Pray for the future

One of our placements invites JVC volunteers and former volunteers to take part in their work. They say:

Help us to pray for change

Church Action on Poverty (www.church-poverty.org.uk) will be sending out a newsletter just after the upcoming General Election. We want to include a section of ‘prayers for the future’ written by younger Christians. Could you contribute a prayer for us?

We are looking for short prayers which relate to poverty, inequality and exclusion in the UK. They should reflect the hopes and fears that people may want to bring to God as a new government takes power and things begin to change.

If you’re interested in taking part, please contact Liam Purcell liamp[at]church-poverty.org.uk soon. You will need to send in your finished prayer(s) by 26 March.

Focus says a Big Thank You

JVC volunteer, Jonatan Steinig, returns from Germany to accept an award from his placement.

Focus Birmingham have always appreciated the help they have received from JVC volunteers. For 10 years, Focus has been supporting people with visual impairments and other disabilities, together with their carers, to live fulfilling and independent lives by providing the services that reflect their wants and needs. Volunteers add extra quality to the support provided by their professional team.

Each year Focus organises a ball to says thank you to the fantastic people who give their time freely to help them. At the ball they present three awards to volunteers who have nominated by staff members as deserving extra recognition for their volunteering.

Jonatan returned from Germany to visit and receive an award for the volunteer who best lives-out one or all of the Focus Values of caring; committed; empowering; enjoyment; integrity; open to new ideas; professional and understanding.

We asked Pippa Jones, who worked with Jonatan, why he had been chosen.

“There was nothing Jonatan would not do. It was delightful to experience his generosity in being prepared to learn new skills to support service users, and to see the pleasure he took in helping people.” she said “He quickly became a valued team member and took the training courses necessary to enable him to work alongside a trained member of staff to support service users’ personal care, feeding and supporting Physiotherapists with some exercises.  He gave service users support with access to the IT suite and suitable programmes which enabled them to become more independent and he also supported service users in social inclusion, accompanying them to the library and places of interest, whilst participating in all the activities himself”.

Jonatan enjoyed visiting England again. He returned to volunteer at Focus for a day to visit service users he had volunteered with, as well as socialising with staff and volunteers at the ball.

Jonatan said:
“The ball has been a very kind way of showing that people do appreciate the work I have done. It has given me a reason to continue the ‘JVC lifestyle’  after JVC. The award is a symbol which will always remind me of how important this JVC year has been for me!”

Simply Responsible BY MATTHEW BENTHAM

Community Service Volunteers, CSV Environment, is one of the placements of Birmingham volunteer Matthew Bentham. Matthew is engaged in a range of activities taking the role of a teaching assistant involved in outdoor education with school pupils of all ages. His work can include teaching, arts and crafts, bushcraft skills, and gardening.

Below Matthew offers his recent reflections on our responsibilities to the wider environment.

The profound moments of my day-to-day life occur most often when I am outdoors. The natural environment is my spiritual haven. As such working for CSV Environment I live out some of my lifestyle aspirations and those of JVC.

The outdoor educational work with young people at CSV aims to improve access to local green spaces and to encourage a greater respect towards the wider natural environment.

Many of the young people I work with are from deprived areas of Birmingham and often their local parks are unclean and unsafe. This is a social injustice because any child who cannot freely and safely access the outdoors has a poor quality of life.

When passing polluted streams and canals in the city I reflect on our current culture and lifestyles. Lifestyles that are materialistic, that put the individual first, and are driven by greed to instant gratification by means of mass consumption. Consumption in which the worst consequences are so removed from us, both in temporal and spatial scales, that we never truly realize the damage we cause. Damage that affects the poor the most as they are the least able to cope and the least able to speak up for themselves, spreading more social injustice.

When the negative impacts of our lifestyles extend to a global scale should not our responsibilities also extend to a global scale?

The simple lifestyle provides an answer. The simple lifestyle rejects the material to focus on the spiritual and to have solidarity with the poor. However it also benefits those unseen peoples, flora and fauna suffering the consequences of excessive consumption.

Widening our sense of responsibility to such a degree is difficult. However within the environmental movement such a change was spurred by the first images of the earth from space. Images that expose our fragility and insignificance, but also our unity. When being mindful of our wider responsibilities to the world’s environment, all peoples and all life it is helpful to remember that we are all of the same community, united in our insignificance, vulnerability and rarity.

