Story of Jonah and the whale A long long time ago, there was a man named Jonah.

Jonah was a good man and God knew that he was a good man. One day, God said to Jonah, Jonah. Go to the city of Nineveh and tell the people that I know about all the bad things they are doing. Teach them the right way! Everyone knew that Nineveh was a bad place full of bad people and so Jonah was scared. Can you imagine being scared of preaching to a place full of scary people who didnt want to listen to you? So what do you think Jonah did? Yep, thats right. He ran away. Can you imagine running away from God? So Jonah ran away to a city called Joppa and found a ship that was going to Tarshish. He asked the captains and soldiers if he could get on the ship. He gave them some money and went down into the bottom of the ship. He must have thought, Hah! Theres no way the Lord will find me here! Sometimes, God works in mysterious ways. He always knows where we are and sometimes, he has to send storms to bring us back to him. So, God sent powerful winds that rocked the ship back and forth on the water. The ship was about to break! Jonah told them he was running away from God and they all became really afraid. They asked him why he did that. Jonah told them, Throw me into the sea! Then it will be calm for you because I know this great storm is for me. So they threw him into the sea, praying that Jonah would be safe. But the Lord had a fish waiting for Jonah and that fish swallowed Jonah. That fish must have been huge! Jonah stayed in that fish and prayed for three days and three nights. He prayed and thanked God for saving him and vowed to help. So God whispered to the fish, Fish you can let him go now. And then the fish spit him out onto dry land. Then Jonah went to Nineveh and told them, This city will be destroyed in 40 days. He was scared nobody would listen to him since it was such a huge city full of bad people. But Jonah was wrong! The people listened to Jonah and prayed to God asking for His forgiveness. Even the King agreed and begged God for mercy. God saw that the people of Nineveh were really changing from good to bad and so He decided not to destroy the city at all. He saved their lives. I learned from this lesson to always trust God and His ways and never to disobey when God asks for our help.

Story of Daniel and the Lions Den There once was a king named Darius who divided his kingdom into one hundred and twenty different areas. Each of these areas had its own ruler. One hundred and twenty people are a lot of people and so King Darius put three people in charge of those one hundred and twenty rulers. Daniel was one of those three people in charge. The king liked Daniel so much. He was honest, hardworking, faithful, and nice. The rulers were very jealous of him and wanted to get rid of him. They looked and looked but they couldnt find anything wrong with Daniel. Some people dont like it when other people are good because it makes them look really bad. They knew that Daniel loved God very much, and prayed to him three times everyday. They went to the King and said, King Darius! The rulers all think you should make a law that for the next thirty days, the country should only worship you! The law was signed and even though Daniel saw the law, he went to his window and sunk to his knees to pray to God the same way he did everyday. The governors saw this and told the king that they saw Daniel praying to the Lord and that he should be thrown into the lions den. When King Darius heard that Daniel had disobeyed the order, he became really sad. You see, the king knew that Daniel was honest, hardworking, faithful and nice. He tried to think of a way to help Daniel but he couldnt. Poor king Darius had no choice. Then Daniel was thrown into the den of lions. A huge stone was rolled in front of the door to the lions den and the king sealed it. This meant that nobody could move the stone and rescue Daniel if they wanted to. Nobody but God, that is. The king ran to the lions den, first thing in the morning and checked to see if Daniel was alive. Daniel? Did your God, that you are so faithful to, save you? Daniel said back, King Darius! God sent an angel to shut the mouths of the lions. I am safe! The king was so happy and ordered the soldiers to free Daniel. Daniel did not have a single scratch on him. This story taught me to always have faith in God and that he will save me every time.

Transfiguration of Jesus The Transfiguration of Jesus is one of the miracles recorded in the gospels. This story is recorded in Mathew, Mark and Luke. These three books are also known as the synoptic gospels. Jesus took three apostles, Peter, James, and John with him up onto Mount Tabor. He transfigured before them; his face shining with the rays of the sun and His garments becoming white as snow. The word Transfiguration means a complete change of physical form into a more spiritual and holy state. The prophets Moses and Elijah then appeared next to Jesus and Peter, James and John saw them talking. The apostles saw the glory of the Kingdom of God in Jesus. Peter offered to make three booths; one for Jesus, one for Moses, and one for Elijah. When Peter was making this offering, a bright cloud passed overhead. From the cloud, a booming voice said, This is my Beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him. When Peter, John and James heard the voice, they immediately fell to their knees. When Jesus told them to rise, they looked up in awe but they saw only Jesus. When they were coming down the mountain, Jesus said to the three apostles, Tell no one the vision, until the Son of Man is raised from the dead. The Transfiguration of Jesus is important in our faith because it allows us to understand that Jesus is the bridge between heaven and earth. It proves that Jesus is the Son of God and also the voice of God. It reveals to us our ultimate goal as Christians; to be transformed and glorified by God. In our Orthodox faith, the Feast of Transfiguration is held on August 6th. *****two minutes*******

David and Goliath There once was a king named Saul. When Saul was king of the Israelites, the Phillistines came for war. They were on opposite sides. On the side of the Phillistines, there was a huge, huge, man. Bigger than this! (Reach arms high). His name was Goliath and he made a challenge. He said one of the Israelites should fight him and if Goliath loses, then the Phillistines would become slaves for the Israelites. But Goliath was a huge, huge, man. Bigger than this! (Reach arms high again) And everyone was scared. Nobody was ready. David was a young shepherd boy who went to the army camp to see his brothers. When David heard about Goliaths challenge, he walked (Walk up a little) up to the king said, I will go and fight! (Hit chest) David told king Saul that God gave him the strength to fight lions and bears when he had to defend his sheep. So Saul said to David, Go and the Lord be with you! (Wave hand out) David was given armor, a helmet and a sword. But when David started walking he had trouble because he wasnt used to it. So he took them off. Instead, he took five smooth stone and his sling and went to Goliath. Goliath started laughing when he saw David because David was a small boy. But David said, You come to me with a sword, with a spear, and with a javelin. But I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts. Goliath came forward but David hurried and slung a stone and struck the Philistine in the forehead. The stone sank in Goliaths forehead and he fell on his face. Then, David ran over to Goliath, took his sword, and cut off Goliaths head. In this way, God gave victory to David and the Israelites. They were free from attack from the Philistines! From this story, I learned that all things, no matter how hard, are possible with God on your side.

Walls of Jericho Do you know who Joshua is? Well today, Im going to tell you the story of Joshua and the walls of Jericho. Joshua was the leader of the Israelites after Moses. They were on their way to the Promised Land Canaan. It was a very hard and long journey and they came across a lot of trouble on the way. But dont worry. God was with them and gave them lots of strength. When the Israelites came to Jericho they found big big walls and a huge huge gate. How were they supposed to get through the big big walls and the huge huge gate? They asked God and God gave Joshua important instructions. He told Joshua and his soldiers to march around the city once a day for six days. Seven priests, each carrying a trumpet, were supposed to stand in front of the covenant box. On the seventh day, they were supposed to march around the city seven times while the priests blow the trumpets. So Joshua and his soldiers listened. They marched once a day for six days. On the seventh day they marched around seven times while the seven priests blew their trumpets. (March around in a little circle six times while talking and on the seventh time pretend to blow trumpets.) As soon as the men heard the trumpets and marching they shouted. The walls fell! They were able to get into the city of Jericho because they listened to God. God cares for his people. Joshua and his soldiers were not scared and they didnt hesitate to obey God. I learned from this story that if you listen to God and always obey his commands, He will help you. All of us should be like Joshua and obey God.