I have just returned from my second visit to New Hope Centre in Bethany, Swaziland. I am so amazed at the growth and progress of the home with regard to buildings, livestock, and educational facilities. It didn’t seem like the same place I had visited just two years ago.
And the kids—all 40 of them have grown and matured and are more delightful than ever. These are kids whose parents died of AIDS and there was no one left to care for them. They came to New Hope Centre and began to thrive. They dance ballet, they sing in four-part harmony, they play the drums, they compete at swimming and other sports, they excel at their classes, they worship God, they lead Bible studies for their siblings at the home, and they exhibit leadership in leading camps for other children in Swaziland who have not had their advantages. They are truly amazing children.
This time Wendy, my daughter, went with me to share the adventure. I am so glad she did. Now we have so much to talk about. Wendy’s only request was that she get to see some African animals. After all, what is a trip to Africa without seeing lions and giraffes and elephants? And we did! We saw them all including a crocodile, monkeys, zebras, wart hogs, wildebeests, ostriches, lions, a giraffe, hippos, and so much more. Swaziland is a treasure trove of wildlife and when you get off the main roads and back into the country just a little bit, it is beautiful. There are mountains and deep grasslands and trees. It wasn’t quite the same as the high valleys of Montana, but it did cause me to think of my childhood home.
Our job at New Hope was to interview 24 kids to get their stories. These stories will become the basis for a book called 24 Extraordinary Children, and extraordinary they are. They are also chosen . . . blessed . . . endowed with talent . . . loved. They are, in short, just great kids. Our interview process took most of our time with the children, but we got to share a Shabbat meal with them on Friday evening, early morning devotions each day, and we went to church on Sunday with them. We heard them singing early in the morning and late in the evening.
Getting to and from Swaziland from the west coast of America is a daunting task. We left LA about midnight and flew all night to JFK in New York. After a couple of hours there (during which I managed to drop my passport and had to pray, retrace my steps, and finally was able to retrieve it) we boarded a jumbo jet headed for Johannesburg. That’s roughly a 15-hour trip and much of the trip happens at night (again). When we landed in South Africa, we still had a ways to go. We climbed on a tiny jet to fly 500 miles over the mountains to land in Manzini in the Kingdom of Swaziland. It took about an hour. Of course, there was a lost bag—mine—and before we left the airport, we had to make sure it was tracked down and would be on the plane in the morning. It was late when we left the tiny Matsapha airport and went to a grocery store to get supplies for the week. Then down through the dark we drove and at last climbed the mountain that is home to New Hope Centre. We were quickly surrounded by children who greeted us with joy.
How thrilling to hear the shofar blow at 6 A.M. in the morning to awaken the children. Then there is a padding of feet as the children go to the washhouse to bathe and get ready for the day. And always there is music, singing and recorded music, and sometimes both at once. By 8 A.M. the kids are in the tabernacle to greet the day with praise. First they sing and then they kneel on the hard concrete floor to pray and finally they find a scrap of cardboard to sit on on the floor while they hear a devotion led by one of the children. Then they memorize the verse for the day. At 9 A.M. the kids are off to class to study for most of the day. Teatime is at 11, and lunch served one to two hours later. There is playtime after school, then an evening meal and a time when they can watch a DVD or some other restful activity. Bedtime comes early at about 9 P.M. and by 10, it is very quiet.
And now to the work at hand. I will begin to figure out what this book should be. I would appreciate your prayers and interest as I go forward with this project. I feel called to do this book and I need God’s help in putting it together.
I came away from this trip with a renewed faith and a determination to live the rest of my life on the edge. I’m not going to play safe anymore. Time is short and there is much to be done for the kingdom of heaven. I keep thinking of the phrase, “the unexamined life is not worth living.” Socrates uttered it at his heresy trial that was held for encouraging his students to challenge the accepted beliefs of the time. He wanted them to think for themselves. Socrates believed that without examining life, there is no point in living. He died for his beliefs. That’s living on the edge. I wonder what we could do if we all decided to move just a little closer to the “edge” of our life and live with just a little more faith and courage.
