Summer 1999

"World Tour"

From the editor's notebook
Global Earthkeeping Missions
From the Boiler Room: Don't trust energy consultants! by Andrew Rudin
Public Policy Update by Scott Althouse
Small Group Ministry News
Family Time: It's a big world for little people by Stan LeQuire
Letter from Friends

From the editor's notebook

Welcome to Creation Care magazine's "World Tour" issue. For several years, we have planned and researched the contents of this issue. It is the conviction of the Evangelical Environmental Network that creation's care, an essential component of discipleship, is likewise a part of the worldwide mission of the church. At present, it is only a mustard-seed effort, but in a variety of nations and contexts, we are at work in fields white for harvest. We pray that as you read this issue, you will find encouragement that God is at work in some refreshing new ways.

We hope that you will notice, as we did, that young people are in the forefront of this mission. This means the mission possesses a youthful vitality and that there is hope for more growth in the future. You will notice too that missionaries are now at work in nations where there were none only a few short years ago. The care of creation opens some amazing doors. The fact that many nationals are taking the leadership in their own nations is a great encouragement.

We also want to make it clear that this is just a "sampler" of world mission. Space limitations allow us to include testimonies from only a few nations. The church is accomplishing much more in the name of Jesus than these few pages can describe. However, the harvest is just beginning. Please consider sending copies of this issue to leaders in your favorite mission agency or denomination. Ask them what your mission is doing to care for creation! Another way you can help the harvest is by supporting these missionaries. Almost all of them must raise their financial and prayer support to continue their service. Please consider supporting them. We have provided contact information to assist you in partnering with them.

Praise be to God for all he is doing through us in his world!

Global Earthkeeping Missions

Children in Uganda

By Joseph Kasujja

My name is Joseph Kasujja. I am 25 years old and a university graduate and currently the Project Administrator of Mbuya Child and Family Helper Project affiliated with Christian Children's Fund, Inc.

My primary focus in the last five years has been in the field of Adventures with Nature and wildlife creations. My vision is to make young children (youths) make discoveries of Nature and learn the secrets of God's fascinating wild creations and their habitats, hence develop love for the same.

Since college time in May 1992, as a wildlife club member, I have dedicated time creating a Project that would bring together young people to appreciate, protect and preserve the gifts of Nature that God gave us. To date, with the Christian Children's Fund in Mbuya, I have organized several outdoor environmental tours for children with a Purpose of sowing the Spirit of love for God's gifts of Nature and creation.

I intend to introduce and teach/train organized groups of children the unique skills of discovering the gifts of Nature and wildlife creations through environmental tours, camping, stewardship training, outdoor birthday activities, tree planting clubs, and conducting formal environmental and Nature conservation education. Where possible, scholarships could be availed.

Once the children have the confidence to make their own discoveries of Nature and fascinating wildlife creations, I hope they will join the challenges of protecting and conserving these gifts. I am confident that the combination of my ambition and vision will enable me to make a valuable contribution to the lives of children.

For more information on the Ugandan programs of the Christian Children's Fund or Mr. Kasujja's project, contact James Ameda, the CCF Uganda Director at ccf@imul.com or call their Washington office at 202.462.2161

A Rain Forest in Belize

By Tricia Elisara

Thirty-two Standard Five students spill out of the bus. We stand at the entrance to Jaguar Creek with our clipboards, smiling broadly. Thus begins another day of environmental education in 200 acres of wildlife-rich rain forest.

A Belizean non-governmental organization, Jaguar Creek is a rain forest campus dedicated to "serving the earth and the poor" through education, research, advocacy and service. It is a distinctly Christian ministry, a division of Target Earth International.

The focus of our environmental education is discovery, and the objective is to help students first to learn about the creation and then to begin to care for it. Our activities focus on nurturing joy and love for creation in students through positive experiences in the "back-a-bush," (the Creole expression for "remote forest"). Many Belizean students have never visited their own national treasure, the rain forest. We also help students follow through by making commitments to live lightly on the earth. Some students may grow up to become national leaders; others' influence will primarily affect their households and communities. In either case, we pray that as adults they will make responsible choices that contribute to the health of creation, both human and non-human.

What does this look like for students? Squatting down to watch highways of leafcutter ants, or reading about the medicinal value of trees on our creation trail. Sitting perched above the creek, journaling. Baking brownies in a solar oven and learning about alternatives to fossil fuels. And listening to our staff explain why they care so much about this rain forest.

