"Letter to Senator."

Dear Legislator,
There is a problem that I think needs to come to your attention. There are many people that don't have the basic needs for everyday life. Schooling is terrible in third world countries and we have a chance to do something about it. I would like you to pass pass EDUCATION FOR ALL ACT 2007 (S. 1259 / H.R. 2092) which can dramatically scale up its investment in basic education, and develop a comprehensive strategy to help put every child in school. By making universal basic education a major goal of U.S. foreign policy, our world and our nation will be stronger and safer. This can also creat jobs and ultimately stop poverty. Also the U.S. Commitment to Global Child Survival Act (HR 2266 / S.1418), to help end childhood death before the age of 5 due to reasons such as malnutrition and preventable diseases. There are inexpensive, effective interventions that would prevent the needless deaths of mothers and children in developing countries. This legislation could invest in low cost but highly effective life saving things such as immunizations, antibiotics, clean drinking water and vitamin supplements. The Growth Act (HR 2965) will provide a strong, solid realistic to expand job opportunties for women. This act can give women the ability to start their own businesses which could give them land and property rights. This also ensures that the benefits of trade agreements reach poor women in developing countries through programs like trade capacity building and training for women entrepreneurs. And also the JUBILEE ACT FOR RESPONSIBLE LENDING AND EXPANDED DEBT CANCELATION (HR 2634) will expand debt cancellations to the 26 countries that require it to meet the Millennium Development Goals. Debt cancellation is a tested and effective way for fighting poverty. Savings from debt cancellation has allowed Zambia to hire 4,500 new teachers and provide free healthcare in rural areas. In Honduras, debt relief is being used to eliminate fees for primary education, allowing thousands of children to return to school. These bills need to be passed as the first step to ending poverty on this planet. Please pass these four bills if they come in contact with you at one point.

Thank you very much for listening to me and my concerns,
Sophia Hennefer

"The Mustard Weed."

The mustard seed's aggressive, take over, weed-like characteristics tell us that at the beginning you don't see with compassion or hope but as you see the bigger picture, you have a bigger influence. There is a growth and beneficial that the Kingdom of God can provide like possibly peace which becomes significant like our role in Africa.

"Executive Summary on Africa."

On our planet it is obvious that we have enough to make sure, easily that people aren't dying of poverty. Jeffrey Sachs says there are millions of people dying every year for the reason that they are poor. The truth is that for less than a percent of the income of the rich world nobody has to die because of poverty on the planet. If we just gave a little, maybe part of your lunch money each day, or skip a day without your coffee we could save a life. Most of the kids in Africa die of malaria. Things lead into other things, like one day a child that has been bitten by a mosquito will fall into a malaria coma, get a fever, then convulsions where they will never get out of and soon die. By giving up your coffee you could buy a mosquito net that would save lives. Jeffrey Sachs talked to a village in Africa where they were using the nets over their beds, and the village had a great response. They told Sachs that the cases of malaria had decreased by two-thirds. Jeffrey approaches alleviating poverty as it were a rigorous scientific experiment allocating about 110 per person each year for 5 years to implement a basic intervention such as fetilizer, clean, water, and health. I believe you have two options, either you decide to leave people to die, or you help. Disease has hit Africa hard. It only takes 5 cents to get an immunization for a child so they won't die. 5 cents! All it takes is for one person to donate 5 cents to help this children. Many people don't want to help because the history of international development because of its failure. Too many people in the field are complacent, incompete, or don't want to be in charge of other peoples lives. If you think poverty is a big deal in Africa picture this. Without electrical power, how do you provide standard medical treatment to people who are dying? Without running water how do you sterilize surgical tools to wash blood? With an annual investment of $66 billion, the report states, we could be saving eight million lives a year, and generating economic benefits worth $360 billion a year. As a community here at Saint Mary's we could send money to organizations that help poverty in Africa. A little change in youre pocket would make a huge deal and even save a life.

DP 2: What Should We Do?"

