A Strange Parade

In a recent issue of The Atlantic, Clive Crook, a senior editor of that magazine used Dutch economist Jan Pen’s image developed in 1971 to show the pattern of incomes in an economy.

Suppose that every person in the economy walks by, as if in a parade. Imagine that the parade takes exactly an hour to pass, and that the marchers are arranged in order of income, with the lowest incomes at the front and the highest at the back.

Also imagine that the heights of the people in the parade are proportional to what they make: those earning the average income will be of average height, those earning twice the average income will be twice the average height, and so on. We spectators, let us imagine, are also of average height.

We would not see a series of people of steadily increasing height – that’s far too bland a picture. The observers would see something much stranger. They would see, mostly, a parade of dwarves, and then some unbelievable giants at the very end.

As the parade begins, Pen explained, the marchers cannot seen at all. They are walking upside down, with their heads underground—owners of loss-making businesses, most likely. Very soon upright marchers begin to pass by, but they are tiny. For five minutes or so, the observers are peering down at people just inches high—old people and youngsters, mainly; people without regular work, who make a little from odd jobs. Ten minutes in, the full-time labor force has arrived: to begin with, mainly unskilled manual and clerical workers, burger flippers, shop assistants, and the like, standing about waist-high to the observers. And at this point things start to get dull, because there are so very many of these very small people. The minutes pass and pass, and they keep on coming.

By about halfway through the parade, Pen wrote, the observers might expect to be looking people in the eye—people of average height ought to be in the middle. But no, the marchers are still quite small, these experienced trades people, skilled industrial workers, trained office staff, and so on—not yet five feet tall, many of them. On and on they come.

It takes about forty-five minutes—the parade is drawing to a close—before the marchers are as tall as the observers. Heights are visibly rising by this point, but even now not very fast. In the final six minutes, however, when people with earnings in the top 10 percent begin to arrive, things get weird again. Heights begin to surge upward at a madly accelerating rate. Doctors, lawyers, and senior civil servants twenty feet tall speed by. Moments later, successful corporate executives, bankers, stockbrokers—peering down from fifty feet, 100 feet, 500 feet. In the last second you glimpse pop stars, movie stars, the most successful entrepreneurs. You can see only up to their knees. And if you blink, you’ll miss them altogether. At the very end of the parade (It’s 1971, recall) is John Paul Getty, heir to the Getty Oil fortune. The sole of his shoe is hundreds of feet thick.

In a later part of the article Crook tells us that over the thirty-five year period from 1966 to 2001, the rise in U.S. wages and salaries in the wide middle of the income distribution was 11 percent. The rise in wages and salaries at the top of the income distribution was 617 percent.

As I read all of this I thought, supposing as I stood and watched the parade I found that Jesus Christ was standing there watching with me. And what if I heard him say to those in the parade, “Come, you blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom I have prepared for you from the foundations of the earth. For I was hungry and you fed me. I was thirsty and you gave me drink. I was a stranger and you took me in; I was naked and you clothed me; I was sick and you visited me; I was in prison and you came to me." (Matthew 25:34-40)

Some from each height would leave the parade to follow him. The others remaining in the parade would call out in fear, “But, Lord, what about us? We want to follow you, also. We said you were our friend and we often spoke your name with praise.” And Jesus would sadly shake his head.

And one of the tall ones and one of the small ones who had both been invited to follow Jesus would say, “Thank you, Lord. But Lord, when did we see you hungry, or sick, or in prison?” And I would see Jesus smile at them and he would answer, “Inasmuch as you have done it to the least of these, you have done it to me.” As the group walked away following Jesus I am sure I would see them begin to change in appearance. And just before they were out of sight I would be able to tell that everyone in the group had become the same height as Jesus.

A Wonderful Day!

The Indian Ocean beach that fronts the city of Chennai is one of the most beautiful and widest beaches I have ever seen. As I stood there I tried to imagine what it must have been like when the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami sent a wall of water across the beach reaching part way up the buildings on the far side.

The ocean and beach have now returned to their normal calm, beautiful state and recently the students, staff members, and volunteers of Agape Rehabilitation Center had a picnic there. This is how they described it in the Agape newsletter.