Our motivation to teach children about the creation is powered by two principles. First, we believe that being a Christian includes following God's commands to serve and protect creation. Secondly, we believe that being a Christian means enjoying a relationship with God. This includes knowing God through the natural world, which he has created and continues to sustain. In so doing, we believe that we grow in humility, wonder, reverence and compassion for all created life.

For more information, contact Tricia Elisara at gsspbelize@btl.net or visit the Target Earth web site at www.targetearth.org.

Rivers in Romania

By Jon Twining

I wasn't prepared for the environmental horrors I witnessed in Romania in November 1996. Children swam in rivers tainted with human sewage. Oil leaked from a nearby refinery into family wells. People ate food and drank water polluted by metals from a nearby lead-smelting facility.

I was in Romania on behalf of Eastern Nazarene College (ENC) to set up an environmental program for our students. ENC had been working in the country since 1992, offering students an opportunity to study and minister abroad while working with orphans, street kids and geriatric patients. Now I was being given the opportunity to take students to Romania to study environmental issues and work with Romanians to solve them.

With the help of Dr. Roberta Bustin, a Nazarene volunteer and former chemistry professor, students and community leaders founded an environmental organization and a youth Ecology Club in Sighisoara, Romania. Our activities have included presentations in schools, sermons on creation stewardship, and networking with environmental agencies and organizations across Romania.

Last June, I took six ENC students to Sighisoara for a course on sustainable development. With $10,000 in equipment donated by American companies, the students helped set up a laboratory to monitor water quality for the Ecology Club so they could monitor local water resources. Using biblical principles of creation care as a basis to address local environmental issues, the students trained Romanian members of the Ecology Club to keep watch over the local rivers under the ongoing leadership of Dr. Bustin. This summer, we will be training leaders from the Sighisoara club to go into other Romanian towns and villages to share their knowledge of creation care. Please pray for us!

For more information about this missions project, visit www.enc.edu/org/science/Romania.html or contact the author, Professor Jonathan E. Twining, Instructor of Environmental Science at Eastern Nazarene College in Quincy, MA, twiningj@enc.edu.

A Hillside in the Philippines

By Jeff Greenberg

Over the years, the Geology and Environmental Science Department at Wheaton College has directed many of its majors toward missionary internships. Many of these students spend six-month internships in non-industrialized nations as participants in the college's HNGR (Human Needs and Global Resources) Program. These interns serve with missions organizations, live with the local people, receive intensive language training and conduct research on an original environmental project. Student interest in the program continues to grow rapidly, due to the desire of our majors to apply their education in practical ways as servants of the poor. Many of these experiences help direct students to ministries that continue for years after their graduation.

I wish I could tell you about each of these students, but let me tell you about two.

Rachel Reese and Joanne Scigliano served with a Baptist mission in the Philippines. In each case, their project addressed the difficulty of sustaining productive agriculture on very steep, deforested slopes. Many of the world's non-industrialized nations with hilly or mountainous land are characterized by slopes too precarious for growing crops. Unfortunately, these undesirable sites are often all that is available to the poor. Better, more fertile agricultural land is either scarce or belongs to the rich.

Rachel and Joanne studied various crop and tillage combinations that would produce better yields with less labor and erosion. Erosion is a widespread problem in the Philippines, where rainfall is plentiful and comes in torrential storms. After graduation, Rachel has worked as a leadership trainer with the Heifer Project in Arkansas. Joanne has spent most of her time with urban parks and community development agencies in Milwaukee, Wis.

Rachel and Joanne, indeed every intern, have grown into more resourceful and compassionate believers in Jesus Christ. They all return home with a wonderful perspective on sharing the gospel with their whole lives.

For more information about Wheaton's HNGR program, contact Jeff Greenberg, professor and chair of the Department of Geology and Environmental Science, jeffrey.k.greenberg@wheaton.edu.

A People in Honduras

By Alan and Rose Robinson

[Editor's Note: Alan and Rose Robinson are environmental development workers working in the isolated Mosquitia region of Honduras, Central America. They are missionaries with the TEAR fund and are seconded to MOPAWI, a Honduran, non-government Christian organization. MOPAWI protects the 815,000 hectare Río Plátano Man and Biosphere Reserve, and works to improve the lives of the people living there.]

The region in which we live and work is one of great beauty, with tropical forests, savannas, lagoons, pristine rivers and an indigenous people, the Miskitos. The lands of the Miskito Indians, and consequently their existence, are under serious threat from colonization, intensive agriculture, cattle ranching, timber merchants and other commercial interests. The latest threat is a plan to build a massive hydroelectric dam on the River Patuca, which forms the whole eastern border of the Reserve.

