SENTINEL WATCH August 12, 2002 Issue

Prayer that goes to God. . . and comes from Him

By Channing Walker

In the small-town high school I attended, the name Magellan didn't refer to Portuguese sea captain who commanded the first expedition to sail around the world. No, Magellan always meant the off-beat science teacher of that name, who made no effort to be popular with the kids, but was enormously so. He loved his subject. In his own way he, too, made the world smaller, brought it more within our reach, unlocked its secrets.

In a class segment on weather, Magellan produced, as I recall, a set of large color posters. One panel showed water evaporating from oceans, lakes, forests, and fields. The next panel showed it forming clouds at high altitudes. The third pictured the water coming back down as rain and snow, illustrating that what goes up to the cloud, comes down from the cloud.

Today the world is so much smaller than it was in the days of sea captain Magellan. So much smaller, even, than in the more recent days of science teacher Magellan. And the inevitable new relationships between "strangers" and "strange" countries, create their own sets of surprises. For instance, after September 11, Americans had to find enormous courage in the face of terrorism—a challenge that other countries have confronted for years.