did exactly what he told them to do.

One sentence in the story is written in yellow. Can you find all the words of the sentence in the grid?

Now draw a sea scene with no waves at all and not a breath of wind blowing. That’s what it was like after the storm became still at Jesus’ command.

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F n a e a o u t h

r n n i s e t r i

i w a t c h e d s

e b e h h r o w o

n o s e t t o a u

d a s u s e j w t

s t t a o b a n d

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THE YOUNG

REPORTERS’ CLUB

I am now in P7 and I can hardly believe

it. I am also a house captain. It is going to

be a very busy year without other things

to do between essays and maths exams.

But I must make the most of it because

secondary school is totally different.

I have moved into the older class in Sunday

school. It is quite challenging. My dad takes

it and it is a lot of fun. We are studying

‘The Fulcrum of Time’ and the death of

Jesus. It is very interesting.

I like the new name Compass. It is a great

idea. It is quite different. For example,

there’s no colouring but instead there is

Competition Corner. I can’t wait for the

next issue.

Ruth Mackay, Kinloch

My name is Ross and I coloured in this picture.

Ross Munro, Maryburgh12

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The Big Free Rally

Lots of churches and camps joined together

to meet and worship God in Inverness in

September. The hosts of the Big Free Rally

were Neil D. M. Macleod and Dayspring.

The Big Free Rally was called ‘Who are you?’

We started the day with singing. Then we had

a talk about the day. After that we had a quiz.

In the quiz we had ten random questions. After

that we ate lunch. There were hoodies and

sweatshirts for sale and a tuck shop.

After lunch we played a chocolate orange game.

We attempted to break the world record. Then

we had another talk about identity. We watched

a video about identity. It told us to be ourselves.

After that there was a shoe game where we all

swapped shoes. We sang three other songs and

had an enjoyable time!

Elspeth Murray and Amy MacLean, Kilmallie

The children in the photo go to Aleluja in Govanhill Church in Glasgow. They say a big ‘hello’ to Compass readers. They love Aleluja!

All the people at the Big Free Rally 13

COMPETITIONORNER

Put the vowels in their places and then answer the questions.

a goes in the green spaces.e goes in the blue spaces.i goes in the red spaces.

o goes in the orange spacesand u goes in the black spaces.

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W r _ t _ t h _ n _ m _ _ f _ n _ n _ m _ l G _ d

m _ d _ b _ g _ n n _ n g w _ t h g … … … … … … … … …

G _ d m _ d _ _ l l t h _ s _ _ s . N _ m _ _ n _ .

… … …………………

H _ m _ d _ t h _ m _ _ n t _ _ n s . W h _ t ’ s t h _

h _ g h _ s t m _ _ n t _ _ n _ n t h _ w _ r l d ?

… …………………………………

M _ n _ r s d _ g f _ r p r _ c _ _ _ s s t _ n _ s

t h _ t G _ d h _ d d _ _ p _ n t h _ _ _ r t h .

_ n _ _ f t h _ m b _ g _ n s w _ t h d . W h _ t

_ s _ t ? … ……………………

G _ d c r _ _ t _ d _ l l t h _ c _ l _ _ r s . N _m_

_ y _ l l _ w f l _w _ r. … … …………………

H_ m_d_ _ l l th_ st _rs _ nd p l _ n _ts .

N _m_ _ p l _ n _t. … … …………………

COMPETITIONEsther was a lovely Jewish girl who lived

in Persia. Her cousin Mordecai looked

after her when her parents died. When

she grew up Esther was chosen to

marry the king.

Cousin Mordecai heard about a plan to

kill all the Jewish people. They were God’s

chosen people. He told Esther that she

had to be very brave and to tell the king

about the wicked man who was behind

the plan.

Esther arranged two great feasts

and invited the king to them. She told

him about the wicked plan to kill all the

Jewish people. God was at work all the

time and Esther and her people were all

saved. The man who wanted God’s people

killed was the only one who was put to

death.

Queen Esther could not see God at

work, but he was looking after her and

his people all the time.

Join the dots to see the king.

315

colour in the picture of esther and mordecai.

RIOT!

From Athens Paul went on to Corinth to tell the people there about the Lord Jesus Christ.

Paul stayed with Aquila and Priscilla. They worked at making tents.

There was a silversmith called Demetrius. He made statues of idols. He made trouble for Paul because Paul worshipped the one true God, not an idol.

‘Nobody will buy our idols, if they believe what Paul says,’ Demetrius yelled. ‘Great is Diana of the Ephesians!’ the people shouted back. But their idol Diana wasn’t great at all. It was just a metal statue.

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Paul’s friends were afraid that the crowd would harm Paul. They would not let him go near the people.

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From Corinth they all travelled to Ephesus. Paul then went to Antioch and back. What a lot of miles he did on his missionary journeys!