In the creation myth all life made prior to man was deemed “Good” independent of any services it could offer to man. Past interpretations of our responsibilities to the wider environment being only of domination, conquest and superiority should be challenged.

To deny our wider responsibility to the wider environment is to deny that we are all interconnected and interdependent on each other as well as those natural systems, flora and fauna, around us. To deny any responsibility to the environment is to acknowledge that it exists only to serve us. To believe that is to submit willingly to greed.

If in working with young people they connect with their natural environment on a deeper level, acknowledging an intrinsic value of nature independent of the services provided to mankind, then maybe we can circumvent that greed and all its consequences.

One fiat – One year – One way BY EMILIE DABOLINA

Emilie reflects on her experience of spirituality on the year so far…

September the fourth. I stand with a backpack on my shoulders and look up into the sky. A runway lies ahead. And not even a single square foot to make a step back.

It is December now. For a couple of months the road has led uphill, with every day leaving behind my past life. Stopping for a split second to take a deep breath, I felt in me the revival of the honest, pure-hearted person of good will, thirsty for the truth, now subjected to accept the painfully obvious:  the plain at the bottom of the hill, thought to be a fertile field I even used to be proud of, now stretches before me like a dry, cracked and broken land, spoiled with my arrogance, my folly, my illusion.

Even though it hurts and robs me of my peace to admit and accept what I have learnt about myself since joining JVC, I face how far I am from being holy. Yet again, these discoveries about my own self provide fuel for loving my neighbour with less selfishness and spark the need for more time praying, turning spirituality – one of our four values – into the rock on which to build my daily life.

Another matter which aids in concentrating on praying and constantly raising my eyes to Heaven is the simple lifestyle. Although material things could never really make me profoundly happy, it is only now I realise how unimportant and inessential they are. At long last I, the imperfect child of a man, figured out how little I am in need of, and  paradoxically how much more the endlessly loving Lord God provides in His grace. Countless manifestations of love each day that passes!

Dear Lord Jesus is not only in the Holy Sacrament or in the Sacrifice of the Holy Mass or daily prayer, but in a very special way, in every person of good will and every little deed done with a high degree of diligence and sense of responsibility, regardless of its significance or magnitude. Jesus is present in every labour done without the will to win renown or approval; in every work performed in the knowledge that we live a life with a meaning far beyond the personal;  in every gesture made in the confidence that our effort has eternal topicality. Beholding all this, a sense of truth stirs deep inside my heart – the beautiful, incredibly simple truth dressed in words by Saint Francis of Assisi: “God exists and this is sufficient to know. And it is sufficient that God is God.”

God is God. So simple! So perfect!

And love is simple too; so simple we cannot understand its very nature. And we really should not! What I do understand, however,  is what an indescribably immense and peaceful delight it is to bear in one’s heart the longing to know and discover , to help and devote oneself, to give without getting or even expecting anything in return. Longing to be the silent and faithful apostle of love!

One fiat to be expressed and acknowledged in our daily labour.

One year having no exact duration in the course of Eternity.

One way only – submit ourselves unto love.

Former volunteers 2008-9

We asked volunteers from the last year to tell us what they are doing now…

Adam is still living in Manchester as a support worker for SPEAK, a Christian prayer and campaigning network, where he is engaging with local Christians to connect issues of faith and social justice at a global level.

Anna is studying teaching, English and German for primary school.

Christophe is studying aero-engineering in France.

Daniel is studying logistics in Bremerhaven and is enjoying it a lot. He is also playing hockey again in a new team. He also thinks it is wonderful that his favourite football club Liverpool won against ManU last month. You’ll never walk alone…miss JVC!!

Diana is working temporarily with NGO’s Malaysia who work for health. She finds it really really interesting to work with the doctors and preparing the health program for school children.

Jin Sook returned to South Korea after enjoying a summer in Europe.

Jonatan is studying sociology in Hamburg and still does some volunteering for a fair trading organization.

Jonathan is currently studying for an MA in ancient history at University College London, and wondering what to do the year after!

Michael is now the assistant chaplain at Hope University in Liverpool and is having the most amazing time.

Paula is teaching in Columbia.

Peter is doing charity work with youth in Nairobi, Kenya.

Silvia is working in Jakarta, Indonesia.

Veronica is currently at Bolton University training to be a literacy tutor so that she can help native and non native speakers to read and write.

