Face To Face: Praying with the 2007 CWS Calendar

SO YOUNG
"The storm sounded like 'Boojhhh! Boojhhh!," Carter St. Mary (right) says, a worried expression on his seven-year-old face. His parents had taken him and his brother, Alden (left), to the school in Bay St. Louis where they taught, as Hurricane Katrina bore down on the Mississippi coast. But the "water got higher and higher," Alden picks up the story. "Waves were crashing against the building, and then the bottom floor collapsed." Now Alden's face collapses. "We finally got out of there, but it was so weird after the storm. One day we had everything we needed, and the next day it was gone-everything."

CWS knows what it's like for kids such as Carter, who are frightened and have lost everything, and it's helping bring some normalcy back into their lives. It has awarded grants to 13 hurricane-damaged schools, to help them with repairs and replenishing books, computers, and other equipment lost in the storm. And kids along the Gulf Coast have gotten their own CWS School Kits. More than just the pencils, pads, and crayons they contain, the kits let the children know that people care, and that life will get back to normal again.

"Do you know what it's like to think you're gonna die? It's one scary feeling."

Alden St. Mary, eleven-year-old Katrina survivor

	SO YOUNG "The storm sounded like 'Boojhhh! Boojhhh!," Carter St. Mary (right) says, a worried expression on his seven-year-old face. His parents had taken him and his brother, Alden (left), to the school in Bay St. Louis where they taught, as Hurricane Katrina bore down on the Mississippi coast. But the "water got higher and higher," Alden picks up the story. "Waves were crashing against the building, and then the bottom floor collapsed." Now Alden's face collapses. "We finally got out of there, but it was so weird after the storm. One day we had everything we needed, and the next day it was gone-everything." CWS knows what it's like for kids such as Carter, who are frightened and have lost everything, and it's helping bring some normalcy back into their lives. It has awarded grants to 13 hurricane-damaged schools, to help them with repairs and replenishing books, computers, and other equipment lost in the storm. And kids along the Gulf Coast have gotten their own CWS School Kits. More than just the pencils, pads, and crayons they contain, the kits let the children know that people care, and that life will get back to normal again. "Do you know what it's like to think you're gonna die? It's one scary feeling." Alden St. Mary, eleven-year-old Katrina survivor
	How does your impression of these two youngsters change after you read their story? They have learned a hard lesson about the fragility of life and our possessions. Recall a time when you, too, learned that lesson.
	If you offer your food to the hungry and satisfy the needs of the afflicted, then your light will shine in the darkness. Is. 58:10
	Consoling God, we look to you in times of trouble. And you look to us to be the agents of your care in this wounded world. Bless the work of Church World Service as it provides immediate care to those whose lives are devastated by the whims of nature or the cruelties of war and violence. Inspire a deeper commitment in me to reach out to those in need at home and around the world.
Back to top Produced by Church World Service, P.O. Box 968, 28606 Phillips St., Elkhart, IN 46515. Copies of the Church World Service calendar can be purchased from the address above for $10.00 each (add $3.00 for shipping). Church World Service: 1-800-297-1516 \| CWS/CROP Regional Offices: 1-888-CWS-CROP © 2007 Church World Service.