fair trade" taught to young children @ church!

Homelessness, poverty, hunger, injustice needs to be met. The children at St. Aldates are learning these needs at the young age of 5, 6, and 7 years old! It is amazing and exciting to see all the concepts that they start to teach these young kids early on in their lives. At St. Aldates, I feel as if they lay down a foundation that is solid for the kids. A background that is simple, yet steady. A solid rock that is real and tangible and can be applied to their lives right where they are. 

I remember going to Sunday school when I was young and seeing puppet shows and silly skits. Yes, they displayed Bible stories, or ways that I could, "be kind to my neighbor"; however, the kids in England are learning things that I did not understand until I was much older in my life. This week in Sunday School the topic was "Injustice and Poverty". It is week nine out of the "Top Ten" series that the Children's Ministry is teaching at church. 

Prayerful consideration went into this lesson before hand- which was wonderful. Christ tells us to cast all our anxiety and worries on Him because He cares for us. This week, I feel as if God really worked in the hearts of the "climbers". Rachel, the head children's minister was the main teacher this week. I led the red team. We prayed that the Lord would touch the heart's of the kids and of all of us to be generous, to do what we can to help the poor because we are called to be the "hands and feet" of Christ. 

One thing that really stuck out to me this week was praying that we, as Christians, and as young children, would not feel inadequate to help others. I, as a college student, so many times feel inadequate and that the things I do to help others are no good. I think this is a lie and a falsehood that Satan tries to tell us. He twists the truth stating that the little things do not matter and are of no use. I believe differently. It is the little things that make the difference. If it were not for the little random acts of kindness, giving a pound to someone on the street, buying someone coffee or a cheap sandwich, that is what makes a change. 

The kids were especially attentive this week. I helped teach by reading the story of the "Good Samaritan". When we discussed the passage of scripture, the children were so insightful about the simplistic story that we hear all the time. Sometimes when I hear parables told over and over again, and repetition of certain sermons, sadly, these ideas become numb in my mind. It was great to hear this story with a freshness from a children's perspective, yet applicable to my life. 

They stated that the reason the priest and the Jew did not stop to help the man who had been mugged was because he possibly was in a hurry to get somewhere, or did not want to touch the man because he may have been dirty and unclean. This made me think about all the times when I am in such a rush to get somewhere that I selfishly do not think about the needs of others around me. However, the Samaritan, who himself was an outsider, was the one who stopped so graciously to help. He gave the innkeeper money for medical care for a man that he didn't even know. I want to be generous and hospitable like this man. 

Rachel also talked about the Fair Trade movement to the children and how we can help in this little way. I was definitely surprised at the amount of kids who knew what "fair trade" was and even how it worked. I did not know about this until pretty recently within the last few years of my life. I do not know if this is a cultural thing, but the progressiveness of St. Aldates truly never ceases to impress me with the way they handle certain situations like this one. The people here truly want to help and change the world and the lives of all the people in Oxford and around the world. 

I am praying for an irresistible revolution to come over this new generation that is rising up. That they would have a real heart for the poor. I pray that they would be able to overcome the injustices  that the world entangles people with on a daily basis in all nations and countries. 

Everybody Needs Jesus

Sunday morning was another wonderful day of working with the children at St. Aldates. 

Like other mornings, our group started off with prayerful consideration for the children with James and Anna before the class. Anna was the teacher this week, so I helped her get set up for class. I helped pour drinks for the kids before they came to class and set up all the blankets on the floor. We decorated the room with bright colored banners and blew up balloons because the topic of this week's lesson was "Sharing the Good News". 

After the kids sang some songs and they got to talk with the Bishop for a little while, the kids trickled into the common room for games and worship. We played a silly game where they would guess what noise went with which certain animal. They kept score for boys versus the girls. We sang some songs then the Explorers split up from the rest of the group and the excitement began! We started off breaking the ice asking the children if they had any "good news" from the past week. As we did this, Anna called individual children over to the "Good News" box where they found a surprise of smarties inside. They were instructed to tell one other friend in the class to go look inside the "good news" box to receive a candy. Soon, the whole class was filled with excitement from candy and good news! We related this back to the "good news" that Christ has given us- except His good news is not smarties and candy, but rather that Jesus conquered death and offers us forgiveness. We played a game with the five to seven year old kids with balloons. The relay races tied into the lesson by learning to "share" balloons. 

We created a worksheet for arts and crafts for the children. It was a calendar of the days of the week. They were instructed to write a friend's name or a country in each of the boxes and draw a picture of them to pray daily for a person or country that does not know the "good news" of Christ. It is amazing that they are being taught at such an early age to pray for evangelism and people who are not believers. Spreading the gospel can be hard, but it creates a more comfortable atmosphere if they are taught at a young age. I am so excited to be a part of the teaching of these young people for the new generation that will soon be the leaders in the world. 

It was interesting, as I spoke with the children as they did this project at the amount of kids who had been to foreign countries and even continents. A handful of kids had been to Africa and to Russia. They have a very mature world view for the importance of spreading the gospel. Many of the kids had lots of countries drawn to pray for on the worksheet they colored. After they were finished coloring, they prayed in small groups for the people and countries they had drawn. Their prayers were precious, and I know they were pleasing in the sight of God. 

Each week, I am humbled by the fact that so many people in the community take time out of their week and busy lives to invest in children. I am blessed to be a part of this organization and mission work. It has been amazing to get to know the other leaders in my group through small things such as washing dishes after children and folding blankets that they have sat on. It is a joy to be able to pray for them as they grow up in the church and for their friends that do not know Jesus.