This Term’s News

Summer Programme
The Summer Programme was very popular in 2009 with every space in two communities filled. 11 volunteers lived in Birmingham and Manchester and spent 4 weeks in August working on a variety of social justice projects, mainly working with refugees and homeless people as well as enjoying working outside in gardens.

The communities had a chance to meet each other at the induction weekend and learn about the JVC values. Each community met with a facilitator twice a week to discuss how their experience was helping them explore the values of social justice, simple lifestyle, community and spirituality. Volunteers also had a chance to visit Jesuit houses. Volunteers came from Switzerland, Spain and the USA with the majority being British undergraduates using their vacation to help others and gain useful experience.

Across the channel
In June, we entertained Fr Vincent and the JVC France volunteers from Marseilles. They spent a few days with us being introduced to Britain. They visited one of our placements in Liverpool and baked bread with Somewhere Else, the bread church. There was some opportunity to see the sights of Liverpool, as well as Manchester where they stayed. A visit to Loyola Hall for some spiritual input and a walk in their lovely grounds was enjoyed by all. Getting together with volunteers from JVC Britain they discussed their placements and what each had learned from their different JVC experiences. They also had some time to have a Mass, a party and a game of frisbee with JVC Britain volunteers.

Reunion
In October, volunteers from various years met in Manchester to reconnect with JVC. We ate together, prayed together, went for a long walk in the park and discussed those JVC values together. Former volunteers talked about what JVC had meant to them and how they felt it had influenced their lives since. Many talked about their careers in social justice and how that had been inspired and helped in this work by their experience as JVC volunteers. One theme presented itself: Former JVC’s are men and women for others, whether their focus was on their children, their work or studies, the JVC outlook kept them looking outwards and working towards a better society.

Talking about volunteering
Staff and volunteers visited a number of careers fairs and schools to talk about JVC and give students a chance to ask volunteers what JVC is really like. If you would like us to visit a school, chaplaincy or church get in touch and we will see if we can come and visit you.

New volunteers
New volunteers are from Germany Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia, and the UK. They have settled in to their placements and are supporting people with learning difficulties… campaigning for change…working with children in schools… helping homeless people… gardening… helping people with practical tasks… supporting refugees and asylum seekers… teaching reading and writing skills… making cups of tea… listening to people…

Focus on Finding God, By JONATHAN STEINIG

Focus on Blindness is an organisation which provides services and support for those with sight impairment or/and multiple disabilities.  Since September 2008 I have volunteered part time in the Elisabeth Gunn Centre which is the multiple disability service unit of  Focus on Blindness. In this unit, service users with multiple disabilities (e.g. difficulties with communication and mobility) come Mondays till Fridays from 9am until 3pm to obtain complete support which includes health care, physiotherapy and food. My role at Focus is to help service users and to assist staff members if help is required. My main tasks are feeding service users, supporting during healthcare and assisting in activities.

Focus tries to help service users have as much independence as possible. Nevertheless, support is necessary even during dinner times because many service users do not have the essential senses and mobility to do something which for majority of society is something very easy, such as eating.

Healthcare is essential because in many cases service users have severe health problems. Besides important medical services, users also get psychotherapeutic support. Because I am not a trained healthcare member of staff, I can only assist the psychotherapists while they, for example, try to stretch service users who are sitting in wheelchairs.

Fun and enjoyment is an important column of Focus: Service users can participate in “Jabadeo” which is an activity session where movement and games are combined in an entertaining way for all service users.

Decoration and arts are a pleasure for everyone, especially during Christmas, and even sight impaired service users can be creative by feeling the difference of the structure of each material.

As you can see, the work for Focus on Blindness offers great variety. The examples given in this article do not cover everything I have to do but give a good impression of my voluntary work.

Volunteering for Focus and the Jesuits is a great honour, but at the same time it is very hard and gives rise to doubt. Helping people who live non-desirable lives, including those who are living on the margins of a society, is a challenge for one’s own faith. Where is God in the lives of service users of the Elisabeth Gunn Centre?  And why did he create people with multiple disabilities while others live successful lives with good health? It is not possible to answer these questions in the “right” way. It depends on the character and the faith of each person. It has not been easy to find an answer to these questions, but up to now I have found an answer which is acceptable for me: God is surrounding the people who suffer more than anyone and anywhere else. Indeed it is confusing but, when I see how carefully and supportively the centre and the staff members take care of the service users, I notice that God is in all these people who help and support the service users. God is very close to all service users and gives them a reason to live even in their situation.

