Rarely does anyone have this person in mind:

But we wouldn’t have the fictional character in the first picture above without the real-life man in the second.

Last Wednesday night we talked about the story of the original Saint Nicholas, who was a bishop (a leader of churches in a certain region) during the fourth century.  He lived in a city called Myra in what is now Turkey.  Nicholas became famous for his generosity and his kindness to children and the poor.  The stories that were told about him made Nicholas a popular saint in the centuries to come.

One story is about a man in Myra with three daughters.  This man was poor and could not afford to take care of his family.  He could not get his daughters married since he had no money for a dowry for their potential husbands.  It seemed that his only choice would be to sell his daughters into slavery.  Or he did have a choice: between that and letting them starve.  Nicholas heard about their plight and, one evening, he came up to a window of their house and tossed three bags of gold coins through the window.  Some versions of the story say the bags landed in, or were placed in, shoes that were sitting by the fireplace.

So people celebrated Nicholas as a gift-giver.  They would give each other chocolate coins or exchange gifts on the “feast day” set aside to honor Nicholas on December 6.  Sometimes they would place gifts in shoes or in stockings hanging from the mantle over a fire place.  These were the traditions that eventually became a part of the myth of Santa Claus, whose name comes from Sinterklaas, the Dutch way of saying “St. Nicholas.”  For most of us, gift-giving moved exclusively to Christmas day, although some families with a recent immigrant heritage remember celebrating St. Nicholas Day as well.

With Santa Claus, children are encouraged to focus on what they might get from the “jolly old elf.”  But St. Nicholas is an example of following Jesus by giving to others, especially to those who are in need.  Nicholas reminds us that our purpose in life is not to satisfy our own desires and interests, but to bring joy, hope, and well-being to others.  The real St. Nicholas is an example for us: go and do likewise!

To learn more about the transformation of St. Nicholas into Santa Claus, you can watch this recent documentary from the National Geographic Channel, In Search of Santa Claus:

In Search of Santa Claus

To learn more about the real St. Nicholas, visit the St. Nicholas Center online.

Click on the picture below to visit the online wreath website:

Their cost: $295 per person

What we would do: Passport Missions 2 delivers some of the same elements of the regular Passport Missions camp but with a smaller total number of youth and double the amount of time each day for missions, giving us the same amount as with Group and Youth on Mission.  As with the other possibilities, PM2 will feature a variety of mission projects from hard, manual labor to serving children or the elderly.  In this case, you get to state your preferences for mission projects and youth will be divided up according to their interests.

Like Week of Hope, we would bring sleeping bags and stay at a church – in this case, Calvary Baptist Church in DC.  Again, we would also be assigned to different kitchen crews and will fix meals for each other.

Typical day:

7:30 – Breakfast
8:30 – Morning devotion
8:45 – Celebration
9:00 – Bible study
10:00 – Missions
4:00 – Free time
6:00 – Supper
7:00 – Worship
8:00 – Party
9:00 – Church group devotions

 Passport Missions 2

Their cost: $262 per person.

What we would do: Week of Hope invites youth to participate in a variety of ministry projects for the sake of populations in need in the Charleston area.  Mission opportunities include helping local food banks, ministry to the elderly, day camps for children, landscaping work, ministry to disabled children, and home repair or other support for needy residents.  Our youth would be divided into different “crews” alongside youth from other groups.  Crews typically rotate between different projects, although some may stay with one project all week.  Each day includes morning and evening programs together with all the youth groups.

We would stay in a church or school and would have to bring sleeping bags or air mattresses.  We will also help each other out by preparing our meals for each other!

Typical day:

7:00 – Breakfast
8:15 – Morning program, then depart for projects
3:30 – Return to lodging facility, free time
5:30 – Dinner
7:30 – Evening program
9:00 – Youth group devotions
11:00 – Lights out

Group Week of Hope 

When: July 15-20

Their cost: $305 per person, not including dinner*

What we would do: YOM inner-city mission weeks partner with a range of local ministries and churches in order to serve populations in need.  Projects include home maintenance and repair and landscape work, VBS and Backyard Bible clubs, sports camps, and servant evangelism.  With YOM we stay together as a group for our projects.

Typical day:

7:30 – Breakfast
8:30 – Depart for mission projects
3:30 – Free time
6:00 – Dinner on our own

Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday evenings include worship/sharing/Bible study together with all the youth groups.  Monday and Wednesday are free evenings.

* This is the rate according to four persons per room.

YOM Mission Weeks 

Today I recommend, as one step in this direction, visiting this website and learning from the videos and articles there:

PACER Teens Against Bullying

That’s one child every 5 seconds.

Most of these deaths are easily preventable.

For example, as we literally tasted last night, salvation can come through a simple and inexpensive peanut-based paste, such as the nutrient-rich recipes prepared by World Vision or Project Peanut Butter.

Whatever we think about the reasons for hunger and poverty, we know that no child deserves to suffer.

But whether any child must suffer…the power to decide that is in our hands.

Schoolyard bullies not just preying on the weak

Bully-proofing your kids

On the morning of September 29, 1998 (six days after he turned 13), Jared called his father at work to say goodbye.

While still on the phone, Jared shot himself.

Last week, we asked the question whether bullying is “just good fun” or “extremely harmful.”  Many of the youth could testify to experiences when they, or someone they knew, was deeply hurt by insults, taunts, or the sheer cold indifference of others.  The old line about “sticks and stones” simply isn’t true.

But last night we saw how tragic bullying can get.  When a child or a teenager becomes so isolated, when he or she becomes so convinced that the bullies are right, then a fatal decision may be made.  The victim is convinced he or she really is worthless, and so life is no longer worth living.

In their book Bullycide: Death at Playtime, authors Tim Field and Neil Marr estimated that, on average, every 30 minutes someone will commit suicide and was pushed toward that act by bullying.  As the youth sat down to eat their snack supper at 6:00, three candles were lit on the altar.  By 7:30, the last candle was snuffed out.

We never know when our words can be the final straw that break someone’s spirit.  Each day we face an important and vital choice: will we choose the way of compassion, respect, and service, or will we choose the easy way of the bystander or even the bully?  Will we offer the helping hand or the hurting fist?  We can’t take this too seriously: lives are at stake.

Consider learning more by watching these videos:

CBS News: 14-Year Old Bullied to Death (September 21, 2011)

ABC’s 20/20: Bullied to Death (2010)