Turning Expectations Upside Down by Molly
One of the questions I am frequenttly asked by friends and strangers
alike is “how in the world can you stand working with teenagers?!” It
is not a hard question for me to answer because I think young people
are amazing. It does make me a bit sad, however, to know that teens
are so misunderstood. That’s why I rejoice when one of our Wonder
Voyage teams turns those misconceptions upside down.
Our Alabama pilgrims have done a fantastic job this week of
demonstrating love, grace, forgiveness, humility, respect, humor, and
hard work. The elderly folks whom we have served have been delighted with them.
Praise for these students came from one really unexpected source,
however. We made a trip to a local dollar store to purchase some bingo prizes for our next day’s project. An ominous sign forbidding groups of teenagers from entering was pasted prominently on the door. Apparently the owner has had many problems with local kids wreaking havoc and generally acting disrespectfully in the store. As we entered, I told the owner all 11 students were with me. He said, “Ok,” but he really looked leery of the group.
Each student selected an item, placed it on the counter, and quietly
left the store. As I was paying for the items, the owner told me he
was giving us a 40 cent discount on every item. He said he was so
pleased and surprised by the students’ behavior. He asked me to give
his personal thanks to the students and to tell them they were welcome in his store any time.
The entire Christ Anglican parish should be proud of their young
people. They are truly changing perceptions, by God’s grace, one day
at a time.