Jonatan is from Germany. He can be found at Focus or volunteering with schools in the woods with CSV. He can also be heard on internet radio on Sunday afternoons at JESFM on 1000mikes.com

Tuesdays in the Kingdom, By ADAM DICKSON

Adam reflects on how his time volunteering at an advice service and drop-in facility for asylum seekers, refugees, and migrant workers helps him understand the Kingdom of God

Today is a Tuesday, and as I walked from my JVC placement at Rainbow Haven to begin my journey home at the end of the day, I breathed a frustrated sigh of relief.

Not long after I arrived this morning I was whisked away to handle advice work for no less than five people all with very different and difficult problems. After three infuriating phone calls to help sort out one of our client’s gas and electricity supply, I moved onto sharing another immigrant lady’s struggle to make sense of various different housing application forms and letters of which even I – as a native Engish speaker – could only just barely make sense. While this was going on, yet another client needing help with calling an engineer for her faulty BT landline was herself getting understandably irate over the fact that I had promised her three times I would get round to her problem next, yet failing due to the equally-complicated ones already landing in my lap (and forming quite a mess as they did).

When I had finally succeeded in at least trying to address everyone’s individual difficulties at the end of my working day, and walking away with the profound feeling that I had made little if any difference at all, my overall sentiments of complete emotional exhaustion at that point were summed up in a four-letter word that I can’t utter inside the parameters of socially-acceptable conversation. My immediately proceeding thought was that I wouldn’t have changed my day for the world.

To me, not only do experiences like these characterise what it means to be a Jesuit volunteer, they also give thorough context to what it means to be a follower of Christ. I have long believed that social justice is an integral and inextricable component of the Gospel, rather than some “added extra” that we take up if we hold fast to it. Jesus’ mission to demonstrate his supreme love and authority to the world came both in the agency of his preaching and in his truly radical compulsion to embrace the poor, the meek, the lepers, the workers, the prostitutes, and all of those individuals whom society had unjustly pushed onto its margins.  At Rainbow Haven I wholeheartedly believe that I share in Jesus’ mission. Especially so within Britain’s current political climate where migrant peoples are viewed by a significant portion of the general public with suspicion and disdain, it is a privilege for me as a Christian to be able to work alongside and stand in solidarity with them.

While I had sympathised with the plight of asylum seekers and refugees for some while before beginning my Jesuit year, I confess that my work placements have made me more aware of the struggles such individuals and families face. Without getting too detailed, it is sufficient to say from my own experiences thus far that the mountain climbed for someone seeking asylum in the UK is steep, rocky, and embedded with different forms of adversity at each milestone. Many such people often end up destitute if their claims have been rejected, leaving them without any form of recognised support and no means to return to their country of origin even if they wanted to. They then have no choice but to rely on a government voucher system, British Red Cross food parcels, and drop-in centres like us who are willing to lend them advice and advocacy. It is clear to me much more so than ever before, how asylum seekers are so constantly faced with persecution, fleeing from it in their home nations only to be faced with yet another form of it, cleverly wrapped up and disguised, in the package of bureaucracy and government political agenda.

The Tuesdays I spend at Rainbow Haven, while often taxing, are always rich and rewarding. It can be difficult to hold back tears when listening to someone’s story of the hardship they have faced, and yet it is also a mysteriously spiritual thing to recognise that asylum seekers, like any other “marginalised group” of people, have a fundamental diversity and humanity. While that surely seems like the most obvious of points, it is nonetheless one we often forget, whether we are uninformed of the facts and keen to lump all immigrants into the same category, or whether we are impassioned about justice and only end up viewing as projects the very people we endeavour to serve.

On one memorable occasion, a client was recounting his case to me and going into great detail about all of the horrendous troubles he has had to deal with… from facing eviction, to not being able to provide either for himself or his family, to severe health issues, etc. Yet, after all of this, and through visibly having to stop himself from trying to cry, my new friend explained to me how much of a strength his Christian faith was to him. At the end of his heartwrenching account, he reflectively trailed off by saying that he would “give it to God.” Experiences like that really humble me, and make me realise that those who are suffering often have far more to teach me about Christ than I have to teach them! This is one of the many points that sets the JVC year apart from other forms of campaigning and activism; it brings you face-to-face with the issues in that you share some of the frustrations the poorest are having to deal with, even if it can only ever be in part.

