Today is the last day with the REC groups at St. Augustine. It's been a challenging and rewarding experience introducing young people (5 to 10 years old) to serious matters of the world. I've heard a couple of creative solutions to the unequal distrubution of food in the world: "one country can trade things they make with things another country makes so everyone would have what they need", "the countries that have a lot of stuff could share with the other countries that have less", and one of the most impressive things I heard I could easily put on a bumper sticker: "Sharing makes the world a wonderful place." I would estimate the young girl that said that was about 7 years old. Our children are capable of problem-solving more than we perhaps give them credit for. When you consider the world in which they are growing up, that's a good thing because they are inheriting problems most of us never dreamed of when we were their age. Although we won't solve world hunger this week, I pray that the children will think when they get a new pair of sneakers...about who made them, was that person paid a decent wage, a wage that would allow them to be able to purchase the product they are making. And when they buy a hamburger to at least wonder where the meat came from and who processed it. One girl shared: "I feel guilty that I have so much while the girl from Haiti in the video didn't have a lot." As I explained to her, it's natural to have those feelings...it means you have a heart. But the best way to respond to those feelings is to do something about it: take action, put your coins in the Operation Rice Bowl box, give up your allowance once a month, pray for others, share with someone around you who is in need. May God's spirit remain in the hearts of these precious little ones with whom I've been blessed to spend time.

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