www.maranatha.org -- This week, we head to Nicaragua, where we worship with a group of people and … bats! The Los Angeles congregation had the horror of having bats live in their humble church structure–a situation that provided a lot of ridicule from the public. Then, Maranatha began working in the country, and the needs of Los Angeles came on our radar. Volunteers headed to Los Angeles to help, and the experience was eye-opening for all, especially one young person. Your kids will see how the complaints we may have about our own situations at home are nothing compared to the challenges others have to face around the world, and hopefully gain perspective on gratitude and the importance of reaching out.

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Pre-video Discussion Questions
- If you had to pick one thing you didn’t like about your church building, what would it be?

Introduce the Video
In today’s video, we’ll visit a church that had bats living in it!

Post-video Discussion Questions
- How would it feel to worship in a space where there were flying critters hanging above you?
- What lesson do you think JeanPaul learned from his mission experience that can be applied to your own life?
- Why do you think it’s important for a congregation to have a nice place of worship?

Prayer Points
- Help us to open our eyes to the needs around us, rather than focusing on only ourselves.
- Ask kids what they would add to the prayer list.

Did You Know?
- This isn’t the first “bat church” that Maranatha has helped. More than 20 years ago, Maranatha discovered a church in Cuba that had bats living in the rafters. They destroyed the building, causing the roof to cave in. Maranatha ended up building them a beautiful new church!