We sit around the kitchen table after a particularly tough
morning workout eating our breakfast of eggs and bagels and apples. We are blessed to have this “family”
time with each other before we each head off to our first day working with our
respective outreach partners. Dionte, Madison and I are headed off to Right
Moves for Youth. Rachelle is going to Crisis Assistance Ministries and Michael
will be at 2xSalt for the day.
For
those of us going to RMFY, it’s our first day of middle school all over again.
I am hesitant about this placement, I don’t want to experience the pain of
knowing what these kids are going through. I don’t know how to interact with
middle school kids who had seen more in their lifetime than I have in mine. I
don’t feel like I have enough wisdom, enough knowledge, enough skill with kids
to be a leader in this school. I’m uncomfortable. I’m uncomfortable for Christ.
My heart breaks for these kids. And as I step through the doors of Ashley Park
Elementary school, I feel the prayer I’ve prayed so many times not realizing what
I was asking for come true- Lord, break
my heart for what breaks yours. Use me Lord to bring glory to Your name. You
have my life, use it to make changes in this world.
We
lead a group of 18 middle school boys into a classroom for their RMFY meeting time.
School has just started, thank you Lord
for allowing us to be the very first thing these kids encounter today. Thank
you that though pain may come in the night, joy comes in the morning. May we be
a source of joy here. Help us show
these kids love and set a tone in our meetings for each boy to have a great day
at school today. Dionte,
Madison and I introduce ourselves to the boys and break into small groups of
five students each. We begin with the facilitation of conversations about the
best players currently in the NFL to warm the kids up to us. My group argues
over whether Tom Brady or Aaron Rogers is the better QB to add to our fantasy
football team in order to beat all the other teams. They start to talk amongst
themselves and ask me joking questions about my preference of players that I’ve
never heard of.
We
then move on to discuss who the boys think the greatest role model of their
generation is. We hear everything from Martin Luther King Jr. (not exactly your
generation, squirt) to Lebron to My Dad to Michael Jordan and everything in
between. The end result - after many arguments over various athletic superstars
- is Barrack Obama “because he was the first black president.”
His
contributions of “lowering taxes” and “giving money to the shelters” also make
him a stand-out candidate in the eyes of the students.
The
boys meeting is coming to a close, the final activity today is arranging
themselves in alphabetical order by first name without speaking. They take
turns going down the line telling us their names and one fact about themselves.
Most cop out and share the number of siblings they have, or which street
basketball team they play on. One kid is courageous and unapologetic as he
steps up and tells us “I love to clean. I’ve got that ODC,” to which we all
burst out laughing and let him know that the disorder is in fact, OCD. The bell
rings and the boys are given a brief opportunity to ask Dionte, Madison and I
any questions that they may have for us.
“Yea,
I have one – are y’all coming back?”
And
there it is – the confirmation that we are right where we are supposed to be.
We know we are here to bring about restoration. And we’re here to be consistent
sources of light in the lives of these kids.
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