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What an honor it has been to be the Director of Christian Education for the past 4 years! Although I concentrate on what I can do to educate children on their faith journey, I am always in awe about what I learn from them.

The Arise class took on the challenge of planning and holding a bake sale to benefit the 3Cs. Not only did they take time to bake, they also invited the prek-6th grade Sunday School class to join them in the dipping of items in chocolate. I know what it is like to have one child that age join me for for baking, much less six! My congratulations on their courage for taking this on! Not only did the kids help dip, they also were able to draw a picture representing the 3Cs that were added to the display board at the sale.

I brought my two grandsons to church that morning and they helped with the project. The following Tuesday, Logan was spending the afternoon with me and we started talking about the bake sale. I asked him if there was anything he wanted me to get at the sale, since I knew he wouldn’t be there. His reply, “Some of those dipped oreos because they looked delicious!”

Then he asked me if I knew what the 3Cs stood for. I decided to play dumb, which being around a 7 year old seems to happen naturally, and asked him to tell me. Logan went on to explain what the 3Cs are; Churches, Clinics, Classrooms. Logan touched base about each one and where they are located, “in Africa and somewhere else.” (They are in Sierra Leone, Liberia, Zimbabwa and Russia) Again, I was in awe of how much I learned and how much he remembered.

The Arise class, reaching out with this project, left a lasting impression on Logan, and I am sure, the other kids as well. The last thing Logan told me was “Make sure you leave some money because they need all they can get!”

Thanks to the Arise class for planning the bake sale and to everyone for their support of this important outreach mission!

(originally published June 1, 2016)