Springboard Talk:

THE FEEDING OF THE THOUSANDS

Time Frame:
30-45 minutes

Materials:
Bible
CD and Lyrics: Five Loaves and Two Fishes (Video) and Reflective Songs
LCD Projector
Speakers (Sound System)

Procedure:

I – RETELLING THE STORY

The facilitator asks the participants to retell the story that they have read and shared during the
previous activity.

Then the facilitator retells the story emphasizing the three main characters:

 THE HUNGRY PEOPLE

 JESUS CHRIST
 THE CHILD (Some theologians claim that the one who owns the five loaves and two fishes is a
young child).

The facilitator will ask the participants to close their eyes and imagine in their mind that they are part of
the story while a reflective music is being played.

The facilitator will ask the participants to focus their imagination on the faces of the HUNGRY PEOPLE
following Jesus. He ask these questions:

- What do you see in their faces? Are they happy, sad, pale, hungry, smiling? Do they look tired?
Are they sweating?
- How do you feel about them?

The facilitator will ask now the participants to focus their imagination on the JESUS. He ask these
questions:

- What do you see in the face of Jesus? Is he happy, sad, smiling, worried?
- How do you feel about seeing the face of Jesus?

The facilitator will ask now the participants to focus their imagination on the THE CHILD as he walks
against the crowd to offer his five loaves and two fishes. He ask these questions?

- What do you see in the face of the child? Is he happy, sad, smiling, worried?
- How do you feel about seeing the face of the child?

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The facilitator ask the participants to open their eyes and ask the some participants to share their
answers to this question:

Looking at the faces of three characters, who touched you the most?

The facilitator will now play the music video FIVE LOAVES and TWO FISHES (Corinne May). Afterwards,
he introduces the heart of the whole activity: How can these three persons teach us to become a better
teachers.

*BREAK*

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 TALK 1 (GIFTEDNESS):
THE CHILD: “I HAVE FIVE LOAVES AND TWO FISHES”

Time Frame:
1 hour and 30 minutes

Materials:
Box
Mirror
A drawing of a Blank Human Person
CD: Five Loaves and Two Fishes, Reflective Songs
LCD Projector
Speakers (Sound System)
Cross
Vigil Candles

Procedure:

The facilitator will recall the three main characters in the story: THE CHILD, THE HUNGRY PEOPLE and
THE CHILD. Afterward, he introduces that this session is about the first character: THE CHILD and what
can this CHILD teach us being a teacher. (The goal of the session is to let young people see their
GIFTEDNESS).

I - Opening Activity: MY MOST PERFECT PERSON (The goal of the activity is to show that most of the
times we cannot see our own giftedness because we usually focus on what others have that we do not
have and we wish we have and forget the things that we have.)

Each participant will be given a paper with the drawing of a blank human person with the label MY
MOST PERFECT PERSON. The activity is for each participant to create his/her most perfect person. The
facilitator must emphasize that his/her project is to create the most perfect person that he can imagine.
The participant can draw, describe through writing some adjectives or name of a famous person (eg.,
celebreties) that he/she deems to have that most perfect part of the body.

The facilitator will now ask the participants to make their most perfect person by mentioning the
different parts of the human body:

1. Face
2. Eyes
3. Nose
4. Lips
5. Hair
6. Ears
7. Body
8. Arms (including hands)
9. Legs (including the feet)
10. Brain
11. Voice
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 12. Moves
13. Fashion Style
14. Give a name to his/her most perfect person

The facilitator will now ask to look at their work for a minute then asks them to close their eyes and
imagine their most/perfect persons by mentioning each part of the human body that they drew or
wrote. He ask them these questions after mentioning each part of the body: How do want to be your
(____________) to be like that? How do you want to be that person?

The facilitator calls some participants to share their work and their answer to the reflective questions.
Afterwards, the facilitator will ask again the participants to look closely to their work for a minute. Then,
he will ask if they like to witness “MAGIC.” Most of them will say yes and he will give the instructions for
the MAGIC ACTIVITY.

THE MAGICAL BOX

The facilitator will tell that there is a magical box (with a mirror inside) located somewhere in the hall.
This box is magical because when the participants open the box it and look at its inside it will show the
most perfect person that they have created in their previous acitivyt. Here is the specific instruction:

1. Each participant will approach the box.

2. Before opening the box, they will look at their drawing and imagine it in their mind for some
seconds.
3. Then they open box and look at the inside of the box (they will see their reflection).

Before the activity, the facilitator must warn the participants not to tell what they saw inside the box. He
must warn them that “THE MAGIC will lose if anyone speaks.” So it is expected that no participant will
talk throughout the activity (even sign language).

II – INPUT (GIFTEDNESS)

After all participants have seen their own reflection in the mirror inside of the box, the participant will
be gathered again as one group. Then the facilitator will re-start the session by saying: “First of all, I
want to say SORRY because I lied to you. There was no MAGIC in the box. However, one thing is for
sure, the BOX did not lie to you.” Then the input about GIFTEDNESS begins:

1. You are the most perfect person because you are created by God.

Main point: You are the most beautiful/perfect/special creation because God has created you.
God cannot make something that is not perfect.

2. God made you unique and he has given you something (eg. talents) because He is all-good.

Main point: God is all-good. He did not create us with nothing. He has given something to us
(especially our talents). We call those things that God has given us as “our FIVE LOAVES and
TWO FISHES” in order to fit our theme.

