Next Missions Trip? Greeley Schools

Nearly 80% of my students, the kids I see everyday, live in poverty.
4 out of 5 don't have enough food to eat at home and rely on school breakfast and lunch.
Some students have greater access to drugs than to their working parents.

More Christians should be praying for Greeley.

Nearly 2 years ago I was called into Younglife ministry in the Greeley-Windsor region. 2 years ago when I asked kids about their families I didn't expect to hear about step parents, step siblings, half siblings, incarcerated relatives, or foster homes. Now, sadly, I am surprised when a kid describes a healthy, whole family.

In District 6 (the Greeley school district), 65% of all students live in poverty. I saw the poorest of the poor in Ecuador, and some of my kids are comparable. I encounter homelessness, parent-less, destitute children daily. On Friday I asked a student what her dreams were for the future and she said "drop out of school at 17 and get a real job". Kids should be asked to dream bigger than their situations.

I encounter Somali refugees everyday who are living in a culture so unfamiliar. Some of our students literally walked to America, walking thousands of miles before their families found a ship that could take them to the US. They couldn't care less about mathematics.

I am proud of the school I am currently student teaching at. They found mattresses for a family that has none. They bought shoes for kids who didn't have a single pair. The students have a heart for each other and want to make a difference. It is my prayer that more people walk into the messy lives of students and build positive relationships so that they know their biggest dreams could become reality.

I have a student who dreams of going to Harvard. One student wants to become a famous Youtuber. Another student hopes to go to the Denver Art Institute. I hope that I will be someone they know will always encourage them beyond their situations.