The Picnic to Mahabalipuram started off at 9:30 a.m. on 2nd Oct. with 42 persons with disabilities (including 7 in wheelchairs and 14 deaf persons), 4 staff members and 19 volunteers. Just like last year we had the special accessible Fun Bus with a hydraulic lift from Ashok Leyland (our thanks to them for giving it free). On the way we sang songs in the bus. We played games, "passing the ball" at Tiger Cave and ”Housie Housie” in the bus while returning. It was real fun.

We saw the "Five Rathas" in the afternoon. As usual for many students, this was their first time to Mahabalipuram and they enjoyed touching those sculptures and posing for photos. Many of them were amazed at the wonderful sights. In the evening we all went to the beach. The long haul to the water, through the beach sand, amidst a milling holiday crowd, was really tough. But with enough volunteers to help us, we managed quite well.

With some difficulty we took all our students to the beach. They were so excited to take a dip in the ocean. For some it was the first time to the beach and everyone thoroughly enjoyed it. All were provided with juice and wafers in the bus in the morning, packed lunches with boiled eggs at Tiger Cave in the afternoon, and snacks in the bus in the evening. And we arrived safely back at Agape at night, exhausted but satisfied and happy for a wonderful day of fun, laughter and excitement. We thank the Lord for the wonderful day and His protection and provision.

Student Senthil Kumar said, “This is the first time that I have enjoyed playing in the water at the beach. Even though I have come to the beach previously with my family, they would never take me to the water”.

Who are these people?

Who are the people who have given their lives for this fine work?

Daniel Victor was born into a loving Christian home and accepted Jesus as his personal Savior at the age of ten. Undergoing open heart surgery as a teenager, he learned early in life to lean on the Lord's strength. In December 1983, he attended a missions conference of the Union of Evangelical Students of India, where he dedicated himself to involvement in missions. After college and graduate studies in mathematics and computer science, Mr. Victor received further education abroad in rehabilitation training.

Like her husband, Avitha Victor was born into a loving Christian family. After obtaining a B.S. in mathematics, she took additional studies in computers. In 1989 she accepted Jesus as her personal Savior. She writes, "I waited on the Lord to use me to help either persons with disabilities (I had a few disabled friends and realized the difficulties they faced) or orphan children." God answered Avitha's prayers by opening a position for her at a local training center for the disabled. There she taught computer skills to persons with disabilities, and there she met Daniel. They were married in 1991 and have two children.

God surely does work in mysterious ways when people like Daniel and Avitha are brought together!

Daniel and Avitha’s school for the disabled!

In many countries there is little or no schooling available for children and young people who have difficulty with walking, seeing, hearing or learning. It is for that reason that Daniel and Avitha Victor founded the ministry of Agape Rehabilitation Center and Able Computers, which serves the physically disabled community of Chennai, India. You can learn more about Daniel and Avitha at their website: http://www.indiapartners.org/partners/arc.php

Agape's goal is to help disabled persons gain economic independence. As of 2005, Agape has served over 400 people, providing computer training free of charge and without regard to caste, gender or creed. Agape's training includes specialized courses for persons with all kinds of physical handicaps, including orthopedic disabilities, dwarfism, and the deaf and blind.

Agape Rehabilitation Center and Able Computers together comprise the vocational component of the Victors' mission. The spiritual component of their mission is met through Jesus Enables Ministries, whose mission statement outlines its goals: "Reaching persons with disabilities with the Gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, for salvation and discipleship." JEMs, as Jesus Enables Ministries is known, hosts one-day retreats for the disabled called "Get-to-Follow Jesus," and an annual three-day spiritual retreat called "Get-to-Know Jesus." Many students have accepted Jesus into their lives as a result of these retreats.

I will tell you more about this wonderful ministry in the future.

One way to teach critical thinking skills

How does all of that work out in a real-life situation? Remember that the question for my example must be something about which most people have passionate opinions, and that is certainly true about this question.

• A statement was made on the Internet about former President Bill Clinton and his wife Hillary Rodham Clinton. Both of the Clintons had been attorneys in law firms before Mr. Clinton ran for public office. The statement accused each of them of having argued a case in a court of law, separate cases for each of the Clintons, in such a way that a criminal went free. And the writer judged the Clintons as having low moral standards, leading to an evil, guilty person, moving freely in society.

