A Post About Tuesday, Relaxing and My J-O-B

Tuesday.
My favorite day.
It means hanging out by the pool and taking Justin to a friends for a 1/2 kid free afternoon, well that is unless I have to work, which for the record I have to work every Tuesday.

Well, I don't have to, but I chose to, work that is. Love that about my job- the making my own schedule; unless my schedule makes me. Like this last weekend- crazy I worked all weekend.
It was worth it!
I just finished putting on a dinner for 150 of our Stockholders. By Stockholders I mean the 150 people that purchased $100 in stock in a student who either went to Waveland, Mississippi or Detroit, Michigan.

When our students get ready to raise their funds for their mission trips one option is to sell stock in themselves. This year my oldest chose to work for all his money, while my youngest chose to sell stock. He had 3 of his 4 stockholders there and he did an awesome job.

Here's how it went down:
Students greeted stockholders as they arrived and seated them in their seats at their respected table. It was raining so we had kids hustling around to and from the parking lot with umbrellas. Once the dinner started Kev, my "boss"- although I do a better job bossing, I think, anyway, Kev started with a welcome and asking the students a question about their experience on the trip. "Tell about a typical day" "Where did you see God" "What was most challenging for you".....

Once the question was answered, the student came back to the kitchen serving counter and loaded his/her tray with the right amount of appetizers for his/her table. This year we had a Cajun Soul-Food Menu and boy was it good.
Did I mention I had nothing to do with the cooking so it was all homemade, yum.
The student then bussed their own table and kept up with everyone's drinks.

This format of question and eat went on through the soup: gumbo, dinner: smothered pork with mushrooms, onions, collard greens (the best I'd ever had), black-eyed peas and hoe cakes (fried cornbread- for all ya'll that don't use the term ya'll), we finished with Mississippi Mudd cake and Sweet Potato Pie! (notice I capitalized the dessert)

All in all the dinner went great!

The coolest thing about the dinner is to see 27 students serving others.

These students had spent 9 days away from our community building and painting in Waveland, Mississippi, and 7 days running a Big A children's club and loving on the people of inner-city Detroit.

I feel I need to explain why this is so cool. These students are in the minority. I hope one day the majority.
Most students I come in contact with are more concerned with their latest clothing purchase or ipod, or when they are going to the beach or why their Volkswagon isn't good enough, they wanted the BMW. I even have a friend who just graduated high school who is so interested in herself that she blackmailed her dad for a few hundred bucks.

We live in a very wealthy area. Multi-million dollar homes line the beach and million dollar home surround those ones. It's in the shadows of these homes that gets me: children are being neglected, going without food or shoes, elderly are struggling to mow their lawns, single parents are working 2 and 3 jobs to make ends meet. Meanwhile, vehicles that cost more than my home pass by me every day and I know of people with engagement rings that could help solve world hunger. (Please note I am not against these things I just think if it's what's important and what we strive for, we're off- way off)

So when I look out across a dinning room and see 27 students serving, it rocks my boat.

In August this same group of students will be let loose on our own area to serve on a local mission trip.
I can't wait to see what they learned in Waveland and Detroit brought home here to our neighborhoods.

But for me, today it's Tuesday and so I will live in my bathing suit, crank my ipod to tobymac, visit with a friend and enjoy the day.

Carpe Diem.
~Michelle