Squanto 2: Glimpses for Kids children's worship bulletin

A New Purpose
For weeks I wandered the land of my childhood, sad and alone. Finally, I joined the Wampanoag tribe. Kind chief Massasoit welcomed me, but it didn't help. No place felt like home without my family.

"Squanto, have you heard?" called Samoset one day. "The English have come again and have settled in the land of the Patuxet. They are peaceful but barely surviving. They need an interpreter. Do you want to go meet them?"

I wasn't sure I could trust them, but I went along. They sure were surprised to find that we spoke English! Before we left, Governor John Carver asked me to stay with his people and interpret for him whenever he wanted to talk to "King Massasoit," as he called our chief. I agreed to stay. The pilgrims were hungry and had no idea how to survive in our great land. For the first time in years, I felt like I belonged. Could it be that God's purpose for my life was now unfolding?

I smiled at the wonder on their faces when I returned from the river one evening with my arms full of eels. At sunset, we cooked them over an open fire. The boys couldn't wait to try catching their own fat, juicy eels the next day.

We searched the edge of the river for a good shallow place and I stepped into the cool water, squishing mud between my toes. Stomping left and then right brought the first eel to the surface. As his head poked through, I plunged my hands into the water, aiming for his belly. Seconds later, I pulled him squirming out of the water.

"Hurray!" shouted the boys, eager to take a turn. That evening every boy had at least two eels to bring home to his family.

"Squanto, I can't thank you enough for showing the boys how to catch eels," said Governor Carver as we ate supper together. "What other food can we find here?"

"April is corn-planting month," I replied. "You must wait until the bud of the white oak has reached the size of a mouse's ear before you plant corn. Then you'll have enough to last you through next winter."

Governor Carver leaned forward, a gleam in his eye. "You know how to plant enough food to last a whole winter? Maybe our people won't starve this year thanks to you, Squanto."

Could this be why I was born? Finally, I had a purpose in life. Finally, God had shown me where I belonged.

Governor Carver passed away that year and didn't get to see the corn growing taller than the men. The new governor, William Bradford, was so pleased with the food supply in the fall of 1621 that he invited Chief Massasoit and the Wampanoags to a great feast. Bradford declared it "a day of public Thanksgiving." It started with prayer and lasted three whole days.

As we ate and played games, I thought about my new life. My family had died, but the Pilgrims were my family now. The Pilgrims and their God, Jesus, adopted me--and I adopted them, too!

Make It Real! Questions to make you dig a little deeper and think a little harder.

Despite all his negative encounters with various English explorers, Squanto was able to trust and even help the pilgrims. How do you think he was able to get past his hurt feelings to do something positive?
Squanto's story is similar to the story of Joseph in the Bible. Both were taken from their family and sold as slaves. Both used their experiences to help others. How are their stories similar and how are they different?
Do you think the pilgrims would have survived if Squanto had not befriended them? Why or why not?
What types of things do you think the Indians and the pilgrims were thankful for on that first Thanksgiving?

Squanto and the First Thanksgiving

Squanto taught the boys to fish for eels.