Fifth Grade – That’s the Life!

World Changers 092307

Today after service we took the World Changers to Fuddruckers for lunch. I have to say, I have never seen kids eat so much food! Milkshakes, Cokes, French fries, loaded nachos, chicken nuggets, hamburgers (one kid ate a pound of beef by himself) and free chocolate chip cookies, all consumed in less than 10 minutes. I thought for a moment, “How wonderful it must be to eat carefree without the fear of gaining 10 pounds.” Well, they had enough of that and were ready for the next event – “bowling.” Have you ever tried to gather 31 fifth graders into a straight line, get their shoe size correct, and move them down the bowling alley? It’s like herding cats! <Then it starts! “Can we go to the concession stand?” More Cokes, popcorn, pretzels, nachos and personal size pizzas; where do they put all this food? Oh, need I ask the question? Eating turns into fuel and fuel translated = adults better keep up or be left behind.

But I must confess, for all the extra energy it takes me to keep up with them, it sure is a lot of fun hanging out with these young people. It makes me feel young. But the true reward is being able to pour into their lives and their hearts. To see where they are now developmentally, socially, and spiritually and then compare that with where they will be at the end of the year, is encouraging to us all. Their eagerness and willingness to help will make them great servants. They’re open hearts and youth, coupled with the fact that they’re not yet set in their ways, will enable them to be great leaders when they enter into middle school. All this will keep them grounded in their faith, unshaken by what the world may throw at them. Yes, 5^th grade is certainly “the life”. But more importantly for us as volunteers, an opportunity to change one!