More Connections
Posted on Wednesday, November 28, 2018 by
by Yara Akl
I have always had a heart for the youth. Grade school was always rough for me, but I specifically remember my middle school years being some of the darkest times of my life. When I was first asked to take up this opportunity to be a part of Campus Life, I jumped in and said yes right away. I thought it was pretty cool that I was placed at the school I attended and God gave me the opportunity to be the person that I needed and never had in another kid’s life.When I walked into Rock Quarry Middle School, now being on the outside looking in, I was expecting to just feed these kids the knowledge and the love of God that I have discovered and to be someone’s friend, but I came out of my first-semester serving a changed person.
I met a boy in club at Rock Quarry Middle that is currently in the sixth grade. He walked in every Friday morning alone and never intentionally sat with anyone. No acknowledgment, ever. Every time he would try to talk to someone, he was immediately shot down. He was ignored, despised, and rejected. For no reason.
Sound familiar? This all hit home for me because I used to be in his place. One day I led a game called “Would You Rather” and one of the questions was, “Would you rather be loved by everyone or feared by everyone?” I was not expecting what happened. Most everyone chose to be loved by everyone, but this boy chose to be feared. He softly and sadly said, “Maybe if everyone feared me I wouldn’t be bullied anymore.” I had to be strong. I have always made it a point to speak to him and include him in everything that we did, but I started to do more than just that. I began to encourage him and let him know that he is wanted. The way that his face would light up when I would remind him his worth was priceless. It has forever impacted me. He always did have a sweet smile on his face, but he is dealing with so much hurt in his heart and I don’t even know what he could be dealing with at home.
I have so many more stories I could share just from my first semester. Campus Life has not only reached hopeless hurting kids, it has changed my heart. I pray that I have impacted their lives as they have mine. I thank God for this opportunity because this is a huge ministry field in need of dedicated workers for Christ. If I could take away all of their pain with the snap of a finger I would, but all I can do is give them all my love and point them to the Man that can love them even more than I ever could.