JOHNSTOWN — Editor’s note: The following letters were written by Grade 6 pupils in Diana Yoder’s English class at Johnstown Christian School, Hollsopple.



Seat belts save lives

Some people don’t think seat belts keep you safe, but they do. First, seat belts do save lives. If you don’t wear a seat belt in a car, you’re not safe. Seat belts can be your lifeline in a car.

I Corinthians says, “Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful.” This means that you’ve been given a seat belt to trust in and keep you safe, so prove faithful and use it.

Second, people do die in car accidents when they don’t wear seat belts. There are more deaths in car accidents caused by not wearing a seat belt than with one. Sixty percent of those who died in car accidents last year were not wearing seat belts.

It’s believed that more than 8,000 people will die this year by not wearing a seat belt. About every 12 minutes someone will die in a car who is not wearing a seat belt. Don’t be one of those people.

Finally, even safe drivers can die in a car accident if they don’t wear their seat belt. “I’m a safe driver” is not a good excuse for not wearing a seat belt. There are always drunken or unsafe drivers who can wreck you. Seat belts can make a big difference, so use them.

Noah Pyles



Consider adoption

People should help kids by adopting them. You can give them a good home. Also, they might not have toys or go to church. Maybe they can’t afford a good school. They might have issues in their own family and need different surroundings to help them.

Many kids have special needs that others can care for. They could have a health or mental condition that requires special attention.

About 120,000 children are adopted in the United States each year. You can help by adopting a child or finding someone who will.

Children need a loving, supportive family, and you can make a difference in their life. I hope you give a kid a special gift and adopt him or her.

Quintessa Vizzini



Littering is harmful

Can we stop litter? Pick up garbage. Pick up stuff that just lays around or things you’re done with. Also, tell others that it could kill gardens, crops and God’s beautiful creations.

Train yourself. Be careful where you throw your garbage. Recycle anything, such as metal, paper or plastic. Then you can turn it in for cash.  

More than 51 billion pieces of trash land on roads each year.

Although many people litter, you can find a way to not just help yourself, but make a difference.

Blake Weyandt



Keep marriage vows

Although there are many divorced people, I believe that when you get married you should keep your marriage covenant.

When God puts a man and woman together, he has a plan for their lives. They are to be faithful to each other and to him.

Corinthians 7:27a says, “Are you married? Do not seek a divorce.” A husband and a wife should take their marriage vows seriously and try to stay together and make it work.

Divorce hurts a person mentally and emotionally. When you get divorced, you are saying goodbye to a relationship. It can cause you to feel sad, angry and hurt.

Also, divorce affects children. Dividing a family is painful. There are 18.1 million children with divorced parents.

I believe that divorce is breaking your marriage vows.

Kayla Yoder



Don’t hurt animals

Even though the Bible says to take care of animals, some people still think it’s OK to abuse them. First, animals are abused in many ways.

Cats and dogs are killed for their fur coats. Pet owners may also deny their animals of food and water.

Animals can also be hurt emotionally. Animals have feelings, but people abuse them because they think that the animal can’t feel it. Abused pets will never be the same, even a small noise will scare the animal.

The Bible says in Genesis 1:26, “Then God said, let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the birds in the air, over the livestock, over all the earth and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”

About 58 billion animals are killed around the world in just one year from abuse.

You may be wondering how you can help abused animals. If you see an animal being abused, please report it to the humane society. They will give it the love and care it will need. If you have a pet, please take care of it.

I hope you will think about what you are doing before hurting an animal.

Adrianna Thomas



Set an example

Why should you stay away from smoking? First of all, smoking is unhealthy. It makes your teeth yellow and can hurt your lungs. You could also get cancer from smoking.

Six million people die from it every year.

Help others by not lighting up. There would be no secondhand smoke. Nobody would get ill from the cigarettes.

How can you help? Encourage and convince others not to start. You can also support a member of your family if he or she wants to quit smoking. Set a positive example by staying away from the bad habit of smoking.

Jessica Richards



Protect our trees

I believe that trees are very important to the earth. Taking trees away ruins an animal’s habitat. Animals could become extinct. There will be fewer animals in the world to enjoy.

Demolishing trees destroys the food chain for animals.

Also, wasting trees spoils God’s creation. It ruins the fun in exploring his invention.

Wrecking trees ends the beauty in nature. Littering or fire by careless campers kills trees and other living things.

Genesis 2:15 reads: “The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it.” That means you shouldn’t destroy creation. You shouldn’t waste trees because they give you air so you can live.

Cutting down, burning or any other kind of destruction reduces trees. If you waste paper, then you consume trees.

Trees are good for the earth because they give homes and shelter during storms. About 3 to 6 billion trees are cut down every year. Please save our trees and help them to be useful for our future.

Lorna Speigle



Smoking is unhealthy

You shouldn’t smoke because it is not healthy. Smoking ruins your body. It can give you cancer and it can also hurt your lungs.

The Bible says in I Corinthians 6:20: “You were bought at a price. Therefore, honor God with your body.”

You can get addicted to smoking from the nicotine. Smoking makes you smell bad, and it is also very expensive.

And smoking hurts the world around us. It pollutes the air. It sets a bad example for others. Secondhand smoke is bad for you and your kids.

If you try to quit smoking, you can live a healthier lifestyle.

