I haven't taken a lot of snow photos yet, but I will. I've been busy thinking of ways to keep everyone from going stir crazy in this cold, frosty weather. I knew people around here were starting to crack when I came into the dining room the other day to find a visitor had been added to the Nativity scene....





I guess Wizards do know a thing or two about worship, huh?

OK, so pardon the 80's reference but I do have something interesting to share in regards to our culture club in America. Since moving to Willmar I have been immersed in more cultural diversity than I've seen in a long, long time. Granted, most of my life has been spent in a fairly undiversified area of the country but thanks to a turkey processing plant here in town I encounter Hispanic, and Somali culture on a daily basis. One part of me finds it fascinating to learn about these people and try to relate to them but I'm not an anthropologist, I'm a citizen and I can't just learn about them I have to live alongside them and I can't just live alongside them either, I know that I need to look for opportunities to reach out to them and help them find Jesus. Talk about a big undertaking!!

Today I waited with Noah and Maddie at the bus stop because a couple of boys have been harassing another 6th grade boy and when Noah told me that he had gone to the dean of students yesterday to try and stop the harassment I thought it might be a good idea to have an adult presence there for a few days. I don't know if they were harassing this kid with the intent to do harm or if they were just being rowdy and unruly, which any good, White, Northern, Lutheran knows is for an appointed time and place and that's not the bus stop. It just so happens that, this particular morning, the rowdy kids at the bus stop were all Hispanic. I'm not saying that all Hispanic kids are rowdy, I'm just saying that's how it was this morning. Anyway, after they all got on the bus and departed for the school I walked home and wondered how to better handle this situation.

Should I try to get in touch with the other parents of kids at the bus stop and see if they would mind standing there and waiting for the bus a few times a month? That would mean that I would actually have to do some detective work to determine the parents names and figure out where they live. Then I would have to cross some large racial barriers and maybe even have Bri come so he could speak some Spanish and interpret for me if necessary. That is a big hassle so I moved on to another thought. I mean, surely God doesn't want me to go to all of that trouble and possibly bring our incredibly diverse neighborhood closer together by protecting our children. There's got to be an easier way, right? So, on to the next idea.....

Should I become the bus stop patrol woman and walk my kids to the bus stop every day and wait with them to make sure they, and the other students, are safe and not bullied by anyone? I wouldn't mind getting to know these kids but I don't want to take it upon myself to discipline someone else's children at the bus stop. Geesh! Besides, it's getting cold out here and I am not interested in standing out in the cold because someone else's kid is rowdy! There has to be another way! Come on God.... give me something that I can work with here.....

Should I just drive my kids to school so I don't have to deal with any of these issues? That would be pretty simple and then I wouldn't have to worry about what kind of language they might hear or what kind of behavior they might see. But hey, I shouldn't have my kids run off of the bus because someone else is behaving badly. The kids behaving badly should have to be driven to school. I don't like this idea. Next....

Then I thought, maybe I should just homeschool my kids so that I don't have to worry about any of these cultural dilemmas, whether it is racial or religious or just other people in general. Yeah, maybe I should just pull my kids out of school and bring them home where they will be safe and sound and nothing can hurt them! Except that, if I did that, I might hurt them because that would drive me crazy!! I mean, come on God, I'm already walking the line of sanity most days as it is! What should I do?

By the time I walked the two blocks back to my house I had gone from considering parental involvement to considering homeschooling my kids all because another kid (not even my kid) got hit with a plastic cup at the bus stop yesterday!! How crazy is that!! Oh my..... it was then that I realized that I have a long road ahead of me when it comes to dealing with other people, let alone other races or religions in a loving, Godly way. Man.... the things that a little time at the bus stop can teach you.

Oh, by the way, I'm going to the bus stop again tomorrow, with my fleece sweatshirt and a cup of hot coffee. I'm joining the culture club and I'm going to get to know some kids in our neighborhood really well over the next week or so. I might even find out their parents names or figure out where some of these kids live and offer a cup of hot coffee to another parent who wouldn't mind standing in the cold for awhile. Then I guess I'll see what God can teach me through them!!