Many technical, political, and social solutions are being considered and implemented to avoid or reduce the impact of these threats. However, as with most environmental problems, the root cause is spiritual. This is where our ministry begins. As environmental advisors to the largest non-governmental organization operating in the area, MOPAWI, we teach that without a vital knowledge of God, there will be little respect for his creation.

Thus, biblical stewardship, on behalf of creation and in partnership with God, must be at the heart of our mission. It is a partnership that the Miskito Indians can join, and indeed they are doing so. In fact, even those threatening the Reserve can share in this amazing partnership, as can those back home in Britain who support our mission.

Thus, our service to Jesus includes sharing the Good News along with finding technical, social and political answers to complex problems. It has proved to be a fascinating and rewarding adventure with results far exceeding anything we could have imagined-such are the blessings of God!

For more information about this unique mission, please contact the Robinsons at mopawi@optinet.hn

A Pond in Britain

By Barbara Mearns

Every year, churches throughout Britain are invited to celebrate "Conservation Sunday." In an ideal world, creation care would be an integral part of church teaching and activity. The sad reality is that many churches are entirely people-oriented. But even one Sunday a year spent focusing on God's concern for all creation can help to change thinking and inspire new priorities. Each year, A Rocha, a Christian ecological ministry, provides a Conservation Sunday resource pack of sermon ideas, Bible studies, prayers and ideas for action to make it easy for members of congregations to look seriously at the biblical teaching on environmental stewardship. About 150 packs were ordered last year. The theme was Water for Life. Here's a sampling of last year's activities:

In the inner city of Liverpool, children helped to restore a polluted pond in the vicarage garden;

In a Shrewsbury church, young people prayed for rain to end a drought. Ten days later they reported, "It has hardly stopped raining since!"

The Suffolk Wildlife Trust provided leaders for eight guided walks following special church services on creation care, and demonstrated the conservation value of churchyards.

This year the theme of Conservation Sunday is People and Wildlife. Both themes were chosen by the Wildlife Trusts (who own nature reserves throughout the United Kingdom) for their own emphasis called Wildlife Week, which overlaps with Conservation Sunday. A Rocha adopted these themes to enable joint events.

A Rocha members are challenging their churches and getting involved in practical projects in Britain and other countries. (See the other articles on Lebanon and Portugal).

If you'd like to know more, see the A Rocha web site at http://www.arocha.org or contact their representative in the United States: Deana Strom

BearStrom@aol.com. The author of this article is Barbara Mearns, the administrator of the headquarters in Britain a_rocha@compuserve.com

A Neighborhood in Mexico

By Stan LeQuire

The "colonia," or neighborhood, of Anapera, Mexico, lies three miles south of El Paso, Texas. This community has 20,000 residents; they are the poorest of the poor, living without water, sanitation and healthcare. Many are hungry. The desert community is blighted by unlimited trash dumping, chemical contamination and untreated sewage, which cause serious illness and reduce the quality of life for its residents.

"Sadly, it is the children who suffer the most," says Terri Morgan, with the Baptist General Convention of Texas. "There are frequent outbreaks of diarrhea, and skin diseases are common. Most of the children will never attend school; they grow up and go to work in the nearby factories for the lowest possible wage. Their future is indeed bleak."

Southern Baptists in Texas have decided to do something about this challenge. They have designed and promoted a project to drill a well in this neighborhood and provide clean water to its residents. Providing direct oversight are the El Paso Baptist Association Director of Missions, two engineers, one physician, a pastor and a career missionary. In addition to the well, the Baptists and their Mexican colleagues will provide food, medicine and Bible studies for the colonia residents. They will also provide training to help residents understand the connection between environmental problems and human health. "The restoration of creation begins at places like Anapera," says Ms. Morgan.

"See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland" (Isaiah 43:19).

For more information, contact Terri Morgan, at morgan@bgct.org. The Christian Life Commission of the Baptist General Convention of Texas is a partner organization of the Evangelical Environmental Network, which has provided a small grant for this well project.

A Campus in India

By Cal DeWitt

A partnership in missions is flourishing on the Indian subcontinent. In Tiruchirapalli, South India, college students from the United States and Canada, as well as India, are learning about caring for creation by taking courses from the professors at Bishop Heber College. Bishop Heber is a sister institution with the Au Sable Institute, a Christian earth-keeping training institute based in Mancelona, Mich. Thousands of local elementary students also come to Bishop Heber College for classes in creation care, following a model used at Au Sable. Each of these Indian school children take a pledge of stewardship following their studies at "Heber Au Sable," again under the leadership of Indian professors.