• Have the students read the printout and, through discussion, come to an agreement that there are at least two basic ways of thinking about it.
A. The Clintons are guilty of bad moral judgment.
B. The Clintons defended criminals to the best of their ability, as the law requires.

• Ask the class to set aside their political persuasions, whether they tended to favor the Democrat or Republican parties, while they do the following group assignments.

Group 1: Using the Internet as well as other sources, find supporting evidence that proves that the basic facts of the situation are true. Did each of the Clintons argue such a case and did a presumably guilty person go free.

Group 2: Using the Internet and other sources, find supporting evidence for the rights of an accused criminal when it comes to his or her defense. Do they have the right to the best defense there is, even though they might appear to be completely guilty?

Group 3: Using the Internet and other sources, find supporting evidence that shows what an attorney’s obligation is when that attorney is part of a law firm? Does the attorney have the right to refuse a case when the attorney judges the person to be guilty of a vile crime? Do law firms differ from each other in this matter?

• When each group reports, they must tell where they found their supporting evidence and why the evidence is trustworthy. (Statements such as, “My parent is an attorney and s/he says…” are not supporting evidence because the validity of the statement has not been documented and therefore might simply be an opinion.)

• At this point you are ready to have a discussion. Do not allow the discussion to become partisan. It is important for the students to realize that others often base their judgments on the differing values they place on the supporting evidence.

Each of the following has caused arguments in some communities and could serve as useful topics for this exercise:

• Is it good or bad for babies to have the inoculations that are required at birth?
• Is it a good practice for cities to add fluoride to the public water system to protect children’s teeth?
• Should there be a “no camping on the streets” law in cities where there are homeless people and insufficient number of shelters?
• Should the minimum wage be raised?
• Should immigrants who have entered our country illegally and have lived, worked, married and had children here be sent back or should they be allowed to become citizens?
• Will middle school students learn better if they are placed in same-sex schools or classes?
• Should there be educational voucher programs for culturally and economically disadvantaged students?
• Should there be educational voucher programs for every student so that they and their parents may choose the school that seems to meet the needs of that student?

There are many other topics that will serve well to help students learn the importance of searching for and evaluating supporting evidence when coming to a decision. It might be a good idea for teachers to work their own way through exercises with these topics to help them lead their students appropriately. The point is that we must find ways to show students that an unexplored and thoughtless leap to a conclusion is a dangerous thing.

We are teaching our students how to be and become people who consistently and carefully think through problems before they arrive at their own conclusion. What will they be like if they achieve that goal?

• They will be aware that their thinking is supported and directed by certain basic beliefs and values and they know clearly what those beliefs and values are;
• They will recognize and accept that other people’s thinking may result from different assumptions and, while they may discuss the differences and attempt to persuade the thinking, they will not attempt to force a change in thinking or action;
• They will recognize the differences between opinion and fact, information and knowledge, data and interpretation, and evidence and conclusions;
• They will understand the concepts of freedom and justice and the responsibilities implied by each;
• They will have the habit of approaching problems openly and creatively rather than from the point of view of expediency and protection of their own image or reputation;
• They will know when they do not have enough information or experience to have an informed opinion.

Teaching Critical Thinking Skills

In Christian schools we want students to think critically about important issues. This has always been an important goal for learning in school but never more so than now. In Megatrends 2010: The Rise of Conscious Capitalism, Patricia Aburdene says that spirituality in business is “today’s greatest megatrend.” She says that the “parade of fallen corporate heroes who march across our television screens” were unable to exhibit self-mastery in their leadership. The kind of spirituality and conscious capitalism Aburdene is talking about comes from taking a critical look deep inside oneself for to find one’s basic moral beliefs that transform one’s life and one’s actions.

Another reason that we must help students learn to think critically about important issues is that all kinds of information and misinformation are available on the Internet and students need help in learning to examine the supporting evidence to determine validity. All of us have read outrageous claims on the Internet, claims that are based on falsehood or on only partial truths. It is difficult, but extremely important, to teach middle school and high school students how to recognize what is true…how to know which supporting evidence can be trusted.

