Stories From Wilmington: Because It's More Than Just A Job

He was having one of those days on a Saturday and that's just bad timing.

It's UrbanPromise's Saturday morning basketball, and he decides it's a great morning to throw a fit.

And what choice does an intern and coach have but to send him home?

I'm a little upset and whole lot worried and it's my last day so the last I see of this kid is him leaving the gym in a ball of fury.

After the last game I go up to the intern and I ask him if the kid's going to be okay.

And what does he say to me? "Yeah, I think I'm gonna go over to his house later to talk with him and make sure he's ok."

What?

Let's review here: This is an intern who's not paid much more than a small stipend. He's already worked more hours than not this week, and it's Saturday. And in my opinion, Saturday afternoon would be a good time to catch up on sleep or something.

But nope. To him, Saturday afternoon is a good time to make sure this kid's ok.

And those are the kind of people I spent my week with.

It's inspiring.

Because they're all away from their families. And they all could've had normal American-Dream-type jobs that didn't involve living in the inner city, writing support letters or driving around mentoring kids on Saturday afternoons.

And every single one of them goes above and beyond anything their paid for or anything that's in their job description. As I write this, interns and staff are on spring break trips with some of their kids. And while I was in Wilmington I literally saw how integrated into the community the UP staff is - they're investing into the community 24-7.

And nothing about this is easy, so why?

Because - it's more than just a job.

It's not a job. It's the calling of a Christ-follower, and that's the difference.

And I've seen time and time again how serving and compassion is treated as just a job, just a duty, just something else to do, and not what being a Christ-follower is about.

This is why when I went back to Wilmington this year and saw such growth and positive change in kids I met last year: because the UrbanPromise staff don't treat their jobs as jobs - they treat it as who they are as Christians and it's not perfect but that's who they strive to be and that's why it works.

And shouldn't this be an example to us all - being compassionate is not just something we have to do.

Being compassionate is who we must be as Christ-followers.

Because fighting for justice isn't a hobby - it's a lifestyle.

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If you'd like to support these inspiring interns & staff as they continue to be Christ to this community, this link will take you to Urban Promise Wilmington's donation page. :)