Sunday, September 6, 2009
Friday, July 31, 2009
On the Way to Life
Hi Friends,
I know it's an old cliche and good writers should think up something clever, but I'm going to use it anyway. "If you want to make God laugh (or in some cases cry) tell him what you plan to do."
That's the road our family has been down this year. We thought we were going to Monterey, California, to the big aquarium there, during my granddaughter, Paige's, spring break. Hotels were booked, everything was in place, when God shed a tear. Paige had been showing some atypical symptoms--frequent urination, extreme thirst, but no lethargy. She was playing T-ball. The doctors, when called, were sure she was fine. However, Mom and Dad decided before we left on this trip that she had to be checked by a professional. My daughter-in-law, Chandra, my daughter, Wendy, and I took Paige to an emergency care facility. (That experience is a story in itself.) About 11 p.m. the doctor came out and said, "Your daughter has Type I diabetes. Take her straight to the hospital."
Talk about shock! Nobody in the family has ever had Type I diabetes. Where did it come from and why did it attack a beautiful, precocious, five-year-old girl? It was straight to the hospital for Chandra, Wendy, and Paige while I went to stay with the baby, John, so Dad could go to the hospital too.
That was the shocking beginning "on the way to life." Paige was taken by pediatric ambulance to Cottage Hospital in Santa Barbara and admitted to intensive care where she stayed for three days. Then there were three additional days in the hospital. Mark, John, and I stayed in a cottage provided by the hospital for parents of sick kids. Chandra slept in a chair in Paige's room. My daughter, Wendy, ran back and forth between Ventura, Port Hueneme, and Santa Barbara taking care of the rest of our life. With those few word, "Your daughter has diabetes," all of our lives changed forever and we entered the world of Juvenile Diabetes--a lifelong disability--at least at this point in time.
No one expects to begin giving shots four or five times a day to a five year old. No expects to have to prick her finger and draw blood many, many times a day, but now we all do it. We measure her carbs, we make sure she drinks enough water, we see that she gets enough exercise, and we all think about the careless way we have treated our own health.
Type I diabetes is a whole different disease than what happens to many obese, non-exercising kinds of people (many of whom are children). Type I diabetes is a genetic diasease inherited from both sides of the family that manifests in the diabetic. You can't lose weight or watch what you eat or get more exercise to get over Type I diabetes. You have it for life. Type I diabetes happens when the pancreas stops making insulin all together. For a grandmother, looking down the long years ahead of this child, that is what brings a tear to my eye and I believe to God's eye as well. But for some reason we cannot see and may never understand, He has allowed this disease into Paige's life. We have a lot of hope for Paige's future and for treatment yet to be discovered.
Paige is coping well. Maybe better than all of us. She can even check her own blood sugar. I can only say that I am so grateful for the research that has been done on diabetes to this point. Much of what has happened with this regard makes the life of a diabetic so much more manageable. As soon as Paige's blood sugar levels stabilizes, she will get an insulin pump that will administer the correct dose of insulin without an injection. There is stem cell research going on right now trying to figure out how the pancreas can be rejuvenated. While our family is opposed to embryonic stem cell research, the great news is that scientists are learning how to do stem cell research using skin cells. We all believe that the answer to Type I diabetes is just ahead and will happen in Paige's lifetime.
So let me encourage you if you or someone you love has this disease. It is managable. The diabetic can live an active, happy, fulfilling life. Paige swims, plays ball, bikes, and will continue to develop lots of interests in her life. She is in no way limited--she can even have sugar--as long as it is at a meal where it can be covered by the insulin we give her. And, as I said, we have great hope for her future. Be encouraged if you have Type I diabetes or love someone who does. Good things are ahead.
I know it's an old cliche and good writers should think up something clever, but I'm going to use it anyway. "If you want to make God laugh (or in some cases cry) tell him what you plan to do."
That's the road our family has been down this year. We thought we were going to Monterey, California, to the big aquarium there, during my granddaughter, Paige's, spring break. Hotels were booked, everything was in place, when God shed a tear. Paige had been showing some atypical symptoms--frequent urination, extreme thirst, but no lethargy. She was playing T-ball. The doctors, when called, were sure she was fine. However, Mom and Dad decided before we left on this trip that she had to be checked by a professional. My daughter-in-law, Chandra, my daughter, Wendy, and I took Paige to an emergency care facility. (That experience is a story in itself.) About 11 p.m. the doctor came out and said, "Your daughter has Type I diabetes. Take her straight to the hospital."
