those of you that don’t know, I spent my last Fall coaching
elementary P.E. for the school I graduated from, American Christian
Academy. I took the job as an interim coach to just make any salary
I could, and ended up falling in love. These students found a place
in my heart that I had no clue existed and as time gets closer to
launch, it gets harder to say goodbye to them.
At
the beginning of January, I stopped working at the school full time,
but as of now, I still haven’t left. A couple of months ago I
went to one of their weekly chapels to share about what I would be
doing for the next year. One of the classes actually took the
opportunity to introduce me with a big world map and posters
representing all the countries I would be traveling to. During the
chapel, I took the chance to challenge them with a giving project.
The main purpose of the project was to teach them about giving and to
encourage them to talk with their parents about things that they
could give up for other people. My main point was that this couldn’t
be about their parents just giving over their money, but it had to be
something from them; no matter how small. I was blown away with what
followed.
A
few weeks later, I went to training for the Race and later in that
week I got a call from my mom. She was representing me at a bake
sale that one of the grades were putting on in my honor. The
teachers and parents chipped in and encouraged the students, but it
was ultimately the students that ran the show. I went by the school
this past week to collect the rest of the money, and heard the
stories of a group of students that actually ran stores out their
lockers. Every few days they would bring in a few more items to sell
and take a few more dollars to their teachers.
My
trip to school was full of stories of students saving up every penny
they could to bring and give. A few students told me that they gave
up eating out a couple of nights to wait and eat at home and brought
that money to give. One student brought me to my knees when he
brought me $200 and told me that it was his all A money for the year
and he wanted me to have all of it.
I
titled this blog “Little hands, big hearts…”
because I never expected this to happen. I started it off as a
challenge for students 5 years old to 6th grade and I
tried not to have any expectations of a total. I wanted the main
mission to be focused on teaching them about giving out of their
blessings. They have gone above and beyond this and have given a
total of $672.84. I am blown away by what a group of
kids can do with open hearts.
I
am so thankful for what ACA has done for me over the years and I can
honestly say I wouldn’t be who or where I am without their
support. They truly provide a family environment and have treated me
like a son and a brother. I go in their support and love and I
cannot express how much that means to me. I value that over any
dollar amount (although the amount blew my mind and is an amazing
support).
