BEARS FOR AFRICA

by Lauren Baillie, a seventh grade student at Miami Springs Adventist School
During the summer of 2010, a voice kept ringing out in the head of Miami Springs Church deaconess Mary Merrifield, “Bears for Africa! Bears for Africa!” Mary knew it was the Holy Spirit urging her to do something for kids in the hospitals in Chad, Africa. She had recently received e-mail from fellow church member Michelle Figueroa, who was doing missionary work in Chad, telling how much the kids in hospitals were scared and in need of comfort.
It is a scary experience for children going through a stay in the hospital. Needles, sickness, unfamiliar faces, doctors, operations, etc. are not things that tend to make kids comfortable. Even worse is to be a child in a hospital without that parental comfort—just like the kids in the hospitals and clinics of Chad. Fathers are at their jobs, working hard to earn only about two dollars a day so they can support their families. Mothers are caring for their other children or family members, working, etc.
Mary then had an idea: “Give the children teddy bears.” It was simple idea that would bring joy and comfort to any child. She remembers when the firefighters in New Hampshire would give teddy bears to the children who saw their house burn down before their eyes, and she thought it would be a great thing to give the kids. So, Mary reached out to her church and, in total, 23 bears were shipped to Africa. In a month’s time, they would bring smiles to children in hospitals who had no one to stay and comfort them, as well as bring the love of Jesus Christ.
“We’re all family,” said Mary. “So, we should help others, because we have so much here in the United States. It would be nice to know that people are helping others in need. This is pretty much a call to action from the Lord, telling us that even though we are going through a period of struggle, there are still people who need to hear the Good News of Jesus.”
There are still many kids in the hospitals of Chad who need to see, hear, and experience the love and comfort that God gives all of us. Mary urges everyone to pray for peace and comfort for these children. These kids have so little, but a prayer to God can change anything and everything.