Talk about shock! Nobody in the family has ever had Type I diabetes. Where did it come from and why did it attack a beautiful, precocious, five-year-old girl? It was straight to the hospital for Chandra, Wendy, and Paige while I went to stay with the baby, John, so Dad could go to the hospital too.
That was the shocking beginning "on the way to life." Paige was taken by pediatric ambulance to Cottage Hospital in Santa Barbara and admitted to intensive care where she stayed for three days. Then there were three additional days in the hospital. Mark, John, and I stayed in a cottage provided by the hospital for parents of sick kids. Chandra slept in a chair in Paige's room. My daughter, Wendy, ran back and forth between Ventura, Port Hueneme, and Santa Barbara taking care of the rest of our life. With those few word, "Your daughter has diabetes," all of our lives changed forever and we entered the world of Juvenile Diabetes--a lifelong disability--at least at this point in time.
No one expects to begin giving shots four or five times a day to a five year old. No expects to have to prick her finger and draw blood many, many times a day, but now we all do it. We measure her carbs, we make sure she drinks enough water, we see that she gets enough exercise, and we all think about the careless way we have treated our own health.
Type I diabetes is a whole different disease than what happens to many obese, non-exercising kinds of people (many of whom are children). Type I diabetes is a genetic diasease inherited from both sides of the family that manifests in the diabetic. You can't lose weight or watch what you eat or get more exercise to get over Type I diabetes. You have it for life. Type I diabetes happens when the pancreas stops making insulin all together. For a grandmother, looking down the long years ahead of this child, that is what brings a tear to my eye and I believe to God's eye as well. But for some reason we cannot see and may never understand, He has allowed this disease into Paige's life. We have a lot of hope for Paige's future and for treatment yet to be discovered.
Paige is coping well. Maybe better than all of us. She can even check her own blood sugar. I can only say that I am so grateful for the research that has been done on diabetes to this point. Much of what has happened with this regard makes the life of a diabetic so much more manageable. As soon as Paige's blood sugar levels stabilizes, she will get an insulin pump that will administer the correct dose of insulin without an injection. There is stem cell research going on right now trying to figure out how the pancreas can be rejuvenated. While our family is opposed to embryonic stem cell research, the great news is that scientists are learning how to do stem cell research using skin cells. We all believe that the answer to Type I diabetes is just ahead and will happen in Paige's lifetime.
So let me encourage you if you or someone you love has this disease. It is managable. The diabetic can live an active, happy, fulfilling life. Paige swims, plays ball, bikes, and will continue to develop lots of interests in her life. She is in no way limited--she can even have sugar--as long as it is at a meal where it can be covered by the insulin we give her. And, as I said, we have great hope for her future. Be encouraged if you have Type I diabetes or love someone who does. Good things are ahead.
Sunday, December 9, 2007
Zoos, Mother Lions, and Parents
I love to go to the zoo. I particularly like watching lions with their cubs. I could stand watching them for hours. Baby lions pounce on their mother’s twitching tails. They crawl all over her, even on her head. All the while she lies there patient and calm. But let one of them cross some unseen line and you’ll hear a deep throaty growl. If the cub does not heed her and continues to wander away, or to pursue whatever it is she has asked him to stop doing, she will get up, cross to them, put a restraining foot on the offender or pick him up by the scruff of the neck and return him to the place he should be.
All that pouncing and stalking and jumping looks like a lot of play, but I am told that it is training for hunting and therefore feeding himself later on. It’s important and so mama lets the cubs go as far as she can, seemingly paying little attention. But all the while she is watching and knows exactly what is going on. The cubs live under the confines of discipline and they will keep the rules.
I’ve often thought that the discipline of our children needs to be more like that of a mother lion. It needs to be firm, but hidden until it’s needed. The child needs to experiment and wander and play and learn, but it must be within the lines of discipline and safety.
