This letter was sent to the Malibu Chamber of Commerce
Recently on CNN television there was a feature story about the Malibu High School students who traveled to Thailand and elsewhere in a missionary capacity.
The purpose of this letter is to highly commend your local public school system for their efforts and to make a suggestion.
My husband, who is a surgeon traumatologist and emergency physician and I, once enjoyed such a mission in Peru. We delivered medical goods and services. It was an unforgettable experience, mutually beneficial to all.We cherish the memory of the individuals we met there, we respect their culture and learned from them.
I suggest that someone in the chamber find someone in the Malibu community to take the leadership role of continuing these missionary trips and to secure funding through a government grant or private sector. But more importantly, the program needs to be publicized to promote missionary travel of our young people on a national scale.
The learning experience will change the lives of the involved and will last for a lifetime. For one, we Americans need to know who we are and what we have as a people. Travel and exchange is the way to see ourselves as we are in comparison. For another reason, any encounter we can share with a third world can only improve their lot and ours as well.
Thank you for your attention to this letter, If I lived in your community, I would personally take up this program. Perhaps someday I will have the opportunity to do just that.
Margaret Layton