Right now I am reading Mr. Ambassador: Warrior for Peace by Edwards Perkins. I am still at the first few chapters.I am most overwhelmed by the sense of care he received from strangers. Mr. Perkins was an ambassador to S. Africa during apartheid. He faced some tough struggles as a kid and teenager. However as a teenager he received lots of good mentoring by different people. As a teenager he was invited into college professor circles and was able to spend Sunday afternoons with a prof. talking about life and academia.
On the one hand, I am very envious at the attention he recieved as a teen by adults. In my own teen life I really sought out mentorship, but I did not have such a wide range of mentors like Mr. Perkins.
On the other hand, I am proud of my own investment in the lives of children. In college I worked in various education programs in Philly with disadvantaged children, teens and adults. I tutored in different community centers and I taught GED. Teaching GED was one of the best things I did in college because I got to use some of my skills I learned in college that I passed on to high school dropouts. Then after college I worked for the Buckingham Youth Brigade and for Young Life. This week is one of my proudest moments because one of the kids that I mentored has returned to his own neighborhood to continue mentoring teens in Arlington, VA. This youth program is a great program that relies heavily on the volunteers to sustain it.
This theme of mentorship is what stood out to me in Mr. Perkins book. You never know what kind of life you will shape by sharing your life with others. I think that is what the gospel is about. Mark 8:35 says:
For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it.
So give your life away. You will be richer for it.
