Chicago 2005: the "what went right" post

OK!
So I’ve had a couple of day to mourn some of the things that didn’t go well last week. Get over it… It’s time to focus on the positive. There was a lot of it and I’ll spend a few minutes here documenting what I felt was awesome.

1. My little workers. True enough, the students were tired after a long week in the schools. But they were tired because they kicked butt! Students were assigned to a teacher for the week. The teacher could use my students for whatever they wanted. Some filed and organized for the whole week. Some went on field trips. Some attended special meetings. But all had a great attitude and worked very hard. I had two freshmen who were very nervous about this trip… They totally rocked! When they were placed in their classroom’s, one of them was completely intimidated. She looked at me as though I had just condemned her to die. But by the end of the day she was feeling better. By the end of the week, I could tell she wanted to come back.
2. Awesome teachers. If one thing impressed me about Chase Elementary, it was the incredibly gifted and talented Christian teachers. In a school of 750 students, there were about 20 teachers who were committed believers. Their influence there went well beyond merely being Christian teachers. They were also excellent teachers. Their students and their parents respected them. They were achievers… And so were their students. Leading them was a great principal, Mrs. Gonzalez. Together those Christian teachers are changing kids lives.
3. Great pranks. OK, beyond the first day… The pranks that were done were good. Too many to share. Some highlights were the goldfish in the sinks and the monster toilets.
4. Smooth travel. No headaches with the driving portions. Sure, it was stressful for those who don’t drive in the city a lot… But at least there were no tickets or accidents.
5. Changed hearts. Even though there was a lot of struggling… It was good struggling as students got to see and interact with real people who really needed the gospel.
6. Big eyes. Sure, a lot of my students were a little nervous about violence and gangs… But more than that they were impressed that people like them could do something very significant for Christ without being “in ministry.”

As I think about it, there are tons of good things to talk about. Too many to list. There are just the good things that happened to my group! At another time I will share the good things that came from me working with Mr. B. (A kid from the neighborhood who met Christ at 10 years old… And is now an incredible teacher in his old school.)