I let Michael get the first words in on his blog, but now it's my turn. I could write about my relationship with Michael forever, so I'll try to be brief.
I met Michael 3 years ago. He was 14. I was in charge of the Young men in our church and he started showing up one day. All those boys were amazing to me. Not one knew their father, their mothers made very little money, mostly trying to sell food on the beach to tourists. The boys lived off of scrap foods; anything they could find. The houses are made out of corrugated tin sheets, some would have plywood walls--that was a bonus. When a storm came, it was common to lose a roof and often a wall or two. They'd just go pick it up and put it back together. We came to Grenada right after hurricane Ivan, which destroyed their island. Grenada is the spice island--dubbed that for their nutmeg production. Once the hurricane hit, the nutmeg trees were destroyed and the rain forests decimated--which meant no exportation of nutmeg and fewer tourists--so jobs were more scarce than ever. When we got there, dozens of people were living in our church, with tents set up on the property. These boys through it all, smiled, laughed and enjoyed life despite their hardships.
After I took Michael camping for the first time, well, he basically became my best friend on the island. We built a basketball court together in the church parking lot, he had many sleep overs at our house, and he ate just about everything in our house. He took his first shower in our house with hot water, first cup of Koolaid(which he loved by the way). Anything Kristine made was the greatest meal he'd ever had--Kristine obviously liked him. He was so perceptive and thoughtful as a young boy. I truly was astounded...though sometimes a little disturbed, like when he looked at a picture of Kristine's sister and said, "Kristine's cute, but you should have married this one." (Kristine forgave him since he complimented her cooking so much.) I loved all the boys in that group, but Michael stood out. He was always the first to show gratitude, "thank you for dinner," "thank you for camping," "thank you for driving," "thank you for playing basketball." Constant gratitude. He was the first to help with service projects, building the basketball court, building a playground for the kids in the school and others. He always helped with cleaning, picking up after himself--remember this is a 14 year old boy.
He always talked about becoming a pilot and leaving the island. He had just as much poverty, illness, sadness as the other boys, but he always smiled. He loved life. He was also one of only two boys still in school. I promised him if he finished High School, that somehow I would make sure he got an education in college. Michael lived up to his promise, so now it's my turn.
I can't believe how big he is now. Since I left, whenever I talked to him, I'd ask what he ate for food that day. The response was usually "piece of bread," or "rice." I knew of the poverty he has lived with, I was there, but hearing him say it each times just killed me. Sometimes I wouldn't ask--I didn't want to cry after hanging up. And I don't want to cry now just thinking about it, about where he has come from. So instead, Kristine and I are going to fulfill our promise. Michael has been accepted to Ivy Tech Community College and will enroll for classes this Fall. He will live in our house--a house with walls made out of more than plywood and a room not made of a tin sheet that keeps you up all night when it rains. He will stay in his own room, with a box spring bed for the first time in his life. And do you know what he's most excited about--eating at Burger King. That and beating me at basketball--good luck Michael--no way you're dunking on me!
As a resident, life is busy, busier than I even thought it would be. Kristine has been stretched further than she thought she would as well. My kids ask me each night if I am on call. When I say yes, Maddie screams "I hate call." Josh will say something like, "oh man, why can't your bosses do it." Free time is tough to come by. Obviously money is tight on a resident salary. With all of that said, Kristine and I have never had a doubt about Michael coming. And once you, whoever you are reading this, meet him, you'll know why. Kristine and I will do whatever is necessary to pay for his education, but if you have something to spare, please help him out.
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