Everyone should do what they can to help the helpless, the hopeless, and the lost find their way.

Audience: People who are hesitant about helping somebody and need to understand how important they are in somebody else's life. Students, teachers, parents, Christians for example.

Life Matters

Magnus MacFarlane- Barrow is the author of the book "The Shed That Fed a Million Children", a story about his life and the amazing organization he created to feed hungry children. The name of this inspirational institution is Mary's Meals. Magnus was born in Scotland to devout Catholic parents who put most of their time and energy into running their small lodge, named the Craig Lodge, which became a retreat center for Catholics. Magnus worked with his parents for much of his life, growing into a man with a heart to serve the Lord. He used a small, run down, shed for his office. This shed is where he kept many memories of the families he visited and the struggles they faced throughout their lives. These memories inspire him towards making his ultimate dream and lifetime goal a reality. A reality for not only him, but for the thousands of children across the globe who are helped each and every day by Mary's Meals. He did something that everyone needs to do in some way, his/her own unique way. Helping those who are less fortunate than us and who can't help themselves is one hundred percent necessary in our world today. We need take action in order to make the world a better place. Not only that, but for Christians, faith must be accompanied by actions. Feeding impoverished, starving kids is only one of the ways in which all of this can be achieved.

It all started with a trip to the country of Malawi; where the things Magnus experienced and saw changed his life forever. He met a family that lived in a small, hot mud brick house, where six children were gathered around their dying mother. She was suffering from Aids, and her husband had been killed by the same disease just a year earlier. Her main concern as she lay there dying was that somebody would take care of her six children, who were already suffering from hunger problems. Magnus, trying to brighten the mood, asked the eldest child, Edward, what his hopes and dreams were. Edward replied "I would like to have enough food to eat and I would like to be able to go to school one day..." (5). This response shocked Magnus. Edward's main concerns and ambitions in life were something as simple as school and food; something that most Americans take for granted. As a result of this encounter, Magnus felt inspired to take action and had a strong desire to help Edward live out his dreams one day. This experience is what sparked Mary's Meals. The vision statement was "That every child receives one daily meal in their place of education, and that all those who have more than they need share with those who lack even the most basic things" (6). Why wouldn't anyone give up something he/she has no need for, such as something extra, to someone who needs it more than them? Magnus began to see "... repeatedly that the provision of a daily school meal really can transform the lives of the poorest children by meeting their immediate need for food, while also enabling them to enter the classroom and gain the education that can be their escape from poverty" (6). Anyone can help save a life. It doesn't have to affect nearly a million people every day or involve feeding those who are starving, like Mary's Meals does. Different people have different abilities and unique talents that they can put towards the benefit of other people. Every life matters, and each one that is helped could be another life saved.
Magnus traveled all over the world to help the helpless, in many different ways. For example, he traveled to Bosnia Herzegovina to work with people who were in poverty after a recent war. He saw people who were traumatized after recently seeing their husbands and fathers murdered. This made him realize how important it is to be thankful for what he had and it encouraged him to stop complaining about small things like lack of sleep, when there are people elsewhere washing their hair in buckets and trying their best to make a fire with a small piece of cardboard. If more people spent their time and energy on another human life they would not only benefit the other person, but their own life as well. Many people who live in a richer society, for example, would finally see how lucky they are to have their numerous possessions. Even after they spend almost every day of their life believing they don't have enough, or what they do have is not good enough. Magnus was inspired by his family, who was a great role model for him in their actions towards others. They did many things such as turning their small guesthouse into a "house of prayer" for people to come and spend time with God. They also fostered a seven year old boy, named Mark, who had a bad skin disease and had been abandoned. He eventually became a part of their family as they started to see Mark as a blessing. His family was helpful in paving the path towards determining his future. He took after them in doing what was right according to God, even if it meant sacrificing all of his time and effort. Magnus also took a trip to Romania, to visit kids in AIDS hospitals. He saw horrifying things that led him to want to help these almost utterly destroyed children. "One girl began to bang her already bleeding head repeatedly against the bars of her cot, shrieking as she did so. Many of them had grotesquely swollen heads. Their faces looked wizened, almost like old people's heads on children's bodies. Some had limbs that seemed to stick out at impossible angles from their bodies. Most had scabs and sores and what looked like scabies" (77). Seeing this made him desperately want to help the young children. Magnus ended up being part of the founding of three houses to take care of the kids, the Iona house, the Bannatyne House, and Rosie's home. One man caring passionately about these kids is all it took to produce significant results. One of the girls, Juliana, had banged her head against the bars of her cot at the hospital so much that her head was matted with blood. After being taken into a house set up specifically to take care of children struggling with AIDS "...Juliana looked so different. Her hair was growing in and her head wounds had healed. She had already gained 5lbs in weight" (90). "A combination of medicine, nutrition, hugs, love, and prayers produced miraculous results" (92). Another girl even decided to give her life to Jesus a week before she died. Taking a trip to visit the less fortunate can have major impacts on an individual's heart. It has the ability to soften one's heart towards the desire to help someone in desperate need. Most importantly, it produces an amazing feeling to see someone's life improving significantly and forever.

Magnus learned some very sad things about the people who lived in the countries he visited such as Malawi and Haiti. For example, "Around 30 percent of the children in Malawi of primary-school age were not enrolled in school, despite the fact there were free school places for all. The need to find food, grow food, do paid casual work, care for dying parents and younger siblings was keeping children out of the classroom. Even if they did enroll, all too often they were unable to concentrate and learn because of their hunger, or their attendance rates were dismal because of their own illness. Over a third of children who die in the world each year do so because of hunger-related causes. Hunger, and malnutrition remain, in the twenty-first century, the biggest global health threat, causing more deaths than AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis put together. Hunger is caused by poverty and poverty is caused by hunger. People suffer chronic hunger not because there is no food, but because they cannot afford to buy it" (139). This devastating fact is what influenced Magnus to want to take action and attempt to fix one of the world's largest problems. He knew that there was a huge demand and need for his assistance with Mary's Meals, and he was able to help. Therefore, he did his best to change somebody's life and ended up changing so many lives in the process. "The schools began to report that, after the introduction of the daily meals, children whose attendance rates had previously been very poor, because of illness and hunger, were now attending every day. They also began to see significant increases in enrolment. Children who had never been to school were coming for the first time, sent by parents who were assured their children would now eat every day and were therefore happy to give up help they might have been providing in the fields at home" (147). People love seeing the amazing results their efforts produce. Knowing that one's actions have impacted the world in a great way, can give one a sense of self pride. It can be encouraging to help even more people and not to give up on fighting other people's battles.

Humans were not made to fight and live alone. When someone needs a friend to lean on and help him/her through the hard times, it is important to be there for them. Helping people, whether it be providing them with food, or taking care of them when they are sick and reminding them that they are loved, is one of the most important things anybody can do. Everyone should strive to be the best they can be. People should love others so much that they help them also be the very best they can be. It is completely necessary to help those in need and for Christians, to understand that in order to be a true Christian, one really has to do something. Use God as inspiration and motivation for guidance along the way and miraculous things will happen. Maybe a kid will feel like he is important for the first time in his life. Maybe a teenager will overcome an addiction they have struggled with for years and finally be free. Maybe a struggling young adult will come to know Jesus and find peace and love for the first time. Perhaps the poor will be able to afford food, and the sick will become healthier. Without trying, there is no telling what anyone is capable of. Changing lives matters.