Bringing home prayers and love

Lutheran, The, Oct 2004 by Melander, Rochelle, Eppley, Harold

Global Mission Events are for kids too

I will bring home the crafts, and I will share the stories I heard," said Kenata Syenkulo, 10, a member of St. Mark Lutheran Church, Chicago, who attended the Global Mission Event in Milwaukee.

William Hogan, 8, a member of Salem Lutheran Church, Rockford, 111., said he learned that "we are very lucky to have food, clothes, shoes, good housing and to have our parents."

Syenkulo and Hogan were two of 80 children attending the GME Children's Program for ages 3-10 in Milwaukee, July 28-Aug. 1. In Bozeman, Mont., 28 children attended the event July 15-18. (see page 50.)

"The goal is to introduce kids to as many cultural experiences as possible so they can look at the issues of peace and hunger," said Gwen Steiner, the program's facilitator and a member of Trinity Lutheran Church, Avalon, Pa.

The children divided into age groups and rotated among activities that included art, music and working in mission labs. International guests, missionary personnel and representatives of ELCA partner agencies also addressed the kids, sharing stories, songs, crafts and answering questions.

In the mission labs, the children made banners that were given to the international guests. They created welcome cards for children coming to America as refugees through Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service and Bible storybooks for Tank Hospital, a Christian institution in Pakistan.

Children also counted and sorted the items they had brought, including socks for Camp Noah, a Lutheran Disaster Response project; embroidery floss for the Madagascar Women's Project; and aluminum-can pull tabs for the Ronald McDonald houses in Milwaukee and Billings, Mont.

One morning the youngest children shook maracas, banged small cymbals, and danced and skipped to international music in a room lined with colorful banners and maps. The 5- and 6-year-olds worked in the mission lab, counting pennies and popcan tabs. The 7- and 8-year-olds spread out on the floor with maps to identify countries mentioned by Kathy Magnus, the ELCA representative to the Lutheran World Federation. They learned that every place on the map that was colored orange is where Lutherans help people and the money they give in church is for world hunger. The oldest children painted fish in the craft room.

On Saturday, Pastor Maresha Chufa from Dessie, Wollo, Ethiopia, currently a student at Luther Seminary, St. Paul, Minn., told the 9- and 10-year-olds: "In my country, there are many programs devoted to Jesus. I ask you to pray for HIV-victim children. Their parents passed away. There are many children without parents. My church works to help these children."

"I will pray," said Kirsten Steiner, a member of Trinity in Avalon.

At the end of the event, the children received a blessing and were commissioned to be ambassadors who will share their GME experiences with families, communities and congregations.

Jetta Harrison, 9, a member of Sharon Lutheran Church, Selinsgrove, Pa., said: "I will bring back love. I am going to talk to my pastor and ask if I can show what I've learned."

Melander and Eppley are ELCA pastors. Their most recent book is Our Lives Are Not Our Own: Saying "Yes" to God (Augsburg Fortress, 2003; www.augsburgfortress.org; 800-328-4648).