After reading and doing research on the poverty in Africa, i think we should give $2 a week to the Millennium campaign. This campaign has 8 goals, to eliminate extreme poverty, achieve education for all, promote gender equalities and empower women, reduce child mortality, improve maternal health, improve HIV, AIDS, and other diseases, ensure environmental sustainability, and develop a global partnership for development. I know it is hard for people to give up something such as money, but if we start off small that money can add up and save lives. Usually one thing can lead to another, for example aid can help pay for a child's education. Increasing financing could help end school fees, pay for more teachers in the classroom, buy more meals that contain locally produced foods and invest that money in water and power so women don't have to spend their lives fetching water. 1.8 million children will die of dehydration due to diarrhea. It seems so easy, all they need to live is a handful of sugar, a bottle of clean water, and a pinch of salt. If we could send supplies to Africa we would be saving so many lives. Most people don't do that though because they don't know where to send their money. With orginazations such as Millennium they make it easy to send money. Orginazations such as theone.com you can send a message to your senators and representatives to move the Global Child Survival Act forward so we can start saving children.

Portfolio 2: Singer on Poverty

Ten most important or pressing moral questions.

1. Should we perfect our world?
2. How much does it cost?
3. Do we have extra resourses that we can share?
4. Is it an obligation to help others?
5. Do you spend money on things that aren't important rather than helping?
6. Does the Government care about people on different soil?
7. To the Government do we all matter equally?
8. How can we be sure if we are helping other people?
9. Who should we give our wealth to first?
10. Does out Government actually do what they say they do?

Portfolio 2: Good Samaritan Interpretation

Jesus criticized what it means to be good Jew and what it takes to inherit eternal life. Jesus changes the way the question is put, and makes it about not what it means to be a good Jew but what it means to be alive as a human being. He brings up being a good neighbor, and shows the personality of a true person. Jesus shows how you live is really compassion. He shows an example by telling him that people who are on top, the highest in society have a harder time seeing the suffering in others. People that have gone through that understand the opportunity of others experiences.

Portfolio 1: John the Baptist

John the Baptist was to praise God as Jesus was. His father Zechariah and his mother Elizabeth were to name him John by the holy spirt. Zechariah said John would be called a prophet of the Most High and will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for him, to give knowledge and salvation and give forgivness for sins. Jesus and John were cousins by Mary and Elizabeth, they were sisters. Both Mary and Elizabth were filled with the Holy Spirit and were told that their sons would be prophets for God. When Jesus was a little boy he didn't know his purpose was to be a prophet but he had a lot of knowledge about God. When at the temple people realized that he had wisdom and it wasn't until Jesus got older that he realized his place was to be like John and be a prophet.


John the Baptist was Jesus' cousin. He was born and raised in the same region under the same conditions as Jesus was. Therefore one could predict that their teachings may have things in common. John, like Jesus was born miraculously in ways never before imagined possible; his mother was past childbearing age and likewise Mary conceived a virgin. Great things are expected from people born miraculously as they were. John later in his age went around the area of Jordan and with him he spread his messages. He was quick to accusing his audience of evil actions calling them "A Brood of Vipers." He bitterly accuses his audience of hypocrisy and gives them advise for a more positive future. He claims that one cannot love God truly if he chooses to cheat his fellow human beings. He tells the tax-collectors to take only what is ascribed, and no more. He tells his audience to do good deeds and actions as to be saved. He claims that people need to infact do as they are taught, and actually work to serve others, not just discipline people. In essence, he told people to do what God guided them to do--what was fair and just. John's haughty statements may have come from his refugee background. He unhappy of the rich controlling everything and of the temple system only favoring the rich who flowed their money within it. He was tired of the tax collectors taking everything that the people had. He did not like the soldiers of the Roman empire, or even Herod's soldiers unfairly harrassing people with no motive. So, he felt if no one would stand up against these unjust actions, he would do it himself; and he did just that.

Portfolio 1: I'm a Refugee

Jesus' experience from being from a refugee family helped him with his work. Mary had to take him to Egypt when he was a boy where he had never been before because of King Herod. Also because Mary was a refugee Jesus had a kindness in his heart for people that had been through the same thing as him and his mother, running on the go not looking back. Jesus was an immigrant going from city to city to preach the Lord's work to cities that either accepted him or didn't accept him. Some cases people would look down on him like the Pharisees because they thought that he would be leading the people away from the way they were teaching the scriptures, and would lose all the money they were making from the government. Many people would throw rocks at him and say they would kill him because of what he was doing. I'm sure Jesus was scared but he knew what needed to be done no matter what it took so the people would know the truth about God's work.