THEME: Children continue hearing the discussions about a possible war with Iraq. In our call as peacemakers, we are taught to be good Samaritans to all God's people. This reflection is to encourage children to see our brothers and sisters in Iraq as neighbors and members of God's family and to seek peaceful alternatives to war with them.

OBJECTIVES: As a result of this reflection children will be able to:

• Find Iraq on the map
  
• Start to build an understanding and respect of the cultural and religious differences of Iraqi children
  
• Reflect on peaceful alternatives for the situation with Iraq

SCRIPTURE: Adapted version of Luke 10:25-37, "The Parable of the Good Samaritan"

• Map of the world
• Yarn
• Flip chart
• Construction paper
• Glitter
• Masking tape
  

• Markers/crayons
• Neighbor photos - click here for photos
• Hole Punch
• Glue
• Copies of Bible study passages (see end of resource)

Introducing Theme

(5 minutes)

Ask the children to close their eyes and imagine the Garden of Eden and Adam and Eve. Ask how do you feel when imagining a place like this? Ask them what country they think it may be located in modern times. After a few guesses, show the children that scholars think the Garden of Eden is actually located in modern-day Iraq. Ask them to name three things they know about Iraq and write them on a flip chart.

Bible Study

(10 minutes)

Read the Scripture passage together. Make sure to emphasize each of the characters in the story while you show the children the neighbor photos of Iraqi people.

Questions for discussion:

1. Why do you think that neither the basketball superstar nor the famous singer wanted to help the injured youth?
   
2. Why did the youth from Iraq show kindness?
   
3. What might this teach us about people from other cultures and countries?
   

Responding to Kindness

(25 minutes)

Pass out a neighbor photo to each child. Ask them to take a minute to look at the child in the picture. How is the child similar to you? How is the child from Iraq different from you? List the ideas on a flip chart.

Offer these facts about Iraq:

• Several languages spoken but the majority speak Arabic
  
• Religions include Muslim and Christian
  
• Traditional clothing that looks like a black cloak is called an abaya (see photos)
  
• Traditional foods include flat bread, hummus, rice, yogurt, meat, fish, lamb, chicken, dates, and vegetables. Drinks are tea, coffee, fruit juices. Many serve meat on kebabs (see photos)*
  
• Weather - in the north there are mountains, cool summers, and long, cold winters. In the south, summers are long and hot and the winters are cool and short. The Syrian Desert is located in southern Iraq.
  
• There are 5 Presbyterian churches in Iraq (see photos)
  
• Muslims call God Allah
  
• Favorite sport is soccer

* Suggestion: serve the children hummus and pita bread for a snack

Hard life for Iraqi children:

• There are many children just like you, who like to play with toys and go to church.
  
• However, they don't get enough to eat and are very skinny.
  
• Many don't have enough books to learn how to read and write.
  
• Many babies die before they turn one year old.

How shall we share peace with our neighbors, the children of Iraq?

MAKE A CHAIN OF PEACE CRANES TO REMIND US TO PRAY FOR PEACE FOR THE CHILDREN OF IRAQ

The intention of this activity is for you to share the blessed gift that Jesus gave to this world — peace. Jesus was born to bring peace to all of God's people. Today, we are making peace cranes as a symbol of the peace that we wish for our Christian brothers and sisters in Iraq.

Peace Crane - printable Adobe pdf instructions
For best results, right-click the link, select "save target as" and save the document to your desktop for viewing and printing.

Specific Instructions for this exercise:

1. Have the children write a prayer for peace for a child in Iraq.
   
2. Have them write their names on the peace crane.
   
3. Follow the instructions for folding the peace crane.
   
4. Encourage the children to decorate their peace crane with the materials provided.
   
5. Punch a hole in the body of the crane.
   
6. String all of the cranes together on a long piece of yarn.
   
7. Hang the string of peace cranes around the room to remind the children of their prayers.

Closing

(8 minutes)

Ask the children to list a few things that they would like to pray for the children in Iraq. List them on a flip chart.

Gather the children in prayer:

Dear God, we thank you for the many good things you have given us. We remember that other children may not have all that we do. Today, we pray for the children of Iraq. We pray for (list all the things the children said). God, please watch over all the children of the world and keep us safe. Amen.

The Parable of the Good Samaritan (Bible Study)

(Adapted from Unexpected News: Reading the Bible with Third World Eyes, by Robert McAfee Brown)

Lawyer: Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life in heaven?

Jesus: You shall love God with all of your heart, and soul, and strength, and mind. You shall also love your neighbor as yourself.

Lawyer: Who is my neighbor?

Jesus begins telling the story…
A high school student was riding her bike down the street. Suddenly, coming out of the community park, a bunch of bullies knocked the girl off her bike. They took her books, lunch, and bike and rode off. When they pushed her off her bike, she hit her head on the ground and scraped her arms and legs. She lay on the ground too hurt to stand up. Now by chance, a basketball superstar came down the same side of the street. But because he was late to basketball practice, he crossed over to the other side of the street. The next person to pass by was a famous singer. However, she was busy practicing her singing and quickly crossed to the other side. Then came along two Iraqi teenagers. When they saw the girl, they ran over to care for her. They were both very concerned. One ran to find the girl's parents, and the other ran to get water, ice, and bandages for the injured girl. When the Iraqi teenage came back with the girl's parents, they took her to the hospital. Luckily she wasn't hurt badly. The parents and the girl thanked the two Iraqi teenagers for their kindness.

God had a dream of creating something magnificent out of nothingness. God decided to create the world and all the living creatures that would live in it. And how many days would it take? SEVEN!

DAY 1: God makes light - and it is good! Light will be called day and dark, night. That's it for the first day.

DAY 2: Beautiful oceans, rivers, and lakes form. To divide them from Heaven, God makes the blue sky.

DAY 3: God decides that land is needed in this world. Mountains, deserts, and beaches rise from the waters. Suddenly, from this new land, green plants start to grow. Every kind of tree, flower, and weed sprouts from the ground.

DAY 4: To show the passing of days, God makes the sun for day and the moon and stars for night. This day ends with the setting sun.

DAY 5: Up in the sky the birds fly happily as God intends. In the sea, God makes wonderful fish to swim.

DAY 6: The time for animals to live on land has come. God creates every kind of animal to run and crawl on the land. Then God creates the human race! We were created in God's image because we are very special. God gave us the most important responsibility: to guard, protect, and keep God's world at peace. God entrusts us to care for the world.

DAY 7: The week is over, and God needs to rest. This day will be blessed: a day to rest and refresh the body and spirit.