Many people believed in God. Some who had evil magical writings burned their scrolls when they were converted.

Eventually the City Clerk spoke to the crowd and calmed them all down. He took the heat out of a very nasty riot! Once again God saved his people.

When he was ten years old, John joined the crew of

his father’s ship. He couldn’t even be friends with the other ship’s

boys because he was the Captain’s son!

John Newton was born in 1725. His dad was a sea captain.

His mum was ill and died when John was seven. As a boy he played in London’s dockland, but he didn’t have

friends.

The other boys who played there thought John was posh because he was a

captain’s son. That meant that he was very lonely, especially

after his mum died.

One day, during a terrific storm, John thought he was

going to be drowned. The boat felt as if it was breaking up in the sea. John

called out to God in prayer. He became a Christian.

Buying and selling people was an awful thing to do, but

it was only years later that John Newton realised that. By then he

had stopped going to sea.

On home leave he met a girl called Mary, the

daughter of friends of his mum. They fell in love

and were married some years later.

John’s mum had taught him about the Lord Jesus. He

had learned to read the Bible and pray. On the ship he learned to

curse and swear.

John and William Wilberforce became friends.

William was in parliament. The two men worked together to have the

slave trade banned in Britain and in British colonies.

JoHn neWton

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The other boys who played there thought John was posh because he was a

captain’s son. That meant that he was very lonely, especially

after his mum died.

One day, during a terrific storm, John thought he was

going to be drowned. The boat felt as if it was breaking up in the sea. John

called out to God in prayer. He became a Christian.

His dad married again and John was sent away

to boarding school while Captain Newton was away at sea. He hated

the school he went to.

John’s mum had taught him about the Lord Jesus. He

had learned to read the Bible and pray. On the ship he learned to

curse and swear.

The boy often thought about his mum, but he didn’t

often think about the Lord Jesus. He was unhappy most of the time,

and often did wrong.

John was promoted to Captain John Newton, but he

carried terrible cargoes in his ship. He carried men, women and children from Africa

to be sold as slaves in the Americas.

John and William Wilberforce became friends.

William was in parliament. The two men worked together to have the

slave trade banned in Britain and in British colonies.

It took a very long time, and a great amount of hard

work and prayer, but John and William, and others who agreed with

them, eventually saw the slave trade outlawed.

JoHn neWton

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1st Feb Cameron MacRae (Bonar Bridge) 131st Feb Allan Fraser (Watford) 72nd Feb Emma van Delft (Dunfermline) 1 12nd Feb Andrew Wilson (Lochs) 92nd Feb Stephanie Frobisher (Pairc) 104th Feb Scott Murray (Inverness) 124th Feb Korrine Macmillan (Kilmallie) 135th Feb Kathryn Redman (Glasgow) 75th Feb Michaela Fioretti (Leith) 136th Feb Jennifer MacLeod (Edinburgh) 128th Feb Christina Gleeson (Inverness) 139th Feb David Mackay (Kinloch) 99th Feb Iona Cross (Sheffield) 89th Feb Katie MacDonald (Cross) 1 110th Feb Maddy Cumming (Knock) 1310th Feb Alicia Pontin (Cobham) 1 110th Feb Hannah Ferguson (Sandwick) 1 11 1 th Feb David Murdo Matheson (Lochs) 1012th Feb Finlay Turner (Portree) 1312th Feb Ewen Campbell (Oban) 914th Feb Samantha Kress (Livonia, USA) 1315th Feb Ajay Mohammed (Tong) 715th Feb Alison Graham (Back) 1016th Feb Mark Connor (Glasgow) 7

17th Feb Arran Syme (Tain) 1 117th Feb David Anderson (Back) 1 117th Feb Danny Smith (Dumfries) 518th Feb Ewan Campbell (Glasgow) 918th Feb Aimee McNeill (Nairn) 1319th Feb Bethany Burgess (Kilmallie) 1021st Feb Beth Campbell (Australia) 1221st Feb Mari Campbell (Australia) 1221st Feb Maggie Cummings (Kilmallie) 1 121st Feb Seonaidh Macgregor (Glasgow) 1321st Feb David Graham (Inverness) 1321st Feb Donald MacKenzie (Inverness) 921st Feb Scott MacKenzie (Inverness) 922nd Feb Sarah Oliver (Knockbain) 1322nd Feb Gabrielle Laurie (Perth) 1324th Feb Ruby Macmillan (Tong) 825th Feb Josh Robinson (Prestwick) 1 125th Feb Naomi MacKay (Point) 1 126th Feb Kathryn Dow (Glasgow) 1226th Feb Kerry Chesterman (Girvan) 1326th Feb Shonagh Mackenzie (Gairloch) 1027th Feb Eilidh MacKinnon (Sleat) 1327th Feb William Fraser (Ferintosh) 1229th Feb Calum Iain MacDonald (Cross) 7

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