so much help

Last week we had a little bit of snow on Friday.  It resulted in a 2 hour delay for schools but was not much snow in total.  Which could sum up our winter storms so far, a little bit of snow or ice that causes initial delays but doesn't amount to much.  

We were expecting Mark's parents and the other party guests on Saturday so I told John I would pay him $2.00 if he shoveled our walk.  He agreed and actually did a really good job shoveling.  He has always been a worker but now that he understands that money buys stuff and he wants stuff, he is more willing to work than ever.

Here is my helper and his side kick, whom doesn't really help shovel as much as he clears the snow  by eating as much as he can.

When I went to pay John his $2.00, he said he wanted to donate it to IJM.  IJM stands for International Justice Mission, it is an organization that John's Sunday school class is raising money to support.  From their website;

International Justice Mission is a human rights agency that secures justice for victims of slavery, sexual exploitation and other forms of violent oppression. IJM lawyers, investigators and aftercare professionals work with local officials to ensure immediate victim rescue and aftercare, to prosecute perpetrators and to promote functioning public justice systems.

In John's words; IJM frees slaves.  It works to give kids like me their freedom back so they don't have to work for people who don't pay them and treat them really badly.

All I could say through my tears was 'Bless your heart'.  What a sweet and helpful boy we have.