On December 14th we had a gathering of all the SARF families to share some fun times, make cookies, give them some blessing baskets, and encourage them for the coming year. While the kids were playing and making cookies, we sat down with the parents and discussed some changes we are making to our approach in regard to helping with school. We sat down with them just before lunch and talked about our hope not being just in Jesus the baby in the manger, but Jesus our Savior on the cross and that without the cross, the manger is meaningless. Then we shared a hotdog lunch and enjoyed some of the cookies we all made! We sent each child home with 12 cookies: 6 for themselves and 6 for them to share with a neighbor because the message of Christmas isn’t about what we receive, but what we are able to share with others.
We noticed this past year that some of the kids weren’t putting as much effort into their school work as we would like and their parents weren’t making it a priority either. So, this year we decided we are going to put a little more pressure on the parents to make sure their kids are doing their part. We know that some struggle in certain areas and need help with tutoring or extra study, but as we explained to them, “Just like if you are working at a job and aren’t doing it properly or not showing up, will your employer continue to pay you?” The parents agreed that they wouldn’t and understood the value of making sure that the kids are doing their work as we continue to invest in their lives. “Then, if the kids are not showing up and putting in the work that they should, we will not continue to pay them either.” The concept is that if we witness kids slacking off or not doing their part, then the parents will be responsible for paying the next month’s tuition. We hope this new initiative will motivate the parents to instill a greater discipline in their kids.
We also asked everyone to bring us their backpacks from the previous year along with any leftover school supplies so we can refill them this January. This way we can be even better stewards of the donations we receive and reuse some things that are still good. If the backpacks are a little over-worn, we will give them a new one, but keep the old one in case someone needs a replacement mid-year, as has been known to happen from time to time.
We also received a huge donation from a family we know of clothing, shoes, household good, and many other things so we were able to allow the families to go through and pick whatever they wanted to take home with them. There was so much stuff we had to take it to their houses by the car load because some families couldn’t carry it all with them on the bus!
Please enjoy a short video of all the fun we had that day. From our families to yours: Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
https://youtu.be/ohuqEv6FpiE
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