While I have much to speak highly of regarding my placement at Rainbow Haven, it can also be challenging and draining, but (odd as it may seem) in a very positive way. As a Christian, I feel called to be a peacemaker in a world of violence, and being of unconditional love and service to those who have faced war and persecution has become for me an essential part of my own spiritual growth. Similarly, the difficulties faced by such people upon reaching the UK and having to engage with our system also highlights to me the importance not only of working with others at the grassroots level, but also of challenging the existing political systems and structures which lead certain people to become sidelined and excluded. Our service to the marginalised must necessarily encompass our willingness to non-violently subvert the unjust social and economic structures of our time, just as Jesus’ own ministry was itself a subversive challenge to the authorities of Caesar and the corrupt religious institutions.

Being a Jesuit volunteer may only last for the course of a year, but its ethos is, in my opinion, thoroughly rooted in the ways all Christians should endeavour to conduct their whole lives. Living in the heart of Manchester and witnessing first-hand the problems different people face everyday within its surrounding areas is a stark reminder of how the kingdoms of the world fail those who live under their subjection. The Kingdom of God, on the other hand, begins with these very people, and gently leads its citizens to renounce what they have, share their resources and possessions, live in simplicity, and stand in loving solidarity with those living at the edges of the Empire. This is what us JVC-ers are doing with our year, and long may it continue in the prophetic imagination of our own lives forevermore!

Adam volunteers part time at Church Action on Poverty, working on their Changemakers project, and part time at Rainbow Haven.

The Voice of Fireside, by PETER WACHIRA

If you ask any native of Birmingham where Fireside is, they will direct you with ease and some will endeavour to describe what it does.

According to Sister Sabina, who was among the pioneers of this project, the name Fireside has a religious significance. It means a fireplace, a warm place where Homeless people tormented by cold nights could come in to warm themselves and share a cup of tea.

It has been in operation for the last fifteen years giving a dedicated service. Since last year, Fireside merged with another organization dealing with alcoholics and people with drug problems called Sifa, hence the new merged project is now known as Sifa-Fireside. The Fireside is located on Pershore Street whilst Sifa is on Lower Essex Street. Both places are engaged in similar theological praxis of uplifting, helping, restoring disfigured and marginalized people from streets of Birmingham. Members who come to Sifa and Fireside have different stories of their lives. Members are an amalgamation of people milling together from different walks of life, nationalities, status, genders, ages, religions, and personalities. The number of members has increased due to a number of factors of hiked lifestyle not to mention strings of Credit Crunch.

I work in Sifa Fireside on Thursdays and Fridays. Both days are similar in that I begin my work at nine o’clock at Sifa. Here members are served with breakfast from nine o’clock to eleven o’clock. My assistance is highly appreciated in the kitchen department. I help in serving breakfast of stuff such as baked beans, porridge, cereals, toasting bread, preparing tea and coffee and washing up because we do not have a dish washer. That means Sifa’s kitchen is a beehive of activities happening simultaneously. From eleven, members and mobile staff leave to the next place of refuge that is Fireside.

Between eleven and Lunchtime members with needs such as clothes, shoes, foodstuffs and showers especially for rough sleepers are ushered in first. Before lunch other members are let in for warmth of tea and discussions. I have been attending these discussions which vary from day to day depending on the staff in charge. At times we have meaningful discussions on Music, Talents, Sports, Christmas and Brainteaser questions. It was at this juncture that I reckoned with the wisdom that you never underestimate people from their looks. Some of people are genius and experienced beyond my imaginings, but only handicapped by life’s situations. Being on streets is a situational problem not to do with them as persons or their look of life. At around noon lunch is served which is always a surprise because there is no menu and depends on what is available and the day’s chef.

At lunch time I help other staff and volunteers in whatever is pertinent. Sometimes I collect plates and cups, help in serving lunch, and at times doing coffee, tea or juice refills. Occasionally at lunch time I sit near members and have chats with them, some stories are really moving and you really pity them. Some members are very honest to share their struggles and pains of their life and expectations. It was here that I realized and saw the words of Nietzsche as they are reckoned in the book Man’s Search for Meaning by Viktor Franklin that “He who has a why to live can bear with anything.”