We don’t see it in the zoo, but in the wild there comes a time when the mother must teach her young ones to hunt. And how does she do that? By yelling at them? By belittling their efforts? Of course not. She teaches them by example. She models the hunting behavior to them and they learn. Their survival depends on it.
See any comparisons here? We too are models for our children and we can’t fool them with our sincerity or lack of it. We have to teach our children how to live and how to have faith. What we believe and how we live out our faith has to be a natural part of who we are and how we live. And that brings us to an important principle given in the Bible.
“Always remember these commands I give you today. Teach them to your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and walk along the road. Talk about them when you lie down and when you get up. Write them down and tie them to your hands as a sign. Tie them on your forehead to remind you. Write them on you doors and gates.” Deut 6:6-9).
The process of teaching described here is very natural. It happens in the everyday of life. It does not happen just in church or school, it happens when you are hiking and when you are eating and at bedtime and when you are brushing your teeth in the morning. It happens as you and your family live together.
Go to the zoo and watch what’s happening there. It’s a great lesson on parenting.
All that pouncing and stalking and jumping looks like a lot of play, but I am told that it is training for hunting and therefore feeding himself later on. It’s important and so mama lets the cubs go as far as she can, seemingly paying little attention. But all the while she is watching and knows exactly what is going on. The cubs live under the confines of discipline and they will keep the rules.
I’ve often thought that the discipline of our children needs to be more like that of a mother lion. It needs to be firm, but hidden until it’s needed. The child needs to experiment and wander and play and learn, but it must be within the lines of discipline and safety.
We don’t see it in the zoo, but in the wild there comes a time when the mother must teach her young ones to hunt. And how does she do that? By yelling at them? By belittling their efforts? Of course not. She teaches them by example. She models the hunting behavior to them and they learn. Their survival depends on it.
See any comparisons here? We too are models for our children and we can’t fool them with our sincerity or lack of it. We have to teach our children how to live and how to have faith. What we believe and how we live out our faith has to be a natural part of who we are and how we live. And that brings us to an important principle given in the Bible.
“Always remember these commands I give you today. Teach them to your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and walk along the road. Talk about them when you lie down and when you get up. Write them down and tie them to your hands as a sign. Tie them on your forehead to remind you. Write them on you doors and gates.” Deut 6:6-9).
The process of teaching described here is very natural. It happens in the everyday of life. It does not happen just in church or school, it happens when you are hiking and when you are eating and at bedtime and when you are brushing your teeth in the morning. It happens as you and your family live together.
Go to the zoo and watch what’s happening there. It’s a great lesson on parenting.
Sunday, December 2, 2007
Africa, Swaziland, Aids, and Kids
Well, I'm back from my Africa adventure. Halfway around the world, I found kids who have hope in spite of the dreadful circumstances which brought them to New Hope Centre in Manzini, Swaziland. There is no way I can begin to tell you the horrible things these kids have been through and I don't really want to focus on that side of the story any way. It is enough to know that almost all the children in this home have seen most of their families die of AIDs, they have been raped and abused and neglected and abandoned, and yet, there they are faces shining with hope.
My trip was with a team sponsored by Heart for Africa (http://www.heartforafrica.com/). There were 39 of us who met at Washington Dulles, climbed aboard a South Africa air bus jet and headed non-stop for Johannesburg. We arrived mid-afternoon the next day and immediately boarded a bus for the five hour drive to Swaziland. We had to be to the border of South Africa/Swaziland by 10 p.m. No problem, we had plenty of time--except that an impenetrable fog settled over the highway making seeing even the center dividing line hard to see. I don't know how our driver did it, but he made it on time. We got off the bus with our passports, checked out of South Africa, walked the 50 feet or so through no man's land to Swaziland where we checked into that country. It was surreal--fog, black darkness, so far from home, would they let us in? They did and we reboarded our bus and were off the the Lugogo Sun resort where we were to stay for the week.
Heart for Africa doesn't ask it's softened up American team members to stay in mudhuts with thatched roofs. The organization gives team members pretty much what they are used to at home so that their energies are given to the projects at hand and not to coping with culture shock. It worked for me.
