TERROR!!

i am coming to some realizations about how God works. mostly, things that i think i should never do, or things that i'm like "i'll do anything....except that", are things that He ends up being like "here you go, sucker!" i've got 2 stories about that, but the other one will have to wait until i get some pictures. story 1 goes like this-

so i'm sitting at home like 9 months ago, thinking about being a youth pastor, sort of imagining on a very realistic level what it would be like to be here, and i come to grips with the idea of giving a talk every week, but i'm terrified at the thought of being a camp speaker. one talk a week, ok. 8 talks in one week, not so ok. you guessed it- i've been asked to be a camp speaker for the summer. NOT ONLY THAT, however, it's for the current 3rd-5th graders. like kids. little ones. running around being...little and blatant in their kid-ish-ness. i have no idea AT ALL how to teach to that age. what's up with that? why can't God set it up so i can at least speak to middle school, or only slighly worse, high school? but elementary? i do have a few friends in the elementary, but mostly they just see me as their walking, talking, jungle gym. which is a role i'm ok with. but communicating Biblical truths?

i was talking to the pastoral staff over here about this (turns out it was their idea. TRAITORS!!) and they were like "you'll do fine! it's not that big of a deal, they're just kids." then, just when i think i'm coming to grips with it, they start talking about how their kids' lives were changed by elementary camp, and how the entire course of history was changed when they were in 3rd-5th grade by a speaker at a camp. not like i'm freaking out enough on my own without hearing that.

so, consider this a call to all you teachers of elementary kids out there- HELP ME. i was talking to an elementary teacher here, and he told me that i don't need to change the content from what i would talk about to middle schoolers, just change the delivery. i know (courtesy educational psychology- thanks patty!) that kids that age are very concrete thinkers, that they don't get abstract concepts at all. there is no gray area in their brains- things are either right for everyone or wrong for everyone. they have a huge sense of justice- everything MUST be fair. how this all translates to me being a camp speaker is what i'm not real clear on. so, rainbow, becky, becca, various other people who like to think they are smart (and, for all intents and purposes, are), this is me putting the onus of responsibility on your shoulders (and thanks to cami for that great word). really. just a little help would be ok. tricks? stuff that you remember your camp speaker doing that you thought was cool, or amazing, or hilarious, or memorable?