The longer I serve Kingdom Causes, it seems the more I have
to learn and discover! These past weeks have been filled with ups and downs,
positive experiences and learning experiences. Today, I wish to share with you
all about one particular blessing I have been fortunate enough to have experienced.
Over the course of three weeks, I was able to teach four
lessons about Financial Literacy to some of the members of Kingdom Causes
Fatherhood program. The Fatherhood program here at Kingdom Causes gives dads the
skills they need to be involved in their children’s lives. One aspect of the
program involves financial literacy classes, which I led this summer. During
the classes, I was able to meet five outstanding men, whose interest in the
subject, kindness towards me, and overall positive spirit made teaching the
classes a highlight for me this summer.
Though the class was all about finances and monetary topics,
I found that talking to these men about their lives and hearing their stories
was infinitely more rewarding to me than knowing that they ended the course
with the tools they needed to become financially stable. Each of the men had a completely
different story and background, yet they had a positive outlook towards their
future and their hope was encouraging.
One of the men, Bali, had come from Nigeria to the States,
and since my dad grew up very near to where Bali was from, I was able to really
connect with him. Wayne was so much fun to be around, and was always laughing
and cracking jokes. Mark kept things moving and provided some great examples to
go along with what we were learning that day. John was someone who never failed
to ask an unexpected question and really challenge everyone to think hard about
practical application for the day’s lesson. Another man, named Renaldo, was
from the Philippines. Renaldo is an extraordinary artist! He was always
doodling on the side of his paper, and I noticed that his drawings were really
quite incredible. I mentioned this to him after class one day, and he grinned,
told me to wait for a minute, and then disappeared. Soon after, he reappeared
carrying two cardboard boxes. The boxes, when turned around, were covered in
beautiful paintings. The paintings had symbols on them which, Renaldo
explained, were words in Tagalog, the Filipino language. The words said “Jesus”
and “worship” in his language. He explained that he used old cardboard boxes
and leftover paint he had found to create the paintings. I was overwhelmed that
he would create these paintings and then use them to bless me so richly. Each of these men were warmed my heart
and made me excited to go and teach this class, and I will always be thankful
for the opportunity I had to work with them.
As I continue on in this internship, I hope to keep my eyes
open to what God might continue to teach me and how He might grow me over the
course of this summer. Thank you all for your prayer support!!
-Michelle Cok