Team members were assigned task that were somewhat related to their natural abilites. Some sewed draperies for new dormitories being built all over the hillside. Some painted and other did construction--both new and repair work. A large group gardened putting in for community people what is called "A Never-Ending Garden. " The land owner must prepare the soil if he wants a garden. The team then installs a drip irrigation system attached to a large water tank that is filled by rain. Heart for Africa buys the seedlings. The idea is that some seed is kept back for the next planting--thus the never-ending garden idea.
Some team members checked eyes and gave people donated glasses. There was one old gogo (grandmother) who had never been able to see well until a team member put the glasses on her. She began to dance all over the room she was so happy.
A couple of women counseled the girls about their bodies, sex, and other girl type things. 75% of girls in Swaziland do not know that AIDS is a sexually transmitted disease. Men believe that if they can have sex with a virgin, their AIDS will be cured. This has created a "never-ending" circle of despair for this country. 50% of the population has AIDS. 10% of Households are headed by orphans. It that were happening in the U.S. it would mean that 150,000,000 citizens have AIDS and 30,000 orphans would be running the house and caring for many siblings. By 2010 it is estimated that unless something changes there will be 120,000 orphans in a country of a million population. Janine Maxwell, vice president of Heart for Africa, has written a book called It's Not Okay with Me, and what I know is that it's not okay with me either.
My job at New Hope Centre was to teach writing to the kids. It was kind of the give a man a fish or teach him to fish philosophy for me. I thought before I went to Swaziland, I can't make a difference in Africa. I can't rescue all these people. But I can try my best to implant a love for writing in their hearts and teach them some basic skills about how to tell a story. Then, when they are ready, they can tell their stories or other peoples' stories or the stories of their culture and people. Did they learn all about writing? Of course not. Did they capture the desire to know more about writing? Yes. Did they realize they had a story to tell and that no one will ever tell it like they can? Absolutely!
Dr. Elizabeth Hynd believes that the children under her care here at New Hope Centre will be the leadership for a new and better Swaziland. These kids will be educated. They will be healthy. They will not be dying of AIDS. They will know social graces such as speaking in public. They will have skills such as dancing and music and acting. Why wouldn't they be the new leadership in a kingdom with so many problems and so much loss?
Probably the biggest thrill for me was to put the Read and Share Bible storybook published this year by Thomas Nelson into the hands of children who have never had a book of any kind, much less a 400-page full color book created just for kids their age. Those kids opened their very own books in seconds. From then on until the time my time in Africa was over, those kids had their noses buried in the book and they were begging workers and team members to "read them a story." (If you're interested in the book, ask for it at any bookstore or I can get one for you at my website www.seasidecreativeservices.com .)
Can one person make a difference in the lives of others? I think so, but not if that person does nothing. We've only got one life, so let's make it count--now!
My trip was with a team sponsored by Heart for Africa (http://www.heartforafrica.com/). There were 39 of us who met at Washington Dulles, climbed aboard a South Africa air bus jet and headed non-stop for Johannesburg. We arrived mid-afternoon the next day and immediately boarded a bus for the five hour drive to Swaziland. We had to be to the border of South Africa/Swaziland by 10 p.m. No problem, we had plenty of time--except that an impenetrable fog settled over the highway making seeing even the center dividing line hard to see. I don't know how our driver did it, but he made it on time. We got off the bus with our passports, checked out of South Africa, walked the 50 feet or so through no man's land to Swaziland where we checked into that country. It was surreal--fog, black darkness, so far from home, would they let us in? They did and we reboarded our bus and were off the the Lugogo Sun resort where we were to stay for the week.
Heart for Africa doesn't ask it's softened up American team members to stay in mudhuts with thatched roofs. The organization gives team members pretty much what they are used to at home so that their energies are given to the projects at hand and not to coping with culture shock. It worked for me.
Team members were assigned task that were somewhat related to their natural abilites. Some sewed draperies for new dormitories being built all over the hillside. Some painted and other did construction--both new and repair work. A large group gardened putting in for community people what is called "A Never-Ending Garden. " The land owner must prepare the soil if he wants a garden. The team then installs a drip irrigation system attached to a large water tank that is filled by rain. Heart for Africa buys the seedlings. The idea is that some seed is kept back for the next planting--thus the never-ending garden idea.