This Indian program reaches out to the local community by demonstrating how to care for creation and human needs. One such project includes the building of the first straw bale house in India, using the two resources India has in abundance: labor and rice straw. A second project utilizes an unused resource in the cities of India: the flat roof-tops that "pave" much of the urban landscape. Here, roof-top gardens are emerging under the care of students and faculty of Heber Au Sable.

Au Sable's mission of training students to care for creation is the "grandfather" of the Christian creation care movement. For twenty years, Au Sable has been quietly but effectively training increasing numbers of students to care for creation as disciples of Jesus Christ. In North America, Au Sable now serves 45 Christian college campuses with courses for transferable academic credit or vocational certification. Its impressive mission reaches far beyond Michigan and India. Two new campuses, Au Sable-East Coast, and Au Sable-Pacific Rim, are being seeded in the Chesapeake Bay and in Puget Sound to meet the rapidly-rising interest. This year, the Au Sable Institute reaches across the Atlantic to offer its first program in Africa. Working jointly with the newly-formed African Institute for Scientific Research and Development, courses are offered to an initial group of 30 students who come from Kenya, the United States, and Canada. Facilities are under construction at Olooseos, about 40 kilometers from Nairobi, where soon 6 African faculty will be conducting the program.

For more information, contact: Au Sable Institute of Environmental Studies Office of Development and Outreach, 731 State St., Madison, WI, 53703. E-mail: PBakken@compuserve.com Their web site is www.ausable.org

A Wetland in Portugal

By Jane Bolton

In the Algarve, a beautiful Mediterranean landscape popular with European tourists, a British-based conservation group, A Rocha, has established a scientific research center in a large converted farmhouse in this southernmost region of Portugal. With accommodation for 18 people and sandwiched between a wetland to the south and the mountains to the north, the center provides an ideal location for student projects, local school children, Christian groups and anyone who shares our concern for creation's care.

A Rocha workers studying the local wetlands have discovered two rare plant species and a species of moth that is new to science. We have also demonstrated the importance of this area for breeding and migratory birds. Research by visiting university students is supervised by the center's scientific director and encompasses a wide range of local ecological issues. Studies have also demonstrated the impact of human activity on this important region. The center provides the only year-round bird banding program in Portugal and runs courses in bird identification and banding. In conjunction with the research, our environmental education program hosts about 2,000 Portuguese school children a year.

We see this work as part of our discipleship--taking seriously God's command to care for his world. The Bible says that the magnificent works of the Lord are studied by those who take pleasure in them (Psalm 111:2, RSV). As an added blessing, we find that for many of our visitors, a stay at the center provides the first opportunity to meet and talk with Christians about their faith and the relevance of the gospel to the many problems facing today's world.

[Editor's Note: As we go to press, the Algarve wetlands are under intense development pressure. Our brothers and sisters at A Rocha have ministered in this region for many years to help the Portuguese understand the importance of this corner of creation and its Creator. There is the real threat that all they have worked for may be seriously degraded or lost. Please pray for a resolution to this battle, which is undoubtedly spiritual.]

For more information, see the A Rocha web site www.arocha.org or contact our representative in North America, Deana Strom at BearStrom@aol.com

An Open Door in Kazakstan

By Joyce Chellis

Kazakstan is a perfect example of what communist rule can do to creation. Over-use and abuse of chemicals along with above- and below-ground nuclear testing has left its northern plains with polluted ground water, depleted soil and impoverished citizens. However, this very devastation has opened doors to the gospel that were once shut tight. The small agricultural city of Atbasar is an interesting case study.

Tanya, the director of a boarding school, started an ecology club as a way to obtain grants for the school. Over time, she became increasingly alarmed at the lack of direction in the children's lives. She also became aware of her inability to meet their needs, as she could not explain the difference between "right" and "wrong."

Tanya found out about our mission through an ecologist she knew who happened to be a Christian. She hoped we had the answers she had been unable to find. Tanya told us, "We want to know about your God," Tanya said, "but we know so very little that we don't even know what questions to ask!"

What an incredible example of our God who can use creation's degradation to lead people to himself! Even the local Muslim leaders, leery of "believers," gave us permission to work with the children in the ecology club. We taught about environmental issues and related them to the equally important environment of their bodies and minds. We also helped plant gardens and provided vitamins and toothbrushes.

We rejoiced in our opportunities to care for creation, but God blessed us beyond our greatest dreams. A church has been planted in Atbasar from seeds sown in a children's ecology club and from the concerns of an atheist woman! After two years, Atbasar has a growing church with a national pastor. They have already sent out their first missionary to another community. Tanya is now one of our most vocal "believers" and has led her husband and son to the Lord. Rejoice with us!