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 Just like the Child, we also have our own FIVE LOAVES and TWO FISHES because God has gifted
us with something because He loves us so much.

3. Most of the time we cannot appreciate our own giftedness because we always focus on what
others have that we don’t have and we wish we have.

Main point: Many times we cannot appreciate ourselves (giftedness) because we often compare
ourselves with other people (eg., mas maganda sya, mas magaling sya, mas matalino sya, etc.)

It is our tendency to look at the things that we don’t have and we wish we have that we cannot
see what we have.

(The facilitator will show a picture of a man without arms and legs and ask the participants:
WHAT DO YOU SEE in the picture? Most of them will tell that what they see is a man “without
arms and legs” but the facilitator will again ask them that the question is about “what they see”
and not “what they don’t see.” They must say, he has a face, a body, etc.) “Kadalasan, ang
nakikita natin ay ang mga bagay na wala tayo dahil dito nakakalimutan natin ang mga bagay na
meron tayo.”

4. Most of the time people cannot see their giftedness because other people reject them.

Most young people reject other young people. Because of that, most young people feel small.
As a youth, we must not be an instrument of rejection but of affirmation that each of us is
gifted. The challenge there is that after the session no one will tell to other people that “He/she
is not beautiful, that he/she has no worth, that he/she is not good enough” rather let them say
to each other that “He/She is beautiful, that he/she is loved, that he/she is worth it.”

The facilitator will summarize the input by saying that everyone is gifted because they are made by God
and God has given them something. Like the child, each of them has his/her five loaves and two fishes.
The best way to use this giftedness is to share it with other people. “Everyone has something to give,
everyone can do something.” Jesus will be happy if everyone will share his FIVE LOAVES and TWO FISHES
however big or small are they. “No gift is too small.”

A video clip will be shown about NICK, a person who has no arms and legs.

The facilitator ends the session with this story:

A great teacher called one of his students. He told his

student, “Come and be with me. We will go around the
world and teach many people.” The student was hesitant
to go and told his teacher, “Teacher, I am not worthy to
go with you. I am not the most intelligent, talented and
richest student that you have. I am just me.” Then the
teacher told his student, “You have just tole me the
greatest gift that you can offer to me: YOURSELF.”

The talk ends with an invitation to the participants to go around (shake hands, tap the shoulder or hug)
and affirm each other by saying: “YOU ARE GOOD. YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL. YOU ARE SPECIAL.”
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 *BREAK*

TALK 2:
“I FEED THE HUNGRY: I AM A TEACHER”

 The Problem of Hunger in the World

First point:
One of the greatest problem of the world is hunger. Many nations are suffering from
malnutrition including the Philippines.

Second point:
The worst form of hunger is the hunger for love and acceptace. (The speaker must be able to let
the delegates realize that they too are/were also hungry for love and acceptance in their lives as
young people. The speaker can ask the delegates to reflect with this question: When were the
times that you felt hungry for love and acceptance?).

Third point:
It is not just you who is hungry. Many young people is hungry or even hungrier. The speaker
must be able to show the different form of hunger young people have nowadays.

Fourth point:
THE CAUSE: What seems to be the cause of this hunger? It is GREED – because people don’t
want to share.

THE SOLUTION: It is to share what we have.

 TEACHING is about FEEDING THE HUNGRY

The task of being a teacher is to feed the hungry. To do this, we must therefore be willing to
share our selves – our giftedness (five loaves and two fish).

*BREAK*

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WORKSHOP

Materials:
Manila Paper
Paste
Pentel Pen/Crayons
Cut outs of Different Young People in the Society

Procedure:

The speaker will group them into small groups (around 5-8 persons per group). He/She will let them go
around the area and look at the different pictures posted in the walls.

After all the groups have roamed around the area. Each group will be given the chance to roam again
and they will select one picture that they consider as HUNGRY YOUNG PEOPLE.

Each group will given a manila paper, pen/crayons and paste. They will write their answers to these
questions (around 15-20 minutes):

WHO ARE THOSE GROUP OF YOUNG PEOPLE?

WHAT ARE THE CAUSES OF THEIR HUNGER?
WHAT CAN I DO TO FEED THEM?

SHARING: Each group will share their outputs to the assembly.

The speaker will synthesize the sharing highlighting the things that a teacher can do to serve the young
people.

The speaker can end the session with this short but beautiful story:

An Old Cherokee Tale of Two Wolves

One evening an old Cherokee Indian told his grandson about a battle
that goes on inside people. He said, ‘My son, the battle is between two
‘wolves’ inside us all. One is Evil. It is anger, envy, jealousy, sorrow,
regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies,
false pride, superiority, and ego.

The other is good. It is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility,

kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion and
faith.’

The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his
grandfather: ‘Which wolf wins?’

The old Cherokee simply replied, ‘The one you feed.’

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(This is such a lovely story: so simple and yet so true. I think each and
every one of us has these two wolves running around inside us. The Evil
wolf or the Good Wolf is fed daily by the choices we make with our
thoughts. What you think about and dwell upon will in a sense appear in
your life and influence your behavior.

We have a choice, feed the Good Wolf and it will show up in our
character, habits and behavior positively. Or feed the Evil Wolf and our
whole world will turn negative: like poison, this will slowly eat away at
our soul.

The crucial question is “Which are you feeding today”?)