Thoughts and Amusings

I recently had a conversation with a friend about life experiences and how she thought she had not been 'exposed' to much.

Over the last few days I have been considering where is it that this exposure line is reached and one has a good grasp of the world but still has a reasonably positive outlook on life. The problem is many Christians i meet have either been ultra insulated and have very little knowledge of the outside world or I meet non christians whose knowledge of the world is so intimate and explicit that a bit of me dies inside as I hear their stories that are so lacking in hope, love, or a fill of implicit or explicit pain.

Some guide posts to help you understand my thoughts. (All names changed)

• Bill, age 12, whose biggest hope is either to be in the army (because you get to kill people and sounds like fun - Miss), to leave school at age 14, to get a gun liscene, or to join the gang that his dad belongs to.
• Jim - aged 12 who speant some of literacy today hiding under the teachers desk - with me trying to get him out - as he didn't want to go to reading recovery. Jim's clothes are in tatters, he arrives late to school he got very little sleep, mum often keeps him home from school and sends brother to school. Jim spends most of his day at school throwing paper darts or gazing into space.
• Andrew - i love this kid a lot ( i mean i love the others but this kid has pizzaz) , understated, trying to make it in a class full of loud kids. Gets excited about being noticed. Does his work in an understated way. Probably working 2-3 behind his age level. Beautiful beautiful spirit.
• Ford , aged 12- Biggest aspiration - to be in a gang like those in NY. Work achieved today in class , a maths warm up game (this was a mighty big achievement) Likes to ask questions. Likes to recieve answers. Needs aroha. Needs firm boundaries - these seem to be lacking.
• Fred and Ted. Joined at the hip. Fred arrived in class today and told me about a group of college kids he followed home yesterday who were singing a song about rolling joints. Fred thought this was amusing, it appears this was the highlight of his day yesterday. Ted is intelligent but manipulative will tell you that black is white. Unstimulated in an enviornment where behaviour management is the aim of the game.
• Mary - removed currently in CYFS care (family issues at home)
• the three musketters - loves = rugby, girls, xbox, hates = anything where they have to read.

Yes you can stop for 3 minutes tomorrow and ponder about child abuse all you want , but I ask you what are you doing to get into these schools. This school is in desperate need of SPORTS coaches. These kids desperately need role models. Teachers can not be everything. Moan all you like about the education system and the government. Jesus though did not sit there and moan - he did something. We don't need your words, we need you. These children don't need silence they need action. You can run as many groovy internal church programs as you want but these children won't be there - they are here - are you?