Teaching for this kind of thinking seems to be the most effective when we begin with what we call THE BIG QUESTION. The big question is a question that is troubling to many members of society. Critical thinking always means that one must set aside one’s immediate response to or beliefs about the answer. This is particularly difficult for some Christians who might believe that answers to difficult questions can be found in the Bible, using their own particular interpretation of passages.
The steps for teaching critical thinking are:
1. What is there about this question that reminds me of something else I know?
2. How is it similar to that thing?
3. In what way is it different from the thing it calls to mind?
4. Setting aside all of my prejudices, where might I go to get as much information about the question as I can possibly find? My information will come from sources such a science, sociology, economics, psychology, philosophy, and the Bible.
5. Now I have gathered all of that information, why do I value the source from which the information has come?
6. Finally, how will I answer the question?

Going through this thinking process does not mean that one has arrived at a truth on which all will agree or even on which all Christians will agree. It simply means that after looking at all the supporting evidence, this is one’s judgment. And if I am most of all persuaded by my religious belief, at least I will recognize that that is true and I will know that I must respect others who have different religious or basic beliefs.

How does all of that work out in a real-life situation? Tomorrow I will describe ways we can do this.

Can one person make a difference? A school in a dump!

Guatemala is a country slightly smaller in size than Tennessee, but with a population of 13.5 million people. It is home to the Maya people, the western hemisphere's greatest ancient civilization. Guatemala gained its independence from Spain in 1821, which brought prosperity to Spanish citizens, but worsened the situation for the indigenous Maya, who, although legally free, were enslaved by debt to land-owners. Most of the nation was left in poverty after a succession of military and civilian dictator governments, as well as a 36-year guerilla civil war over land ownership. In 1996, the Guatemalan government signed a peace agreement with the rebels, formally ending the conflict that had led to the deaths of more than 200,000 people and created one million refugees, most of whom are of Mayan descent.

Many of these refugees found their way to the Guatemala City garbage dump, where today over 1,000 children and their families scavenge for food and recyclables. In the dump, children live in constant exposure to pollution, the elements, and careless garbage trucks that roll through the spaces between the hand-made homes of their families day and night. Fumes from the trash rise and hover over the area, polluting the air the people here have breathed since birth. Vultures circle above, looking for scraps of refuse that dump residents have left behind. They don’t find much, as almost everything brought here is somehow made useful, from scrap metal gathered and sold in the street to newspapers used as insulation for homes.

Children are the most helpless victims of the dump’s harmful cycle. Sickness spreads quickly here, and the little ones who are born into this situation grow up illiterate and undernourished. At first glance, there seems to be little hope of escape from the dump. Many young
people turn to crime for survival, or sniff glue to dull their feelings of despair. Mi Refugio is a light shining in the darkness for these children – their refuge and strength in Christ. Here they receive not only a Christian education, but nutritious meals, individual attention, and the compassion from their teachers.

Mi Refugio was formed in 1987 by missionary Kari Engen to address the great need she saw of families living in the dump. Originally from Maryland, Kari first went on the mission field in 1978 on a short-term mission trip to Mexico. In 1984 she returned to Mexico fulltime, migrating to Guatemala the following year to found Mi Refugio. The school began with 50 students in a rented building next to the dump, where children formerly had no access to any kind of education, not even public schooling as most schools require a fee to cover the cost of a uniform, something their families are unable to afford.

Mi Refugio offers a safe place for students attending pre-school through high school, some of whom eventually receive scholarships from the school to continue their education. Mi Refugio has had its challenges. Over the years Kari has struggled to keep the school running. At one point she was forced to shut the school down for an entire year because she had run out of money to pay rent on the school building. Kari put her faith in God to provide for what she feels He had called her to do.

In 1995, Mi Refugio came alive again. Kari was able to purchase a beautiful 12-acre property outside the city with the help of donors. The school is now located 15 miles from the dump in the village of San Pedro. For the first time, these students were able to experience God's creation in its pure form and breathe fresh, unpolluted air. With the extra space, Mi Refugio was able to begin serving children from the surrounding Maya villages as well as their current students, and now has the capacity to serve 400 children.

