A week or so ago was the first day of middle school for a lot of students and their parents in our area. For the student it comes with first day pictures, first day outfits, first day excitement, and first day fears. Parents will have fears too... Will they make friends? Will they eat a good lunch? Will they remember to bring all of their assignments home? Will they be bullied? Those don't sound like
small fears...especially the bullying part.
All valid questions.
I know a group of parents who sent their kids off to 6th grade at the beginning of this year. They have the same valid fears too.
Will they make friends? Will they eat a good lunch? Will they remember to bring all of their assignments home? Will they be bullied? What will we do next year? Will I keep them home? Will they go to public school? Will they be in a gang? Will they be murdered by a gang? Will they be the murderer in a gang?
Wait! Those are not the same questions I'm seeing on Facebook today. Those are not the same questions I'm hearing parents of 6th graders asking. These question are from the parents of the current 6th graders as Casita Adonai. 6th grade is the last class Casita can offer them, and it is not by choice... It is not because their hearts don't ache and yearn to see these kids more than succeed.
It is because there is no space. No space!
I hear valid concerns about the amount of kids per class here in the US, and I agree it is too many.
But we don't stop having school all together; we make the space. At Casita it is not that simple, which is why raising the funds to complete the third floor is so vital. It is not just a matter of education. For some, for most, for all, it is a choice between life and death.
We have two kids we sponsor and we have lots of concerns for their safety after 6th grade. One of our sponsor kids has autism which is an even greater concern. It is very hard for me to let my mind and my heart think of what will happen to him when he ends 6th grade in 2017. I cannot begin to imagine what his mother is already thinking and the heart wrenching thought of sending him to a public school. If you're thinking, but I live here, what can I do? Well since I've already been brutally honest I'll continue that pattern. They need your money for the building fund. Praying is and will continue to be a must. But... without action, where is my faith? I read somewhere that "faith without action is dead." It's easy to think that if all you can give is a small amount then it wouldn't help...
YES IT WOULD!
I don't mind using all caps! Even $5 a month would help. Or give a one-time donation! We can't out give God, but wouldn't it be fun to try? To see how He causes everything to work together for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose for them. Don't just pray about it! Do it! I was even convicted to give monthly just by writing this. Yes we donate and that's great but let me see if I can out give God... I know I can't, because He will multiply every penny. And not only will parents of the 2017 6th grade class in Guatemala have the same questions as the parents of the 2017 class here, but they will also be able to eliminate some of their questions.
They will be able to send their kids into a building where there is hope.
A promise fulfilled.
A promise we made as Christ followers that with all authority in heaven and on earth we will go into all the nations being sure of this:
I Am with you always, even to the end of the age. I cannot out give to
others what
God will pour into my heart and my home because of my giving. He will take care
of me as I
take care of those whom He has put before me.
We can together fulfill the
promise
for all of us as we fulfill our promise to Him.
