Jake banged a soda can on the tile floor for emphasis. “This meeting of the Highland Ridge Explorers will come to order,” pronounced Jake. The group settled down and turned to face Jake. They were gathered in the family room at Keiko’s house, eating popcorn and getting acquainted with the three guests who had joined their group.
“Let’s begin today by each introducing ourselves to our three guests. Share just one sentence to tell about yourself. I’ll begin. I’m Jake, the oldest in the group. I like all kinds of sports and Benjie is my brother.”
Benjie spoke next. “I’m Benjie. I’m very good at making friends and I like soccer and video games.”
Ellie continued, “I’m Ellie. Keiko and I are best friends and we enjoy school and all kinds of music. Right, Keiko?”
“That’s right, Ellie,” responded Keiko. “And as for me, I play the flute and I like to read. My favorite book this summer was “Little Women.” It was about….”
“One sentence,” interrupted Jake, smiling. “And last but not least—Manuel, who is my best friend,” he said, extending his hand toward Manuel.
Manuel smiled at the three guests. “I like all kinds of sports but baseball is my favorite. Now, why don’t we hear from you? Rodrigo, tell us a little about yourself.”
Rodrigo grinned and said, “Thank you, Manuel. Well, you know my name is Rodrigo. My Mama and Papa moved here with my little sister and me last summer. We come from Guatemala. It is very different here but we are happy to be in this new country and this new school. I like your TV shows here. There are so many choices!”
“Yes,” laughed Ellie. “There are many choices, but my Mom won’t let me watch most of them! Now I’d like to introduce Marissa. Keiko and I invited her to come today.”
“Well, hello,” began Marissa. “I’m Marissa, and I only moved here three months ago. This city is very different to me, including the weather. I’m looking forward to seeing snow—in California, we had to go to the mountains to see snow in the winter.”
“Well, you will see plenty of snow here,” said Jake. “Maybe more than you ever wanted to see. Let’s see, we have one more guest—Tobi, you are Benjie’s friend. Tell us a little about yourself.”
Tobi looked up shyly. “I—I am not sure what you would like to know. We came here from Nigeria last year. We lived in Lagos. It is on the coast of Nigeria, in the south, and has many millions of people. I miss my country very much and all the relatives we left behind. But my Ma says that we will have a better life here.” He looked down at his hands. “Thank you for inviting me to your meeting,” he added.
Everyone sat quietly and then Jake broke the silence, saying, “Well Tobi, you are welcome here and we hope you will be very happy in our country. Now then, we had better get started. I guess I should explain to our guests that the reason we started this club was to be good disciples of Jesus and to do things to help others. We need to decide on a good project today. Anyone can make a suggestion, even those of you who are visiting. Any ideas, Explorers?”
“Rodrigo,” began Manuel. “Why don’t you tell everyone about the school idea we talked about.” Rodrigo said, “Oh. Well, we lived in a mountain village where some Americans have come to help the people. They have started a school but they don’t have enough money for books and school supplies.”
Manuel continued, “So we could do a project like our parish did last year for kids in need before school started. We called it ‘Load the Bus,’ remember? We filled up a whole school bus with supplies and new shoes and jackets, and then they were delivered to the different families.”
“That’s a great idea,” Ellie said. “But mailing all that to Guatemala could cost a lot of money. Maybe we should collect money instead and send the money to the people starting the school.”
“Well where would they buy the supplies, Ellie?” asked Benjie. “Maybe there are no department stores in the mountains”
“You are right, Benjie,” said Rodrigo, laughing. “And there are no stores with books, I know! But I guess the Americans could go to the city and get the supplies.”
“Oh! Here’s an idea,” exclaimed Keiko. “We could announce the project at Mass and then each family could decide what they will send. We could get the address of the school in Guatemala and each family could mail their own package. To make sure the school got the things they needed, we could write the needs on cards and tie them on a “giving tree” like we do at church for Christmas.”
“I like your idea, Keiko,” said Ellie. “This would be fun to organize and it would involve the whole parish.”
“Okay, “ said Jake. “Let’s see. The ideas are to “load the bus,” to have a fundraiser, or to create a “giving tree” project for families to make their own donations. As I name each one, vote for your choice. Rodrigo, Tobi, and Marissa, you can vote too if you want to.”
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TIME TO VOTE