9.9.11

Malachai came home from school last week, and over lunch he told us about a discussion they had had in class; apparently there was consensus amongst the students - - the president of Mexico is a terrible president.  Why?  Because there is still extreme poverty all throughout the country. The class was worked up into a frenzy:
one girl proposed a manifestation - - they would make banners and march in the streets until they got on tv; and then one boy suggested that they bring guns and knives - - just in case . . .
This made for good lunch conversation.
We talked about why it might or might not be the president's responsibility to solve the crisis of poverty  in the country he leads; we talked about individuals we know who are risking themselves and thinking creatively to care for the those who have needs, and we asked what he or his classmates were doing to care for the poor in Mexico. 

The following day Malachai reported back to us that he had gone to class and proposed a plan:
They would help the girls at DAYA (a home for abused girls - - young teenagers who often have babies of their own)
the students who had money could give money,
the students who had no money could give some of their old baby toys for the babies to play with.
the students who had neither money nor toys could go visit DAYA  and just give their sweet smiles to the girls and their babies.
So he put it to a vote- - and according to Malachai there was "a great chorus of voices agreeing to this plan!"

We have talked with the director of Malachai's school, who has gladly agreed to go ahead with their plan.
will it really work?  Possibly . . . but I don't know.
will they make a significant dent in providing for the needs of those girls and their babies? Maybe;
or maybe not.
Ahhh . . . but it's absolutely a worthwhile investment;

5 comments:

  1. I think it will make a difference. If nothing else, showing that there are people that care about them. It will also show the children in Malachai's class that the love he has for other people comes from Jesus.Grandma and Grandpa are very proud of him. We are also, pleased that you both encourage conversation and action.

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  2. Naomi, I love how you encouraged Malachi to think more creatively about the situation, focusing on the real problem, the poor. I love the solution, I look forward to hearing how it all goes. I wonder what it costs to mail things to you guys... I have a ton of baby toys...

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  3. I LOVED this post. Children can truly change the world. What an important lesson the children in Malachi's class are learning. What would the world be like if every Christ follower did what Malachi did? So many of us see so many problems around us and chose to blame government etc rather than step up and do something ourselves. Thank you for helping Malachi think through the conversation the students had. What a great choice he made!
    I've thought many times about making some cookies and taking the kids to visit some of the elderly in our community. This post motivated me to actually do it (and we did this morning). Thanks for the encouragment Malachi!

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  4. Sounds like the team has another strategic/activator :)

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