‘Why I am giving up my bed’

It’s a long way from the Grade 4 classroom of a Lutheran school in Queensland to the frontline of the war in Ukraine. And it feels a long way from the comfort of a cosy bed to sleeping on the floor.

Yet 9-year-old Chloe, inspired by a class project on ‘Why experiencing God’s love can inspire someone to make a sacrifice to help others’, is doing exactly that.

‘I was motivated to give up my bed for five nights’, she says. ‘People from Ukraine have been sleeping on the floor for weeks and sometimes even months. I want to raise money for Ukrainian people because they have nothing while we have everything – which makes me think we can spare money for them because we have so much.’

Chloe’s teacher, David, says his students spent the first semester of their Christian Studies lessons reflecting on how God’s grace can change the world. Students explored the concept of sacrifice, and now are helping others through Australian Lutheran World Service (ALWS).

‘Some examples of the ALWS initiatives that students have chosen to support are the Ukraine Crisis, the Tonga Crisis, Children of War and The Grace Project’, he says.

This class project is an example of how ALWS and Lutheran schools work together. ALWS school resources include curriculum-linked educational materials, devotions and chapel presentations. Guest speakers share stories of the Lutheran Church’s support for sustainable development in places like South Sudan and Burundi, and emergency response to disasters like the war in Ukraine and the Tonga tsunami.

Once students are inspired and equipped, they take action through ALWS activities like Gifts of Grace and Walk My Way and the initiative of Chloe’s class.

Classmate Chayse is giving up his bed to help the people of Tonga. ‘I am motivated to sacrifice because God sacrificed his life for us’, he says. Fellow Grade 4 student Megan says: ‘I am motivated to make a sacrifice for others because that shows that we love everyone even though we haven’t met them’, she says.

Find out how you can contribute at www.alws.org.au/what-you-can-do/donate/

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