My name is McKenzie Lee. I’m a biology major, and I’m pre-med, so science and numbers are sort of my thing. So here are some statistics for y’all: in 2005, 4% of licensed lawyers were 29 years old or less. In 1900, only 4% of American men were six feet or taller. 4% of newlyweds spend their honeymoon in Europe. And only 4% of people who live in government housing attend a church.
But I’ve learned this summer that percentages can’t explain how it feels when Ms. Summer’s kids run up and tackle me with hugs. There are no numbers that define the love I feel in my heart when Alex and Landon call me sister. Stats don’t do justice to the joy of watching the faithfulness of God as the number of our kids double each day of our first week.
The experiences that I and my co-workers have had this summer just can’t be simplified to numbers. Jeff asked us the other night if it was worth it and why, and I think the answer to that question comes in the small moments. In hearing Jerrell regurgitate almost perfectly the story he learned that morning over Zaxby’s. In our early morning jam sessions. In knowing that these kids are loved and get to learn God’s love through us.
Grey often says, "We GET to do this," and I think that’s an incredible way, and the best way, to describe this summer. We’ve been provided an opportunity that others might not understand and might be skeptical of, but that we’re so incredibly thankful for. I am thankful everyday that I got to do this, and I’m thankful that it doesn’t stop here. Summer Hope may have ended, but the love I have for these kids won’t go away.
Here’s another fact for you: I had never taken a step a day in my life into Rosedale or McKenzie Court before this summer, and after this summer any day not spent at these places I’ll miss.
-McKenzie Lee