This little school in the hills outside of the city is making a big impact. Mi Refugio continues to expand its influence as funds become available. God has truly blessed the efforts of Kari and the indigenous Mi Refugio staff.

The WCS Building Hope Worldwide program, in which homes are built in North America and the profits from the sale of each home are donated to a Christian school in a developing country, is helping fund the ministries of Mi Refugio. This will allow more children to find their refuge and strength in Christ each year as they learn to read, write, and change the path of their futures for the glory of God.

For more information on this project, contact Steve Geurink at sgeurink@wwcs.org or (800) 886-9000.

Laura

Many Christian teachers recogize that there are a few children who seem to have the gift of very deep faith. It is not mature faith yet because they are still children. But it is unusually deep faith.

Laura was a little second-grader when she first was diagnosed with childhood leukemia. At that time the medications were not very successful in treating the disease. After some time away from school for treatment, she returned wearing a wig that was really too big for her. When the other little girls told her that it didn’t look right she said, “But my head gets so cold.” They explained that she could tie a “babushka” style scarf around her head to keep her warm. The next day all the little girls came to school wearing babushka scarves and the boys told them, admiringly, that they looked like pirates.

For the following two years Laura would miss school for a while because of the disease but she very easily kept up with her schoolwork. She was a lovely little girl and everyone hoped that she would soon recover.

At that time our family was responsible for the “Dutch night” program at the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry’s “Christmas Around the World” celebration. To keep it very simple each year I selected a class of school children, taught them a few Sinterklaas songs, and on stage they would pretend to be in a school, waiting for a visit from the old saint along with his helper, Pieter. The year Laura was in grade 4 I selected her class.

As we waited behind the stage curtain I noticed that Laura was very pale and her eyes looked big and dark. I hoped it was just the effect of the stage lights that made her appear to be so sick. The program went very well and the children acted just as they were supposed to.

One week later Laura took her last breath. During that week she told her mother which children should have her books and toys because she wouldn't need them anymore on earth. And then she said, “Now, whenever I go to sleep will you or Daddy hold me? That way if I die in my sleep I will go to sleep in your arms and wake up in Jesus’ arms.” And that is what happened.

Laura’s deep faith is the kind that we would wish for our own children and, indeed, for ourselves as well. Jesus said to his disciples, "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.” Perhaps he was thinking of children like Laura.

From the forthcoming book, Living in the Fabric of Faithfulness, by Julia K. Stronks and Gloria Goris Stronks

A Visit to South Korea

I haven’t written for about two weeks because I have been in Korea. I believe that many Americans would be as surprised as I was to see how prosperous that country is.

The Christian high schools that I visited are huge and wonderfully equipped. But even more interesting was seeing high school students sitting in their cubicles studying until ll:00 in the evening, often with no teacher present. These same students often have special tutoring on Saturdays to help them get ahead. They do so primarily because those who have the highest scores on university entrance tests will attend the most prestigious universities.

A few Korean parents are troubled by the attention paid to high exam scores in their high schools. But this kind of schooling is so much a part of the Korean tradition that it is difficult to find a different way. For this reason some parents even arrange to have their children attend high schools in the United States. Still, the high regard people in Korea have concerning doing well in high school is enviable. It would be wonderful to find a happy medium between the intense pressure to do well in Korean high schools and the lackadaisical way some North American students go through high school.

Korean young people are significantly taller than their grandparents’ generation. Obesity is rarely seen and this is primarily because of the very healthy diet which consists mostly of vegetables, rice, and a small amount of fish or poultry served in imaginative ways.

Those of us from the west rarely think of Korea as an ancient country. But their oldest university is celebrating its 600th anniversary. The huge, carefully molded hills that are actually burial sites for kings date back at least to the fifth century.

Korean Christian churches range from charismatic to more mainline congregations. They are very active and send 83,000 missionaries to other countries.

Friends in America asked whether I wasn't afraid to visit South Korea right now. When I told that to my Korean friends they laughed and said, "We think you are very likely safer here than you are back in the United States." One senses that South Koreans live with the hope and expectation that there will come a time when the two Koreas once again are joined. But they also are aware that once this begins, it must begin slowly for the welfare of all.