Some of the members have taught me life’s lessons. They have a solid faith, especially total dependence on God. This is a very strange country and time where people put lots of faith and securities in material things for futurity and survival. I would think that credit crunch was a test to the triviality of life’s securities and hopes.

The daunting challenge is to discern who the genuine homeless people are. Some are homeless voluntarily whilst another group are out involuntarily. Some members drop in to have a free meal and have a home to retire to. This issue keeps bothering us because it disguises the whole idea of the project. I have talked to a good number of members, and have clicked well with a number of them who are open and listen to my views. Some have really appreciated my company, especially the new comers. I have managed to speak to some in French and Swahili and make them feel at home.

After lunch the majority of the volunteers leave the premises and I make my way to the basement where we do sorting and packing tins of foodstuffs in shelves. In November we had many donations from harvest festivals. Fireside is a widely known project in Birmingham, so we received loads of foodstuffs and clothes from colleges, institutions and organizations. Our shelves are filled to capacity and we have still plenty of stuff pending to be sorted out but space is limited.

It is here in the basement that I spend quality time on my personal evaluation. Once here in the basement, it is very quiet and lonely due to its isolation, I recall what has happened during morning session. It is here that I resonate with experiences and stories shared by members and effect they have on me. Not all people appreciate what we are doing for them, and some feel that we are wasting time. One member had the audacity to tell me off. “This is not an era of doing charity work when all brighter people are chasing after the elusive quid.” He challenged me to rethink my commitment to JVC and the values it upholds. Another member was telling me that voluntary work does not count as work in this country because you are not earning money. In some occasions I had very interesting talks that were uplifting but other days were hopeless when I met critical and negative thinkers who looked me askance. I find it very interesting that some people do not differentiate me from Jesuit novices; they think we have the same formation, status and dreams of becoming priests. Some of the members are very critical about the Church, especially the Catholic Church. This is a generation that has nothing to do with the Church, though they do respect religious figures like nuns, but they see themselves out of that circle of religiosity.

There are many other things that happen here, I work alongside a big team of dedicated staff and volunteers who buoy and help me stay the course in spite of all challenges I face. What have written is to sum up my major experiences and reflections and could not include the many other things that happen here.

Peter is from Kenya. He can be found thinking deep thoughts in the basement at Fireside or helping at Brushstrokes in Smethwick

What a Lovely Job! ;) By DIANA PERMATA SARI

“What is your favourite food? I like pizza!!” said one of the Somalian kids who had been in U.K for only 2 weeks. I meet them once a week in Kings Norton High School, Birmingham. Playing Jenga, scrabble, eating sweets and fruit, and laughing together are all the activities that I do every Wednesday there. What a lovely job!! 😉

On Thursday afternoons, I participate in a family learning programme in Heartlands High School, Birmingham. It’s a programme for refugee families who have kids that study in that school.  We discuss anything that is related to refugees or asylum seekers. We do this in an interesting way, such as playing games! It’s so nice to meet, have lunch with, chat with, and laugh with families from many different countries. What a lovely job! 😉

Every Friday morning I run a session in a hostel for newly arrived people. I almost forget how smelly the rooms in that hostel are because I always have a great time with all the kids there. We play with lego and baby dolls, we dress up, and sometimes I teach them craft activities. Some of them can’t speak English, but we still have fun together. I won’t forget when an Iranian girl said to me: “no…no…speak English! You nice”. That was the best moment from my first day!! What a lovely job! 😉

My supervisor and I took young refugees on a trip to the Back to Backs House – a place that tells about the history of Birmingham. What a lovely job! 😉

We will have another trip to London! What a lovely job! 😉

Now the question arises: where can you find this lovely job?

This seems like a job advertisement! Hehehe 😉

This lovely job with lovely people is with The Children’s Society which is my JVC placement. Our office is located in the Jewellery Quarter, Birmingham. It’s nice because it is surrounded by a lot of expensive jewellery shops 😉
Working with children and young refugees is fantastic! They are really lovely and nice. It always makes me happy when they smile and say “Hello.”  This makes me really admire them because I know that some of them have very sad stories. I’m happy when I see them happy and through them I can see that HE also smiles at me! 😉

Picture by 10 year old from Iran

Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these”         (Luke 18:16)

Diana is from Indonesia, she can be found smiling and enjoying life around Birmingham.