22 Jan Story Time

About 4 years ago, I undertook a journey of a new kind—I decided to become a mentor at Live Oak Elementary school—one with lots of needs and needy kids.

I was paired with a first grader named Kenny (not his real name), whose father had dropped dead of a heart attack in front of his eyes one morning before school a few months before. Since then, his mom has had a revolving door of men in her life, and his only real remaining male influence, his grandfather, died about a year later.

Insecure and not even knowing what was happening in his life, we bonded at first over Legos (my kids have a zillion) and playing the game “Sorry” together (full disclosure: I may have cheated a little to arrange a few victories for him).

Everything really changed one day when his teacher told me he wasn’t reading at his grade level, and I knew from statistics that Round Rock ISD had published that students who are unable to read by 3rd grade are far more likely to end up in prison than those who can—the dividing line is that clear.

So, I asked Kenny, “Do you have any books at home?”

“Nope”, he answered.

So what do you do when you get home from school?

“I play video games till I go to bed.”

Ah.

Well, by capitalizing on the current TV movie ads and toys in stores, I convinced him that reading together would be cool, and that we should read, “The Hobbit” (having read it to my kids, I had a full repertoire of character voices already at my disposal).

At first, he struggled to follow along (learning to be read to is an acquired skill, my librarian—and reading-teacher mother had always told me), but after a couple years of plowing through the book (I only get 30 minutes a week), when he got to the end of third grade, I literally cried when his teacher told me he had just tested not only at the third grade level, but at the fourth grade level! Now, there are lots of factors involved in that besides my involvement, but I do believe I had a part to play.

This year marks the fourth year of my connection with Kenny, and this past fall, his teacher assigned the class a writing assignment: write a one page paper about someone special in your life. To my great surprise and delight, he wrote it about me, and this is what he wrote (slightly edited for clarity’s sake).

“I think a reliable friend is an important part of the world. I have a friend that I look forward to seeing him on Fridays.

An amazing fact is I have known him for four years.

Mr. Morgan and I play catch from time to time in the gym. This makes me feel special because he takes time from his day to spend time with me.

Another reason Mr. Morgan is a special friend is because during lunch he reads The Hobbit to me. I enjoy this because The Hobbit is my favorite book.

Furthermore, we discuss what is going on in the week, like how I feel and he feels; he comes every week just for me.

I hope and I wish that everyone had a reliable friend like Mr. Morgan.”

Well, his teacher cried when she read it, and I may have sniffled a little bit as well. The word about it spread to the other teachers and the front office—as I walked to see him the next week, I had teacher after teacher stop and thank me (and the church) for all our involvement there. He was so proud to show me what he had written—and just like that, all the years and hours of investment were just…worth it. I had wondered many times as I drove to and away from the school, “Am I making any difference in his life? Does he even know what is going on?”

Now, I don’t mentor to have that question answered for me—I just do it because I believe in it—but it is nice when an answer in the affirmative smacks you in the face.

Which now brings me to the point of this email:

We are making a difference together at a school with lots of needs—we provide food over the weekend for many children there, who wouldn’t have it otherwise; we provide Christmas gifts for many children there, we buy every teacher there a small Christmas gift, and throw multiple thank-you parties every year for the teachers.

And, last but not least, we provide many mentors for at-risk kids.

And…we have some great news! We have been informed that we have met all their needs for mentors there at Live Oak, which now allows us the amazing opportunity to now potentially expand into another local elementary school! So…

Not this Sunday but next (January 31st), if you are interested in representing Mosaic Church at a new elementary school in the area (TBD), we are having a training that someone from RRISD will come and put on for you, from 1 to 2:30 in the Family Room. We hope to have at least 6 new mentors to send into a new school. Also, if you are a current mentor, this meeting is for you as well. The first 30 minutes we will spend sharing stories and encouragement, and then the last hour will be for those who need to be trained.

Lunch and childcare are provided, so register here to let us know you’re coming.

I am grateful for all we have been able to do there, by God’s grace. Through the financial giving of Mosaic Church and the personal involvement of many of our members who remain mostly unseen and who show up week in and week out, we are being “repairers of the breach”, to quote Isaiah. Thank you!

Here’s to more stories, for God’s glory,

Morgan