I was on this rant about how kids appear to be generally ungrateful these days …not my kids of course……..or yours……you know other people’s kids are generally ungrateful is what I was saying.
I was discussing a particular situation to a friend of mine who happens to run another Awana program in Knoxville with her husband. This woman completely encouraged me. She and her Awana youth group are planning to go to some Awana shindig in St. Charles, Illinois.
She was telling me that the youth literally have to do x, y, z amount of community service in the name of the Lord or work for the church in some way to go on the trip and/or obtain church funding for the trip if they do not have the funds to go. In other words, the church does not just hand them over the cash to go, even if they can’t afford to go. The kids who want to go actually have to show initiative and do something for it.
This year, in order for the 13 youth who want to attend this event, to go to the shindig... they participated in the “Duck-out-of-line” at the Duck, Duck Goose consignment event in Knoxville.
This event is a huge consignment sale in an old K-Mart building. It is a 4 or 5 day event (including a private shopping day for consignors) that supposedly rocks all consignment sales to the very foundation of the earth in these parts of town.
I am told during this conversation that the line goes all the way around the building and then some to get inside….then to pay is another line all the way around the other side of the building.
A “Duck-out-of-line” is a person who gets paid $10 to stand in line for you and hold your spot while you shop. So that when your shopping has been completed, you can get in line where your “duck” is. If your duck is already past the paying counter, then guess what? NO WAITING at all! You get immediate ups and no waiting in line at all!!! All of the money earned by the people who volunteer for this (churches and local charities) get 100% of the money!
The ladies that I am conversating with tell me the Duck out of line is well worth the $10, as a wait in line to pay for merchandise can be up to an hour or more.
I decided to go and check out this consignment sale for myself after our co-op classes and as sure as a dog sniffs another dogs butt – the line to get in the place was as long a line as I had ever seen. The Ducks out of line were busy with their clip boards signing people up. I swear if I had been determined to go into the place I would have paid someone $20 to stand in line for me. Instead I opted to go to Old Navy and by M & Z new coats. I just tried to let go of my unearth friendly guilt for not recycling....it didn't take too long.
I am just gonna say… Maysie's unearth friendly coat.... it’s tha dang the bomb.
So, Ms. Awana Co-Commander ….. yeah, she took her 13 Awana youth teens down there to be Ducks out of line.
On the Wednesday preview sale for the people who are consigning clothes and other special designated folks….the teens made $1300…….towards their trips to the Awana event. That’s $100 bucks a piece minimum for each kid towards their trip for one day of service.
I thought that was SUPER COOL!
The following week I see Ms. Awana Co-Commander and asked her what her finally tally was for the kids towards their trips…….Did they meet their goals?
Uummm YES! Those teens made $4000 dollars towards their trip in 3 days’ worth of work!!!!!!!
So they stood in line for folks repeatedly at a consignment sale at $10 bucks a pop and worked off the entire cost of their trip.
This says a minimum of 6 things to me:
**These teens are motivated to go on a Jesus trip that is important to them.
**These teens take pride in seeing their goals completed.
**These teens are being rewarded for diligence.
**These teens parents don’t have to come up with $300 randomly when the economy is not optimal….AND during the holidays
**These teens parents must be proud of their child for doing something not fun like standing in line for three days to help pay for their trips and possibly the trips of those who could not afford to pay for the trip themselves.
**This Awana Leader did something right and good here.
I am just going to say, I love it when a child is able to stand back and look at good work completed and be amazed that they were a part of something bigger than THEMSELVES.
As an adult I enjoy this feeling myself when I accomplish a big task.
Being a child or a teenager would only magnify this good feeling of accomplishment because the world is so big and so much has yet to still be discovered.
It is my personal opinion that enabling a child to appreciate his/her situation more by digging in deep and hard sometimes……..is good for their self-esteem, not bad.
I am over handing out stuff to kids for free because they expect it. This is the type of adult we are breeding, a society where they believe themselves to deserve to be given stuff that isn't theirs to take.
Sometimes it feels to me... youth, generally speaking, know nothing about how to be humble.
However, I am proud of at least 13 who do.
HAVE AN OUTSTANDING TRIP AWANA TEENS!
YOU’VE EARNED IT!!!!
1 comment:
Well said, Amy. Well said.
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