Some team members checked eyes and gave people donated glasses. There was one old gogo (grandmother) who had never been able to see well until a team member put the glasses on her. She began to dance all over the room she was so happy.
A couple of women counseled the girls about their bodies, sex, and other girl type things. 75% of girls in Swaziland do not know that AIDS is a sexually transmitted disease. Men believe that if they can have sex with a virgin, their AIDS will be cured. This has created a "never-ending" circle of despair for this country. 50% of the population has AIDS. 10% of Households are headed by orphans. It that were happening in the U.S. it would mean that 150,000,000 citizens have AIDS and 30,000 orphans would be running the house and caring for many siblings. By 2010 it is estimated that unless something changes there will be 120,000 orphans in a country of a million population. Janine Maxwell, vice president of Heart for Africa, has written a book called It's Not Okay with Me, and what I know is that it's not okay with me either.
My job at New Hope Centre was to teach writing to the kids. It was kind of the give a man a fish or teach him to fish philosophy for me. I thought before I went to Swaziland, I can't make a difference in Africa. I can't rescue all these people. But I can try my best to implant a love for writing in their hearts and teach them some basic skills about how to tell a story. Then, when they are ready, they can tell their stories or other peoples' stories or the stories of their culture and people. Did they learn all about writing? Of course not. Did they capture the desire to know more about writing? Yes. Did they realize they had a story to tell and that no one will ever tell it like they can? Absolutely!
Dr. Elizabeth Hynd believes that the children under her care here at New Hope Centre will be the leadership for a new and better Swaziland. These kids will be educated. They will be healthy. They will not be dying of AIDS. They will know social graces such as speaking in public. They will have skills such as dancing and music and acting. Why wouldn't they be the new leadership in a kingdom with so many problems and so much loss?
Probably the biggest thrill for me was to put the Read and Share Bible storybook published this year by Thomas Nelson into the hands of children who have never had a book of any kind, much less a 400-page full color book created just for kids their age. Those kids opened their very own books in seconds. From then on until the time my time in Africa was over, those kids had their noses buried in the book and they were begging workers and team members to "read them a story." (If you're interested in the book, ask for it at any bookstore or I can get one for you at my website www.seasidecreativeservices.com .)
Can one person make a difference in the lives of others? I think so, but not if that person does nothing. We've only got one life, so let's make it count--now!
Friday, October 26, 2007
Off to Africa
Off to Africa
I’m going to Africa. It’s true even though I can scarcely believe it myself. I’ll be at the New Hope Orphanage in Bethany, Swaziland, where I’ll be teaching writing to kids. I hear, via email, that the kids are excited. One little boy really gets it—my reason for going. He said, “This is for me. I’m going to learn to write a book and tell my life’s story.”
It’s a challenge for me. I don’t know these kids, I don’t know their culture, and I know only a little of the awful trauma these precious children have been through in their young lives. They’ve seen most or all of their families die of AIDS. They’ve tried to live on their own and almost starved to death. In an effort to get a little food many of them have been abused—abused beyond what most of us can conceive in our worst nightmare. I also know that most African cultures are full of occult practices and witch doctors and a lot of other concepts from the dark side. The workers at the home have asked us to avoid anything that speaks of the occult. And that brings me to the reason I’m writing this blog today.
One of the best ways to learn to write good stories is to hear good stories read to you. So I set about trying to find wonderful, engaging stories that had no reference to the occult or witches to read to the kids at the orphanage, and I found it was a huge challenge. It seems that inevitably hidden somewhere in most stories is a reference to a spell or a witch or something evil. Then I became alarmed to think of the steady, subtle diet of this kind of information our own kids are getting in many—perhaps most—of the things they read. Of course, the literary phenomenon of the century is the Harry Potter series that reeks of witches and warlocks and the supernatural. I’m concerned because kids don’t have the ability to sort reality from fantasy and to make the application of an allegory to their own lives until they are about eleven or twelve. So if your children are under eleven years of age monitor carefully what they are reading and viewing.
