well, before I rant on about my trip to the states, i'd like to share an email i sent to 2 of the best people i know. for the last 7 years, matt and melanie have led a program in innercity st. louis, teaching, tutoring, mentoring, feeding kids anywhere from 4yrs old (maybe even younger) to 18+. I worked with them for about 4 or 5 years when i was in st.louis/chicago. This is a very young white couple, living and working in an area of st. louis that is pretty close to if not 100% black. They are also 2 of the most courageous people i know having withstood violence and threats only to be adored and loved by the kids and some of the parents they serve. when i went home last weekend, i learnt that they were leaving to build up their own relationship with one another and with god. everyone that was there when the news broke busted in tears and they will sincerely be missed. i know a ministry is not about individuals, but they have definitely left a lasting impact on the kids as well as the adults they worked with.
Hey Matt/Melanie,
I just made it back to SA; I wish i could've got to hang out with you guys more when i was in st. louis, but i was there for such a short time. i'm glad though that i at least got to see y'all for the 2 minutes i was around. you're probably used to me not showing too much emotion, but when i heard that you guys were leaving north city, i was completely stunned. in fact, i almost lost it when i went up to hug Melanie and she just about fell to the floor with what i'm sure was a mix of emotions. even now, its tough for me to write this; but i wanted to send you an email just to let you know how much you guys have meant to me (you should already know the immense impact that you have had, and will continue to have, on the kids of north city).
My college experience and my life now would not be the same at all if I had not met you guys and if you had not helped me get involved at the training center, then later at north city. I still remember my first day at the training center, meeting you and the kids for the first time, playing basketball (or desperatley failing at it) with the kids and helping melanie in the kitchen with food preparation later on. I really enjoyed my time, but like others from WashU who were there, I wasn't really sure I'd be back. But for some reason, I tapped into my crazy side and kept coming back! and i've been absolutely blessed from it.
I'll never forget my first camp with the kids. Actually I remember before I even got there, matt had promised to put me with the "easy", "young" kids; it would be a breeze. and then i got there and was put in charge of controlling and mentoring the roudiest, craziest, old kids. I can't say that I was really excited for the week at that moment, but, matt, i owe a lot to you for that opportunity. you obviously saw something in me that i have never seen and i had a blast with these kids; obviously hindsight is golden and there were some interesting moments, but overall, the experience taught me a great deal and i hope i was able to at least touch the kids in some way. from then on, every other camp i helped at, i was with the group labelled as roudy, crazy, and old. i also remember my first really testy moment when i thought my head was about to be smashed in by an 11yr old. somehow, matt heard what was going on from all the way across the camp and i'll never forget the way you responded. guys, these kids love you so much not because you give them things, but because you treat them the way they should be treated; you hold them when they need to be held, you discipline them [very harshly, at times!] when they need to be disciplined; you teach them about consequences to their actions; you're mostly playful with them at the right times; and you reward them when they've done well. they love you so much because in you, they learn what it is to have a loving home (something many of them don't get in their places of living) and you show them a bit of what God's unconditional love is like.
I can't end without mentioning the strengths I've seen and learned from melanie. Melanie, you also saw things in me that i didn't realize i had or wanted to show. I think you realized how frustrated and tired i was during the first camp with the kids and you wrote me a message that i still keep in my bible. you may have even forgotten, but your message meant a lot to me; you said: "I know you made some sacrifices to come this week and i'm so grateful that you did. your infinite patience, willingness, and good nature shine through - even though you're stuck with a challenging group :) I know you're tired, and we have worked you to death, but please know your work has not gone unnoticed or in vain. Sowing seed takes a lot of work and you are a sower of many!" Maybe, you said some of those things so that I wouldn't just bolt and take off that week (I'm not so sure i'm the most patient person, heh!), but it did mean a lot to me to have you say those things. secondly, i will also never EVER forget this past summer when you (all 100 lbs of you) can charging into the boys camp to have a face-to-face (or maybe spit-to-face) not-so-calm convo with anthony (all 300+lbs of anthony). anthony later confessed to me that he was a second away from punching you; instead, he retreated, balled his eyes out, and reflected on what you said. I'm sure you guys talked later, but i remember him saying he was going to apologize to you and those he wronged and that what you said hit the spot with him. another reason these kids love you guys (and i could go on and on with this) is that you treat them all as individuals (boys and girls, men and women). too often, programs look for a one stop shop to "solve" every kids problems. but you guys never did that. you made it a point to get to know the kids and their families as much as you could and then treat each of them as an individual (what you did with anthony probably may not have worked with someone else). trust is such a huge thing with the kids, and you showed them from the start that they could trust you to be there for them.
Like I said, I could go on with examples of all the lessons you've taught me and things I have witnessed in your lives. You have made an impact of so many people lives; definitely the kids and certainly the adults that have worked with you. I only wish I can have the passion in my life like the one that you guy showed in working with the North City kids. Everytime i think of you guys, i always wonder how such a young couple could have so much passion and courage to deal with so many death threats, shooting, rejections, pain, and yet still persevere with such joy. I know it wasn't always easy (or probably was never easy), but I want you to know that what you have done in just 7 years has not gone unnoticed in the city of St. Louis. it's also meant a lot to me.
"To leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch, or a redeemed social condition; To know that even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded."
I know you guys need this break and I know you will figure things out, for sure. I also know that you're not done making a difference in people's lives. Keep doing what you do! God bless.
Love you both,
Folu
Some cool pics of matt, melanie, and the kids:
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