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Growing up, my siblings and I lived in church. Every important lesson that I can remember my parents teaching me was reinforced in my Sunday school classes rooted in biblical scripture. Early on we were taught the nine fruit of the spirit detailed in Galatians 5:22; for weeks love, joy, peace, longsuffering ,kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control meant as much to me as my spelling words at school, and their definitions could be rattled out upon request without hesitation. Today these themes are the guide by which I try to live my life and keep in mind when decision making. While they have all served me well at certain times, kindness has been crucial in my recent journey where I have been able to identify my passion.
When my family moved to Texas we left our church and started over at a new ministry where my parents found success. Years later my mom got really sick and my dad decided to move us back home. We did not jump back into our old lives right away because we were so focused on my mom’s recovery and adjusting to yet another cross country move. During my transition to college my parents were asked to join the staff at the church we grew up in and for a while we were all apprehensive because so much time had passed since we had been active in the ministry. Once my parents felt comfortable and started to establish a vision to move forward, they jumped right in but I struggled to figure out my place in the ministry because I was away at school most of the time.
That summer my mom asked me to work registration at the staff training on Saturday mornings. For weeks I would just sit and listen to everyone speak, while offering my suggestions once we got in the car to go home. One week the head of the youth department expressed her frustration with the lack of parental participation and the volunteers to chaperone the upcoming Cedar Point trip. Before I knew it I told her that I would chaperone and bring a few of my friends to help as well. I also told her that I would help her with anything else she needed for the summer, which she agreed to but still held her reservations.
On the trip my life changed so much in those few hours. When I got on the bus I didn’t really have any connections with the kids and they seemed standoffish, so we played icebreaker games to get comfortable with each other. At the park the kids encouraged me to face my fear of heights and water, we laughed until it hurt, and I taught the girls what I knew about grilling during our lunch break at the park. By the time we got on the bus to go home our once quiet 52 passenger coach was filled with non-stop laughing and questions about my college experience. In service the next morning my row was filled with all of my new babies and they were excited about what our plans were for the rest of the summer!
Being kind and agreeing to chaperone that trip turned into me coming home from school every weekend for the last four years to teach Sunday school, children’s church, host an event with the teens, and countless prom send offs and graduation parties. Every moment of my free time and money is spent thinking of ways that I can make the youth ministry grow and push the kids to think bigger. This year my leaders have trusted me and my vision for our ministry and have allowed me to create a culture in our church that encourages young people to improve morally, spiritually, and intellectually. My team has supported me in hosting one hundred children for a huge Easter celebration, and we are currently working to make our Academic Excellence Celebration, Summer Bash, and Back to School events something that not only benefits members of our congregation but the people in the communities we worship in.
Four years ago I would’ve never imagined that me chaperoning a Cedar Point trip would help me to identify my passion for ministry and promoting academic excellence. The relationships that I have built in ministry have pushed me to do well in school because of the one hundred eyes I have watching me and taking note of how I apply the nine fruit of the spirit in my everyday life. Working in such a big ministry with two locations has pulled a level of strength and resilience out of me that I didn’t have when I first stepped on campus, and has aided me in problem solving at school. I am proud of the work that I have done so far and I am confident that when I cross the stage next Spring, the roar of my babies in the audience will be the evidence that no act of kindness no matter how small is ever wasted.
- Kyra Porties - $1,500 Scholarship Winner - Senior, Michigan State University