In a letter we sent out to our supporters this week, I wrote about the “awe” that our scholarship students show in approaching their studies as a way out of a life of working in the garbage dump that lies waiting outside their door. I have found that that same sense of awe describes the reflections of more than 300 high school and college students from the United States who met our scholars during service immersion trips last year. More than 600 young people from six nations share a feeling that Google defines as “reverential respect mixed with fear or wonder.”
As we go into the Thanksgiving weekend, and the Christmas season to follow, I’d like to invite you to experience some of that awe with us. For our Christmas decorations this year, we built our own Christmas village, consisting of three replicas of the homes that our scholars and their families live in, and a Nativity scene built by Detroit artist Chazz Miller, showing the similarities between the humble conditions Jesus was born into and the extreme poverty that our scholars face. Walking through our alleyway and peering into these homes yesterday touched me with that same sense of wonder at the challenges and resilience of people we support.
Our artists, including internationally recognized street art muralist Chazz Miller (pictured second from left), working on pieces of International Samaritan’s Nativity installation.
Please join us next Wednesday night, December 4, between 6:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m. for the grand opening of our Nativity scene. We want to give you a sense of the difference you are making, and I’d love the chance to meet or get to know you better. There will be live music, hot chocolate, and the opportunity to see the homes and artwork yourself. For more information about the grand opening, follow this link.
If you can’t make it Wednesday night, please feel free to come by the office any weekday before December 20th, between noon and 5:00 p.m. Someone on the team will be standing by to give you a tour.
If you aren’t in the area, or even if you are, you can make a difference in a scholar’s life next year by helping to cover the cost of their schooling as well as making sure that their family has enough to eat each day. Please click the button below to make a one-time gift or monthly donation.
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