so very proud. #servedenver

about a month ago, i had an idea.

i proposed to my class of advisory students that we take a trip to the denver rescue mission to serve a meal, clean, volunteer, etc.

imagine my surprise when they actually wanted to go! 

i told them it may have to be outside of school time, and they still wanted to do it.

{people clearly underestimate "kids these days," but that's a whole other blog post.}

now it took a fair amount of work to coordinate, get approval, and wrangle permission slips out of their hands, but this morning we loaded onto that bus and arrived downtown in one piece and ready to go.

words fail to accurately describe how proud i felt of those kids as they served their hearts out today.

they grabbed aprons and got to work immediately.

some chopping potatoes and cucumbers for over an hour, saying "this is so fun!" 

others cleaning mattresses, one after another after another.

i admit i got a little teary as i watched them pass out lunch to the men and women who came to the shelter.

they smiled, they gave eye contact, they worked with joy.

so many of them told me how much fun they were having, and thanked me more than once for bringing them there, and asked if we could come back again.

i feel so blessed that today happened... 

that a group of 24 kids had the opportunity to serve their community.

that they met people with hard stories who are being redeemed. 

that they now have a place they want to go back to.

that they are no longer afraid.

i feel blessed to be their teacher, and i hope and pray this day has impacted them as much as it has impacted me. 

each wednesday in december, jenny, sarah, and i will be joining with the denver rescue mission and posting around this topic of service (#servedenver). no matter where you live, feel free to join us.