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Chapter 19:
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Walking for Peace
Father Timothy called a meeting to go over Mr. Sato’s plans for the community garden. Everyone was so excited. Mr. Sato explained, “I designed the garden based on the look of a large wagon wheel. Think of the garden paths like spokes of a wheel, with all of the paths leading to the center of the garden where we will have our statue of the Good Shepherd and a bench. This center area, the Peace Garden, will be filled with flowers also. I hope that many people will find this calming and inviting.” Father Timothy then said, “Oh that will be so wonderful! Like our own little piece of heaven.”
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Then some of the Explorers spoke up. “Oh, I see you have some bamboo here,” said Jake. “Yes, that is correct,” said Mr. Sato. “I can just imagine all the people of the neighborhood, working together in this garden,” said Rodrigo. Keiko said, “See here? My dad also made sure we will have a Page 2 of 6 © RCL Benziger
nice large rock with the St. Francis Peace Prayer on it.” Tobi then added, “This will be like God’s whole family together in one spot.” Everyone kept commenting how much they enjoyed Mr. Sato’s design. Excitement filled the air.
“Now for the difficult news, my friends,” said Mr. Sato, “I estimated that we need about three thousand dollars to make our dream happen.” The Explores looked a little perplexed, but Father Timothy reminded them, “Saint Paul reminds us that nothing is impossible for God.”
Just then the seminarians joined the group with Sr. Camille. “Father, yes God will provide. We will have that money in no time,” said Sr. Camille, “We have spent this morning organizing teams for our walk-a-thon. Each team has at least five members. Some have as many as twenty.” Carlos, one of the seminarians, then said, “Here is the list: The Explorers, the Hispanic Center, the Sisters from the soup kitchen, Coach Fowler and the soccer team, the faculty from the parish school, and of course the parish staff. That gives us a grand total of 64 walkers!” Page 3 of 6 © RCL Benziger
Michael, another one of the seminarians, added, “If each of us gets at least three sponsors, we should meet our goal!” Father Timothy then announced, “This is such wonderful news! And I have something more to add. Mr. Cotter and his family have provided a very generous donation as well! So if our walk-a-thon is a success, we shall have all of the money we need to make our community garden happen!” Ellie shouted out with enthusiasm, “Praise God! What an awesome God!” Everyone smiled, and then paused for a closing prayer. When the day of the Walk-a-thon arrived everyone was gathered at the empty lot that soon would become the community garden. Jake and Benjie’s parents had donated t-shirts for all the walkers. The shirts read, “We are God’s Family - Community Garden Walk-a-thon.” Each team wore a different color. The Explorers wore their favorite color, blue.
Before the walk began Father Timothy prayed, “Gracious Father, we thank you for strong bodies that will carry us on our walk. Protect us and Page 4 of 6 © RCL Benziger
give us a spirit of joy as we join together for this common good. May we give you, O Lord, glory in all that we do.” After everyone gave a loud and joyful “Amen”, the walk began. The route for the walk-a-thon was a three-mile loop through some close-by neighborhoods. The first section of the route included the Santa Maria Hispanic Center. Some volunteers there handed out lemonade for the walkers. Then the walkers looped through another neighborhood and were surprised by the cheers of a group of people standing outside a women’s shelter. Some had signs that read, “Growing peace in our community!”
Later on, the walkers passed by some shops where some of the shopkeepers gave Father Timothy donations. And, sad to say, some people were angry and shouted at the walkers to get out of the way. The Explorers realized that not everyone cared about the walk. Carlos reminded them, “Do not despair. Jesus warned us that disciples might not be liked by all. We can pray that they will open their hearts to the peace of the Lord.” The Explorers quietly bowed their heads for a short moment of silent prayer. When they walked passed Cotter’s Field, the Page 5 of 6 © RCL Benziger
soccer organization stood on the curb handing out energy bars. The bars seemed to sooth the Explorers’ wounded spirits from the angry remarks. Rodrigo’s family was there too, cheering the Explorers on.
Once the Explorers arrived at the end of the route, back at the church, they were surprised to see that a tent had been erected on where the garden was to be. Officer Duncan and some police officers were there. They had brought lunch for all the walkers, their families, and friends. They were all hot, thirsty, tired, and hungry. Lunch was just what they needed.
The amazing day ended with laughter and fun as everyone ate their fill. Sr. Camille invited everyone to gather together to pray the Our Father. After the prayer, Manuel said to the other Explorers, “Never before have I felt so much a part of God’s family!” All agreed. Then Marissa said, “Today we walked not just for this garden, but for peace.” --------------TIME TO VOTE
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