For more information, contact Joyce Chellis, the author, joycechellis@worldnet.att.net. Joyce is a missionary in Kazakstan with the Mission Society for United Methodists http://www.msum.org, a partner organization of the Evangelical Environmental Network

From the Boiler Room: Don't trust energy consultants!

Andrew Rudin

My wife had a forkful of delicious string beans on the way to her mouth when the phone rang. We were expecting a call from our daughter, so I answered it during dinner. It wasn't our daughter; it was a cold-call from a vendor selling energy efficient windows, doors and anything else I wanted to buy. When I immediately agreed to meet the following Saturday, I heard the string beans plop back onto Joyce's plate. "What on earth are you doing with our Saturday?" she asked.

I explained that this was either a trade ally or competition. If they had the time, I had the time. "Don't you dare buy anything!" said Joyce, knowing our basement is full of energy stuff that doesn't work. Some people collect antique cars. I collect energy stuff to try out before I make any recommendations to others.

When the guy showed up on Saturday, Joyce was on her way out. Coincidence? He had jewelry to rival Mr. T's and wore so much after-shave that I was worried he would vaporize if he got too near the gas stove. He walked right by my two cords of wood (which I pick up free from a local religious retreat house). He overlooked my clock thermostat, triple-glazed windows and high-efficiency boiler. And yet, after demonstrating his windows, he offered me a 30 percent reduction on my heating bill if I bought $10,000 worth. "Just give me one dollar and sign right here," he said.

"Let me check your references. Call me in the afternoon," I said, and he left. When he called, I explained that the local references he gave me did not exist. Not even the street names existed! I have not heard from him since.

My energy consulting profession is the sleaziest. We are the doomsayers. We brought you water-saving showerheads that were more like water cannons. We sold you systems that seem to fail right after the warranty expires. We are the "tin men" aluminum siding folks. And we alone are to blame for our plight.

We asked the utilities to provide free energy advice, knowing full well that they could not recommend a specific product, vendor or contractor without getting sued. Utility energy auditors produced millions of pages of bland garbage, filled with language to confuse you. We beg for government subsidies.

We energy consultants are so smart we can answer all your questions before you ask them. We always know what is right and treat you like an energy idiot. "Buy our efficient product, and you will save up to...."

If you can't trust energy consultants, what can you trust? Let me make four suggestions:

You can trust switches, but only if they are in the "off" position. Be careful, however, because some appliances still use stand-by electricity when turned off. I use strip switches for more trustworthy "off."
You can trust your own electric, gas and water meters. When you do something that causes them to spin slower, you are on the right track. Keep records, and continually slow those meters down.
You can trust measured data from other churches, as long as they are not gathered (edited) by someone who wants to sell you something. They always use the cases that best feature their products.
You can trust tried, tested and true technology...older technology, not cutting-edge stuff without any track record.

I would love to hear your experiences with energy consultants. Got any you want to share?

Andrew Rudin helps congregations reduce their energy use and cost. For information and a price list of products from Philadelphia's Interfaith Coalition on Energy, write ICE, 7217 Oak Avenue, Melrose Park, PA 19027. Telephone (215) 635-1122. Fax (215) 635-1903. Email 754-0723@mcimail.com

Public Policy Update

Scott Althouse

Written Testimony for U.S. EPA Public Hearing
on EPA's Proposed "Tier 2" Emission Standards for Vehicles and
Gasoline Sulfur Standards for Refineries

Today I am appearing before you on behalf of the public policy team of the Evangelical Environmental Network. The Evangelical Environmental Network (EEN) is a fellowship of some 7,000 Christian believers who are committed to building our Lord's kingdom by active service to restore and renew the works of His hands.

Now, more than ever, the public is concerned about environmental issues, and Christians who obey God's mandate to care for creation are making a statement about their faith: Jesus loves the earth and so do His people.

Every summer, one of the forefront environmental issues is air pollution, and this summer is no exception. In light of the recent federal court decision which repealed much needed air quality standards, I applaud the EPA for issuing this latest series of proposed rules to improve the quality of life for countless Americans.

During last year's smog season, the EPA recorded 5,200 violations of health standards across the nation. It is reported that each year 40,000 people die prematurely due to poor air quality, and 117 million Americans live in cities where the air is often unsafe to breathe.

Our culture's insatiable appetite for energy consumption and our sinful disregard for creation is not only harming the earth, but it is also killing the people and animals who inhabit it.
EEN thanks the EPA for this excellent opportunity for concerned believers to voice an un-apologetically Christian perspective on the righteous stewardship of God's creation. We pray that Christ's love for the earth and for His affected people will be evident in this public forum.

