Will You Swing the Rope?

By Theresa Reus, Project Promotion Chairman • National WMA

      Lydia Dunlap went on a mission trip to South America last year, and she wrote about the experience for Mission World News. (Find it at bmamissions.org/delivering-christmas-shoeboxes-receiving-a-lasting-blessing.) In the article, she talked about giving out shoeboxes and being asked to teach some of the local kids how to jump rope. After showing them how to swing the rope for themselves, she teamed up with a young mom to swing a longer rope so they could take turns jumping. She went on in her article to describe her feelings on realizing the young mom was actually her age and seeing the differences in their lives because of the cultures in which they were raised.

      I greatly enjoyed the article, but it sent my thoughts in a different direction. Thinking about the two girls swinging a rope for the kids to jump gave me a mental picture of how we can work with others, too. Each person has a job but on different ends of the rope. You have to work together in a good rhythm to get the right results.

      This is a great example of how the WMA can work with the Jeevan Prakash School workers to provide for their students. We can’t all go to India to help with this ministry or the children’s education, but we can work on our end, doing what we can to keep the rope swinging. If we raise money for the much-needed renovations, plenty of laborers in India are ready to do the renovations. We will work together to provide the kids with a safe, comfortable place to learn.

      The children are attending school now in a building that needs foundational work to be safer. There is no ventilation for the building that houses all grades. The temperature in their area often exceeds 100 degrees. The school is unable to provide safe drinking water. Most of us would agree this is a dangerous combination. We would not want our children in this situation.

      Those who run the school have stepped out on faith and have begun renovations. The lack of adequate restrooms has already been addressed. As money comes in, they will continue to do any repairs they can without disrupting ongoing classes. The bulk of the construction would need to be done when the school year ends in April. Let’s try to have our funds in and ready for them to draw from by then. Our hope is that more than enough will come in for the building repairs, and the extra can be used to replace the well-worn furniture. New tables and chairs would be such a blessing and brighten up the school. Maybe these renovations and updates will attract more students to the school.

      Surely, a familiar verse in a situation like this is Eccl. 4:9 (NIV), “Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labor.” Over the years, we have worked together to raise money for many projects. This year is no different. Let’s work together to bless the children and staff of Jeevan Prakash School with a safe and comfortable learning environment. We can do our part in swinging the rope on our end and have faith that the Lord will provide someone to swing the other end.

      Please send any contributions to National WMA project, c/o Janet Widger, P.O. Box 23, Salem, Mo. 65560.