Well of Hope Sunday School children buy a farm!
Sunday School students at the Well of Hope Church in Castle Pines collected enough money during Lent to buy animals and farm implements for a less fortunate family somewhere in the world.
By Lisa Crockett; photo courtesy of Well of Hope, ELCA
Children at the Well of Hope church, a Lutheran church for all in Castle Pines, took on an ambitious project for Lent this year.
Based on a Lenten Challenge from the church’s outreach team, they looked through the “Good Gifts” catalog, published by the World Hunger Division of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), which features items for purchase aimed at bettering the lives of recipients. After considering their choices, they decided to purchase a “farm” for a less fortunate family somewhere in the world. The farm included animals – a cow, two goats, ten chicks, two pigs, a duck – and farm implements for a total bill of $715. At the last minute, it was decided that a sheep would be purchased as well, bringing the grand total to $840.
“Eight hundred dollars is a lot of money for someone who is poor,” said 12-year-old Clint Papula, who participated in the project. “But when you’re collecting it from a group of people, it’s not so much.”
Each Sunday during Lent, kids tracked donations from members of the congregation to their farm fund on a chart, and by Easter, enough had been collected to buy the farm, as well as the “bonus” sheep.
“I had a great feeling knowing that the money we raised would go to make someone’s life better in a country like Haiti, Uganda, Kenya or India,” said Clint’s sister Clara, who is also 12.
Well of Hope, ELCA (formerly known as Abiding Hope) meets Sunday mornings at 10 a.m. at the DCS Montessori School, 311 Castle Pines Parkway. For more information, visit www.facebook.com/wellofhopeelca.
