Wow.  What a weekend.

It’s true. Jesus DOES reside in North Hollywood. 🙂

This past weekend I went to help my daughter, Brittany, set up her fourth grade classroom.  We spent Sunday and yesterday getting supplies, putting up bulletin boards, filling “treat bags”, organizing closets, buying books for her library, moving desks and everything else that comes with getting a room ready for students.

We faced the back-to-school crowds (INSANE) in a three story Target.  There are no words to describe how desperate we were to get out of that store.  We were at that crazy point of hysterical laughter that is only a faded line away from tears.  Hilarious and horrific all at the same time.  (The three story parking lot with every other car honking is a whole other story that deserves its own post.)

Brittany found a lady on Craig’s list who was closing her book store and was selling all her paperback books for 50 cents.  And so we drove to a shady part of town and found ourselves in another parking lot.  This time, the few cars that were there were all scary looking vans that had seen better days and whose windows were painted.  We crept into a building to meet this lady that smelled of musty old carpet and moldy walls.  But we were on a mission.  We hadn’t thought to pack heat ( I always wanted to say that!) but in this neighborhood, it probably would have been a good thing.  Surprisingly, we walked into a room filled with thousands of books for kids and rummaged through to find the ones that would bring imagination and wonder to a fourth-grader’s mind. We walked out with a box full of books to begin filling her library shelves.

I guess at this point I should explain where Britt is teaching.  The school is called Celerity.  It’s part of an educational group that sets up charter schools for underprivileged kids.  It was started by a woman who grew up in great poverty but whose parents made sure she had a good education.  Later, as a very successful professional, she looked back and realized that it was education that had given her the opportunities she enjoyed.  So she began these charter schools to give ALL kids, and particularly those of low-income in distressed areas, the opportunity for an excellent education.  There are nine of these schools now and they are thriving!

Brittany’s school is only three years old and already has full capacity for grades one through seven.  They hope to incorporate eighth grade by next year.

Yesterday was Meet The Teacher day.  An entire day devoted to letting the kids and their parents come in and see their classroom and introduce themselves to the person who will be with them for the majority of these children’s waking hours.  The person that these parents are entrusting their kids’ education, safety and ultimately their future, to.

Brittany has 20 students in her class (perfect!).  Fourteen out of the twenty showed up, excited and ready to face a new year.  They shared with her their strengths (math, for most) and their weaknesses (reading, for most).  They told Mrs. McCay (Britt) what they enjoyed doing and what they did over the summer.  Parents chimed in with their concerns for their children and their desire to see their kids be pushed to excellence.  For those of you who are familiar with Britt’s last intercity teaching experience, this parental support is a new, unfamiliar, but very appreciated blessing.

One little girl came into the classroom who was particularly shy.  She couldn’t even make eye contact.  While Brittany was talking with her mother, I asked her about her bright pink shirt.  It said in bold letters, “I LOVE TO DANCE”.  “Do you love to dance?” I asked.  Her eyes came up from looking at the ground and her face lit up like a Christmas tree.  “Yes, I do, ”  she smiled.  “But I really love to SING!”  There was no doubt from the look on her face that singing was her passion.  Her mom chimed in at this point, “She has a really good voice.  It’s not a child’s voice.”

That was it.  Brittany and I had to hear this little girl who couldn’t hold eye contact in a conversation do what her heart really loved.  And wow.  She sang an Adele song for us and blew away any adult I’ve ever heard sing.  Amazing!  Strong, vibrant, impassioned.  Unafraid.  Beautiful.  I’d never heard anything like it.  And as soon as her song was over, her eyes went back to looking at the ground.  But this time, there was smile on her face.  A big, wide, “I think my teacher really likes me!” smile.

As she and her mom left the room, she turned back towards us, looking us straight in the eye, and waved with a huge grin on her face.  Brittany had just connected with this precious girl in a profound way.

I saw this kind of connection again and again as each student came in.  Parents a little wary at first, leaving with the confidence that their child is going to spend the school year with a woman who is sincerely interested in each little personality that enters that room.  A teacher who will care not only about their child’s mind, but their heart and soul as well.  A trained professional who doesn’t take lightly the responsibility of taking these children on the next leg of their educational and life journey.

Brittany met gifted kids who are math geniuses.  She looked into the eyes of kids whose parents are afraid of them being bullied.  She saw dreamers who have a hard time focusing and is making it her mission to find their best way of learning. She reassured kids who are new to the school and haven’t yet established any friendships.

Every child who came through that door yesterday is walking into that classroom today knowing that Mrs. McCay has their back.  And every parent knows that she has their child’s best interest at heart.  They saw it in her warm smile.  They heard it in her sweet words.  They felt it in her confident handshake.

Yep.  Jesus DOES reside in North Hollywood.  In classroom #315 at Celerity charter school.  He’s showing up as Mrs. McCay.  And He’s got 20 little people to show Himself to this year through a wonderfully humble, wonderfully caring, wonderfully dedicated, wonderfully wonderful woman named Brittany.

I can’t wait to see what happens next….:-) What an amazing weekend together.  Thanks for the privilege of watching you do what you were created to do, Britt.  I couldn’t be more proud and I couldn’t love you more.  But somehow tomorrow I will….

Matthew 18:5 – And whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me.