Chips, Pop, and Candy Bar

When our Mission Helps crew was nailing and screwing and pounding and drilling at St. Francis Holiness Chapel,

it wasn't just about getting the finishing touches done on a new church building that had been built to replace the one burned down a few years ago.

It wasn't just about sawing long boards into trim pieces on the table saw,

and making sure the tongue-and-groove boards fit together right on the ceilings of the two Sunday school rooms and sound room.

It wasn't about just working together with cousins to have a fun time--

even though we did have a fun time! Danny drew on the white board his own version of what he saw happening there!

It was a pretty good rendition of this above!

It wasn't just about caulking hundreds of feet of cracks all around edges and trimwork in the sanctuary and other rooms to try to keep flies from dropping in out of the attic!

 

It was also about listening to stories Mr. Patton told about the church's ministry there, especially to native American children. 

There has been such a breakdown in the family unit among natives, he said, that most children do not know what it is like to actually have a sit-down meal that is home-cooked, nutritious, and family-oriented.

 

While our children and their cousins come from families where meals are regular and nutritious, most of the children the missionaries bring to church live on chips, pop, and candy bars.

In recent times, someone sent some money to the church to use for their Sunday School. 

"What could we use it for?" the church folk wondered.

They decided to purchase a good supply of some kind of meat jerky sticks which they began to give the children on the bus on the way to church. 

If the children hadn't had any breakfast, they would be given a meat stick, and if they were still hungry and asked for another, no problem!

The simple policy of feeding a bit of protein to the children on the bus before church cut down behavior problems literally in half!

Children used to come to church wired from hunger or sugar, but the blessing of the meat sticks is very real.

Sunday evening, Ezra, David, and Candace were asked to be in charge of the service at Winner, at the church where Mission Helps has worked several times. While David led the singing,   

Ezra played the piano.

The three young people sang a couple hymns. 

   

Then Ezra shared a message from his studying the gospel of John recently.

And afterward, church folk served them a wonderful soup and frybread.

Not chips, pop, and candy.

But our hearts go out to those who live in homes where there is plenty of money from the government

but no real structure, no good meals, no Christian influence.

Father, remember the children of native Americans who hunger for real food,

but most of all for You!

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