It is well documented that air pollution poses unacceptable health risks to the most susceptible members of our society: the sick, the elderly and of course our children. Dr. Phillip J. Landrigan, M.D., M.Sc., Director of Mount Sinai School of Medicine's Center for Children's Health and the Environment tells us that asthma rates have more than doubled among American children in this past decade alone. Approximately 600 children die each year from asthma and 150,000 are hospitalized. In fact, asthma is the leading cause of admission of children to hospitals.... It is true that gross black pollution has declined in the past two decades as the result of improved air standards, but levels of ozone, oxides of nitrogen and sulfur, and fine particulates are on the increase. These pollutants come mostly from automotive emissions, and levels have been rising as Americans drive more and more miles each year.

Our organization supports the efforts of the EPA to institute stricter regulations on auto emissions to help improve air quality. I support the first initiative to close the "SUV loophole." Current emission standards for light trucks, sport utility vehicles and minivans allow two to three times more exhaust pollution than passenger cars. I support EPA's proposal that new SUVs meet the same clean air standards as new cars. Secondly, I support EPA's proposal to mandate the use of low-sulfur gasoline in all 50 states.

Participants at this public hearing may have heard or read about the auto and oil industries complaining about the cost of environmental regulations. However, our analysts suggest that all of these proposed changes will be relatively inexpensive for the auto industry. Pollution control technology already exists to enable SUVs to comply with EPA's new proposals. We have heard estimated costs as low as $200 per truck. Additionally, California has been successful at using low-sulfur gasoline at a minimal added cost of just 2-3 cents per gallon. The new EPA regulations are industry and consumer conscious, and manufacturers ought to accept them.

Scott Althouse,
EEN Public Policy Team
Evangelical Environmental Network
http://www.creationcare.org

Small Group Ministry News

A week in the life of Oral Roberts University

[Editor's Note: One of the newest small groups affiliated with the Evangelical Environmental Network is located on the campus of the Oral Roberts University (ORU). Recently, they organized their first ever Creation Care Week. Here is a report by Dr. Steve Herr, a faculty adviser to the ORU Environmental Stewardship Club:]

Saturday, April 17 - Students and faculty spent two hours cleaning up glass and litter at a government housing project. The ORU Outreach Department helped coordinate this event with their own community outreach to children in the project.

Monday, April 19 - Several wild animals (including a 14-foot python) were exhibited outside the cafeteria by a local wildlife conservation group. Scores of students observed, petted, and asked about the animals and their plight.

Tuesday, April 20 - Representatives from state and local agencies organized exhibits about wetland restoration, field studies, and alternate energy. Roasting marshmallows in sunlight using a parabolic mirror was a big hit with the students.

Wednesday, April 21 - Approximately 200 students attended a lecture on biblical earthkeeping given by Dr. Job Ebenezer, an executive with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and a founder of the Christian Environmental Council.

Thursday, April 22 - The student creation care group organized its first annual (and possibly first ever) "Recycling Games." These events were held outside the student cafeteria. Many students dropped by to stomp aluminum cans, knock plastic bottles down with frisbees, "shoot baskets" with plastic milk jugs and roll batteries down a plank into a barrel. Each participant received a prize and the most successful student of the day received a door prize donated by a local business.

Throughout the week, art posters made by middle school students were on display in the hallway adjacent to the activity area. The Oklahoma Water Environmental Association awarded a total of $100 to the top four students. The activities were successful and helped attract attention to the environmental concerns of the students in the creation care group. Many ORU students were unaware of the environmental studies program of the school and of local clubs that are active in caring for creation. We learned a lot about organizing such an event and hope to be more effective at next year's event.

(If you would like more information on how to start a small group in your community, please contact the Evangelical Environmental Network (een@creationcare.org) or visit their Small Group page)

Family Time: It's a big world for little people

Stan LeQuire

Our world is a very complex place in which increasing numbers of people live stressful lives. These difficult issues can outmatch a child's ability to comprehend. Nonetheless, it is possible to address the world in a positive way. Adults can help children learn that in this vast world, they are still cherished by their heavenly Father. They can also begin to see that the many peoples of the world have needs, some related to environmental degradation and some related to the spiritual need to know their Maker.

Here are a few activities with a variety of themes: individual, cultural and evangelistic. These activities can be used in Sunday School classes, as "children's sermons" during a worship service, or as rainy day activities for the family. Enjoy.