I finally found several books that were not based on the occult and that I believe are culturally acceptable to African children. One is The Incredible Journey by Sheila Burnford. If you’ve never read the book, it is the story of three animals: an old English bull terrior, a golden Labrador, and a Siamese cat who trek across the Canadian wilderness to find their master in a truly incredible journey. The story shows how none of the animals would have survived the trip if they had not stuck together and helped one another. I won’t give away the splendid, tear-jerking ending.
The second book is an old one. It is the original Boxcar Children book and is the story of four children who are orphaned and set out to find a way to survive. They find an old boxcar and move into it. Once again the story is based on sticking together, helping each other, and being inventive in finding solutions to the many daily problems they encounter.
My challenge to parents is to be involved in both what their kids are reading (and we hope they are all reading) and especially what they are watching on television. Protect their minds from any inroad of evil that might come to them through their eyes. Remember the Bible’s admonition to think about what is true, honorable, right, pure, lovely, excellent, lovely, and pure. (1 Peter 2:12) There will be plenty of time in your children’s lives to deal with the ugly and the frightening. And perhaps today you can give thanks that your kids, unlike the orphans I’ll be with in Africa, haven’t seen the ugly side of life yet. Make a plan to build wonderful, positive, lovely, courageous concepts into your children by making sure that what they are reading and viewing is good for them.
I’m going to Africa. It’s true even though I can scarcely believe it myself. I’ll be at the New Hope Orphanage in Bethany, Swaziland, where I’ll be teaching writing to kids. I hear, via email, that the kids are excited. One little boy really gets it—my reason for going. He said, “This is for me. I’m going to learn to write a book and tell my life’s story.”
It’s a challenge for me. I don’t know these kids, I don’t know their culture, and I know only a little of the awful trauma these precious children have been through in their young lives. They’ve seen most or all of their families die of AIDS. They’ve tried to live on their own and almost starved to death. In an effort to get a little food many of them have been abused—abused beyond what most of us can conceive in our worst nightmare. I also know that most African cultures are full of occult practices and witch doctors and a lot of other concepts from the dark side. The workers at the home have asked us to avoid anything that speaks of the occult. And that brings me to the reason I’m writing this blog today.
One of the best ways to learn to write good stories is to hear good stories read to you. So I set about trying to find wonderful, engaging stories that had no reference to the occult or witches to read to the kids at the orphanage, and I found it was a huge challenge. It seems that inevitably hidden somewhere in most stories is a reference to a spell or a witch or something evil. Then I became alarmed to think of the steady, subtle diet of this kind of information our own kids are getting in many—perhaps most—of the things they read. Of course, the literary phenomenon of the century is the Harry Potter series that reeks of witches and warlocks and the supernatural. I’m concerned because kids don’t have the ability to sort reality from fantasy and to make the application of an allegory to their own lives until they are about eleven or twelve. So if your children are under eleven years of age monitor carefully what they are reading and viewing.
I finally found several books that were not based on the occult and that I believe are culturally acceptable to African children. One is The Incredible Journey by Sheila Burnford. If you’ve never read the book, it is the story of three animals: an old English bull terrior, a golden Labrador, and a Siamese cat who trek across the Canadian wilderness to find their master in a truly incredible journey. The story shows how none of the animals would have survived the trip if they had not stuck together and helped one another. I won’t give away the splendid, tear-jerking ending.
The second book is an old one. It is the original Boxcar Children book and is the story of four children who are orphaned and set out to find a way to survive. They find an old boxcar and move into it. Once again the story is based on sticking together, helping each other, and being inventive in finding solutions to the many daily problems they encounter.
My challenge to parents is to be involved in both what their kids are reading (and we hope they are all reading) and especially what they are watching on television. Protect their minds from any inroad of evil that might come to them through their eyes. Remember the Bible’s admonition to think about what is true, honorable, right, pure, lovely, excellent, lovely, and pure. (1 Peter 2:12) There will be plenty of time in your children’s lives to deal with the ugly and the frightening. And perhaps today you can give thanks that your kids, unlike the orphans I’ll be with in Africa, haven’t seen the ugly side of life yet. Make a plan to build wonderful, positive, lovely, courageous concepts into your children by making sure that what they are reading and viewing is good for them.
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