CLUE GAME recap :)

This Saturday was our annual Clue Game! I can't believe it's already gone. Last year, Sheldon and Carlon took on the task of planning the game for the first time (it was previously organized by Rick and Toby). Bob and I both help as well (Bob helps with logistics, prep, lighting, sound, etc. and I do a lot of the admin work) but the real stars are Carlon and Sheldon, who plan the rooms, the clues, the logistics of how the game will play out, along with mini quests and more. I definitely don't have a 'clue brain' and am quite satisfied recruiting volunteers, sending emails, and making to-do lists for the boys!

This year, our theme was Night at the Movies and it was a BLAST. It was quite a bit bigger than most years (we used nearly every possible room!) which meant a lot of volunteers as well. We were able to iron out a lot of the kinks from last year so the game ran smoothly, there was no unintended confusion about clues, the volunteers got fed, the rooms were decorated, the teams were registered, and the game started on time! This year, the premise of the game was that the Dark Side (lead by Darth Vader) and the Alliance (led by Gandalf) were in a battle now that the second Death Star was made. Gandalf and Darth Vader were able to enter the movie universe as Vader tried to recruit followers. After lots of battling, both were too tired to continue, which is where the kids picked up - their task was to defeat the Dark Side by disarming the second Death Star power cell.

Carlon as Darth Vader

Gandalf (Sheldon) with his hobbits, Ethan and Ryan

Students in grades 7-12 from our church as well as Oxford Church (my friend Nancy is the youth director there) worked in teams of 3-4 to visit rooms and complete tasks to earn clues and money to help them get around. The end goal (not that they knew this!) was to collect clues that lead them to two copper wires, a key, and a message to find Gandalf. Once they had collected all the clues, Gandalf lead them up to the baptismal area where they could unlock the room and fit the copper wires into the power cell (made by Bob, very cool!) to disarm the power.

Seven groups completed the game this year, and we gave prizes to the top three teams. The winners were:
First place: CJ, Richard, JT, and Joshua
Second place: Emily, Robyn, Megan (they almost took first!)
Third place: Brittni, Shaanti, Erika and Jeanette
Honourable mentions:
#4: Matt, Shyrelle, Kellen and Eric
#5: Samantha, Talyor, and Hannah
#6: Jeff, Oliver and Mikey
#7: Mitchell, Jesse, and Joey
We also gave a prize to the team that completed the most 'side reels' (tasks not game-related) - Brennan, Harlen, and Jonathan.

The runners up!

Some of our honourable mentions

At the end of the night, Brad gave a message to all of the students, which was awesome! Clue is an outreach event and students are really encouraged to bring new friends to the game who don't go to church. We had roughly 100 kids and about half of them were kids I'd never met! On their way out, we gave each of them a small gift for coming - a Life Book, which explains who God is, why we need Jesus, and what Jesus did in a teen friendly way. They also got a flyer for our upcoming events and we were able to collect their contact info for follow up this week. Please be praying for the students who came who do not know Jesus - that they will ask questions of their friends, read the book, come to youth again, and come to know Christ. It was a very encouraging night as I was able to talk with many new students and I've heard of several who were asking their friends great questions. Wahoo!

The building was divided into 5 genres of movies: villains, Disney, epic, action, and fantasy. On top of that, we had heroes and villains walking around to police the halls and cause havoc respectively. We also had theatre workers who ran concession, registration, coat check, and charged admission to go upstairs. We even had a photographer!

Sue as Rita Skeeter, our photographer

Cora, Rhoda and Kayla did Wizard of Oz

Simon and Des did Up!

Helga (my mom!) as King Kong

Can you believe that's Peter?

We had SO MANY volunteers this year! We invite young families to bring their children along to help and we really tried to recruit a large demographic of people this year. We had roughly 80 helpers! Wow! I think my favourite part of the night was watching all of these people who gave up some of their own money, a lot of their own time, and a weekend to serve our students. It was awesome to hear students walking around saying things like "wait, that was your pastor? cool!" or "isn't that your grandpa?" THANK YOU to the many volunteers who really showed these students their love. You definitely made a great impression on them! Some kids were amazed that they didn't have to dress up to come to church, so you can imagine how cool they thought it was to see young families, youth parents and grandparents, pastors, elders, and many others volunteering. Definitely NOT a staunchy image of church!

Pirates, Ghostbusters, Oz, Batman, Queen of Hearts, King Kong, Chaplin... and that's only a few volunteers!

Here is the full list of rooms and other roles along with who volunteered (we are seriously so, so grateful for each of you!):
Saving Private Ryan: Jake, Angelika, and Joanna
Lord of the Rings: Adam, Ryan, Cody, Ryan, Ethan, Sheldon
Shawshank Prison: Heather and Harry
Pirates of the Caribbean: Bernie, Connie, Tiana
Ghostbusters: Shawna, Peter, Eva, Isabella
King Kong: Harv and Helga
Indiana Jones: Toby, Jody, Corah, Lowen
Wizard of Oz: Rhoda, Cora, Kayla
Harry Potter: Stef, Nancy, Josiah, Micah, Faith
Back to the Future: Ashley, Dana
Jaws: Heidi, Joseph, Susanna, and Lilly
Dracula: Joanna, Gord
Star Wars: Paul and Carlon
Up!: Simon and Desiree
Toy Story: Laura, Kristina, Tyler, Lauren
Little Mermaid: Nancy, Alex, Kim, Lacey, Mark, and Randall (Oxford church)
Cinderella: Kathy, Christine, Max, Meghan
Aladdin: Elysia, Tyler
Concession: Mayette, Janine, John
Registration: Kathi, Robert, Ed, Pennie, Angela
Staircase workers: Bernie, Ron, Gord, Brian
Villains: Jennine (Cruella De Vil), Keith (Godfather), Val (Queen of Hearts), Kathleen (Zombie)
Heroes: Brad (Flash), Glenn (Batman), Sean (Green Lantern)
Photography: Sue (Rita Skeeter)

For the record, I was Charlie Chaplin :)

Thanks to Sue and Rhoda who took all the photos that I posted here. Be sure to check out their albums on Facebook!