Hair

I need to know something very important about you. (Start counting the hairs on the head of your children). This may take a while! Maybe it would be better if you just tell me how many hairs are on your head. Can you do that? [Bald adults can flaunt their advantage at this point!] Have you ever counted the hairs on your head? Do you care? How many hairs cover your head? Scientists tell us that most of us have about 100,000 hairs... about 100,000. We don't know for sure and probably not everyone has the exact same number of hairs.

I know someone who has counted exactly how many hairs are on your head. Can you guess who that is? God, the One who made you. (Read together Luke 12:7, in which Jesus tells his disciples just how much God loves them.) God really does love us if he cares about such small things as the number of hairs on our head! I know you can count things that are important to you, like pennies in your piggy bank or your stuffed animals. God counts what is important to him... YOU! Close in prayer thanking God for his amazing love. [Song: "Jesus Loves Me."]

Humanity

Before beginning this activity, go to the library to find a book on children of the world. Highly recommended is Children Just Like Me by Barnabas and Anabel Kindersley (New York: DK Publishing, Inc., 1995). This book beautifully illustrates God's most glorious creation: human children. You get to meet Anthony, who lives in the heart of Manhattan; Celina from the Brazilian rainforest; Thi Lijn, a Vietnamese village girl; and more. Page through this book as a family. Point out how each ethnic group has something wonderful to teach us about God's special creation-people.

Close by reading together Revelation 7:9-10. These verses give a picture of many different kinds of people in heaven. God treasures and loves all these different kinds of people. Older children may want to talk about what your church and your family is doing in missions outreach. As always, close your time together in a simple prayer. [Song: "Jesus Loves the Little Children."]

Health

"Let's make some people!" Explain how to make paper cutout dolls, a simple craft enjoyed for generations. Younger children may need extra help as folded paper can be hard to cut. It will help to use lightweight paper and sharp, heavy duty scissors. If you have extra time, you can color separate dolls as individuals. As you explain how to make the paper dolls, ask: "Who made you?" God is the Maker who made every one of us. The Bible says in Proverbs 14:31 that God is the Maker of the poor. "He who oppresses the poor shows contempt for their Maker, but whoever is kind to the needy honors God." They are his people; he has a special love for them. How do you think God feels when the poor are sick and hurting? Does he like it? No! Proverbs says "whoever is kind to the needy honors God." So helping the poor can be a way of showing how much we love God. Explain how some poor live in places where there is lots of dirty air and dirty water. Do you think that God likes this? No. How can we help them have clean air and clean water? Are there any such neighborhoods near where you live? Do you know of any missions that work for healthy water and air? Making sure that creation is clean for all people is a way to show how much we love God. Close in prayer.

Heaven

For this activity, you will need to purchase a sheet or two of white poster board. Fold the poster board in half and make a giant party invitation. Add as much artwork as you wish to make it attractive. The outer cover should say, "YOU ARE INVITED," and the inner cover should read, "TO A PARTY." Finish the invitation with "DATE... TIME... WHO... WHERE... WHAT... FOOD." However, leave each entry blank because you will fill them in by using the imaginations of your children.

After the blank invitation is ready, gather the children and ask, "Have you ever been invited to a party?" They will surely be eager to tell you of their social lives. Point out the huge invitation that you have. Build excitement by imagining a party that would feature such big invitations. However, eventually you will need to point out that the invitation is blank. Ask for help in filling in the blanks by dreaming up the best party in the history of the world. Fill in every blank with exciting party ideas.

The Bible talks about parties too. Our God is so great; he does wonderful things. One of the greatest things is when someone comes to know Jesus as her own Creator, Savior, and Lord. The Bible says that when just one person comes to know Jesus all the angels of heaven rejoice. Read Luke 15:10, "There is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents." (You might want to write out the verse on the back of the invitation so that the children can read along). Describe the party in heaven when a sinner turns away from himself and back to his Creator and Savior.

When you get a party invitation, you really want to go, don't you? Do you want to go to God's party? Point out the RSVP on the invitation which you wrote at the bottom of the invitation before beginning the activity. Stress how important it is that each person respond to God. Explain that this is why we have missionaries-to help people make decisions to follow Jesus. Close in prayer.

Letter from Friends

Watching the world with caring eyes

Editor's Note: Scott and Nancy Sabin have been on the road since January. We asked if we could tag along and read over Scott's shoulder as he wrote in his journal. Scott was on sabbatical as the executive director of Floresta, a Christian mission agency that understands the importance of caring for creation. As he and Nancy circled the globe, they were looking for evidence of the relationship between creation and mission, between environmental degradation and human need. They also looked for ways in which the gospel can make a difference. Here are a few excerpts from his observations.