Trinity Romesberg



Abuse is unlawful

Every year, millions of animals get rescued from abuse situations. It’s important to stop animal abuse. God put animals in the world for us to protect. He holds us responsible for the animals.

Proverbs 12:10 says, “The righteous man cares for his animals’ needs, but the kindest act of the wicked is cruel.”

Animal abuse is also against the law, because people who abuse animals will most likely hurt other people.

For example, God chose David as the king of Israel, because he risked his life for his sheep, so he would be a faithful shepherd over the people of Israel.

You can help out by volunteering at an animal shelter. You can adopt animals that have been rescued and give them a better home.

If you see an animal on the side of the road, take it to an animal rescue shelter or a nearby veterinarian. Most importantly, show the animal you love it by caring enough to get it back to health.

Make it feel welcome to your family. Although tortured pets will never be the same, you can care for them so they can feel wanted again.

Eden E. Hartnett



Give up smoking

Will you please stop smoking? It stinks.

Smoking is terrible for your health. Romans 16:19 says: “I want you to be wise about what is good and innocent about what is evil.” Smoking blackens your lungs, which can lead to lung cancer, and you can die. More than 443,000 Americans die each year because of smoking. Secondhand smoke kills 50,000 of them.

Also, smoke ruins the earth. It hurts the ozone layer and creates carbon dioxide, which pollutes the air.

Trees and living things will not grow and will die.

The habit of smoking is expensive. Think about the money you will burn if you smoke. You will save a lot of money by not smoking.

I hope I convinced you to think twice before lighting another cigarette.

Dax Moore



Protect animals

Just because some people destroy animals doesn’t mean you should. Here’s how to save them.

First, save their habitats. Make more places so animals can live. Don’t take away animals’ homes because that could kill them.

Next, don’t harm animals. Do not kill them for just their fur or meat. Never use animals for experiments.

Finally, protect animals so we can enjoy them in the future. Don’t hunt every day so that their population decreases. Did you know that about 500 animals die a day from hunting?

Save animals instead of killing them for fun. Learn how to protect animals and go out and do it.

Mason Jeffreys



Body is a temple

People should stop smoking instead of ruining their lives. Smoking can cause serious diseases or death, such as cancer, heart disease or lung disease. Sometimes death can occur from the effects of smoking. Other people will breathe in smoke and get sick. Smoking can hurt you and others.

Smoking can also cause damage to our world. Cigarettes sometimes start forest fires. They can also cause a fire in your home and destroy property. Cigars and cigarette butts are thrown onto the ground and leave behind a mess. Smoking pollutes the air and causes breathing problems.

What can you do to make your life better? “Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s spirit lives in you? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him; for God’s temple is sacred and you are that temple.” (1 Corinthians 3:16-17)

I hope I have convinced you to think before you smoke.

Laken Faith Horner



End world hunger

There are so many people in this world who are hungry and need our help. You need to respect those in need. Don’t make fun of them because they don’t have the things you have. There are many people who don’t have enough food to eat. So don’t waste it.

Be kind and ask them if you can help them with any of their needs. You can donate clothes to the Salvation Army, Goodwill, etc., and give to others what might help them survive.

Giving food to a food pantry, helping to serve food and spending time with the less fortunate are great gifts.

It says in Luke 6:31, “Do unto others as you would have them do to you.”

Here are some facts on world hunger:

n One in five Americans go to bed hungry each day.

n In 2010, there was an average of 925 million hungry people in the world.

In 2013, I’m sure there will be many more. We have so much food in America that we could donate some to others to make their lives easier.

Aubrey Cook



Littering is terrible

Are you harming the environment by littering? How can you help the world around you? Pick up waste that is on the ground. Tell people to throw their filth away.

How does garbage hurt the environment? About 60 percent of people litter in the world.

Littering hurts the trees and plants. It kills wild animals.

We should stop people from throwing their scraps on the ground. Littering is terrible for our surroundings. So make wise decisions about your trash.

Matthew Carmichael



Gifts from God

Do you care that millions of babies die every year? Abortion kills human life.

The Bible says that God gives everything the breath of life. Don’t make wrong decisions that will effect your life forever. Abortion kills more lives in two months than the Holocaust did in 12 years.

Babies are gifts from God that continue the next generation. The population is greatly lowered by the number of children aborted each year. In a year, 50 million unborn die from murder.

Your help is needed. Encourage women to make wise choices about the life that they are carrying. Stand up against abortion. Think about this information and become pro-life.

Jillian Winter



Buy an electric car

Everyone should buy electric cars. Electric cars are powered by electric motors that run the vehicle. They have an onboard power source that powers the motor.

There are power stations that give extra power.

Be prepared for the change they will bring. They run smoothly and are efficient. Electric cars are safe.

And electric cars will make a difference on earth. There will be no more pollution. They won’t waste gas. They are safe for the environment.

Electric cars are fast, efficient and eco-friendly. So think about buying one.

John Roub



Pick up litter

People should put their litter in garbage cans instead of on the streets. Litter affects everyone’s life. It hurts our environment and kills living things.

Also, it is destroying God’s world. People see it, but walk past.

There are many items that are being littered, such as bottles, plastic, gum and paper. Instead, you can recycle or throw it away.

How can you help? Litter is on sidewalks, highways and streets – pick it up.

“Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendor, for everything in heaven and earth is yours.” (1 Chronicles 29:11.) This is a Bible verse that goes along with God’s world.

Although people litter, you can make a difference by picking it up.

Beth Felix

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