February 11, 1999
Auckland, New Zealand

We just finished three weeks in the Solomon Islands, a beautiful archipelago in the South Pacific. It is a bit off the beaten track: about 5,000 tourists visit annually.

As on many islands in this region, this island culture has drastically changed with the coming of Christianity. Head-hunting was widespread until the 1920s. It was moving to see the heaps of human skulls, and hear all that has changed because "now we have Jesus." Many negative things have been written about missionaries in the Pacific. This testimony tends to outweigh all of that, in my mind!

We met with leaders from several nonprofit agencies, to get a feel for the developmental and environmental issues in the country. Logging and deforestation are big concerns, as logging accounts for nearly 50 percent of both exports and government revenue, and is supposedly taking place at nearly three times the sustainable rate.

A number of agencies are working to promote ecotourism and eco-forestry as sustainable alternatives. Subsistence farmers are relatively well-off, but vulnerable to the promises of quick cash from the logging companies. Stories abound of village chiefs granting logging concessions to Asian companies in exchange for an outboard motor and a case of beer.

We stayed at an ecotourist resort in the fantastic Marovo Lagoon. This rustic resort, Vanua Rapita, is extremely low key: There is no electricity or running water, and the manager said he had never even seen a television! We were the only guests on the island for the three days we were there, which was an incredible experience. We were alone with God in the midst of his unspoiled creation. Rapita is owned and operated by the local villagers of Michi who received assistance from the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) in setting it up. The community seems to be happy with low-level tourism as an alternative to logging. My respect for WWF has gone way up.

March 10, 1999
Kuta Beach, Bali

Indonesia was gearing up for the first democratic elections in its history, scheduled for June. Although the campaign had not officially started, unofficially it was in full swing.
The election is the fallout of the resignation of President Suharto in May 1998. Popular unrest had been fomenting for some time, but came to a head with the Asian economic crisis. The situation was further exacerbated by the disastrous forest fires of 1997-98. Many were intentionally set in order to clear large tracts of rainforest, then burned out of control, blanketing Southeast Asia in a choking haze for months.

March 15, 1999
Ujung Pandang, Indonesia

While we were in Toraja, Christian/Muslim tensions were rising throughout Indonesia. Muslims and Christians continued to kill each other in Ambon. The conflict threatened to spill over into Sulawesi, as Muslim refugees from Ambon flooded into Ujung Pandang. Although the violence is sectarian, the roots of the situation are complex and related to Indonesia's enormous population problems.

Java is one of the most densely populated islands on Earth, with 119 million people in an area roughly the size of New York. To cope with this, the government has been promoting the migration of people from Java, Bali and Madura to ethnically different but less crowded islands. Forest is cleared and new communities are established in the midst of indigenous communities, setting the stage for conflicts such as the one taking place in Ambon.

March 25, 1999
Jakarta, Indonesia

In Jakarta, we visited the headquarters of World Vision Indonesia, which has begun relief programs for those hit hardest by the Asian crisis. We saw neighborhoods where food-for-work projects were taking place. In one crowded neighborhood, the shanties had been built right out over the river that serves as the main sewer for the city. The quest for space had made the sewer considerably narrower and subject to frequent flooding into the homes. Here, community members had built dykes in return for food.

April 10, 1999
Bangkok, Thailand

We took the train up the Malaysian Peninsula to Kuala Lumpur where we decided to visit Taman Negara National Park-a tremendous rainforest preserve in the middle of peninsular Malaysia.

It was a four-hour bus ride to the town of Kuala Tembling, at which you catch a boat, for another four hours up the river to the park. The ride was magnificent in the long wooden canoes. Water seeped between the planks and around our seats as the boards strained against the current of the muddy rapids. All around us was the rainforest as you've always imagined it: Lianas hung out over the water, the thick green canopy was full of pink and yellow flowers, and a monitor lizard, monkeys and exotic birds were visible along the shore. Unfortunately, so were a lot of plastic shopping bags and other litter, but we've found that to be true absolutely everywhere we've been.

The park headquarters and the small town of Kuala Tahan straddle the river, with an outboard boat to ferry you from one side to the other. The resort-like headquarters included a troop of monkeys which patrolled the grounds, together with occasional hornbills, wild pigs, lizards and a host of exotic insects.

From Thailand, we traveled to India, Nepal, and on to Romania, but already many issues keep recurring. Population pressure, sanitation, biodiversity and deforestation have been constant themes. We have also seen some inspiring efforts in the struggle to care for creation, such as in the village of Michi in the Solomon Islands. As we travel, our prayer continues to be that God would show us how to be better stewards of his creation and ambassadors of the Gospel.